Birding – Page 5 – Enviro-Mentalist

Unexpected finds at the Country Park.

A lull in the damp weather that has marked (or maybe that should be marred) recent weekends sent us out for a quick walk. Not being sure how far we were going to go due to a bad back and the gathering grey clouds of doom and rain I was armed only with a small pair of binoculars and my small camera.

Destination – Country Park. We came in through the back entrance, across the meadow and immediately spotted a Jay. As my other half has an aversion to these birds since one threw a branch of an oak tree at his head, we headed in the opposite, and less muddy direction. I immediately spotted a green woodpecker which flew across the path in the distance and perched on the fence. As we got closer it helpfully flew back across the path flashing its bright green rump and flying with that unmistakeably woodpecker undulation. A good start to the walk.

Next, a kingfisher. It darted across the path like a bullet, stocky, but pointy, and flew arrow straight along the stream, a flash of electric blue.

I didn’t think things could get much better really, but they did. We walked through the woods, robins were ticking away (James thinks they are establishing their territory in advance of the european immigrants that often swell the numbers of song birds in the winter) and along the edge of the water. There were a few more birds about than last week, and something caught my eye amongst a group of, as usual, slumbering pochard. There was another bird in there, slightly bigger, with a chestnut head, white sides and a bright red beak. It was a red crested pochard, something I have never seen before. It is a continental bird, and it is thought that those found in the UK are probably descended from escapees. Still, I was excited by this unexpected find.

Further round the Country Park the birds were having a harder time out on the water. There were flocks of gulls trying to remain still in the wind whilst they looked for food in the water, occasionally giving up the struggle, letting go and being swept off before coming back into position and starting again. Occasionally one would dive and catch something, whilst being watched by grebes for anything that got away.

Still no redwings, and no goosander – Winter has not yet arrived.

The frost and snow may not have been good for the flowers, but the damp and grey is certainly not good for the soul.

The sudden drop in temperature last week which heralded some frost and unusually early snow finally finished off the cosmos and marigolds in the front garden. I could bear it no longer and so finally went out and pulled up the annuals. At the moment there is little to put in their place and I like to let things develop at their own pace. However, I have planted a number of tulips and alliums which I hope will appear in the spring when I have to cut the grasses back, and a set of three evergreen grasses which I accidentally bought at the garden centre yesterday when looking for said tulips and alliums.
A few cloves of garlic have also been planted, partly because I would like to grow some and, partly in the hope that the smell will keep some of the cats away.

Following the hard work I decided to treat myself to a walk in the Country Park. Boy, was it quiet. I have seen flocks of birds overhead which look as though they could have been Redwings, and there have been reports of flocks in the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire area, but I didn’t see any in the usual places in the Country Park. (But that could be because the hawthorn berries that they usually feed on are not there, neither is the rest of the hawthorn which appears to have been cleared away for some reason.)
There were very few small birds about, but then all of the bird tables and feeders were empty, so they are probably in nearby gardens where they are better fed.

The reservoir itself was also distinctly quiet. The calls of the Common Tern are now being heard in Africa, and they have not been replaced in any numbers by the usual Winter visitors. A scan of the water with my ‘scope revealed a few groups Wigeon and Pochard as well as about half dozen Shovellers and Tufted Ducks. Great Crested Grebes have now donned their winter plumage and look incredibly white, almost as if they are a different bird.

As so often it was a flock of birds that caught my eye, Lapwings. At one point standing on the shore, wandering about, then suddenly lifted as one into the air. They wheel about, almost landing, then change their mind, they gain altitude and circle around again, and you think they are leaving you. Then, just as suddenly, they are back again, flirting with the shore, making a few passes, before finally settling, seeminly in the same place as before. I was hoping to spot some other birds in with the Lapwings, and I wasn’t disappointed this time. There were two tiny waders, dwarfed by the Wigeon that they nimbly darted in between. They were typically shaped, dumpy birds with long, thin beaks. Both were grey, one with some black below. I had no idea what they are, now I think I know. I have checked them out, I think they were Dunlin, although these are usually coastal birds. I have never seen Dunlin before, yes, I think they were definitely Dunlin. Maybe there is something to warm the heart on a grey Sunday afternoon after all.

