Birding – Page 2 – Enviro-Mentalist

Charming Goldfinches

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed a complete lack of greenfinches in their garden this winter. I know the Big Garden Birdwatch has seen a big drop, but I can’t remember the last time I saw one anywhere, even in the country park.

What I do get a lot of are goldfinches – one of my favourite birds (although they are not as high up as bullfinches and long-tailed tits). We tend to get at least four or five a day in the winter, but we’ve had up to two dozen – quite a lot with only one bird feeder – but I have plans for next year… In the summer we tend to get some adults and fledglings in the garden, the chicks staying with us for some time. You can usually tell they’ve arrived by the cacophony of begging noises coming from outside.

However, whilst watching the birds I started to wonder if it would be possible to tell how many individuals come into the garden. I think the short answer is going to be not a chance, but it did lead me to wonder if there is an easy way to tell males and females apart.

According to many websites, yes you can. The males have more extensive red masks and black feathers around their beaks – the females also have shorter wings and white or grey feathers around their beaks. There is also a difference in the extent of the brown on their wings. Not simple, but doable with some effort. It was then that I came across and excellent blog by a bird ringer who dispelled all of these myths with examples of birds he’d caught and sexed with certainty (and there were plenty even he couldn’t be sure about).

However, there are some differences I have spotted, such as the size of the white spots on the wing tips and, how white they are. I am not sure if this will change with time, along with the black tip to some of the beaks – so it will be worth checking again in the summer when the only birds about will be adults. See the photos below – goldfinch 1 has mainly white spots with a hint of beige, but goldfinch 2 has spots that are much closer to beige than brown.

More work required methinks, ho hum, I will just have to stand at the window watching birds for hours.

However, as these charming birds are not very long lived in the wild it is probably just as well that I can’t differentiate them.

BTW if you wondered, apparently the name charm for a flock of goldfinches comes from the noise they make rather than their appearance.

Is this normal behaviour?

On my way back from my hunt for bees and butterflies I was struck by a loud ruckus coming from a tree. There were about 7 or 8 magpies making their loud clacking noise along with an angry sounding crow.

There was a nest in the tree, although I am not sure who’s and it certainly didn’t look like a magpie’s nest

It took me a while to work out what the fuss was, but as usual it was someone’s precious pet that had set the birds off:

However, this isn’t a rant about too many cats in too small an area, but I wondered if this was normal behaviour for the corvids? The crow was on it’s own and I would have thought that if it was defending a nest it would have been in a pair, as the rooks in a nearby rookery already seem to be showing signs of getting ready to nest. I also can’t remember the last time I saw more than 3 or 4 magpies together, certainly not at this time of year, and, would they really help out a crow?

Maybe they were just not happy about a cat being in their territory. After a while the magpies flew off to a nearby tree, leaving the crow to remain angry alone for a little bit longer before he (or she) gave up and flew away as the cat seemed distinctly unperturbed.

I did note some group mobbing by some crows a few days later, this time against another crow – thus overturning my notions that crows, unlike rooks and jackdaws, tend to be less gregarious and more solitary.

Terns – a book review

Terns by David Cabot and Ian Nesbit is another in the usually excellent Collins New Naturalist series of books. (I say usually excellent only because they are sought after books of which I have only read one other.)

I bought this book specifically to fill a gap that I discovered in my knowledge following my summer of watching the common terns at the country park last year. I became intrigued by the terns, including the black terns that I saw, and wanted to learn more.

The book starts with some general chapters, before moving on to individual chapters about each of the five tern species that breed in Britain and Ireland (I didn’t even know there were five). The first chapters cover the tern family generally, followed by their breeding behaviour and biology, food and foraging techniques, migration and also a history of terns within the British Isles (not good reading – we nearly wiped them out so we could put them on hats). The book finishes with some further information about the terns that are occasionally seen in Britain and Ireland and some notes about conservation projects.

As well as lots of really interesting information presented in a clear and informative way, the book is packed with stunning pictures. My one small criticism is that there is quite a bit of repetition from one chapter to the next, and perhaps the occasional visitors to the UK could be included in the chapter of the tern they are most closely related to. But these are minor criticisms of what was a fantastic book.

