Yellowhammer

Irish Name:	Buíóg
Scientific name:	Emberiza citrinella
Bird Family:	Buntings

red
Conservation status

yellowhammer-perched-on-branch-surrounded-by-ivy

Yellowhammer-48-Edward-W-Delaney-300x200 (2)

Status

Declining resident mainly in the east and south of Ireland. Strongly tied to cereal cultivation.

Identification

A typical bunting in size and shape (slightly larger than Chaffinch). Adult summer males are a stunning yellow colour on the head and underparts, appearing unlike any other Irish breeding bird species. Has an indistinct reddish-brown breast band and some faint black streaking along the flanks. The back and wings are brown with extensive black streaking. The rump is reddish-brown. Adult winter male Yellowhammers are much darker, with extensive black markings on the head and obvious black streaking on the breast. The head and underparts have an obvious yellow tint to them. Adult females resemble winter males, but have much less yellow on the head and underparts. Juveniles have a dark grey-brown head with an obvious white eyering.

Voice

Has several rather faint calls, which resemble those of Reed Bunting - "ziu", "plit", "pschiu". Males sing from an exposed perch in the top of a tree or hedgerow from spring to late summer. The song is a frequently repeated "sri-sri-sri-sri-sri-zu", initially increasing in pitch, before descending on the last note.

Diet

Feeds on grains of grasses and cereals. Young are fed insects.

Breeding

Formerly a widespread breeding species in Ireland, now restricted mainly to the east and south. Strongly linked with the cultivation of cereals and has declined in areas where these are no longer grown.

Wintering

Largely resident, though flocks may form in favoured feeding areas, such as winter stubble fields.

Monitored by

Countryside Bird Survey and BirdTrack.

Widespread along the east coast of Ireland. The fields between Balbriggan and Laytown in north County Dublin hold good numbers of Yellowhammers, especially in winter.

Blog posts about this bird

Action for nature

BirdWatch Ireland welcomes the scrapping of the winter stubble rule

BirdWatch Ireland is pleased that the rule for shallow cultivation of winter stubbles has been scrapped in the latest iteration of the Nitrates Action Programme. It is regrettable, however, that this decision was not made sooner, and particularly before farmers cultivated stubble grounds in 2025, leaving threatened bird species looking for other food supplies this winter. In the medium and long term, Ireland’s Common Agriculture Policy Strategic Plan and National Restoration Plan must incentivise farmers to provide sufficient quantity and quality of habitats to restore both wintering and breeding farmland bird populations. The controversial winter stubble rule was introduced in 2022, despite vociferous opposition from BirdWatch Ireland on account of the risk of severe impacts to farmland birds over the winter months, when food supplies for many Red- and Amber-Listed Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland are in short supply. The stubble fields left after crops have been harvested often harbour spilled seeds, which seed-eating birds, such as the Yellowhammer and the Skylark, and rodents will consume during the cold winter. These small birds and mammals are prey species for other birds, including the Hen Harrier, a highly protected and increasingly rare bird of prey that is experiencing ongoing declines. In our submission to government at that time, we highlighted that 30 Red- or Amber-Listed Birds of Conservation in Ireland relied on winter stubbles for food.

Yellowhammer: one of the Irish bird species that is most dependent on winter stubble (Photo: John Fox)

Nitrate pollution is a severe problem in Ireland and has to be addressed. It is having well-documented consequences for our waterways and threatens riverine bird species like Kingfisher, Dipper, Grey Wagtail and others. The shallow cultivation rule was introduced to address nitrate leaching from arable land, but without assessment of the impacts to threatened bird species known to forage on stubbles. Furthermore, the Natura Impact Statement of the Nitrates Action Programme in 2022 did not assess the impacts of the shallow cultivation of stubbles rule on Annex 1 Hen Harrier and Golden Plover or any other protected species, as is required under the Habitats Directive. BirdWatch Ireland raised its concerns about this with government. The shallow cultivation rule was also not in line with known ecological requirements for Hen Harrier, especially juvenile birds, in the Hen Harrier Threat Response Plan, also published by government. In 2022, government charged Teagasc with researching the impact of a reduction in winter stubble after the rule had been brought in. This research is ongoing.

Hen Harrier: winter stubble is a very important habitat for this highly threatened bird of prey species (Photo: Shay Connolly)

A 2023 study undertaken on 30 farms in an area of south Cork looked at the habitat associations of farmland birds, including on arable land. The study found that the most important field type for farmland birds over winter in terms of numbers (48%) and scale was winter stubble. It was on this basis that the decision was made by government to scrap the winter stubble rule Oonagh Duggan, Head of Policy and Advocacy at BirdWatch Ireland, said: “We welcome this decision to scrap the shallow cultivation of winter stubble rule in the Nitrates Action Programme. The rule was introduced in a knee-jerk reaction to address nitrate pollution, where it was stated that ‘all sectors had to play their part’, but there was really inadequate consideration, ecological assessment or mitigation of the impacts to least 30 bird species, many threatened, that forage on winter stubbles. The research on the risk of effects on farmland birds should have been commissioned first, before any changes were proposed for winter stubbles, and not after the fact. Nitrate pollution has to be addressed, but when trying to address one environmental problem, it makes no sense to create another one. “The scrapping of the rule comes too late in the day to help threatened farmland birds this winter, however, as farmers will have already cultivated their fields. It was an irresponsible decision to mandate farmers to shallow-cultivate without adequate consideration of the effects on declining bird species. Ireland is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis and farmland birds represent the fastest declining group of birds in Ireland. Uncultivated and unsprayed stubble fields are extremely important for birds like Hen Harrier, Skylark and Yellowhammer, especially in the absence of diverse habitats on farmland. The shallow cultivation rule is one more threat to them. “BirdWatch Ireland used every opportunity possible to advocate with officials and politicians at national and at EU level for the scrapping of this environmentally destructive rule. BirdWatch Ireland now calls on government to incentivise farmers appropriately to restore habitats on farmland, including assistance for stubble fields in Ireland’s next CAP Strategic Plan and National Restoration Plan, in order to halt and reverse the declines of Ireland's farmland birds.”

