Wheatears arrive here in mid March and are usually around until mid October. This year my first local sighting was on March 15 (two days later than in 2013). Since then there have been signs of breeding behaviour in three local spots. The site just east of Thurba Head has produced the first success of the season, with three obviously newly fledged juveniles present on May 31. The site is shown below.
The adult female was about 70 metres away and was doing a
much better job of looking after the other two young birds.
I returned to the site yesterday (June 2) and found the juveniles
without the adults, foraging independently. There were at least three, possibly
four of them. The change in the juveniles, in both size and plumage, in just
over 48 hours was remarkable (photo taken June 2).
I returned again today (June 3), to find the adult male with two juveniles, both looking more mature after a further 24 hours:
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