Ok, I’m sorry, I know we don’t want to think about the end of summer. For many birds though, the breeding season is done and they are heading for the exits, migrating away from Britain. That can mean birds appearing in places and habitat where you haven’t seen them during breeding season.

Willow warbler bother me through August and September appearing where I haven’t seen (or heard) them over the breeding season. I’ve written before how in spring, the very different songs of Willow warbler and Chiffchaff helps identify two similar-looking species. In autumn it’s a different story, as at this time of year they rarely sing, instead using short calls. The difference in the calls between “hoo-weet” and “hweet” is often not obvious. I’m not ashamed that sometimes I leave these unidentified, recording them as Chiffchaff/Willow warbler.

Some of the other birds I’m looking for at this time of year are more distinctive.

Wheatear are common birds in the Dales, breeding in higher areas with rocks and heather for nest cover. Whinchat is much less common in the Dales, posing a bit of an ID challenge as it is similar to Wheatear in size, behaviour and overall orange-brown colour. Both can pop up around farmland at lower altitude in autumn. The photo shows a Wheatear near Winterburn Reservoir north of Skipton, somewhere I don’t see them May to July. Had this bird moved just the few miles from suitable breeding habitat or from further afield?

Spotted flycatcher also breed in the Dales, along woodland edges. I often see Spotted flycatcher in a park near where I work in Leeds, in August and September. Never seen one there in spring.

These are “proper” migrants, taking more-or-less north-south routes to over-winter in sub-Saharan Africa. I wonder if adult birds take direct routes to breeding areas in the spring, but more leisurely journeys south again in autumn. Perhaps juvenile birds need to learn the migration routes, making mistakes when they land in urban parks?

We know from bird surveys that numbers of these birds are down around 50% over the last 30 years. They face many challenges, including the effects of climate change, along their long migration journeys. Without sat-nav to tell them the route or suggest where the best re-fuelling stations are ahead of them, migrants have to learn routes and hope.

Enjoy the autumn, scanning fences, walls and hedges, to see what surprises you can find.

wharfedale-nats.org.uk