The oldest bird in town!

 

A female pied flycatcher that was ringed as a chick at Lake Vyrnwy back in 1996, has been found alive and well sitting in a nest box in Denbighshire.

 

The dramatic find means the bird is at least 16 years old, almost twice the previous recorded age for the species of just nine. It would be like finding a human that was aged almost 200 years old and still having kids!

 

The bird was found by British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) ringers over 34km from RSPB Lake Vyrnwy in a local forest near Clocaenog. According to the BTO the previous holder of the title was nine years and seven days old.

 

Peter Bache has been ringing birds at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy for over 25 years on behalf of the BTO. He said: “I ringed this bird back in 1996, and can’t believe she is still going strong and still breeding, an amazing accomplishment for such a small bird.”

 

The pied flycatcher is slightly smaller than a house sparrow with the male mostly black on the upperparts and white underneath, with a bold white patch on the folded wing. Females are brown in colour and usually visit Wales in the summer after wintering in West Africa.

 

The valleys and hillsides of Wales are a good place to look for breeding Pied flycatchers in summer and RSPB Lake Vyrnwy has a good population. For more information about the reserve please visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves or call 01691 870 278.