New Year’s Day, 2014: Shepherd’s Warning

Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight,

Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning

This was not my most enjoyable new year’s day (NYD) bird watch. December 2013 had been wet and windy, with parts of southern Britain recording nearly twice the average rainfall and one of the stormiest months on record. Early in the month strong winds and high tides resulted in a storm surge causing extensive damage along the east coast. Further storms hit in the run up to Christmas and again between Christmas and new year leading to widespread flooding in many parts of the country with the south and south-west being particularly badly affected. Fortunately, Bedfordshire escaped the worst of the weather, although rivers were running high, the ground was saturated and there was a lot of standing water in the fields. More than anything else the inclement weather probably accounted for the all time low score of only 102 species in the Bedfordshire Bird Club’s Christmas Bird Hunt. The weather forecast for NYD was for more of the same. This did not bode well.

Each NYD I try to record as many species as possible. I limit myself to an area within 10km of home, currently the east Bedfordshire village of Henlow, to both reduce travelling time and maximise birding time. This area stretches from the chalk downland of the Chilterns, rising to 183 m at Telegraph Hill, in the south across the flood plain of the River Ivel and its tributary the Hiz to the greensand ridge in the north. The A6 trunk road between Luton and Bedford forms the western boundary while the eastern border is a line on the map passing through the village of Ashwell. Three Hertfordhsire towns, Baldock, Letchworth and Hitchin, occupy the south-eastern quadrant while the smaller towns of Stotfold and Biggleswade lie on the route of the A1 which runs north-south across the area. The larger towns of Luton and Bedford lie outside this area, to the SW and NW respectively.

New Year's Day Sunrise, Poppy Hill

It was still dark when I first ventured out at 05:45 on 1 January 2014, but mild with a cool southerly breeze. Stars twinkled between the clouds as a Robin singing under the village street lights became the first bird of the new year, as has been the case for each of the last three years. Away from the lights it was still too dark for much to be moving. A harsh croak revealed the presence of a Heron and a little later a Carrion Crow cawed. No owls were heard nor seen and nothing further was recorded until I approached Henlow Bridge fishing lakes when Moorhen, Coot and Mallard were heard calling. Arlesey railway station was brightly lit prompting Blackbird to sing as well as another Robin. Wood Pigeons crashed from lakeside trees while in the poplar plantation north of the River Hiz, Jackdaws and Carrion Crows were beginning to stir from their roost. Despite the proximity of the Poppy Hill rookery, no Rooks were heard. Canada Geese, heard honking were my tenth species of the day (at 06:39) and then, at last, a Tawny Owl hooted from the woods behind the Grange, the only owl I recorded all day. By 07:04 the sky was beginning to lighten in the east, the rising sun tinging the clouds with red. Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning.

More birds were becoming active, but despite the lightening sky, most were still being heard rather than seen. The flight calls of Redwing and Skylark were joined by the chuntering of Grey Partridges from the fields, raucous calls of Rooks from the rookery woods and the mewing calls of two Buzzards from the riverside trees.  The whistled call of a Kingfisher came from beside the River Ivel, which after the recent storms and heavy rains, was running fast and deep and the churring call of Wren was heard nearby. The slowly improving light was accompanied by a brief shower of rain and two Blackbirds in silhouette were the first birds seen on NYD. The conifer plantation on the banks of the Ivel can be good for flocks of the smaller species but this early on NYD only a singing Goldcrest was found and I could not rustle up a Coal Tit. A pair of Stock Doves flying out of the woods were my 20^th species (at 07:50), followed shortly after by the yaffle of a Green Woodpecker and flyover Meadow Pipits and Siskins. A winter feature of my regular walks round my patch is the flight of Black-headed Gulls following the R.Ivel south; on NYD they were first noted at 08:00, accompanied by a lone Cormorant. In fields east of the Poppy Hill fishing lakes stood a gaggle of six Greylag Geese. The number of waterfowl on the lakes has been slowly dwindling since the highs of autumn (80+ Tufted Duck with a supporting cast of Garganey, Scaup and other water birds). On NYD the Tufted Duck flock remained (18 males and 14 females) accompanied by 1 female Gadwall, three Coots, two drake Mallards and a family Mute Swans. While counting the ducks, a Mistle Thrush sang from the trees beside the lake, both Great Tit and Chaffinch were also heard and several Common Gulls (30^th species at 08:25) flew south among the Black-headed Gull flocks.

The wind was picking up from the south and cloud cover increasing as I headed across the open fields where a flock of Magpies gathered in a remnant hedgerow and a Grey Partridge flushed, flying low over the fields on whirring wings. Smaller species, though, were proving harder to find in the deteriorating weather. Over the autumn, the market garden strips have hosted numerous birds feeding on the weedy edges including flocks of Linnet, Skylark and Meadow Pipit. On NYD, a Pied Wagtail flew over and a couple of Dunnock chased along the edge but I could only find a single Linnet although a Corn Bunting gave itself away by singing. The horse paddocks beside the railway attracted a mixed flock of c.300 Starlings, c.30 Fieldfare and a few Redwings while a Sparrowhawk circled over the woods in the Ivel Valley, but it was not until I arrived at the north end of the Poppy Hill sewage treatment works, protected from the southerly wind by the surrounding woods, that I started to pick up some of the smaller species. A charm of Goldfinches fed on some thistle heads, a couple of Song Thrushes flew from the field edge into the woods and a startled Rabbit, my first mammal of the day bolted for cover. In the lee of the woods a mixed tit-flock worked its way along a hedgerow and included Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest and at least one Chiffchaff while a male Bullfinch called from some scrub inside the works compound. A Pheasant called from the woods and as the rain began to fall (maybe I should have listened to that shepherd) a Great Spotted Woodpecker popped into a hole in the trunk of an oak. The sewage settling tanks and surrounding lawns were attracting a good numbers of birds including at least 50 Pied Wagtails, c.20 Meadow Pipits, several Reed Buntings (50^th species at 10:01) and one Grey Wagtail. And then it began to rain in earnest. Heading home along the banks of the R.Ivel, I flushed a Woodcock for my last species of the morning. I had scored well on my local patch but had missed some, most notably Coal Tit and Yellow Hammer.

By 10:35 I was back home, warming up, drying out and tucking into a bacon and egg roll (thank you Mrs Hicks!). Collared Dove, Greenfinch and House Sparrow (55^th species at 11:10) were seen in the garden.

Flooded meadows, Langford Mill

If anything it was raining even heavier when I headed out (that shepherd knew what he was talking about). First stop was Stockbridge Farm, where a Little Egret was feeding in the muddy pool in the very muddy field. In the driving rain I forgot to check the rooves of the barns and so missed Feral Pigeon and did not note another all day. From there it was onto Langford Mill. The meadows immediately west of the mill were flooded and looked very promising. I quickly found Lapwing and Snipe among numerous ducks and geese and at one time had four species of thrush, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare in the same field of view, feeding at the base of a hedge. A walk through the flooded common produced more Snipe and a single Jack Snipe (it wasn't there when I had tried the same trick for the Christmas Bird Hunt). Returning to the car, I decided to have another look at the flooded meadows and there was a Water Rail (60^th species at 12:09) feeding in the open, a nice bonus.