Is it too soon to say farewell to Summer?

I have been thinking recently that autumn was well on its way and I might as well say goodbye to Summer. The rose hips, particularly the rosa rugosa are now very red, the rowans are covered in red berries, during the week the sun gets up after I do (although there have been some days where I am think it may have stayed in bed) and the call of the chiffchaff has been replaced by the steady tic tic noise of the robin as I walk to work.

However, maybe I have been a bit hasty in this assumption. Yesterday, the Country Park was teeming with swallows, house martins and terns. OK, so maybe they are massing and preparing to be off, but they are not gone yet. Last week I was surprised to hear a chiffchaff calling as I walked to work, again, he may have been heading south, but it was still a reassuring noise.

Whilst the damp (understatement?) weather has brought some fungi out there are still some flowers at the roadsides and in the hedgerows, primarily achillea and white nettle-like flowers, but they are there nonetheless, providing an additional source of food for the bees which are still about in good-ish numbers whenever there is a letup in the rain.

Also at the Country Park yesterday, amidst the blackbirds and thrushes feeding on the glistening black elderberries were a pair of blackcaps – more Summer warblers that are still about. So, maybe the last observation doesn’t count, I have seen an increasing number of blackcaps overwintering around here, but they are still a bird that I primarily associate with Summer, and for now I am sticking with that thought!

Where to look?

I decided to pull on my waterproofs and go for a wander to the Country Park today. It has been a while since I have done much birdwatching, and, despite the rain, I felt the need to get out and about. I wasn’t expecting there to be much there, the Summer visitors will soon be going (if they haven’t already) and the Winter migrants are still in Summer mode.

For once it wasn’t windy, so I set up my ‘scope on the dam. The number of birds was quite impressive (it can often be pretty barren for such a large piece of water). To start with there were the terns, still patrolling up and down looking for fishing opportunities. This time, they were joined by some of the younger family members, constantly calling to each other, although it could be described more accurately as squawking. Watching them through the ‘scope, whilst not impossible (and not absolutely necessary as they do hunt close to the water’s edge) was difficult as the scoured the water, diving up and down.

More difficult to follow were the house martins and swallows, these careened around like crazies, swooping between the gulls that were bobbing about on the water. I sometimes thought they might get walloped by some of the larger gulls as they stretched out their wings, but I didn’t notice any casualties. From time to time a flock of black headed gulls would come streaming in, purposefully looking for their chosen place to land. I assume that they come here quite often, there was no circling round, deciding whether or not to land, they just headed in a line for the shore.
This was in marked contrast to the lapwing flocks that flew in. They wheel and circle around, making their characteristic peewit call, some dropping to land as they glide in, others turning away at the last minute as if they have changed their mind and have seen something they don’t like, only to do the same again a few seconds later, the flock gradually getting smaller until they have all put down at the edge of the water, or in the shallow margins.

Later in the year there may be some golden plovers in with the lapwing, they are often spooked when the lapwing go up in a great mass, but the plovers stand out. They catch the light (assuming there is some sun) and fly more purposefully than the lolloping flight of the lapwing, looking more like the flocks of waders that are often shown in strange formations on programmes such as Autumnwatch. At the moment there is a juvenile ruff (apparently) at the Country Park. I saw a bird that could have been the aforementioned wader, brown, wader shaped, beak probing the ground, a bit smaller than a lapwing, so I am going to assume that it was as described by more experienced (and fanatical birdwatchers than myself). This is a first ruff (although it was ruffless) for me.

