GO WILD WITH ERIC PAYLOR
CLEVELAND’S very welcome summer visitors are beginning to wing in.
Among the advance guard are the attractive wheatears, which have survived a hazardous journey all the way from Central Africa.
I sat watching a group of eight wheatears hungrily searching for food after landing at Seaton Snook last week.
They included six male birds, which are particularly impressive in their breeding plumage. They have blue-grey backs, black wings and white underparts with an orange flush on their breasts.
Wheatears can be spotted at the moment anywhere on our coastal grassland, moving around quickly in a series of short runs as they search for insects and other invertebrates.
I could tell that the wheatears at the Snook were extremely keen to refuel because I could approach quite closely without them flying away.
The wheatear’s Latin name is derived from the words for wine and bloom because the bird was regarded as synonymous with the Mediterranean grape harvest.
However, the name wheatear is derived from “white” and “a**e”, referring to the bird’s prominent white rump which is particularly obvious in flight.
This is the time to catch sight of the wheatears because most of them will move to upland pastures and moorland to breed.
One summer migrant which I did pick up very early was the swallow, which flew close to me on April 5. This is the joint earliest I have ever spotted a swallow in Britain.
The swallows face an even longer journey than the wheatears because they winter in South Africa.
While the wheatears arrive very quickly over a relatively short period, swallow arrivals are spaced out over several weeks.
Swallows are quite successful breeders. One of the highlights of the late summer can be coming across hundreds of swallows gathering on our coasts as they await the right winds to set off on their return journey.
The sand martins, cousins of the swallows, are already here in good numbers and will be investigating the various “sand martin walls” throughout our region.
They have also journeyed from their winter grounds south of the Sahara.
And when on a country stroll listen for the unmistakable song of the chiffchaff, many of which have over-wintered around the Mediterranean.
This small warbler does exactly what it says on the label, constantly uttering the distinctive “chiff-chaff” song which gives it its name.
If you have noted any interesting or unusual wildlife sightings in and around Teesside and Cleveland lately, contact Eric on eric.paylor@gmail.com