Twite of Britain and Ireland

Photo credit: Maris Pukitis on VisualHunt.com/CC BY-NC-SA

The Twite, Linaria flavirostris, is a small brown finch which resembles a Linnet. They inhabit open moorland, grassland and sea cliffs. Most of the British population breed in Scotland with smaller numbers in the South Pennines of Northern England. Small numbers breed in two areas in Wales.

The population in England has fallen dramatically while there are fears Twites are facing extinction in Ireland.

Adults are a tawny colour with heavy dark brown streaks and white underparts. Males have a pink rump in the summer while those of females are brown. 

Birdguides provided a video of Twites in their natural habitat: https://www.birdguides.com/species-guide/ioc/linaria-flavirostris/

Twites are sociable birds who live and breed on the edges of moors, open grassland, hay meadows, arable land, sea cliffs and marshes near the coast.

The diet of Twites is seeds, grain and buds. They forage on the ground for the seeds of dandelion, thistle, annual meadow grass, common sorrel, chickweed and sea plantain. Chicks also feed on seeds in the summer. The adults sometimes eat insects.

Twites are resident birds which either stay near their breeding grounds throughout the year or fly long distances to the coast for the winter.

Scotland holds most of the breeding population of Twites in Britain. Birdlife charities estimate there are13,800 pairs breeding in Scotland. Twites are common breeding birds in northern and western Scotland.

There only a small population in Northern England which is confined to the moorland of the South Pennines..

Twites are “now found only in the Nant Ffrancon and Ogwen valleys of northern Snowdonia, where just 30 pairs remain” [RSPB - http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/Images/Englishtwite1_tcm9-133266.pdf ).

Most Scottish and Welsh Twites leave their breeding sites and fly to the coasts of Scotland in the winter. Twites on the Inner Herbredies winter in Northern England [RSPB Handbook of Scottish Birds).

Some Scandinavian Twites winter in Scotland while the rest of the population travel to the Baltic.

A small number of Twites from Scotland fly to Ireland for the winter. Wintering birds congregate around coastal marshes and ploughed fields in Antrim, Down and Louth in the north and east of Ireland. The wintering population is thought to be between 600 and 1000 birds.

Twites used to breed along all Irish coasts. There are less than100 pairs currently breeding on the coastal bogs of Counties Mayo and Donegal.

The British Trust for Ornithology provided a map of the breeding population of Twites in Britain and Ireland: https://app.bto.org/mapstore/StoreServlet?id=474

Pairs return to the breeding grounds in March. They make their nests on the ground in heather, bracken and other tall vegetation. Nest sites are usually found on the edges of moorland, farmland and sea cliffs on higher ground. The breeding season takes places between April and August.

Four or five eggs are laid in April or May which take between 12 and 13 days to hatch. The young leave the nest after 15 or 16 days. Their parents continue to feed the young for another 2 weeks. Some pairs raise a second brood in places where there is an abundance of seeds. The Twite is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.

Europe holds 10% of the global population of Twites. “In Europe, the population size is estimated to be decreasing by less than 25% in 12.6 years” according to Birdlife International.

Map of the population of Twites in Britain, Ireland and Europe: http://s1.sovon.nl/ebcc/eoa/?species1=16620

The Twite is a red-listed species of bird in Britain and Ireland.

The range of British Twites has been “retreating” northwards. “UK numbers were fairly stable between 1970 and 1990, but have undergone a dramatic decline in northern England since then. The population in the southern Pennines is estimated to have decreased by 80 per cent between 1990 and 2000” [RSPB - https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/conservation-and-sustainability/farming/advice/helping-species/twite/ ).

The number of Twites in Ireland has fallen dramatically since the twentieth century. Birdwatch reported the population of Twites is declining on the north and west coast of the Republic of Ireland. There are fears Twites will become extinct as a breeding species in the near future.

The reasons for the decline are “loss of flower and herb-rich hay meadows, the abandonment of fodder crops which also contained weeds and more intensive grazing may affect nests” [RSPB Handbook of Scottish Birds).

References Handbook of Scottish Birds by Peter Holden and Stuart Housden

Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana) of Britain and Ireland

Spotted Crakes are colourful wetland birds who arrive from Africa and southern Europe between March and May. Pairs breed in fenlands, open marshes and wet meadows. They return to their wintering grounds between August and November.

