First yellowhammer of spring

The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, is a type of bunting (family Emberizidae). It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees and form small flocks in winter, although it’s on the decline. The male has a bright yellow head, yellow underparts (hence the scientific name, citronella: lemon) and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much duller and has more streaked underparts. My wife tells me that her Dad always used to describe its “song” as sounding like the bird was saying: “A little bit of bread and no cheeeeeese!”

Well, we heard one today while we were out walking our dog near Rampton Spinney in Cambridgeshire. Freezing in our footsteps we scouted around to see where he was perched and there he was on an overgrown hawthorn surveying his domain and shouting about bread and cheese in view of the village’s newly thatched church.

yellowhammer

Not all individuals migrate, but those from farther North will fly south in the winter. We heard none over the colder months, so this little lemon fella represents the first of spring. We’re watching the skies for swifts, the eaves for housemartins and the wires and bridges for the return of the swallows, although we may have a few more weeks to wait for those.