After two days around Edinburgh, we headed down to Windermere in the Lake District for a couple of days, prior to heading back to Bristol. Although most time was spent on family sightseeing and enjoying the beautiful scenery, I got up early both mornings to look for the classic trio of the UK's western oak woodlands: (European) Pied Flycatcher, (Common) Redstart and Wood Warbler.
All three of these species occur within an hour or so's drive from Bristol, where my relatives reside, so had not been a major focus for the swing up north. However, as I hadn't see a couple of them for over 20 years, it made sense to look for them rather than wait for the next UK trip at a suitable time of year. In particular, I was growing concerned about the relentless decline in Wood Warbler numbers and distribution. I used to see and hear this species regularly as a teenager birding in Leigh Woods, just a couple of miles walk from the my home. However within a decade, the species was gone from there. It is now virtually gone from the New Forest and the Forest of Dean. The decline has now spread into the more upland oak woods of the valleys of Dartmoor, Exmoor and the Quantock Hills, where very few birds are now left. Interestingly, and hopefully, the population in the Quantocks seems to have partially relocated to mixed conifer and beech woods there and can perhaps hang on.
The accelerating trill of the Wood Warbler is the classic song of western oak woods and one of my favorites. I was hoping to hear it sing, but realized that the lateness of the season was against me, especially as the breeding season and arrival of summer migrants in the UK does appear to have shifted a week or two earlier in recent years. A sharp contrast to southern California, where we just had a record late migration season, with many species two or three weeks late in passing through!
The first morning I visited a location called High Dam, near the SW corner of Lake Windermere. Despite reasonable weather conditions, there was a deathly absence of bird song other than wrens. A bout of 'pishing' brought in a few tits and nuthatches and I had a nice look at a (Eurasian) Treecreeper. Finally, after reaching the small lake. I heard the distinctive 'diu' notes of a Wood Warbler and was able to get very good looks. Wood Warblers are subtly beautiful birds with silky white underparts, except for the lemon-washed throat, and quite bright green upperparts.
However, the bird did not sing and I found no trace of a Pied Flycatcher or a Redstart, Fortunately, later in the day, while my wife and I were hiking between Grasmere and Rydal Water, I did hear a Wood Warbler sing a few times. I also had very nice looks at the closely related Willow Warbler, which I only seen briefly a couple of times on the trip, despite hearing a lot.
The next morning, I headed over to Sawry Wood, where there had been double-digit counts of Pied Flycatchers and Redstarts several weeks earlier. The weather was worse with persistent rain and there was no sight or sound of either species in the hour I spent there. I did hear another Wood Warbler calling. My experience with Pied Flycatchers is that do become very difficult see once the young have left the next, but I was hoping to connect with a Redstart. Anyway, something to look forward too on a future trip.
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