Next stop was Broom Gravel Pits. The Gypsy Lane East complex was mostly flooded and will become one lake should the rain continue. It was disappointingly almost devoid of birds with the only waterbirds being a few Mute Swans, Coot and a male Shoveler, but no gulls or waders. There were more birds on the deeper Gypsy Lane West lake including my first Pochard and Great Crested Grebes of the day. A very wet circumnavigation of Peacock’s lake added Wigeon, Little Grebe and eventually a pair of Teal but again no gulls or waders. A screeching Jay was found in the Moat House woods and a small flock of Lesser Redpolls in the silver birches alongside Gypsy Lane rounded off my visit to Broom.

Nothing new was found at Swiss Gardens where they are dredging the lake, although a strange crow-like call attracted my attention. It turned out to be a Harris Hawk, perched in a lakeside tree and, presumably an escapee from the nearby Bird of Prey Centre. The dredgings from the lake are being spread over fields behind the cricket ground and in the wet conditions have the appearance of estuarine mud flats, although only attracting a flock of c.30 Lapwing on NYD. A potter along Old Rowney Lane was not productive, although my only Kestrel of the day was seen back near Old Warden. By now the light was beginning to fail, so a quick stop at Warden Warren got me the hoped for Coal Tit (70^th species at 15:50) but neither Treecreeper nor Nuthatch. I did hear a call that was tantalisingly crossbill-like, but I only heard it the once and could not locate any birds.

I finished the day at Broom Quarry South where a covey of partridges included two Greys and six Red-legs (71^st species at 16:04) but again there were no gulls, nor any Golden Plover. By the time I got home it was dark and raining even more heavily.

My New Year’s Day total was 71 species (five lower than last year), 52 of which had been recorded on my home patch. All were species that I have previously recorded on NYD birdwatches. I had visited 10 sites but driven only 24 miles. There were nine species that I had hoped to find but which had eluded me: Red Kite, Golden Plover, Green Sandpiper, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Little Owl, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Yellow Hammer. It is the first time I have not recorded Yellow Hammer on NYD since moving to Henlow.  

Despite the weather and the shepherd’s warning, it had been a good day in the field.  

Originally published in The Hobby 132:7-9

Bedfordshire Bird Club Field Trip: 8 December 2013

Since moving to Henlow my local patch has been an area 2km x 1km around Henlow Grange, stretching from the A507 in the south to Langford in the north, lying to the west of the East Coast main line and either side of the River Ivel. The patch comprises a variety of habitats including worked-out gravel, now fishing lakes, alongside the River Ivel and its tributary the River Hiz; some woodland and parkland around the Grange plus farmland, mainly arable, between the rivers and the railway but including some paddocks for horse, sheep and cattle. This mix of habitats attracts a wide range of species and in eleven years I have noted about 120 species. In 2013, I participated in the Patchwork Challenge (http://patchworkchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/) and recorded 111 species for my patch.

On 8 December 2013, the Bedfordshire Bird Club (BBC) came visiting. Starting from Henlow Bridge Fishing Lakes, where we had been given permission to park, my plan was to walk round the Lakes, then north past Henlow Grange following the footpath over the River Ivel towards Langford, checking out the Poppy Hill gravel pits before doing a circuit of the fields to the east and then heading back the way we had come (just about all in tetrad TL13Z for atlassers). Shortly after 08:30 thirteen BBC members had gathered.

The walk got off to a good start with a Sparrowhawk flying fast and low through the car park scattering a small flock of Goldfinches. The fishing lakes were sadly devoid of waterfowl save for a few Mallards and Moorhens but a male Great Spotted Woodpecker landed in a lakeside tree and posed in full view. Those at the back of the party added a female Bullfinch as we approached the Grange while those at the front saw a Black Squirrel (probably one-in-three of the local squirrel population are this black form).  

The bridge over the River Ivel has been a reliable site for Kingfisher and we were not disappointed, one landing just downstream and sitting long enough for a scope to be  set up and good views had by all. A new footpath/cycle track, replacing the previous narrow footpath, has only recently been completed along the east side of Poppy Hill fishing lakes. From the track we viewed the pits, the duck flock was much reduced from the numbers in the autumn, but included 32 Tufted Duck, two Pochards and a female Gadwall and still represented a good haul for these lakes. A Mute Swan family of two adults and two immatures were on the northernmost pit.  

Up until this point we had been largely sheltered from the south-westerly wind, somewhat abated from the gale force winds of the previous week but still quite brisk. Heading east across the fields we were more exposed to the wind and this probably contributed to the small numbers of bird noted. We did find a small flock of Linnets and Meadow Pipits plus, the highlight for many, a couple of Corn Buntings sang from the overhead wires.

We recorded 44 species (full list below) on our walk which is about average for this time of year.

Special thanks to Dave Curson of Henlow Bridge Fishing Lakes for allowing us to use their car park.

Species List:

Cormorant, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Kestrel, Coot, Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Starling, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Rook, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Bullfinch, Corn Bunting.

Originally published in The Hobby 132:3-4

Redwing Passage: 10 October 2013

I saw my first Redwing Turdus iliacus of the autumn on 7 October when 20 flew west over Henlow. The following few days were mild, at times warm, sunny, clear and calm; no further Redwings were seen or heard. Then the weather changed overnight and the Indian summer gave way to a cold blast from the north.

A few Redwings were noted flying over the school as I headed out on my usual walk around the fields north and east of Henlow Grange. In contrast to previous days, there was much less bird activity in the cold, blowy conditions and I had only a few Blackbirds and a couple of Mistle Thrush sightings to add to the BTO Winter Thrush Survey. Skylarks were more in evidence than recently with each stubble field seeming to hold a small flock, some numbering more than 40 birds but no Redwings were noted east of the River Ivel.

As I returned to Henlow, a flock of 103 Redwing flew over, heading west. At the time I thought they had probably come out of a roost in trees alongside the river. Continuing homewards along the drive to Henlow Grange more and more flocks of Redwing, each flock numbering between 50 and 150 birds, flew over, all heading west. In the twenty minutes it took me to walk home (from 09:00 – 09:20) more than 2000 must have passed by, all heading west at about tree top height.

Since December 2011, I have worked from home, converting one of the bedrooms into an office. This was quickly dubbed the Little Back Bedroom Bird Observatory by Jenny, my wife, who reckoned I spent more time looking out of the window than at the computer screen. On 10 October, she would have been right! By the time I had got a cup of coffee and checked my emails it was 09:50 and flocks of Redwings were still going over.

In the next hour (09:50 – 10:50), I counted 42 flocks of Redwings totalling 1447 birds flying west, roughly along the line of Coach Road, Henlow, at or just above roof top height. There were none high in the clear sky when I scanned with binoculars. Redwings were not constantly in view, flocks seemed to come through in pulses with two or three flocks in a minute followed by a lull. The longest period without any Redwings was 4-minutes. Flock size ranged from one singleton up to c.150 with most between 10 and 40 birds and an average flock size of 34 birds.

