Spotted Flycatcher

Back from Wales to find our African visitors have returned; the Swallows are in the front Porch (and will no doubt make a blip appearance soon) and so is the Spotted Flycatcher (or descendant) who is back on her perch on the garage.
A fantastic timid little bird - she needs an open nest so that she can be constantly alert - she darts off into the trees as soon as we're anywhere near her. During the warm parts of the day she'll go and sit on the fence or one of the trees and make looping little sallies to catch flies. Interestingly the spotted flycatcher is one of the European birds who can recognise that her nest has been infiltrated by a Cuckoo and will abandon the nest if that happens - the parasitic relationship of the cuckoo is reckoned to evolve as host species slowly learn this skill and the Cuckoo needs to find new species to use.

Sadly the Cuckoo is not the threat to this little bird - it's us again - there are now less than a sixth of the population there was 30 years ago and the spotted flycatcher has been on the RSPB's Red List for the last few years.