Cirl Bunting (LBRC)

Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus

Vagrant. Southern England, western Europe.

There are four county records of Cirl Bunting, the last in 1977. Despite some historical speculation there is no reliable evidence that Cirl Buntings ever bred on the heaths in the north-west of the county during the nineteenth century. The species is not known for long-distance movements and colour-ringing studies in the small population in Devon reveal that, in general, birds winter within a few kilometres of their breeding sites so a continental over-shoot may represent the best hope of another vagrant turning up in the county.

In the late 1800s Cirl Buntings were resident in 39 British counties north to North Wales and Yorkshire.  However, a long-term decline has occurred since and the nadir was reached in 1989 when around 118 territories were located, all but four of these being in Devon. Since then, the species has been the focus of targeted conservation measures. Initial research found that the loss of food sources and nesting sites had caused the dramatic decline. The full story of this project can be seen at https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/projects/cirl-bunting-project. As a result, the population has recovered with more than 1000 breeding pairs in 2016 in Devon and Cornwall.

In north-west Europe extralimital Cirl buntings are extremely rare. A singing male in Belgium in May 2007 was the first since the species last bred there in 1962; there have been 5 records in the Netherlands; in Denmark one on 10th June 1995 was only the second national record; a male in Sweden in May to 2008 was the first record.

(Account prepared October 2018; includes all records up to 2017)