A brilliant destination for a half term outing turned out to be only a few miles from home. Liberty’s Owl, Raptor And Reptile Centre is based in Ringwood. The centre has a display field where the falconers give public presentations each day. We attended the midday presentation on Tuesday 28th May 2019 and were treated to displays of an owl, Harris Hawk, Black Kite and a Verreaux Eagle Owl. These are some of the images from the presentation:
Images from a couple of walks in the Dorset countryside: a dog walk around Whitesheet, and a riverside walk near Pamphill. A chance to breathe in and out…
The temperature is rising in the garden and there is plenty going on. Life is busy with family commitments, taking photos, editing photos, refurbishments among other things.
A bit of landscaping was needed. The bluebells and primroses have gone. Other flowers are appearing, but a helping hand was required to fill in a bit of a lull in colour. An old tree trunk was removed to make way for this beautiful, vividly red Azalea.
When removing the trunk we found two stag beetle larvae, which have been re-housed and have become family pets. These larvae remain in this state for up to 7 years and survive on a diet of rotting wood and leaves. They are yet to be named.
Colour continues to be a feature: some homegrown and some acquired along with the Azalea.
This juvenile robin is a regular visitor, attracted by the mealworm on the bird table. Other species of juveniles and fledglings are also visiting daily.
These starlings are quite raucous. They are gregarious and chatter away to each other, hoovering up any available food, both competitively and cooperatively.
We are yet to see any sparrow chicks, but if you look carefully at these two photos, you’ll see that its only a matter of time. These two are doing there bit to continue the recent recovery in the sparrow population following the more longer term decline from the 1960/70’s levels.
Blue tits are a constant presence in the garden, performing their acrobatics effortlessly.
We have a couple of great tits visiting daily at the present time. The coal tit is a shy visitor, but the long tailed tits appear to have moved on for the moment.
Sparrows and dunnocks chirp and sing respectively and are never far away.
Hoverflys are enjoying the increased temperatures and move jerkily around the garden in an attempt to make it difficult for predators (and photographers!).
The garden has seen an explosion of colour this month. I must have been aware of this in previous years, but this year I have observed it more closely – yellow primroses and daffodils; white snowdrops and blossom; purple crocuses; pink camellia, cherry blossom, clematis and apple blossom; blue bluebells; green grass and new foliage.
Whilst the background colours and textures have changed, the change in visiting bird-life has been more subtle and not quite what I expected. The bird species I have seen are: sparrow, dunnock, pigeon, magpie, starling, robin, goldfinch, blue tit, blackbird.
There have been absences too. Where are the long tailed tits, siskins, chaffinches, coal tits, wrens, blackcaps? Have they deserted the garden feeding stations now that nature is producing abundant new growth and insects?
My photography knowledge has increased. I leave it to others to judge whether this has resulted in improved quality. I now photograph in RAW instead of JPEG, giving greater flexibility in the post production stage. My camera is now set on manual rather than automatic and I now select the ISO, shutter speed and aperture setting. Most wildlife photo ops are fleeting, lasting only a few seconds and require patience and perseverance. Familiarity with camera controls and settings are essential to respond when those brief seconds present themselves.
With warmer temperatures and school holidays I have ventured beyond the confines of the garden. These are a few pictures taken at Brownsea Island, Pamphill and Moors Valley.
March coincides with the Church’s observance of Lent, a period of repentance and penitence. Jesus himself was the model for the Lent period. Following his baptism he was ‘led by the Spirit’ into the wilderness and emerged 40 days later ‘in the power of the Spirit’. The Church of England has produced a series of devotional readings and prayers using the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They offer timeless teaching of spiritual rebirth with the ultimate promise and hope of sharing in Jesus’ resurrection.
Access to the garden has been restricted in March for various reasons and so it has been a joy in recent days to get back to see what I have been missing, particularly now that the storms appear to have passed and temperatures are slowly increasing.
Spring has arrived and the number of daylight hours now exceed the hours of darkness. The bird population that has survived the winter will now begin the process of renewal and rebirth. Insects are reappearing. Blossom and green shoots are bursting into life.
Bee collecting pollen
Honey bee
In the garden two themes are apparent: nesting activity and birdsong.
Nesting
Nest box
A few years ago we put up a nest box in the garden. Its never been used. I saw a blue tit inspecting it the other morning, but it must have found a better site, as it has not returned. To be fair the location isn’t brilliant. Its close to a feeding station, but it lacks privacy and security from squirrels, cats and other threats.
Male sparrow collecting nesting materialFemale blackbird collecting nesting material
Whilst I have yet to see any evidence of birds actually nesting in the garden, there have been plenty of birds collecting nesting material.
Birdsong
Robin in full song
Blackbird “Billy” in song
Dunnock perched prominently in song
The dawn chorus starts at 5.30 am. Robins, blackbirds, dunnocks and pigeons are clearly discernible. Throughout the day birdsong in the garden will rise and fall as the birds come and go.
Female sparrow
Male sparrow
In recent days the sparrow population has been particularly vocal.
Starlings – ever present
The starlings click, whistle and squawk at each other and then descend on the feeding station, hoovering up the meal worm as fast as it is put out.