After a 30 minute break, I had to do some work, I returned to counting at 11:20 by which time the Redwing passage was much lighter. In the hour to 12:20 I only counted 9 flocks totalling c.200 birds. These seemed to track a bit further north-west than the earlier birds, flying across the Pyghtles rather than along the line of Coach Road. By 12:45 the movement seemed to have petered out and I recorded no further flocks of Redwing during the rest of the day.

Few other species seemed to be involved in the movement. Two flocks of Skylarks were noted, one passing directly over our garden at window height. The local finch flock, Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Chaffinches would often fly up and join a passing flock of Redwings, so it was difficult to determine if any finches noted were part of the passage.

Given the restricted view from my window, overlooking the backs of the houses along Coach Road and between the houses to the Pyghtles playing fields beyond, some of flocks passing over would only have been partially counted; anything flying directly over our house or to the south would have been missed. So, although these figures are undoubtedly underestimates for the number of Redwings moving over Henlow, they do give a snapshot of one of the most exciting migration movements I have ever witnessed.

And then came news from the vismiggers at the Pinnacle, Sandy where they counted 33082 Redwings in just under 5-hours watching!

Originally published in The Hobby 130:6

A Kick in the Rookeries!

Going back to my earliest notebooks, I have always kept a record of rookeries. Up to the end of 2012, I had recorded 96 rookeries in Bedfordshire since moving to the county in 2002. Most had been recorded on journeys around the county by car, so most are visible from a road. I have rarely visited the south-west or north of the county so had few rookeries from those areas. The national survey in 1975 found 201 rookeries in Bedfordshire (Trodd & Kramer 1991) while in fieldwork for the latest atlas (2007-2011) Rooks were confirmed breeding in 179 tetrads, meaning a minimum of 179 rookeries in the county. Several tetrads hold more than one rookery, e.g. TL04B, Stewartby Lake (North) and TL03G, Apsley End Shillington.

 

Prompted by an email on HOSList, the Hampshire equivalent of the BedsBirds email group, I created a google.maps map, plotting the approximate position of all Bedfordshire rookeries that were known to me, including those no longer in use. I included the following extra pieces of information: Ordnance Survey six-figure map reference, year first recorded, tree species, in which nests were built, and 2013 nest count.

 

Many rookeries occupy traditional sites, but for most Bedfordshire rookeries the year first recorded is since 2002 (the year I moved to the county) although many have, undoubtedly, been existence longer than that, e.g. a rookery at Reynold (for which I do not have a map reference, so it is not, yet, included on the google.map ) has been occupied for at least 40 years (Bedfordshire Bird Report 2007).

 

In 1975 48% of rookeries in Bedfordshire were in Elm trees but following the loss of these trees to Dutch Elm Disease rooks nested predominantly in oak, ash, sycamore, beech and horse chestnut (Trodd and Kramer 1991). Given the variety of diseases that seem to be afflicting various trees e.g. acute oak decline disease, poplar scab and ash tree die back, it seemed an opportune time to determine which trees are used by Rooks for their rookeries. However, I have found it more difficult to identify trees in their ‘winter plumage’ than I had anticipated and so will try and re-visit at least some of the rookeries once the trees are in leaf.

 

I published the google.map via the BedsBirds email group and subsequently, with the help of other BedsBirders have added another 30 or so rookeries. As of 09/04/2013, the locations of 128 rookeries have been mapped. Counts for all bar 11 of these have been received for this year, giving a total, so far,  of 2899 nests. Seven rookeries used in previous years seem to be unused this year. Rookeries have been recorded in 99 tetrads suggesting there are at least 80 rookeries so far unmapped. A copy of the map, as of 09/04/2013, is shown. The red pins are rookeries no longer in use.  The up-to-date version can be viewed at:

 

http://tinyurl.com/BedsRookeries2013

 

Bedfordshire Bird Reports since 1995 mention a further 28 rookeries for which I do not have an exact location, some of which may be duplicates for known rookeries.

If you would like to help identifying the location of the above rookeries, supplying details of new rookeries or adding extra details to rookeries on the map, please email me or BedsBirds.

 

Thanks to Dave Anderson, Bob Hook, Judith Knight, Dave Kramer, Darren Oakley-Martin for already supplying additional information and special thanks to Jenny Hicks for joining me on rookery patrols.

 

First published in The Hobby 127: 9 - 11

Pied Wagtail Feeding in a Silver Birch Tree

In our front garden we have a weeping silver birch Betula pendula, which stands about 4m tall. The crown of the tree is a matted tangle of branches and twigs, which by early November was mostly devoid of leaves while the ‘weeping’ branches still retained many.

Remembrance Sunday 2012 was a fine autumnal day, starting frosty with clear blue skies and almost no wind. At 09:10, by which time the frost had mostly melted, I noticed a winter plumaged Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba yarrellii walking about on the crown of the silver birch. It stopped often to peck at branches and more frequently at the remaining leaves, sometimes pecking five or six times at a single leaf. BWP categorises this type of foraging as ‘picking’ (Cramp 1988). The Pied Wagtail foraged in the tree for more than five minutes, only leaving when two juveniles flew over, calling. The adult bird followed them to a nearby flat roof where they stood, each calling. After a brief while the juveniles flew off and the adult returned to the crown of the silver birch and resumed foraging. At this point I went to get a camera, but when I returned the Pied Wagtail had disappeared. Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus and Great Tits Parus major were present in the silver birch at the same time, moving through and apparently feeding from the ‘weeping’ branches.

I was away from home on 12-14 November 2012. Subsequently, a Pied Wagtail was noted foraging in the crown of the silver birch on two further occasions. On 15 November, it was first observed, already in the tree, at 13:30 and stayed for about 30 minutes. During this time it briefly flew off and returned three times. Once it was accompanied by a second, winter-plumaged Pied Wagtail but this bird did not stay long and did not forage. On 17 November it was first observed at 11:57, again already in the tree and it remained until 12:24 when it was disturbed by a car passing by. For six minutes, between 12:03 and 12:09, it perched on a branch at the top of the tree. During this time it was mostly still, not even wagging its tail. For the remainder it was actively foraging on the crown of the silver birch.

Photographs were taken of the wagtail on both 15 and 17 November. Comparison of the images suggests it is the same bird foraging on the crown of the silver birch.

Although less than 10m from where I was watching with 10x binoculars, I could not see what the Pied Wagtails were feeding on. Nor could I find any obvious prey items on closer inspection of the leaves.

I had previously recorded both Pied Wagtails and Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava flavissima perching in the silver birch but this is the first time I have noticed foraging activity. Various other species have been recorded foraging in the tree, e.g. Blue Tit, Great Tit and Goldcrest Regulus regulus but these were usually on the ‘weeping’ branches. Starlings Sturnus vulgaris are the only other species noted foraging on the crown, when in the summer months, they feed on aphids.

BWP records Pied Wagtails foraging on the ground, floating vegetation and on the backs of pigs but does not record them foraging in trees (Cramp 1988).

