Judging by the numbers I’ve been seeing in Cardiff Bay during this autumn’s migration, Wheatears have benefitted from a good breeding season.

These birds don’t breed locally, preferring the wide open spaces and heathland in upland areas like the Brecon Beacons National Park (Bannau Brycheiniog) and the Snowdonia National Park (Eryri).

As well as northern England and parts of Scotland, Wales is a stronghold for the British population of Wheatear, together with other members of the chat family, the Whinchat and Stonechat. This was confirmed by a specialised survey conducted by volunteers across Wales in 2012-2013; the BTO website has an abridged scientific paper available on its website for anyone interested in reading further.

We are lucky to see them on passage, as they pause briefly on the south Wales coast before heading across the Bristol Channel en route to their over-wintering locations in Africa.

Did you know their name refers to their white rear end, which flashes when they fly and is one of the best ways to identify a Wheatear seen at distance? Wheat comes from the Old English for ‘white’ and ear comes from the word for ‘arse’.