Continental Song Thrush - 1949 status

Turdus ericetorum philomelus

One was trapped Skokholm, 23 Feb 1929, and others ringerd were probably ofthis race.  Probably represented in winter flocks.

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

British Song Thrush - 1949 status

Turdus ericetorum ericetorum

Common resident, but not numerous.  Abundant on coast at onset of cold weather in winter which, if persistent, causes many deaths.

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

Song Thrush - 2003-07

The song thrush is widespread across the county, but absent from the hill tops and all of the islands save the partially wooded Caldey, although it nested at Skomer in 2006. Around prime woodland, densities of up to 40 territories per square km have been recorded, in coastal areas as low as two per square km. The county estimate of 6,000 pairs made at the conclusion of the 1984-88 survey was based on an average density of 15 pairs per tetrad, which accorded with the slightly later UK national average used in the 1988-91 National Atlas. Since then the BBS has calculated a 24% increase in Wales between 1994 and 2007. If this increase is applied to the findings of the 2003-07 survey, a population of 7,500 pairs breeding in Pembrokeshire at the end of 2007 is arrived at.

Despite Song Thrushes thriving across Wales, for the UK as a whole they are red-listed under the Birds of Conservation Concern 3 (Eaton et al., 2009).

Graham Rees

Fieldwork 2003-07 (based on 490 tetrads)

Red = breeding confirmed = 178

Orange = breeding probable = 215

Yellow = breeding possible = 11

Total tetrads in which registered = 404 (82.4%)

Song Thrush - 1994

Breeding resident, passage migrant and winter visitor

Mathew (1894) noted that the Song Thrush was a common resident which suffered severe mortality in the cold winter of 1880, while Lockley et al. (1949) added that it was not numerous.

Today they breed throughout Pembrokeshire but are absent from the bare tops of the Preseli Mountains and from all of the offshore islands except Caldey, though they did nest on Skomer in 1961 and 1962. Census work on the Dyfed Wildlife Trust reserves of Rosemoor, Pengelli Forest and the Old Mill Grounds suggests an average density of 15 pairs per tetrad, which would mean a total breeding population of 6,000 pairs.

Grey-coloured Song Thrushes, thought to be of continental origin, pass through in October and November. They are occasionally heard calling from the night sky at this time, have occurred at the lantern of the South Bishop lighthouse and there are periodic falls on coastal headlands and offshore islands.

Larger numbers overwinter in Pembroke­shire. These resemble the local breeding birds and ringing has shown their origin to be elsewhere in Britain, ranging from Midlothian to Oxfordshire. These high winter numbers are sustained by the large snail populations to be found in the hedgebanks. The snails are also important to further influxes of Song Thrushes that appear when cold weather approaches from the east. During such periods they can be seen every few yards along the hedgebanks, and the sound of snails being battered on 'anvils' becomes characteristic of the Pembrokeshire lanes. Song Thrushes seem to survive snow cover of short duration quite well, still being able to find snails, but many then become casualties when they use the cleared roads as anvils, becoming too preoccupied to notice the traffic.

Fieldwork 1984-88 (based on 478 tetrads)

Red = breeding confirmed = 144

Orange = breeding probable = 215

Yellow = breeding possible = 33

Total tetrads in which registered = 392 (82%)

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

Song Thrush - 1980s winter

The BTO winter atlas showed that Song Thrushes were present in most 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 over 26 birds seen in a day.

There was a marked increase in Pembrokeshire during the cold weather of 1981-82.

Graham Rees 

Song Thrush - 1894

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

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