Cramp, S. (ed.). 1988. The Birds of the Western Palaearctic. Vol 5.

Originally published in The Hobby 126: 17-18

Clerical Oversight and Elusive Ton

On 26 September 2012 I noted a lone Lapwing flying north over the fields near Poppy Hill Farm. I did not realise at the time that this was the first I had seen on my local patch this year and did not add it to my Self Found Year List (SFYL).

When the Self Found Year List (SFYL) challenge was made in March 2012 I decided I would concentrate on my local patch of Henlow Grange as I knew I did not have the time nor, possibly more importantly, the energy to compete with the big boys. By the time the challenge was issued, I had already recorded 70 species, of which 52 species had been found on New Year’s Day. I quietly set myself the target of 100 species, a target I hoped to reach by the end of the spring migration.

Henlow Grange is in east Bedfordshire, immediately east of Henlow village. My local patch includes the area around the Grange, stretching from the A507 in the south to Langford village in the north. The East Coast Main Line forms the eastern boundary while Henlow village and the River Ivel are on the western edge.. This area falls in atlas tetrad TL13Z and comprises two 1km squares TL1838 and TL1839. The River Ivel and its tributary the Hiz flow from south to north with disused gravel pits, now converted to fishing lakes, alongside. Sadly, none seem particularly attractive to waterfowl. There is some woodland in the grounds of Henlow Grange, not open to the public, and along the banks of the river including small conifer and poplar plantations. The fields east of the river are mostly arable, growing oil seed rape, wheat and barley with some areas of set aside and a few remnant hedges. This area supports a reasonable population of farmland species, including Corn Buntings, Yellow Hammers, Linnets and Yellow Wagtails.  Alongside the railway are some horse paddocks with short cropped grass which are favoured by thrushes and Starlings during the winter months and Wheatears and wagtails on passage. It is possible to walk a loop round Henlow Bridge Lakes in the south and another loop round the fields in the north, but there is only the one bridge over the River Ivel. I usually walk either the southern loop or the northern loop, preferring the latter as there is less disturbance from the traffic noise generated by the A507.

NERVOUS NINETIES: By early May I had recorded 90 species including most of the common summer migrants and was looking forward to notching the elusive ton. Another five species, Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Cuckoo, Sedge Warbler and Hobby were added in mid-May, all summer migrants that had been recorded elsewhere in the county up to 10-days earlier. A pair of Shelduck flying over and a single Spotted Flycatcher in the lime tree avenue leading to the Grange were the only additions in June. And then nothing new until the end of September. I tried hard to turn fly over gulls into the Yellow-legged variety but lacked the conviction to make a confident id. I scoured the remaining hedgerows hoping to turn up a migrating Redstart but to no avail. A pair of Ravens, cronking as they flew west took the tally to 98 or so I thought.   

Only when extracting data from BirdTrack to write an article titled ‘Nervous Nineties’ did I realise that the lone Lapwing had not been includied in my local patch total. This clerical oversight meant that the adult Mediterranean Gull seen on 25 October, which I originally thought was number 99 became number 100. Not a bad way to bring up the ton!

Highlights of the hundred have been the Woodcock flushed from beside the track on a snowy morning; the male Merlin perched on the wires, which I originally thought was a Mistle Thrush until I lifted my binoculars (my excuse is my glasses were misted with the rain); the spring passage of Wheatears on the horse paddocks with associated Whinchats and the pair of Kingfishers nesting along the River Ivel.

There are a few species recorded in previous years that I have yet to see this year, so hopefully still a few more for the list.

Sparrows Eat Beetroot

Only during the breeding season do House Sparrows Passer domesticus visit our Henlow garden in numbers. At this time of year family parties appear, usually comprising one adult, either male or female, and their brood. This year the first family, a female with three young was first noted on 14 June 2012, a couple of weeks later than in previous years. Subsequently, numbers have risen to a maximum of three males, three females and 12 young, presumed to be three broods of four chicks. At first the fledglings hide in the shrubbery only noisily appearing with wings quivering when the parent approaches with food, but perch more in the open as they become bolder.

On 14 June 2012 a female House Sparrow flew to our vegetable patch rather than the seed feeders and pecked at the leaves of beetroot. I assumed she had been picking an insect from the leaf. That evening while watering the garden, I checked the beetroot. I could find no insects on any of the beetroot leaves but small pieces had been torn from the leaves on one plant. The following day, I watched more carefully, and a female House Sparrow was seen to nip out pieces of beetroot leaf and, apparently eat them. Over the following four days, the leaves were stripped from this beetroot plant. The female House Sparrow fed at least one of the fledglings immediately after nipping out a piece of leaf and later the young birds were also seen feeding on the beetroot leaves. I could not tell if only one female and brood were involved. No males were recorded feeding on the beetroot leaves. Only one plant in the row of beetroots was attacked this severely although the leaves of other plants had been nibbled.

BWP (Cramp & Perrins 1994) records that House Sparrow regularly attack flowers and green leaves, but is not certain these are eaten.

Cramp, S & C.M.Perrins (eds) (1994). The Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol VIII.

 

Originally published in The Hobby 124: 11

SPRING EQUINOX

Spring is sprung the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies iz?

The 2009 spring equinox fell on a Friday. Friday was a day of work. Work was where I was headed. In the preceding week the weather in southern Britain had been dominated by a high pressure system. This gave rise to clear nights resulting in a light frost followed by fine, sunny and warm days. Friday 20th March 2009 was no different. I ate breakfast looking out over the garden from the warmth of the kitchen and watched the frost dissipate as the sun slowly rose higher in the sky. The garden looks lovely at this time of year with daffodils flowering in the borders and the shrubs coming into leaf. Further evidence of spring was provided by two Eurasian Collared Doves canoodling on the garden fence, a Common Starling collecting a beakful of dried grasses and a female Common Blackbird tearing green vegetation from a flowering Aubretia and carrying it to a neighbour’s garden. Great Tits and Eurasian Blue Tits have been prospecting at a couple of our nest boxes but have not begun building yet. A pair of Robins have completed their nest in another box and already laid five eggs, but sadly, I think they may have deserted as I have not seen birds near the nest for several days.

Home is the Bedfordshire village of Henlow, about 45 miles (72km) north of London. By the time I came to leave for work at about 07:15, the frost had melted and I did not have to scrape the car windows. Several of the resident birds, Common Blackbird, Dunnock and European Robin were singing while both Common Wood Pigeons and Collared Doves were performing their ‘roller-coaster’ display flights. My office lies some 30 miles (48km) to the south entailing a commute of about an hour (depending on the traffic) and often enlivened by birding en route. The rookeries at Shillington (15 nests), Apsley End (49 nests) and Shillington Manor (3 nests) were hives of activity with much coming and going although building now appears to be complete. Major nest building in the rookery seems to take place between 8th-14th March in this part of the world. South of Hexton, my route climbs the north-facing scarp of the Chiltern Hills to 500 feet (155m) above sea level, before following the Mimram valley south-eastwards. A Red Kite, part of the successful reintroduction scheme, was seen perched in a roadside tree near Kings Walden. I now regularly record this species on my way to and from work, but less than 30-years ago had to make special trips to central Wales for a chance to see them. The upper reaches of the Mimram are dry, the first water appearing in ponds at Bendish Lodge where there were some Mallard and Common Moorhen. Nearby a pair of Mandarin Duck, they breed locally in most years, flew across the road. Northern Ravens are still quite rare in this area, so it was very pleasing to see one fly over just outside the village of Whitwell. My first for the year. Until very recently they were, like the Red Kites, absent from much of lowland England but in the last decade they have spread into the lowland counties although without the help afforded the kites.

