Chiffchaff - 1949 status

Phylloscopus collybita collybita

"By far the most numerous of our summer visitors, and is greatly in excess of the Willow Warbler" - Mathew, who quotes Dix as saying that in the north-east of the county it is "about equal in number to the willow warbler".  Dix is right; but for the rest of the county the Chiffchaff predominates.  Mathew says a few remain throughout the winter, and this is the case to-day, in mild winters.  On passage through the islands, this species is much less numerous than the Willow-Warblers.  Usually arrives first week in March.

R.M.Lockley, G.C.S.Ingram, H.M.Salmon, 1949, The Birds of Pembrokeshire, The West Wales Field Society

Chiffchaff - 2003-07

The repetitive song which gives the Chiffchaff its name is a familiar sound in the summer time. It favours deciduous rather than coniferous trees but is widespread in the county. The domed nest is usually well concealed and placed low down in the available vegetation.

Chiffchaff numbers have been increasing across Europe since about 1980. The first estimate of the Pembrokeshire breeding population was made following the results of the 1984-88 survey. At an average density of 15 pairs per occupied tetrad, a total of 6,000 pairs was suggested.

By the end of the 2003-07 survey a 13% spread in distribution had been plotted in Pembrokeshire and the BBS noted a 42% increase in Wales between 1994 and 2007. Using these figures an estimate of 8,500 pairs breeding in the county by 2007 emerged.

Graham Rees

Fieldwork 2003-07 (based on 490 tetrads) 

Red = breeding confirmed = 101

Orange = breeding probable = 319

Yellow = breeding possible = 8

Total tetrads in which registered = 428 (87.3%)

Chiffchaff - 1994

Breeding summer visitor, passage migrant and winter visitor

"This tiny bird is by far the most numerous of our summer visitors" said Mathew (1894) of the Chiffchaff, and it remains a widespread breeding species in Pembrokeshire. Lloyd (in his diaries for 1921-1934) and Lockley et al. (1949) considered it outnumbered the Willow Warbler in the breeding season, with Lloyd estimating a ratio of at least 2:1 in favour of the Chiffchaff. Lockley (1957) later modified his view, stating the Chiffchaff was "probably" more abundant than Willow Warbler. Using data from census work on Dyfed Wildlife Trust reserves at Rosemoor, Old Mill Grounds and Pengelli Forest an estimate for average breeding density of about 15 pairs per tetrad was obtained, suggesting a total county population of around 6,000 pairs; the estimate for the Willow Warbler is seven times this amount.

Overwintering birds obscure the validity of early and late dates of migrants. However, they do not winter on the islands, so passage dates quoted here are based on islands data only. The first Chiffchaffs usually arrive in the middle of March, but sometimes from 3 March stragglers to the end of the month, peaking in the islands in the autumn between July and 9 November, with one at Skomer from 17 to 30 November 1987.

Birds resembling the grey northern race P. c. abietinus and paler eastern race P. c. tristis have been noted on both spring and autumn passage.

The Chiffchaffs which regularly winter in Pembrokeshire, mainly in woodland, including Slebech and Bosherston, and willow carr, such as Castle Pill, are not necessarily birds which have bred locally.

    

Fieldwork 1984-88 (based on 478 tetrads) 

Red = breeding confirmed = 131

Orange = breeding probable = 239

Yellow = breeding possible = 10

Total tetrads in which registered = 380 (79.5%)

Donovan J.W. & Rees G.H (1994), Birds of Pembrokeshire

Chiffchaff - 1970s breeding

Red = breeding confirmed

Orange = breeding probable

Yellow = breeding possible

Chiff-chaff - 1980s winter atlas

The BTO winter atlas showed that Chiffchaffs were present in 41% of 10km squares during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84.

The darker the colour, the higher the relative total count for each 10km square.  The darkest blue represents 3 or more birds seen in a day.

However, it should be noted that the figures show a high correlation with the number of recording cards returned (therefore related to recording effort) for each 10km square. 

Graham Rees 

Chiffchaff - 1894

Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"

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