One bird that I can recognise instantly however, which I have seen there only once before, was a little egret. I wasn’t expecting anything as exciting as this, the last time I saw one was at the end of October a couple of years ago, but in more or less the same place. I didn’t get a great view as it was across the water from me, but my scope did as good a job as possible, allowing me to follow it as it waded, fished and then rested, before going hunting again. It was near to a grey heron, so I got a very good impression of the difference in size of these two related birds. I watched it for some time, then felt that maybe I should watch the terns more, as they will be leaving soon, but then I was drawn back to the egret (it was, after all, only the third one I had seen). But was I missing anything else, there was a common sandpiper, but I have seen one of these and a lot of its green friends at Brandon Marsh, there was the ruff, but I couldn’t get too excited about a brown bird that I couldn’t have personally identified. No, I have to say, the egret was the highlight for me, its glowing white plumage certainly brightened the miserable, dull day.

Other Wildlife News

I saw a couple of interesting articles on the internet this morning that are almost related to each other.

As part of a scheme to repopulate Scotland with some of its native fauna (following on from the reintroduction of beavers) a number of White Tailed Sea Eagle chicks have been released in the last few years in the east of Scotland. These are chicks that have been brought over from Norway and kept in aviaries in the Fife area prior to being released. The next batch of chicks is going to be tagged in order to check their progress and look at their movements. More information about this bird can be found in the article on the RSPB website.

At the other end of the scale British Waterways has released a list of the twelve non-native species most likely to harm our native river dwelling wildlife. Not surprisingly the list includes the much publicised mink and Signal Crayfish, but also Red-Eared Terrapin (apparently released following the ninja turtles craze), a number of plants such as Japanese Knotweed and Zebra Mussels, the latter already causing problems in the rivers and lakes of, amongst others, Spain and Canada. The problem common with most of these invaders is that they tend to grow bigger, faster and are more aggressive than our peaceful native species.

Nature in the rain.

Daventry Country Park Looking Towards Borough Hill

It is meant to be high Summer, but it feels more like autumn; the light is not exactly brilliant (not sure a pun was intended), the monotonous call of the chiffchaff has been replaced by the tic of the robin, the rose hips and hawthorn berries are starting to turn red and, there is a lot of rain about. Still, this is no reason to stay indoors when all seems dull outside.

I took my new, lightweight pair of binoculars for a test drive at the Country Park today. I bought them a few weeks ago, but had so far not had any reason to use them. As expected the Country Park was wonderfully quiet on the visitor front, but still with plenty to catch one’s attention. The water was alive with gulls and geese, with a huge group of swans at the far end. Darting over the water wheeling and turning, almost touching the water and pulling away at what seemed to be after the last moment were the swallows and house martins reminding me that it was still Summer. The terns were also very much in evidence, gliding on the wind that is a permanent feature of Daventry or sitting on the purpose built raft.

In places there were splashes of colour, such as these yellow flowers, glowing, despite the rain, looking brighter when viewed against the dark rocks and the black-looking water. I hadn’t noticed these the first time I walked past them, I was too intent looking at the swooping swallows and house martins. I often find that reversing the direction in which I am walking gives a completely different view and outlook, leading to a whole different visual experience.

The highlight of my walk was a treecreeper that was most obliging, twining its way around the lowest branch of a large oak tree, just by the main path. These are exquisite birds, if you are lucky enough to get a good view, preferably through a good pair of binoculars, you will be startled by the delicate colouring, the many shades of brown that add up to make a beautiful little brown and white bird. Listen for the quiet squeaking and look at the trunk and branches to see a little bird spiralling around probing the cracks and fissures in the bark with its curved beak, looking for insects.

So, in conclusion, my new pair of binoculars are excellent, the weather may be dull and damp, but the wildlife is still out there, waiting to be seen. After all, if the birds stayed at home every time it rained they would soon starve to death, and the trees and flowers can’t up sticks (another unintended pun – sorry!) and look for shelter.

Brandon Marsh

On the way back from Ryton I called in to Brandon Marsh nature reserve to see if there were any insects or flowers about that would present a photo opportunity (for that read: I had a camera and no binoculars or scope with me).