My office is one of several in a converted barn at Bricket Wood, on the northern edge of Watford. Despite its location, the setting is pleasantly rural surrounded by horse paddocks and woods although traffic noise from the M25, London’s orbital motorway which lies just to the north, can be heard. In the warm, sunny conditions the birds were quieter than usual. Great Tits, Dunnocks and Starlings visited our bird table but only the wheezing European Greenfinches and the singing of Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Chaffinches and Robins came through the open window. The ringing cries of a European Green Woodpecker were heard, but other regularly heard species, such as Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Nuthatch and Eurasian Jay were noticeable by their absence.

I headed home via an alternative route, seeing fewer birds than on my way to work. Pairs of Red-legged Partridge were on the chalk fields along Whiteway Bottom, Kimpton where a Kestrel surveyed the ground from its vantage point on top of a telegraph pole. Sadly, the pair of Little Owls were not perched in their usual place.

Full species list for the Spring Equinox 20/03/2009: Grey Heron, Mandarin Duck, Mallard, Red Kite, Common Kestrel, Common Pheasant, Red-legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Common Moorhen, Black-headed Gull, Mew Gull, Common Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Collared Dove, European Green Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, European Robin, Common Blackbird, Song Thrush, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Northern Raven, Common Starling, Common Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Yellow Hammer (33 species).

What is/are Peltops?

Peltops (Gr. pelte, a small shield; ops the face, Jobling 1991) are two very similar species

endemic to the island of New Guinea. They are aberrant fly-catching species of uncertain affinity, previously included with the flycatchers, Muscipidae (Rand & Gillard 1967) but currently placed with the Australian Butcherbirds, Cracticidae (Beehler et al 1986). Currently known as Lowland and Mountain Peltops, in common with many other New Guinea birds they have gone under a variety of names e.g. Shieldbill (Rand & Gillard 1967), Crassbill (Mackay 1968). Peltops are boldly patterned black, white and red.

Peltops are predominatly glossy black with white patches behind the eye and onto the side of the neck and in the centre of the upper back. The rump, upper and under tail coverts are red. Both species are so similar that it was not until 1921 that montanus was even recognised as a subspecies (Diamond, 1972). Lowland Peltops occurs, as its name suggests, in lowland rainforest from sea-level to 550 m. Mountain Peltops inhabits hill and montane forest from 550m - 3000m (Beehler et al 1986). The latter is the bigger species, with larger white patches but the two species are best distinguished by voice. Lowland Peltops has a unique clicking song giving rise to an earlier name, Clicking Shieldbill. Mountain Peltops has a tinkling song and was previously known as Singing Shieldbill. Both species flycatch over open areas in the forest with long aerial sallies.

When I began contracting in the mid-1990s I chose Peltops for my company name and logo to maintain my links with Papua New Guinea where my family and I lived for 6 years between 1985 and 1991. Peltops are boldly patterned birds but with only a few colours and so would be easy to reproduce on business cards and paper with a name that is relatively short and easy to remember.

References:

Beehler, B.M., T.K. Pratt & D. Zimmerman. 1986.
Birds of New Guinea. Princeton.

Diamond, J.M. 1972. Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea. Nutall Bird Club.
Jobling, J. 1991. A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Oxford.
Mackay, R.D. 1968. Birds of Port Moresby and District. Nelson.
Rand, A.L. & E.T. Gillard. Handbook of New Guinea Birds. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

New Year’s Day, 2007

For the past few years I have spent each New Year’s Day (NYD) trying to see as many species as possible within 10 km of home. This year (2007), as usual, I was up and about well before dawn but before the birding could start I had to retrieve Andrew (number one son) from a party in Hitchin so that he would be in a fit state to go to work later in the day. A Robin singing under the village street lights welcomed in the New Year but no other birds were seen on the 25 km round trip.

Home for the last five years has been the Bedfordshire village of Henlow. My ‘home range’ stretches from the chalk downland of the Chilterns, rising to 183 m at Telegraph Hill in the south across the flood plain of the River Ivel and its tributary the Hiz to the greensand ridge in the north from which Sandy, HQ of the RSPB takes its name. The A6 trunk road between Luton and Bedford forms the western boundary while the eastern border is a line on the map passing through the village of Ashwell. Three towns, Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock, all in Hertfordshire, occupy the south-eastern quadrant while the smaller towns of Stotfold and Biggleswade lie on the route of the A1 which runs north-south across the area. The larger towns of Luton and Bedford lie outside this area, to the SW and NW respectively. As ever, the aim was to beat last year’s score of 75 species.

By the time I had returned Andrew to home, where a second Robin had joined the pre-dawn chorus, it was 06:00. Time to head off on an owl patrol. Following my usual route through Clifton to Stanford and then Southill, there was nothing to be heard save for the wind. There weren’t even any Wood Pigeons roosting in the roadside trees which were presumably too exposed in these windy conditions. Just north of Southill, a small bird of prey was seen perched close up against the trunk on the sheltered side of a horse chestnut tree. When I raised my binoculars I was expecting to see a Little Owl but was surprised to see a female Kestrel. Just as I was about to get back into the car a Tawny Owl hooted from the woods in Southill Park and was answered by another from somewhere in the village. While listening to the owls, several Jackdaws started calling. Continuing the owl patrol around Old Rowney Lane and past Keepers Warren, Rabbits were numerous on the roadside verge but only a single Wood Pigeon was seen.

As in previous years, I spent the first hour of daylight in the mixed woodland of Swiss Gardens arriving just as the sky in the east began to lighten. For a while I was still relying more on my ears than my eyes. The chorus of Robins were joined by a Song Thrush perched on a branch over-hanging the road while the calls of a Redwing, Pheasant and a scolding Wren were also heard. The distinctive silhouette of a Cormorant flying over the ornamental lake in the gardens was the first bird seen in daylight. On the lake were 16 Mallard, two male Tufted Ducks, one male and two female Shoveler and a winter plumaged Little Grebe. As I walked the edge of the lake, a Moorhen was disturbed from the waters edge and pattered away across the lake causing a Blackbird to give its alarm call. Back in the woods it was still quite dark, but a Carrion Crow was heard calling followed by the yaffle of a Green Woodpecker. As the light improved a flock of Common Gulls drifted over on the wind but I was still missing most of the smaller woodland species. As I headed back towards the car, I came across a mixed flock working its way along the roadside hedge and nearby woodland; among the flock were Great Tits, Blue Tits (20th species at 08:30, over 30 minutes later than last year) Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits and at least a couple of Goldcrests. While following the tit flock I also saw Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Chaffinch. In the windy conditions all species except the woodpecker were keeping low down in the shrub layer and rarely venturing into the tree canopy except in sheltered areas.