New visitors
I have seen a wren on a number of occasions and actually managed to capture a few images this month.
Rare photo of wren
Despite the wren being one of the UK’s most numerous birds (see UK population table below), my experience is that it is quite secretive and normally scuttles away into the undergrowth.
The siskin, male and female, has been a constant visitor, but difficult to spot as it usually ‘hides’ among a group or charm of other finches.
Goldfinches are regular visitors to neighbouring gardens, but despite putting out seed specifically for finches they seem very wary of hopping over the fence. Maybe they can sense the presence of our cat – not that he’s ever caught anything bigger than a fly.
Coal tit
A very distinctive bird, but quite restless, the coal tit is constantly on the move.
Collared dove
Slightly smaller and sleeker than a wood pigeon…
Population – UK
The table below lists a few of the birds observed in the garden, showing their UK population and an indication of the trend, i.e. increasing or decreasing.
Siskin
420,000 pairs
increasing
Goldfinch
1,200,000 territories
Increasing considerably
Chaffinch
6,200,000 pairs
Increasing slowly
Sparrow
5,300,000
Declined by 64% since 1969
Great tit
2,600,000
Moderate increase over 40 years
Blue tit
3,600,000
Modest increase recently
Coal tit
760,000
No overall trend
Long tailed tit
340,000
Modest increase in recent years
Goldcrest
610,000
Long term trend is slight increase
Chiffchaff
1,200,000
Increasing in recent years
Blackcap
1,200,000
Increasing since late 1970s
Blackbird
5,100,000
15% decline over 40 years
Wren
8,600,000 territories
Stable population
Dunnock
2,500,000
Numbers fell (1975-1995), now partially recovered
Bullfinch
220,000 pairs
40% decline in 25 years
Source: RSPB Handbook of British Birds (4th Edition) – 2014
Chesil Beach is our home for the week. We are staying at the Portland end, near Portland Castle. In fact there is a certificate hanging on the wall of the house we’re staying in commemorating the fact that the Trinidad and Bermudan Olympic Sailing team occupied the house in the summer of 2012.
Fine Foundation – Chesil Beach Centre
I wandered around the centre, checking out the notices. A prominent, green information sign told me that the area was particularly well known for being a nesting ground for Little Terns and Common Ringed Plovers. As I walked back towards the car park with my camera around my neck, I was approached by a couple. “Oh, can you tell us what we might expect to see here?” They obviously mistook me for a well-informed enthusiast.
“Well, if you’re lucky you might see Little Terns or Common Ringed Plovers.” Then as I looked over there shoulder I could see a Little Egret, so I added. “You also might see a Little Egret”.
Little Egret
“Oh, thank you so much. We’ve lived here for years, but never been sure what we should be looking for.” I’m not sure that I mentioned that this was my first visit, or that I’d just read the sign.
Common Ringed PloverHeron on Chesil Beach overlooking East FleetHeron in flight over East FleetHeron in flight over East Fleet
Portland Castle
Portland Castle looks east over Weymouth Bay and is a stone’s throw from where we are staying. The bird life I’ve seen so far has been Gulls, Wagtails and Reed Buntings.
Pied WagtailPied WagtailJuvenile Herring Gull – bombs awayJuvenile Herring Gull – yawningJuvenile Herring Gull- posingHerrring Gull – fishingCommon Gulls – chillingReed Buntings (honest!) – top left and bottom rightGreat or Lesser Black Backed Gulls
The weather has been windy, but dry with temperatures in single digits.
"The North wind doth blow and we shall have snow, And what will poor robin do then, poor thing? He'll sit in a barn and keep himself warm and hide his head under his wing, poor thing"
traditional nursery rhyme
Robin in the snow
In this month’s blog I want to continue looking more closely at the bird visitors to my Dorset garden. February brought snow, many daily visitors including ‘Billy’ and ‘Rose’ and the Long tailed tits (see January’s blog). This month we’ll take a look at the Dunnock, a female Blackcap and a male Bullfinch. Also we’ll catch up on the bathing antics of the Robin and Blue tit.
Snow
The end of January brought yellow and amber weather warnings. The snow arrived on Friday, 1st February. News feeds were full of stories of disruption and shut down of services.
The garden was more active, it seemed to me, than usual and was transformed for a day or two into a beautiful white, winter backdrop.
Blue tit
Long tailed tit
siskin
“Billy”
Then the snow disappeared as quickly as it arrived and signs of a new season began to appear.
Primrose – the promise of spring and new life
As a child I would visit my grandparents home, Hill Cottage, just north of Hereford. We would explore the woods behind the cottage and I remember being captivated by clumps of primroses and seas of bluebells. It’s too early for bluebells, but the snowdrops and primroses have arrived. The ground still has the signs of death, the brown, dead leaves from the deciduous trees, But the new season and new life is there too, and is beginning to push through.
The quintessential LBJ – the Dunnock
Dunnock
The Dunnock is also known as the hedge sparrow, but it is not actually a sparrow. It’s part of the same family as the european Robin and Wren. It is the quintessential LBJ (little brown job).
