Lapland Buntings breeding in Scotland Ian G. Cumming

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1 British Birds VOLUME 72 NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 1979 Lapland Buntings breeding in Scotland Ian G. Cumming Another species joins the long list of Fenno-Scandian birds which have bred in and colonised northern Britain in recent years On 19th June 1977, I took my family for a climb up a Scottish mountain to show them Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus. We were walking at 900 m over hummocky frost bumps with short grass and heather Calluna between melting snowfields when I saw a small bird on the ground 6 m ahead. It had its back to me, and its orange-chestnut nape was very striking. When I moved and got a side view, I saw that it was a male Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus (plate 16). He was in full breeding plumage, looking very handsome, with white head markings showing up vividly against the black of the face and upper breast. The chestnut-orange nape and the yellow bill made him look even more colourful than illustrations in field guides. The bird seemed very tame and showed no inclination to fly. After watching him for some time as he hopped among the hummocks, I noticed that he was being followed by a female Lapland Bunting. She was amazingly well camouflaged, her dull plumage merging with the brown terrain (plate 17). She was drab-looking, with facial markings similar to a female Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus, but had the distinctive chestnut nape of an adult in breeding plumage. She approached the male and crouched in a food-begging position, mouth agape and wings quivering. She solicited thus several times, but elicited no discernible response. We were walking away when we disturbed a small bird from a clump of grass about 50 m from the courting pair. It flew around us, giving a double-note alarm call. On searching the ground, my wife found a nest {Brit. Birds 72: 53-59, February 1979] 53

2 54 Lapland Buntings breeding in Scotland 16. Male Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus, Scotland, June 1977 (Ian G. Gumming) 17. Male (left) and female Lapland Buntings Calcarius lapponicus, Scotland, June 1977 (Ian G. Gumming) in the side of a tussock. The nest was a neat grass bowl lined with Ptarmigan feathers. There were no eggs. The bird was a second female Lapland Bunting. On 26th June, I returned to the mountain and found that the nest contained four dark grey, mottled eggs (plate 18). About 40 m away, I found a second Lapland Bunting nest with four eggs (plate 19). The bow) of this nest was made with heather twigs and was similarly lined with Ptarmigan feathers. Again, I saw one male and two female Laplands. I returned to the mountain ten days later with Roy Dennis and found that both broods had hatched. Roy estimated that they were five days old. There was ample insect life at that altitude and we saw the adults carrying crane-flies (Tipulidae) to their young. I returned finally to the site on 17th July. The weather was very bad, with thick cloud, heavy rain and visibility only about 10 m. I eventually located the nests and found them both empty. I could not find the birds in the poor conditions, but they may have been in the area. At no time did I see more than three adult birds and I believe that the male was mated to both females. Although I did not see the young fly,

3 Lapland Buntings breeding in Scotland Nest of Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus, made of grass and containing four eggs, Scotland, June 1977 (Ian G. dimming) 19. Nest of Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus, made of heather twigs and containing four eggs, Scotland, June 1977 (Ian G. Gumming) I think it is reasonable to assume that they did. The only predators that I saw in the area were a Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos and a Peregrine Falco peregrinus. Large numbers of Black-headed Gulls Lams ridibundus had moved up the mountain after the crane-flies, and may have been a hazard to nestlings and fledglings, Other species nesting in the immediate vicinity were Dunlin Calidris alpina and Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria. The mountain seemed quite popular with hill-walkers, but the camouflage of the nests and of the birds was so good that I should think thev were left undisturbed.