There is only a small population of Spotted Crakes in Britain and Ireland compared to the rest of Europe. The population declined after 2001 although counting birds is difficult due to the secretive nature of Spotted Crakes.

Males and females resemble a Water rail and are slightly smaller than a starling.

Adults have a green-brown back with dark streaks and white flecks. The face and neck are blue-grey. The breast is olive-brown with white spots.

An image of Spotted Crakes pairs on Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/…/File:Spotted_Crake_from_the…

Spotted Crakes are secretive birds who live and breed in the dense vegetation of wetland habitats of marshes, fenlands, wet meadows and swamps, They are most active between dawn and dusk.

The diet is small aquatic invertebrates such as beetles, snails, small fish and worms. They also eat the seeds, roots and stems of aquatic plants in the shallow parts of fens and wetlands.

They walk low on the ground with frequent flicks of the tail. They find food on the muddy margins of reedbeds and the shallow waters of wetlands

Spotted Crakes arrive in Britain from their wintering ground in Africa and southern Europe between March and May. They leave for their wintering quarters between mid-July and November.

Some Spotted Crakes from Scandinavia briefly visit Britain during the late summer while on their way to East Africa and southern Europe.

Spotted Crakes are scattered widely over Britain and Ireland during the breeding season. Pairs are limited to suitable wetland habitats.

Birdlife charities agree between 30 and 80 singing males were recorded annually in Britain and Ireland. The RSPB stated around 10 to 30 pairs nest annually in Britain.

The results of the Spotted Crake Survey in 2012 found “28 singing males were recorded at 11 sites in Scotland and England; none was reported from Wales and Northern Ireland” [British Birds: https://britishbirds.co.uk/…/the-spotted-crake-in-the-uk-r…/ ).

RSPB nature reserves hold most of the British breeding population. The stronghold of Spotted Crakes In Britain is the Insh Marshes in Inverness-shire, Scotland.

There were records of pairs nesting in northern Scotland and the Hebrides. Southern and eastern England also attract breeding pairs.

The Lower Derwent Valley in Yorkshire and the Ouse Wash in Cambridgeshire are famed for breeding Spotted Crakes. Pairs also nest along the River Nene in Northamptonshire.

Plans by the RSPB to manage and create fenland habitats may benefit Spotted Crakes and other species of birds in the future.

The research for Spotted Crakes in Ireland was fairly obscure. “It remains a reason why a number of other species which breed regularly in Britain (wigeon, pintail, garganey, spotted crake, black-tailed godwit, bearded tit) fail to gain a permanent foothold here” [Irish Times – https://www.irishtimes.com/…/re-introducing-bird-species-1.…).

Males make their loud “whit” song throughout the night. The call of a male can be heard up to 2 kilometres, or 1.25 miles.

Pairs make their nest on the ground among reeds and other thick vegetation in large open marshes, fens and wetlands.

The female lays between 10 and 12 eggs which take 18 days to hatch. The chicks leave the nest after a few days and can feed themselves. The young learn to fly after 43 and 58 days. Both parents care for the young and sometimes raise 2 broods a year.

The Spotted Crake is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.

The European breeding population is estimated as between 50,000 and 180,000 pairs. Birdlife International stated the trend for Europe is unknown.

The Spotted Crake is an amber-listed species of bird in Britain.

“Following major declines in the nineteenth century, it appears to have increased in the latter decades of the twentieth century, though there is evidence of a recent decline in numbers after 2001”.

“However, recording standards and data flows are poor and an intensive collation of published and unpublished information showed that in most years more than twice the number of pairs were breeding” [Rare Birds Committee: http://www.rbbp.org.uk/d…/species_webpages/spotted_crake.pdf ).

There were annual reports of between 30 and 80 singing males in Britain during the last decade.

Monitoring Spotted Crakes is not an easy task. Some males are not counted because they do not sing during the breeding season.

The population is also prone to fluctuations. Some of the reasons given for the fluctuations are weather conditions during migration, wet summers and flooding on wetland sites.

For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit

References

Birdguids – Focus On: Spotted Crake - https://www.birdguides.com/…/species…/focus-on-spotted-crake

RSPB Handbook of Scottish Birds by Peter Holden and Stuart Housden