I wasn’t expecting much in the way of birdlife, Brandon is often an all or nothing place but I was hopeful of some damselflies. Â What was there? Â Well, not much, one elusive dragonfly and some comma and white butterflies amongst the brambles with nothing overly exciting from a botanical point of view. Â From an ornithological point of view there seemed to be more birds about than normal at this time of year when many of the areas are completely empty. Â The highlight were green sandpipers and oystercatchers (the latter easy to recognise even without optical gear). Â

I became more hopeful when I reached the Carlton hide which is usually deserted, but on Saturday was filled with birdwatchers and photographers. Â However, I think they were there in the hope of seeing and photographing a kingfisher or hobby rather than because of something that was actually there. Â The massed ranks were satisfying themselves with shooting (in a photographic sense) a heron that seemed to be posing for them. Â Not having the patience to wait for a bird that may or may not turn up and not having a gigantic lens requiring a sherpa to help move it I wandered off to look for other things.

Â I had to satisfy myself with this photo of a different heron.

Garden Birds

I spent a considerable amount of time today cleaning the bird feeders. This is my own fault as it is a task I have neglected for some time, but I have given the birds the last of the live mealworms, so it seemed a good time to clean them all out.

I have restocked the ground feeder with sunflower hearts, and, to soften the blow added some dried mealworms (as well as some sawfly larvae I found on the gooseberry, har di har). The sparrows ate the mealworms (and, I hope, the little green devil larvae), but are now turning their nose up at the sunflower hearts.

The main feeder though has been a site of much feathery activity, with goldfinches, a robin, chaffinches and a bullfinch all visiting this afternoon. Apart, that is, from when I had my camera with me trying to take their pictures.

These are the best I managed whilst hiding in the washing that I was drying in an environmentally friendly way (which meant it doubled as a bird hide).

The bullfinch (of which I did not get a picture this time) has become a regular visitor this month, and even showed up with a lady bullfinch the other day, I am hoping they may decide to stay.

Early(ish) Morning Birdwatching.

A great morning’s birdwatching today – a large number of sparrows, young and adults, blackbirds a-plenty, chaffinches, greenfinches, bickering goldfinches, great tits, blue tits, a dunnock – the only thing missing was a robin and Walter the pigeon. Yes, these were all in my garden whilst I had my breakfast – I was so interested in the behaviour of the different birds, particularly the three young goldfinches, that I was nearly late for work (never mind).

One of the goldfinches was quite shy and was easily pushed out of the way, another sat inside the ground feeder quietly eating away at the sunflower hearts in there, ignoring the raucous sparrows, and the third, is the most aggressive of the lot, chased away nearly all the other birds that tried to evict him from the feeder. Most that is, apart from a male bullfinch, one of the highlights of the morning, looking beautiful against a rare blue sky, one of the prettiest birds, and one that hasn’t visited the garden for a couple of years.

Just in case anyone is wondering why I am constantly going on about the birds, firstly they really bring the garden to life, and, secondly, it stops me getting morose about all of the slug damage going down (they are picking on my beans and salad crops now that they have finished off the courgette, cosmos and sunflowers).

Youngsters!

There were more new visitors to the garden today. I was alerted to the fact by the huge amount of noise coming from outside whilst I was making my breakfast. Sure enough, a nest of great tits must have recently fledged and were visiting the garden. I was a little concerned because the adult was feeding them sunflower hearts, although it did seem to be breaking it down a little. So, out I went into the rain to pop some more mealworms out, and, after watching me for a bit, off they flew, and didn’t come back. I waited, I shooed away some sparrows (who seem to have taken a leaf out of the starlings’ book), they came back with many a noisy pathetic-looking chick to show me why they were taking all of the mealworms, but the great tits stayed away.

They were back by the time I got back from work this evening, and the adult, when the juvenile goldfinch would let him, was feeding them sunflower seeds again (even though I hadn’t learnt any lessons and tried the mealworms again).