So, armed with new knowledge I aim to answer the following questions this summer:

When do the terns first arrive, are they paired before they get here, can I tell the males and females apart by their behaviour in the air, do they defend their territory from when they arrive. Then, hopefully there will be eggs laid, possibly a couple per nest – how long to hatching, if the bad weather comes will they try again, how many of the birds are non-breeding (apparently they often come to scope out a successful feeding ground the year before they are ready to breed), can I tell the different calls apart, how often are the chicks fed, when are they left alone and how long to fledging. Then, there is the question of feeding – what do they feed on and how do they catch it. Finally, how long until they leave and do they all go (adults and chicks) at the same time.

So many questions to be answered – I think I might have a busy summer and perhaps it is as well that it is only the common terns that breed inland in the UK!

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Every year towards the end of January the RSPB ask members of the public in the UK to spend an hour counting the birds in their garden. Every year I have stood at my window for an hour in the morning, often before Mr Enviro-Mentalist gets up, to count my feathered friends. This year I nearly gave it a miss due to laziness as much as anything, nothing to do with cancelling my RSPB membership.

But, this afternoon I thought I would make the effort and watch the birds whilst I pottered about and caught up on a few things on the internet. But, once in front of the window I was hooked and I abandoned all thoughts of ~~doing something else~~ multitasking. I had to watch the birds so I could count them, otherwise I might miss one. It suddenly occurred to me that I couldn’t remember the last time I had spent more than 5 minutes just watching my back garden birds. They are usually just a distraction when making breakfast or washing up – particularly in the winter when it is dark for the majority of the time I’m at home.

So, I stood and waited and watched. Would the usual suspects turn up. Would I see more goldfinches than anything else? Not quite; the house sparrows won 6-5, but it was a close run thing and might be skewed by the fact that I could distinguish between male and female sparrows so didn’t need to see them all at once.

I found myself wondering why there was only one dunnock in the garden – usually there are two or three. Did I usually only see a male chaffinch in the garden in winter, would there normally be a female with him, or did she usually show up later in the year when he was in his spring finery. Were the two robins paired, is that why they tolerated each other? During some of the lulls in garden activity I found myself watching the jackdaws fly over, as well as the wood pigeons (I was hoping these didn’t land in the garden as I’d already had a pair in during the first half hour and they often stop other birds from coming in).

Other questions kept popping up – where were the greenfinches? In fact, when was the last time I saw a greenfinch in the garden? Did I usually ask myself this during the Big Garden Birdwatch? Perhaps I did or was it deja vu? I think maybe they turn up in the spring unless it’s a really cold winter. Why are there so few starlings? Do the goldfinches send scouts out to look for food then zoom in when one calls, or do they tend to have a particular path they fly round? Is it the same goldfinches that squabble, or is it one in particular that starts the fights. Is it an age/hierarchy or gender thing?

I noticed the startling that did appear made use of the pond for bathing, as did the blackbirds, but the sparrows had all discovered a seed tray that had filled with water that they preferred as a bath and for drinking. The robin has now learned to cling on to the fat ball feeder as have the sparrows, and the blackbirds continue to throw compost around the patio.

In the end, all the usual suspects put in an appearance except the blue tits. As I got towards the end of the hour, I debated whether they would show. It was unusual for them not to be in the garden. Sure enough, they turned up, but not until 30 minutes after I finished, so they don’t count for this year’s birdwatch.

With hindsight I realised that I should do this more often, call myself a naturalist? How am I going to check whether the new cats that appear have had a detrimental effect, whether the goldfinches are going up or down in number or the time of year when the greenfinches appear if I don’t keep a regular check? How am I going to answer any of the questions I thought of today? I feel like I’ve been missing out on my back garden entertainment. I might not have a garden that attracts red kites or woodpeckers like some garden birdwatchers do, but once you start looking even the sparrows become worth watching.

On the wing

So I set off last weekend to see how my tern chick was getting along – although secretly I was a little worried that it might still have been small enough to make a tasty meal for the herring gulls that periodically flew over the rafts.

But, worry not. I think the chick was still alive and well, but it was difficult to tell. In fact, I counted 5 juvenile terns – chicks seems an inappropriate term now as they were not at all fluffy and looked very similar to the adults. There were some differences in appearance and behaviour though to help me out. Although they were mainly grey and white, there were some noticeable brown feathers on the wings, the tails seemed a bit short and the beaks had a bit of a yellow-orange look compared to the bright red of their parents. They spent most of their time perched on the edge of the tern rafts – with the occasional foray into flight. However, the landings looked a bit on the clumsy side and I was convinced that one of them was sooner or later going to miss.

