Source RSPB 

"An endangered bird has chosen a highly unusual nest spot at a Norfolk nature reserve.  A family of Spotted Flycatchers has taken up residence on the wall of the visitor information centre at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen.

The Spotted Flycatchers are raising their chicks in a nestbox designed for House Martins.  When visitors arrive at the reserve they are greeted with the rare sight of the flycatchers swooping in and out of the nest to feed their chicks. 

Spotted Flycatchers are a threatened species.  Their numbers have dropped more than 80% in the past 25 years.  The steep decline is so worrying that they are listed high on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.

The sparrow-sized birds migrate from Southern Africa every summer to breed in the UK.  They face a series of hurdles before they can breed successfully.  In Africa they have been hit by drought in the Sahel desert.  If they make it the 6 000 miles to the UK, they struggle to find a safe place to nest.

Many of their preferred nest sites in large trees have been lost to development or changes in woodland management."

Photo by: Dave Hamster

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