Leaving Swiss Gardens at 09:01 with 27 species, I retraced my earlier owl patrol. Between Swiss Gardens and Old Warden a male Kestrel hovering low over the edge of a ploughed field caused me to stop. Feeding in the furrows were at least 3 Pied Wagtails and a flock of Black-headed Gulls was spread across the field. A bird-feeder in Warden Street was attracting House Sparrows (31st species at 09:20) and Greenfinches while in nearby hedgerows there was a mixed thrush flock comprising mainly Fieldfare (c.80) but also including Redwing, Starling and Mistle Thrush; all feeding on hawthorn berries plus a pair of Magpies. A feature of this area in mid-winter are the belts of maize left standing to act as cover and feed for game birds but invariably attracting mixed flocks of finches and buntings. One such area, alongside the Greensand Ridge Walk and between the road and Warden Little Wood had attracted Brambling in March 2006 but had been devoid of birds when I had visited on a recce between Christmas and New Year. Undeterred, I decided to give the area a quick look, just-in-case. With a belt of coniferous woods running alongside the track from the road to Warden Little Wood, this maize strip was largely sheltered from the blustery westerly wind and had attracted a large flock of birds to feed in the calmer conditions. Most of the flock was concentrated at the road end of the strip so I did not even have to leave the car to get good views of the birds. Small flocks were feeding on the ground among the maize but would often fly to the nearby shelter-belt so there was a regular turn-over of birds. The flock was predominately Chaffinches (I estimated 100+) but included Reed Buntings (c.20), Yellow Hammers (c.10) and a few Goldfinches. Also associated with the flock were two Meadow Pipits but bird of the day was a single male Brambling which I eventually picked out from among the Chaffinches and even stood in full view on the track. Buoyed by this success I headed for Broom gravel pits via Old Rowney Lane, where a Green Woodpecker foraged on the roadside verge and my only Buzzard of the day was harassed by two Carrion Crows, two Magpies and a Jackdaw, and Southill Park where the water in the lake was very choppy in the wind and (as ever) mostly bird-less, save for two Tufted Duck. A flock of Rooks (42nd species at 10:31) fed in a field on the edge of the village.

In previous years I have seen a lot of birds at Broom gravel pits and this year started off well with three Shelduck and a Redshank on the G&M outwash pit and some waterfowl on the pits containing water including c.20 Shoveler, four Teal, a pair of Mute Swan, a single female Wigeon and several Coot. A few Lesser Black-backed Gulls drifted over and a single Skylark (50th species at 11:20) was disturbed from the edge of the track. But sadly, that was it for Broom. Peacock’s Lake had been cleared of birds by a shooting party that were still parked at the southern (Broom) end of the pits. In previous years the gravel pits have yielded 20-30 species, this year it was only nine. By way of compensation a Sparrowhawk flew over the track as I was leaving.

In an effort to find some of the waterbirds I was missing, I headed for Warren Villas GPs, parking in Biggleswade and walking north alongside the River Ivel. This is usually a reliable area for Kingfisher, but not today. A Kestrel was hunting over the waste ground north of Sainsbury’s and a flock of c.30 Lapwings flew over heading north-west, into the wind. A covey of c.20 Red-legged Partridge was found among the mud piles of the new workings, walking up and over the mounds to disappear from view, where there was also a pair of Stock Doves feeding. The long trudge to the gravel pits was only rewarded with two waterbirds, a winter plumaged Great Crested Grebe and a pair of Gadwall. On the way back to the car, a second Sparrowhawk was seen as it flew low over the cricket pitch and disappeared into the gardens.

Another Kestrel was seen perched on wires near the golf range as I made my way to Holme (Jordan’s) and Langford Mills. As usual I was hoping for a Grey Wagtail in either mill race but, also as usual, was disappointed. Where do they go in the winter? Or are they only scarce on NYD? An adult Heron stood sentinel in the wet meadows, west of Langford Mill, but there were no geese or Snipe although I did note my first Collared Doves of the day. A visit to Langford lakes failed to produce anything new but I did record my sixth Kestrel of the day. As the light faded, I returned to Swiss Gardens, seeing two Greylag Geese en route. No new woodland birds were seen but a pair of Mandarin, on the pond, was my 60th and last new species.

My final tally of 60 species was the lowest I have recorded on a NYD in Bedfordshire mainly as a consequence of the reduced haul from Broom gravel pits and not helped by the very windy conditions. With 50 species recorded before midday, the afternoon return was even poorer than usual, mostly through not having a good back-up site for Broom. As might be expected I missed several species I had hoped to find without too much trouble, chief of which were Canada Goose (where had they all gone?) and Golden Plover. The Brambling was the only species I had not previously recorded on NYD in Bedfordshire taking my NYD total to 87 species. As in previous years I had stayed within Bedfordshire and as usual in the area mostly to the north and west of Henlow. I did drive more miles than last year (67 compared to 59, but 14 of these were my early morning taxi run, to pick up Andrew). I wonder what next year will bring?

New Year’s Day, 2006

Since 1995 I have spent each New Year’s Day (NYD) trying to see as many species as possible within 10 km of home, which for the past three years has been the Bedfordshire village of Henlow. This area stretches from the chalk downland of the Chilterns, rising to 183 m at Telegraph Hill in the south across the flood plain of the River Ivel and its tributary the Hiz to the greensand ridge in the north from which Sandy, HQ of the RSPB takes its name. The A6 trunk road between Luton and Bedford forms the western boundary while the eastern border is a line on the map passing through the village of Ashwell. Three towns, Hitchin, Letchworth and Baldock, all in Hertfordshire, occupy the south-eastern quadrant while the smaller towns of Stotfold and Biggleswade lie on the route of the A1 which runs north-south across the area. The larger towns of Luton and Bedford lie outside this area, to the SW and NW respectively. The aim for 2006 was to beat the 65 species recorded in 2005 while driving fewer miles.

At 05:30 on NYD, I was questioning my sanity as I headed out into a mild, breezy, showery and very dark morning after less than five hours sleep. Not surprisingly, I seemed to be the only one up and about, but I told myself that this earliest ever start in the UK would give me more time to find any owls that might be about. So, I was more than a little chuffed when the first bird of the day was a ghostly Barn Owl (seen at 05:41), perched in a roadside tree near Clifton cricket ground. It did not hang around and soon disappeared over the fields towards Cliftonbury Farm. Buoyed by this early success, I drove past Stanford plantation, Keeper’s Warren and Old Rowney Lane, sites where Tawny Owls have been heard calling on previous nocturnal excursions – but not today. It was a frustrating hour. Wood Pigeons were silhouetted in roadside roosts, rabbits were numerous on the verge, quacking Mallards were heard near Southill and a Muntjac crossed Old Rowney Lane, but no owls. Pheasants were grumbling noisily in anticipation of the new day as I made a second circuit of Keeper’s Warren and Old Rowney Lane. A Little Owl was seen briefly in the headlights but the regular Tawnies were ominously quiet. With dawn approaching I made my way towards Swiss Gardens, seeing the silhouettes of Jackdaws perched on thatched rooves in the picturesque village of Old Warden.