All News

Advocacy

BirdWatch Ireland calls for stronger wildlife legislation and enforcement in public consultation

In recent weeks, BirdWatch Ireland welcomed the opportunity to help shape the future of wildlife legislation by making a submission to the public consultation on the review and update of Ireland’s wildlife laws. This consultation was the first in a multi-stage process aimed at strengthening legislation to better protect biodiversity. Our submission contains many recommendations for legislative changes that support biodiversity, align with EU law and are practical and easily understood by all. We advocated for change under 12 main headings:

Wildlife legislation must be compliant with the Nature Directives
Points relating to the Wildlife Act (as amended)
Penalties for breaches of Wildlife legislation
Birds and Habitats Regulations 2011
Hedgerows
The need for legislation to support a Wildlife Crime Unit
Poison
Open Seasons Order
The taking of Peregrine chicks from the wild.
Invasive and non-native species
Technologies
Predator control

Our submission can be read in full here. One of the key areas that we highlighted in both our submission and indeed, many of our communications in recent years, is the need for wildlife legislation in Ireland to align with EU law, specifically, the Birds and Habitats Directives. These Directives are recognised as some of the strongest environmental laws in the world, at least on paper. However, as there are issues regarding the transposition of these into Irish legislation, we are not seeing these translate into effective protection on the ground. The Birds Directive [1] was agreed by Member States including Ireland in 1979. It is worth a read for its simplicity and reach to safeguard wild birds which form part of our common EU natural heritage. All wild birds are protected. As regards Ireland’s wildlife legislation which transposes and implements the articles of the Birds Directive, there are numerous pieces of legislation some of which are in direct conflict with each other. It is also not clear which laws to apply in specific situations. An overarching ask in our submission is that Government amends, clarifies and potentially consolidates the legislation, as well as communicates widely the clarified legislation. Critically this legislation which has been agreed at EU level should not be subject to political interference at national level. A significant portion of our submission was devoted to the Wildlife Act (as amended). Several sections of the Act are not in line with the articles of the Birds Directive. For example, Section 22 of the Wildlife Act (enforcement of protection of wild birds, their nests and eggs) contains a range of exemptions which do not comply with Articles 5 (creation of a general system of protection for wild birds) and 9 (derogation from Article 5) of the Birds Directive. Within the Wildlife Act, while there are protections for birds breeding in vegetation not then cultivated between March 1 and August 31, there are several exemptions which do not comply with the strict protection for birds, their eggs and nests and derogations from same. This should be addressed. Hedgerows are essential in maintaining wildlife diversity, providing nesting sites, food and shelter for many bird species, including the Yellowhammer, a Red-listed Species of Conservation Concern in Ireland [2], and Amber-listed species such as Greenfinch and Linnet. In our submission, we advocate that all hedgerows should be protected as high nature value linear features in the Irish landscape. We suggest that Government develop a law that protects hedgerows along the lines of the Protection of Hedgerows Bill 2024. The need for stronger penalties for breaches of wildlife legislation was also something we advocated for in our submission. In rare cases where there are prosecutions over lack of compliance with the Wildlife Act, penalties are minimal, usually taking the form of a minor fine or donation to charity. This sends a message that wildlife crimes are not serious offences. It is vital that penalties for wildlife crimes are proportionate and consistent if they are to serve as a deterrent. Habitat restoration and reinstatement should be a requirement as a penalty if a habitat is removed in breach of the law. BirdWatch Ireland also advocated that the State revive its plans to establish a Wildlife Crime Unit to enforce legislation, a widely held view. We also recommend that a statutory basis for this Wildlife Crime Unit be enshrined in the Wildlife Act. In addition to enforcement, the Unit could also be tasked with inspection, investigation and compliance promotion. These are just some of the many suggestions outlined in our detailed submission. The three main pillars of wildlife legislation in Ireland are The Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended) and The European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011. The legislation review will focus on these main pieces of legislation as well as any significant statutory instruments that have been made under these such as the Poison Baits Regulations, the Birds of Prey Regulations, Wildlife Dealers Regulation, Approved Traps, Snares and Nets Regulations, among others. The project will run for a number of years, and it is anticipated that two new Wildlife Bills and several new Statutory Instruments will be published arising from this work. We look forward to learning more about the outcome of the public consultation and welcome further engagement and the opportunity to discuss our response with the Department in more detail. You can read our submission in full here: Public consultation on Wildlife Legislation - BirdWatch Ireland [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0147 [2] Gilbert, G, Stanbury, A., Lewis, L., (2021) Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland 4: 2020–2026 Irish Birds 43: 1–22 available here https://birdwatchireland.ie/birds-of-conservation-concern-in-ireland/

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