When I watch an adult tern they seem almost effortless, with languid wing strokes; in comparison the youngsters seem almost panicky: flap, flap, flap in case they crash into the water. They were also still reliant on their parents for food, with loud shouts every time one came near with fish.

Two days later and it was all change again. Lots of terns were out above the water, resting in the rafts or just perching on the fence posts at the edge of the water. The youngsters were out and about as well. We watched one following or being followed by an adult. It seemed that it was learning how to fish. It wasn’t very successful, but was definitely persistent. At first it was patient, trying the occasional dive and then flying off a little further. After a while though I think it was getting a little more desperate – it would hover above, dive, then come back up and quickly dive back down again. Eventually the parent shadowing it showed how it was done and gave the youngster a fishy reward for its efforts.

Whilst I am really pleased to see that at least 5 chicks have been successfully reared by the terns, watching them made me a little sad as I realised that before long they will be on their way again.

The black-headed gulls are now drifting back to the country park to fill in the gap the terns will leave. Does that mean summer is nearly over?

Big news in the tern report

As seems to be usual for this time of year it was quiet out on the water at the Country Park. The gulls were sitting quietly (for the most part) at the far end, the coots seem to have invaded a couple of the tern rafts and the others were occupied by snoozing or preening terns.

The swans and their six cygnets cruised serenely past at one point, and a youngish great crested grebe chick decked out in his stripy best was, as grebe chicks usually are, loudly demanding lunch from its parent.

However, closer inspection, and a lot of waiting, revealed a lot more happening in the elegant world of the terns (imagine a note of sarcasm when reading the word elegant please). Out on the newer tern raft there seemed to be an almost permanent group of up to five terns sat around the edge. I saw some bringing of fish and worked out that there are at least three different pairs nesting there. Most of the time there was just a bit general screeching when a fish carrying tern arrived. But for some reason, one poor tern carrying what looked like a small perch (well, it had a red tail) was attacked by one of the by-standing terns. Not only did it stop it from landing, it chased it high into the air, followed it round and round the raft and at one point had it in the water and seemed intent on drowning the poor bird. I’m not sure if it was the tern that caused such a reaction or a desire to possess a red-tailed fish, but I didn’t see any other tern suffering from such attention. I also lost the chase and so don’t know what became of the tern or fish.

Another strange piece of behaviour was from a tern that had caught a fine silver fish but which seemed intent on shouting about it. He flew across the water, calling as he went, then I think he went halfway into Daventry and back, calling all the time, and then did another partial circuit of the reservoir. I didn’t see him try to land anywhere or offer the fish. He just seemed to be particularly proud of his catch.

However, I’ve saved the big news until the end of my Tern Report. There has been a hatching out on one of the rafts. I thought the adult was just resting, but every now and then I saw a little brown and black head pop up and wander about. I was beginning to get a little concerned when there had been no attempt to bring in fish by any of the patrolling terns for at least an hour. Then, suddenly both adult and chick started calling bright orange-red beaks open wide, and, sure enough in came an adult to give a fish to the chick before heading off again. We saw him make three deliveries in fairly rapid succession before it disappeared for a longer hunt.

We therefore wondered, do the adults feed themselves first before doing some dedicated chick feeding – the adult didn’t seem to have too much trouble finding fish, so there has to be some explanation for the earlier absence? Answers on a postcard please.

The Tern Report

Forgive me reader for it has been two weeks since I visited my terns. Fortunately not much has changed and the tern rafts are still afloat. At first I was worried as it was very quiet out on the water, but I soon saw a tern patrolling the edge along the dam. When I got the telescope out I discovered that there were a few birds out hunting, but the majority were quietly sat on the tern rafts. I think there must have been around a dozen birds scattered across the rafts.

The only noise seemed to occurred when another tern came near. The rest of the time they were either snoozing, preening or wandering about on the raft, I assumed checking out their territory or displaying to their mate. I did see one exchange of fish, but this was away from the tern raft. I also witnessed tern sex so I am hopeful that some egg laying might be on the cards.