In the overcast and drizzly conditions, it was taking a while to get light. As last year, I had decided to spend the first hour of daylight in the mixed woodland of Swiss Gardens. While waiting for the light to improve, I heard Blackbird, Greylag Goose, Robin and Carrion Crow. By this time I had just about given up hope of any further owls when a Tawny Owl hooted from the direction of the gardens. I was a bit worried this might have been a bird from the Shuttleworth bird of prey collection, so was very pleased to hear an answering too-whit-too-whoo from the direction of Ickwell village – the first time I had recorded three species of owl on a NYD bird watch. A yapping call over the woods flummoxed me for a while until I made out the flying silhouette of two small ducks and realised they were Mandarins. Coot, Moorhen and Heron were also heard but the smaller birds were noticeably quiet. It was still dark in the woods and little seemed to be moving. The white flanks of two male Tufted Ducks made them easy to pick out on the pond but I was still hearing more than I was seeing; the thin whistle of Redwing, harsh churr of a Wren, noisy chattering of a mixed flock of Rooks and Jackdaws and the weak song of a Dunnock (20th species at 07:57, some 20 minutes later than last year despite the earlier start). As the light slowly improved two Cormorants and a pair of Shoveler were noted at the far end of the pond and a Magpie flew over. Little was seen on a circuit through the woods, it was still a bit gloomy under the trees but Great Tit and Green Woodpecker were heard. Back at the pond 5 Mandarin Ducks (3 males and two females) swam out from under some overhanging branches and two Muntjac were disturbed from the track. In pond side trees a Goldcrest was heard and then watched from less than two metres as it foraged among some ivy growing up an oak tree. Also heard were a flock of Siskins in a stand of alders and Chaffinches called from the wood. The ringing call of a Nuthatch was heard from the far side of the wood and while trying to track it down I saw my first Grey Squirrel of the day. A second circuit of the wood was mostly unproductive until I was nearly back at the car when a winter-plumaged Black-headed Gull drifted over and a flock of Blue Tits foraged along the roadside hedge.

The weather had still not improved when I left Swiss Gardens at 08:55 with 32 species; it was mild but overcast and drizzly as I retraced my earlier owling route. Near the few houses known as Warden Street a mixed flock of thrushes included Fieldfare while nearby a pale-phased Buzzard perched in an oak. Just down the road at Warden Abbey a large flock of Wood Pigeons included a few Stock Doves. Along Old Rowney Lane a covey of 10 Red-legged Partridges raced for the cover of the hedge as I came round the corner and a flock of Reed Buntings flew regularly between the roadside hedge and a maize crop while my second Buzzard of the day flew over the fields to the east. At the south end of the lane two Jays foraged on the roadside verge and another Buzzard flew over the woods of Keepers Warren.

My next stop was Southill Park. The lake, as usual, seemed devoid of waterfowl save for a few Mallards and a single winter-plumaged Great Crested Grebe and there was no sign of the goose flock reported in recent days from the fields between the lake and the house. My fourth Buzzard of the day flew over the fields to the east of the lake (and road). On the edge of Southill village another maize crop was attracting a large finch flock consisting mostly of Chaffinches but including Yellow Hammer, and Goldfinch. While scanning the finch flock a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard and then seen in a nearby spinney and a single Lesser Redpoll was watched feeding in a silver birch. En route to Broom, I passed through Southill village, recording Collared Dove and my first House Sparrows of the day (45th species at 10:21).

As I approached the gravel pits at Broom an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull headed south in the company of several Black-headed Gulls. Making my way towards the G&M pits, I flushed a Snipe from the pond beside the track (and later found another 10 around the pits) and heard a Skylark calling. There were several species of waterfowl on the G&M pits (those closest to the Caldecote – Biggleswade road), including Teal, Canada Goose (50th species at 10:37), Pochard and Little Grebe. A small flock of Meadow Pipits were busy around a pile of gravel and a flock of 18 Lapwings flew north. I added nothing new on my way through the moat house wood, but on Peacock’s Lake were Mute Swan, a single adult Great Black-backed Gull, dwarfing the other gulls, Common Gull and numerous Wigeon. As I made my way round to the south, Broom village, side of the pits, flock of 20 Golden Plover flew east and three Gadwall (60th species at 11:20) were located on the landscaped lake closest to Broom village. In the SW corner of the same lake, I found the pair of Stonechat that had been present for much of the winter (assuming all the Broom records refer to the same birds). They perched on the tall, dead stems of waterside sedges, flying down to feed on the shorter grass around the lake. As I made my way back to the car along the western side of the pits, a male Merlin dashed low across the fields, causing panic among a flock of Meadow Pipits and being briefly mobbed by a Carrion Crow before disappearing across the Caldecote – Shefford road. That was two species I had not previously recorded on a NYD birdwatch in the space of 10 minutes. Shortly after a flock of c. 300 Greylag Geese descended on Peacock’s Lake and among their number were single Barnacle and Pink-footed Geese, the provenance of both of which must be doubtful. The Barnacle Goose presumably originated from the expanding feral flock that winters at Willington but could the Pink-foot be a genuine wild bird? Linnets feeding on thistle heads were my last new birds at Broom.

Snow between Christmas and New Year had tempted Andrew and Matthew, my teenage sons, out for a snowball fight with their mates. They returned several hours later cold but happy and reporting a ‘large snipe’ flushed from woodland near Henlow Grange. It was New Year’s Eve before I could follow up their sighting and confirm that they had stumbled on a wintering Woodcock, a species I had not previously recorded on NYD in Bedfordshire. So after my wander round the gravel pits I headed back towards Henlow, picking up a few species along the way. A flock of Starlings over fields near Langford Lakes and a Greenfinch at a feeder in Broom village were surprisingly my first of each species for the day. Brief stops at both Holme (Jordan’s) and Langford Mills failed to conjure up a Grey Wagtail, a species that has so far eluded me on all my NYD bird-watches in Bedfordshire. A male Kestrel, hovering over fields beside the Langford – Henlow road was the only one I recorded all day while my first Pied Wagtail was on the Pyghtles, Henlow’s sports field. The Woodcock was in much the same area as seen on New Year’s Eve (thanks boys), but despite a careful approach was only seen when as it zig-zagged away low through the trees.

Flushed with success, I returned to the car and headed for Stanford plantation; on the edge of the woods a mixed flock of thrushes included a Mistle Thrush (70th species at 13:57) while among the conifers I found a Song Thrush and eventually a Coal Tit which had been elusive up until then. Little was seen in the remaining couple of hours of daylight: another Buzzard, my fourth of the day was seen over Ickwell and a flock of Long-tailed Tits was in the hedgerow along Old Rowney Lane.

