Yellowhammer
‘A little bit of bread and no cheeeeeese’ is one of the best known bird mnemonics, and it’s hard to beat as a description for the yellowhammer’s song.
For many of us this is a quintessential summer sound. Yellowhammers sing longer than many other birds, right though into August, and so this repetitive phrase may be etched into the mind along with butterflies, tall grasses and sun hats.
Yellowhammers are birds of open, scrubby areas.
In the west of Britain they are a familiar sight on coastal clifftops, where the bright yellow head of the male is often to be found atop a gorse bush.
In lowland areas they are often birds of the arable, and here their fortunes are tied to changes in human activity. This is why, like many other farmland species, their numbers have fallen hugely in recent decades, as farming becomes more efficient, with bigger fields, fewer insects and less spilt grain.
Fortunately their decline has not been as precipitous as grey partridge, lapwing or tree sparrow, and yellowhammers can still be found in reasonable numbers where there are hedgerows, or scruffy, scrubby corners.
The canary-yellow head of the male is an easy giveaway to the male, while the females have much less yellow and might be confused for other kinds of bunting or sparrow. But both sexes have a rusty-coloured rump which shows as they fly and sometimes while perched.
Thanks for reading and listening this year. Next week’s Shriek will be the last weekly mail until January - but there will be a ‘Shriek of the Month’ (hmm, not quite as catchy) between now and then, to keep our ears ticking over.
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in joining a bird walk in July near Brighton, I will be running one in the second half of July. To register your interest and any preferences in date, use this simple poll. or email me at charlie@birdsong.academy.
Thanks!
Charlie