It then occurred to me that I know nothing about terns and have no idea how long eggs would take to hatch so some research was in order. Terns lay up to four eggs in the space of about four days, but continue to mate during this time. Although both sexes will incubate the egg this is apparently sometimes a bit sporadic – this could explain why there was a fair amount of standing about – the terns often stand next to the egg. After the third or fourth egg is laid they then settle down to some more sustained incubation.

I’ll have to wait for somewhere between about 23 and 28 days for the eggs to hatch – so hopefully I will see some changes in behaviour around the middle of July. Then there will be a lot more hunting for fish by the parents for the next month until the young fledge. I’m hopeful that as the terns seem to come back each year (terns can live up to about 25 years) then they must have successfully bred at some point. This time I’ll hopefully be watching.

Nothing to add to the Tern report

I swapped a Sunday morning run for an earlier trip to the country park – the warm sunshine and the remains of a bad cold were the only excuses I needed.

However, it was very quiet; even though I got there about 4 hours after the alleged sunrise (not something I am interested in seeing at this time of year) the birds seemed quite sleepy and subdued. The usual flock of mixed larger gulls were absent, a few turned up about 30 minutes after I got there, and the terns had much of the water to themselves.

There was the usual jostling on some of the rafts (I think one had been abandoned as it was full of coots and not terns) when a tern arrived, some fish changed beaks and some of the terns seemed to be settled in and hunkered down quite low – sitting on eggs? I hope so. I did see one unsuccessful attempt to bring in a fish – after much noise and flapping and trying to hand over the fish to a member of the opposite sex he gave up and ate the fish himself!

As well as the terns, the grebe chick and cygnets were still in evidence and I noted that there were now about 8 greylag geese on the water – I wonder if these will become permanent?

The Tern Report

So, feeling bad about not checking on my terns, I’ve paid two visits this week. First, an evening trip after work on Monday. The majority of the noise and activity was from the tern rafts – other birds such as the swifts were not present in great numbers and the big gulls were still down at the far end of the water.

The birds seemed to be busy setting up territories with quite a bit of squabbling going on when an interloper tried to land – they could land on certain parts of the raft, but not others. Most parts of the raft had only one bird in place – mainly sitting, have a preen or shouting at the other terns. Sitting around the edge of the raft in general seemed to be tolerated, particularly on the larger, higher new raft. Landing, within the confines less so. I did see some digging around by a couple of birds – not sure what they were digging into or if it was some sort of bonding ritual, and I also saw the presentation of a newly caught fish from one tern to another – that seemed much clearer. I left feeling that all was well with my terns and looking forward to watching them next weekend.

However, the weather in between then and now has been terrible -strong winds, thunder, lightning and lots of rain. The results were fairly predictable. Returning today (Sunday) it was noticeable that a number of the older, shallower rafts were under water to some extent again. Whilst they were occupied I think it was just somewhere for the terns to sit and have a rest. I hope that none had laid their eggs in the last week – if they did, will they lay again? I have no idea. The other, more robust rafts, were still occupied although I’m not sure how many birds were there – I saw the tips of some wing feathers peeking over the top but couldn’t be certain that there were more than a couple of birds in residence.

I did get a good view of the terns fishing – they looked beautiful backlit by the sun, at times almost hovering, wings and tail spread, at other times they zoomed past so fast on the gusts of wind they appeared as just a white flash through my telescope. More wet weather is forecast for the coming week – I just hope that the birds sit tight and keep away from those old rafts.

The water is quite quiet apart from the terns at the moment, but I did notice a fairly sizeable chick with one of the great crested grebes – I guess they nested quite early this year. Note to self – find out when great crested grebes usually nest.

No time for terns this week

I didn’t make it to see the terns with my spotting scope this weekend – too busy Saturday, too sunny Sunday. However, I did go past them early on Sunday morning, unfortunately without any additional viewing aids. They were pretty quiet, not many flying about and I think one of the tern rafts had been abandoned as it had mallards sitting around the edge – will check later this week with a bit of luck.

However, I did hear the skylark singing again, despite all the housebuilding that is going on adjacent to the country park and I noticed that the swans had four cygnets – little fluffy grey balls of cute. All else remained quiet on the water, even the swifts and house martins appeared to have gone somewhere else.