4 56 Lapland Buntings breeding in Scotland On 18th June 1978, I returned to the previous year's nest-site in the hope that the Lapland Buntings had returned, but none was to be seen; even the Dunlins and Golden Plovers were absent. There was no snow left in areas where it had been extensive in In 1978, although there had been late snowfalls, it cleared earlier than it had in I wonder if this was a factor determining the absence of birds? Summary In June 1977, one male and two female Lapland Buntings Calcarius lappomcus and two nests were found at 900 m on a Scottish mountain. On subsequent visits, the nests each contained four eggs and then four nestlings about five days old. This constitutes the first breeding records of Lapland Bunting in Britain and Ireland, but follows the trend for colonisation of northern Britain by Fenno-Scandian species. Ian G. Cumming, 11 Canongate, St Andrews, Fife Background to the Scottish breeding of Lapland Buntings The Lapland Bunting has a circumpolar Holarctic distribution in the tundra and boreal climatic zones (Voous i960; fig. 1). Relatively small numbers occur on passage (mostly autumn) and overwinter in western Europe, with occasional larger influxes, such as that in autumn 1953 {Brit. Birds 47: 95, , 421) which was thought to have originated from Greenland. Larger than usual numbers were reported in the Netherlands and in Britain in autumn and winter 1977/78 {Brit. Birds 71: 51, 93, 194, 257), but no recent increase in breeding numbers or range expansion has been reported in 'European news'. The first hint of the possibility of breeding in Britain came in 1974, when a male in breeding plumage was seen in possible breeding habitat in Caithness, Highland, on 30th June {Brit. Birds 71: 29). Then came the events described above and, subsequently, other instances of summering and breeding, which will be noted in forthcoming reports on 'Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom'. The Lapland Bunting has now been added to Schedule 1 of the Protection of Birds Act 1967 (see Brit. Birds J2: 48), so has the added protection of special penalties. The breeding of the Lapland Bunting in Scotland was not entirely unexpected, since, presumably in response to climatic factors, it is only the most recent of a long list of northern species which have colonised Scotland in recent decades. A few pairs of Goldeneyes Bucephala clangula have nested annually since It is perhaps not fair to include the Osprey Pandion haliaetus, for the well-known breeding since 1954 or 1955 is recolonisation, following extermination by man in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and not colonisation. Pairs of Sanderlings Calidris alba have twice been seen on Scottish mountains in recent years (1973 and 1974), but there has been no proof of breeding. Temminck's Stints C. temminckii, however, have nested in several years since 1969, compared with only four previous attempts (in ). Wood Sandpipers Tringa glareola started to colonise Scotland even earlier, with some discovered in most years since 1959, and a peak of five to eight pairs in Proof of breeding by Turnstones Arenaria interpres remains as elusive as ever, but suspicious summer sightings seem to be increasing in frequency, although, on the debit side, numbers of Red-necked Phalaropes Phalaropus lobatus

5 Lapland Buntings breeding in Scotland 57 Fig. 1. Breeding distribution of Lapland Bunting Caicarius lapponicus (after Voous i960) are decreasing. Single Long-tailed Skuas Stercorarius longicaudus have appeared in colonies of Arctic Skuas S. parasiticus, but no pair has yet been reported. An adult Glaucous Gull L. kyperboreus paired to a Herring Gull L. argentatus has reared hybrid young at a Shetland site since The saga of the Fetlar, Shetland, Snowy Owls Nyctea scandiaca is well known: a pair bred each year during , but only females remain there now. Wrynecks Jynx torquilla have started to colonise Scotland, with pairs in many but not all years since 1965: this, coinciding with a withdrawal from southern England and adjacent parts of the Continent, strongly points to a Scandinavian origin. Passerine colonists have been fewer, but, after acting suspiciously in 1972, 1973 and 1976, breeding of Shore Larks Eremophila alpestris was proved in Bluethroats Luscinia svecica have not been rediscovered since the first, abortive 1968 breeding attempt. In contrast, Fieldfares 20. Male Lapland Bunting Caicarius lapponicus at nest with four young, Finland, July 1976 (K. J. Carlson)

6 3i. Male Lapland Bunting Calamus lapponkus at nest, Finland, July 1970 [J. B. & S. Bottomley) 22. Female Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus at nest with young, Finland, July 1970 [J. B. & S. Bottomley)

7 Lapland Buntings breeding in Scotland 59 Turdus pilaris have been regular ever since the first pair was found in Orkney in Colonisation by Redwings T. iliacus started earlier, with a few pairs in the late 1950s, and as many as 300 pairs were estimated in 1972 (when 42 sites were found and 12 pairs proved breeding), but seem now to have declined. The position of Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio resembles Wryneck: declining in and withdrawing from southern England, but one pair summering in Scotland in 1970 and breeding proved there in 1977, presumably derived from the Scandinavian population (increasing numbers are now breeding in southwest Norway). Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia and Scarlet Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus, both increasingly reported as vagrants to Britain and Ireland and both increasing as breeding birds in Norway, may perhaps be among the next Scandinavian species to colonise Scotland. (Sources listed in 'References'.) JTRS References ANON European news. Brit. Birds 70: , ; 71: , BROWN, P., & WATERSTON, G The Return of the Osprey. London. BURTON, H., LLOYD-EVANS, T., & WEIR, D. N Wrynecks breeding in Scotland. Scot. Birds 6: FERGUSON-LEES, I.J Photographic studies of some less familiar birds. 58. Lapland Bunting. Brit. Birds 47: & THE RARE BREEDING BIRDS PANEL Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in Brit. Birds 70: GREENWOOD, J. J. D Bluethroat nesting in Scotland. Brit. Birds 61: SHARROCK, J. T. R The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. Berkhamsted. & THE RARE BREEDING BIRDS PANEL Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in Brit. Birds 68: '978. Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in Brit. Birds 71: "-33- FERGUSON-LEES, I. J., & THE RARE BREEDING BIRDS PANEL Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in Brit. Birds 68: TULLOCH, R.J Fetlar's Snowies. Birds 5: Voous, K. i960. Atlas of European Birds. London.