branch – Stephen's Wildlife

Winter lockdown

This last weekend the RSPB ran its annual survey of garden birds. By all accounts the number of people submitting data increased significantly over last year and their were reports of people being unable to access the survey web page to record their count. Quite probably this was the ‘lockdown effect’.

My own count included 8 goldfinches. They are small birds, quite striking in appearance with their red face and yellow finch stripes on the wings. They normally form groups in the winter which may contain other finches, e.g. greenfinch, siskin, chaffinch. These groups are referred to as ‘charms’.

The UK winter lockdown continues. Yesterday we lost Captain Sir Tom Moore, a covid hero who raised over £38m last year on his 100th birthday for the NHS. The vaccine rollout continues offering light at the end of the tunnel, even as the virus continues to take its toll. This latest winter lockdown does appear to be accompanied by fatigue and weariness.

Blackcap

The blackcap is a winter visitor from possibly Germany or north-east Europe. This chap arrived just before Christmas and hung around for a few days. We were having lunch in the dining room when he appeared in the bush at the end of the garden bathed in sunlight. I could not resist grabbing the camera for a few shots before he flew off.

Parus Major

The woodland area near home is accessed by passing through an open area of grassland known as By-the-way field. There is a metal gate to enter the woodland. At this point the gravel footpath crosses a bridge over what might generously be called a stream, but probably more accurately, a ditch. This is a great spot to linger a little, to look and listen. The bright sunshine so evident just a few steps back is now shaded by the canopy and branches of tall trees. It takes a second or two for the eyes to adjust.

One of the first birds to be seen and heard here will be the Great tit, Parus Major to give it its latin name. It has a bright yellow breast with a black line running down the centre. The black continues up to its head. There is a black cap and collar, with white cheeks. The back is olive green and the wings are grey / blue with a thin white line.

Is this a chickadee?

Blue tit enjoying sunshine after Storm Christoph

“It rained and it rained and it rained. Piglet told himself that never in all his life, and he was goodness knows how old – three was it, or four? – never had he seen so much rain.”

Winnie-The-Pooh, A.A.Milne, Chapter 9 …in which Piglet is entirely surrounded by water

Storm Christoph wasn’t too bad for us personally, although there were heartbreaking pictures on the news of its impact in other parts of the country.

But today the rain stopped and the sun came out. The birds returned to the feeders.

The Blue tits visited and sang whilst performing their acrobatics. I think I prefer US name Chickadee to the UK Tit, even though it probably would only apply to our Willow tit or Marsh tit. It’s so much more genteel.

Anyway, here is a Blue tit in our garden enjoying the sun.