Granddad’s Camera
Stonechat, as it appears in the game

No.061 · Birds · Common

Stonechat

Saxicola rubicola

A perky, robin-sized chat that perches on the top of gorse and calls 'chak-chak' like two pebbles knocked together.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn and day.

Time of day

Best time
Bright days, all year: singing and feeding fledglings April–July; more visible in autumn and winter.
Where in the game
the Pembrokeshire coast (clifftop and island) and the New Forest (heath)
Size
11.5–13 cm
Weight
About 16 g (14–18 g)
Population
65,000 pairs in the UK (BTO, 2016) and up 281% between 1995 and 2024. Three pairs on Skomer in 2024
Status
Green list, UK Birds of Conservation Concern (BTO)

Diet

Small insects and spiders caught by dropping from a perch, plus seeds in winter

Habitat

Gorse, heather and coastal heath with bushes to perch on

Breeding

5–6 eggs, incubated for 14 days by the female; chicks fledge after 14–15 days; two or three broods a season. On Skomer in 2024 nesting material was first seen on 13 April and the first fledglings on 21 May

Field signs

  • A small bird bobbing on the top of a gorse bush or fence post
  • The male has a black head, white neck patch and orange-red breast
  • A sharp 'chat, chat' alarm like two stones tapped together
  • Flicking wings and tail as it perches

Did you know?

  • Its name comes from its call, which sounds like two stones tapped together.
  • Severe winters have knocked stonechat numbers back in the past, but the UK breeding population rose 281% between 1995 and 2024 (BTO).
  • On Skomer in 2024 the autumn peak was 16 stonechats in September, as migrants mixed with the island's three breeding pairs.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Fledglings and parents May to July, dawn and day
    A male stonechat clings to gorse with food in his bill while fluffy spotted fledglings call from the bush.

Photo tip

Stonechats are curious, so sit still near a gorse bush and let one land on a favourite perch, then pre-focus on it. Use 300–500 mm at 1/1000 s. Shoot from below the eye line against a soft, clean background.

Be a good naturalist

Keep well back from nesting gorse in spring, especially April–July. Do not use playback of calls to bring birds in.

The law

Protected as a wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

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