With 73 species recorded (75 if the two dodgy geese can be counted) this was my best NYD in Bedfordshire so far. As last year I had recorded 60 species by late morning but had then only added a further 13 species during the afternoon. A better plan is still required. As in previous years I had stayed within Bedfordshire and as usual in the area mostly to the north and west of Henlow. I did drive fewer miles than last year (59 compared to 70) but would like to reduce it further. A NYD bird-watch on bike might be a better way to do it – I’ll have to get fitter!. As ever there were several species that I had hoped to see but missed including Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon. Having missed this species last year, I kept an eye open for it this year and still failed to record it – I think I must have a blind-spot for this species. Only eight species recorded on previous NYD bird-watches in Bedfordshire were not seen this year, these were Sparrowhawk, Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon, Tree Sparrow, Green Sandpiper, Shelduck, Treecreeper, Herring Gull and Grey Partridge. Four species, Merlin, Woodcock, Stonechat, Redpoll and Reed Bunting and Pink-footed Goose (if the latter can be counted) were recorded for the first time on a NYD big birdwatch in Bedfordshire. taking the NYD total to 81 species.

Spotted Redshank at Wilstone Reservoir

A visit to Wilstone Reservoir before work this morning, 25 August 2005, was rewarded with views of the juvenile Spotted Redshank, reported earlier on HertsBirding. I had been in the hide for 10-15 minutes before the Spotted Redshank, accompanied by a Greenshank, landed on the shingle spit in front of the hide. The Greenshank promptly went to sleep, balancing on one leg. The Spotted Redshank immediately began feeding, patrolling the shallows on the west side of the spit, often in water up to its belly so that its legs were rarely visible. It seemed to be picking small items from, or just below, the surface of the water – whatever they were too small to see through a X22 telescope. It then caught a small, about ⅔ length of bill, dark (brownish or dark olive, I think) fish which it spent nearly a minute manipulating and ‘washing’ by shaking vigorously in the water before swallowing it head first. Another similar fish was caught almost immediately and treated in the same way.

The Spotted Redshank was only seen briefly in flight as it came into land and not long enough to note any details. It was slightly smaller than the accompanying Greenshank, with a similar graceful build as opposed to the ‘chunky’ juvenile Ruff also on the spit. The bill was long but noticeably finer than the Greenshank and black with some red at the base (less than ⅓ length of bill. The books say this should only be on the lower mandible but I did not notice this. The legs, when visible, appeared pinker than those of the Redshank seen earlier, but this may have been an effect of back-lighting. Colours and fine detail were not easy to see looking into the bright morning sunlight. The Spotted Redshank was slightly darker than the Greenshank, not so grey-and-white, with a pale supercilium, more marked in front of the eye and only faint behind the eye. Underparts seemed uniform grey, with no hint of white. Upperparts were mottled and slightly darker than the Greenshank. The rump was not seen.

When I left at 08:45 the Greenshank and Spotted Redshank were still in front of the hide. Also seen at Wilstone this morning were:

Shelduck 1
Barnacle Goose 1
Ruff 1
Redshank 1
Kingfisher 2
Grey Wagtail 4 on bank near car park.

Pied Wagtail Behaviour

Gardening has never been one of my favourite pastimes. On the evening of 13 May 2005 I was easily distracted from the task in hand, weeding the front garden, by the behaviour of a pair of Pied Wagtails Motacilla alba yarrelli. A female landed on the road less than three metres from where I was supposedly weeding and began walking, occasionally running, to and fro, picking something small from the surface of the road. Whatever she was gleaning was too small for me to see with the naked eye, let alone identify, even at close range. After a short while a male Pied Wagtail landed close to the female and began following her, almost beak to tail. The female continued to feed, seeming to completely ignore the male, who made no attempt to feed. The male must have followed the female in this way for more than a minute and for more than 10 metres across the road before giving a display that I had not seen before. He seemed to flatten himself into the road, spreading his tail and left wing wide while the right wing was kept folded close to the body. He took on a most unbird-like, startlingly black-and-white shape. The female continued feeding, walking away from, and still apparently ignoring, the male. He held the display posture for 5-10 seconds before standing up, shaking himself and then running after the female. Once behind her, he again flattened himself into the road. Sadly at that point a car came round the corner, disturbing both wagtails which flew away over the houses. I returned to my weeding.

A Six Warbler Walk

A fine, clear, calm night had caused the temperature to plummet and when I woke at 06:00 there was a crisp frost. The cold had not deterred the birds: Goldfinches and Greenfinches were breakfasting at our seed feeders while Wood Pigeon, Collared Doves and Dunnock fed on the ground below. After my own breakfast, I headed out on my regular walk (although not as regular as I would like) which takes me from Henlow via Henlow Grange to Langford then north alongside the River Ivel to Langford Mill before turning south-westwards and crossing Langford Meadows to Stanford Lock and then home by way of Clifton. Overnight the Collared Dove nest in our silver birch tree seems to have succumbed to the local moggies, as there was broken shell under the tree and the flimsy nest looked even more fragile. The Pyghtles, Henlow’s playing fields was white with frost, except for the close-shaved strip of the cricket pitch, prepared for the opening game of the season later today. A flock of 40 Starlings were the only birds but on the nearby school fields was a group of four Stock Doves and a lone female Mallard. My first warbler of the day was a Chiff-chaff, rendering its name from the plantation on the bank of the R. Ivel. In the cold morning air the fishing lakes were steaming, hiding any but the closest waterfowl that might have been present. I only saw Coot and Mute Swans but Blackcap and Willow Warblers sang from the scrub surrounding the lakes. Beside the northernmost pond, a water-side tree rising above the mist provided a perch for four Cormorants. Even though the sun was now up, the frost still remained. On the edge of Langford village a male Whitethroat was an incongruous sight as moved through the dense tangle of a frost-rimed bramble. Further Whitethroats and Blackcaps were seen and heard in shrubbery beside the R. Ivel. Now the sun was higher, the frost had disappeared from all but shaded areas and as I crossed Langford Meadows my boots got a soaking from the now very wet grass. Faint at first, the reeling song of a Grasshopper Warbler, often likened to the sound of fishing line being reeled in, was heard on the still morning air. The Gropper was eventually located in the middle of a large bramble on the bank of a stream but I never saw it, not even a flicker of movement. While I was in the area, for nearly 20 minutes, it reeled almost continuously with only short pauses, none longer than a minute. Nearby by in another streamside bush was a much more obliging Sedge Warbler, which was not only heard but also seen, bringing my warbler tally for the morning to six. Near Stanford Lock, I saw my only Swallow of the morning, a single bird following the R. Ivel north-westwards. Many summer visitors, including Swallow seem later arriving and/or less numerous than in previous years. Later perusal of the web suggested that Swallow numbers were down 90% compared with recent years (BTO’s Bird Track, www.bto.org/birdtrack/index.htm). Theories for this include problems in sub-Saharan Africa where large amounts of pesticide, used to quell last year’s locust plague, could have seriously reduced the insect prey available to migrant birds heading for Europe. Near Clifton I heard the unmistakable call of a Cuckoo, my first of the year. I was back in Henlow about 3-hours after setting out having recorded 47 species on my local patch.