The Dunnock blends into the background and is easily overlooked, e.g. they didn’t make it into Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to British Birds. However in my quest to look more closely at the birds that visit my garden, I cannot ignore this regular.
Dunnock – eating on the ground
My RSPB Handbook of British Birds tells me that a Dunnock ‘is an unusual visitor to a raised bird table, and more likely to feed underneath.’
My Dunnocks can’t read and tend to prefer the more ‘unusual’ habit of taking food from the raised bird table and seed feeder.
This close up of the Dunnock reveals some of the intricate, detailed beauty of this common, unremarkable bird. There are some 2.5 million in the UK and its song particularly at this time of the year rivals that of its cousin, the european Robin.
Ms Blackcap takes to the stage
Female Blackcap
At last! This month, the Female Blackcap turned up for a photo shoot. She’s been a regular visitor, but up to now has been quite shy. This time she was in no hurry to move on. There has been no sign of a male, which does actually have a blackcap, but I’ll keep looking.
Female BlackcapFemale Blackcap at the bird table
I’ve noticed that Ms Blackcap is actually a regular visitor to the bird table, but she tends to be very discreet about it. Her colouring means that she falls into the LBJ category. I may have seen her without realising what I was actually looking at.
Bullfinch – a splash of colour
Male Bullfinch
This finch most definitely is not an LBJ! His colour is striking for a British bird and cannot be confused with any other bird.
Male Bullfinch
Strictly speaking he didn’t visit my garden, rather he sat in my neighbour’s tree long enough for me to get a couple of pictures, which I’ve then cropped. There are only 220,000 pairs in the UK and the population is declining. The Bullfinch is not a regular visitor – I have only seen him once or twice. He definitely falls into the “Ooh, look!” category for me.
Bath times
Robin and Blue Tit
The bird bath continues to attract visitors. The day after the snow, the water was totally frozen, so I took out a jug of warm water and poured it in. Later that day I was gratified to see it in use. These two are regulars, but I have also caught ‘Billy’ the blackbird using it surreptitiously.
Please, mister, please, Take my picture, if you will, I'll just stand here on this post, And keep very still.
I have a busy day ahead, Lots of food to find, But maybe just one photograph, if you'd be so kind
In January 2019 at least 20 different bird species visited our Dorset garden. Virtually all would be instantly recogniseable, and will have been visiting for sometime. But this year I have taken a closer look at the birds and their behaviour – camera in hand.
Blackbird territorial fight
“Billy” the blackbird
“Billy” is an adolescent male blackbird. He is very possessive about his garden. One morning he attacked a trespasser. He was quite ferocious and didn’t care that “Miggi”, my cat, and I were within a few feet. The altercation lasted about 3 or 4 minutes, before both birds flew off.
The altercation
The trespasser has not returned. “Billy” permits other species, but only allows one other blackbird in the garden; a female who we’ve given the name “Rose”. Who knows? Later in the spring we may have the flutter of tiny wings!
“Rose” female blackbird
“Rose” has a misplaced tail feather. It doesn’t seem to affect her flying ability or cause discomfort, but it does make her instantly recogniseable.
Long tailed tits – feeding and acrobatics
Long tailed tit
Long tailed tits have been referred to, by Bill Bailey in his Remarkable Guide to British Birds, as ‘flying teaspoons’ and ‘cute fluffballs’. They are constantly moving in groups and I found them tricky to photograph until I was able to anticipate their movement.
They arrive in the garden, normally in groups of 3 or 4 – sometimes more, sometimes less. They head straight for the tree in the corner that overhangs the feeding station. One by one they drop down to the meal worm feeder, where they stay only long enough to pick up a meal worm with their beak. Then they head back to the tree, or other bush, where they hang upside down, clutching a branch with one claw and holding the meal worm in the other until they have eaten. This position looks uncomfortable, but gives them the ability to survey the skies for predators whilst they eat.
Feeding and bathing
Robin’s prefer seed or meal worm; blue tits prefer peanuts and both are daily visitors. They also both enjoy an occasional bath.
They don’t seem to mind what the temperature, but they do prefer sunshine so they can preen themselves afterwards.
Blue tit – drying off after a bird bath
Some less common visitors
One of the exciting things about maintaining a more watchful eye over the comings and goings of ‘visitors’ to the garden is when a new behaviour or new species is spotted in the garden.
I was delighted on Friday, 11th January, when this Siskin showed up. Although they are not that uncommon, I can’t remember seeing one before and certainly not in the garden in the 13 or 14 years we’ve been in this house. It was a beautiful sunny day and he came and plonked himself right in front of my camera, giving me enough time to take a few shots.
Goldcrest
On a cold 22nd January I was fiddling with my camera facing the feeding station when I became aware of something moving 90 degrees to my right. I turned and snapped and this is what I got: a goldcrest. I have only seen one of these once before at Longham Lakes a few years ago. I was going to take another, but he’d gone. It made my day.
There have been a couple of other newcomers: a female blackcap and chaffinch, but I haven’t been able to catch them yet on film. Work in progress.
Stephen's Wildlife 