Passionate about wildlife
The house sparrow must be one of the most recogniseable birds on the planet. It is resident on every continent, other than Antarctica. The male has a chestnut brown head, with a grey crown and a black bib.
The female has pale brown crown with a straw colour line above and behind the eye.
When breeding the bill of the male sparrow becomes black.
Rare visitors this month include peregrines overhead as well as willow warblers hiding deep in the foliage. Dragonflies, bees and butterflies maintain their seasonal visit. September has also seen the ongoing presence of resident birds such as sparrows, robins and blue-tits.
Colour continues into September. The purple Clematis particularly provided a beautiful backdrop. The roses revival is nothing short of resurrection, considering the dry, brown state of the whole bush in August. A trip to the local garden centre injected some additional colour. No idea what we got – the sole criteria was that anything we bought had to be in flower.
The dragonflies continued presence was as welcome as the warm, late summer temperatures. My photography skills limit my ability to catch these bugs in flight. I have to wait until they land before approaching with the camera.
There are long stretches of time when there are very few birds present in the garden. Sparrows arrive one or two at a time, but these gregarious birds are not on their own for long.
Our sparrow population has risen this year. There is now a group of about a dozen birds. When they are in the garden they chat to each other as they move around. However, they can be very quiet once settled.
We are used to seeing Common Buzzards circling overhead. This Peregrine Falcon was a pleasant surprise and represents a first sighting from the garden. It was instantly recognisable, as we had seen some close up at Bird of Prey centres earlier in the summer.
The long-tailed tits are similar to sparrows; they come in groups. After a summer break they are returning to the garden.
Greenfinches are difficult to spot. They blend in so well to the background; its only when they move that one’s eye is drawn to them. Goldfinches are regular visitors, but tend to stay high in the trees. Some of the juveniles are tempted down onto the feeders occasionally.
A first sighting of a willow warbler in the garden.
I have restricted myself to only five images from the garden in August. These are in no particular order, and have been chosen to illustrate the simple, diverse beauty of wildlife on my own door step for which I am grateful.
The Speckled Wood Butterfly stood out for me, because of its more muted appearance compared to the more colourful red admiral, peacock and painted lady.
The dragonfly is a fascinating creature with detailed inspection made possible to anyone with a mobile phone. This one sat in the sun, allowing me to get close whilst it soaked up the warmth.
These cute little fluff-balls returned to the garden in August after an absence of a few weeks. These three descended on the peanut feeder, which was a little unusual; they normally head for the mealworms.
After a month or two of the parent blue-tits looking a bit dishevelled as they moult and the juveniles appearing in muted grey and pastel yellow, it is good to see the beautiful, fresh blue and yellow of the mature bird.
These juvenile sparrows are the product of the amorous parents pictured in previous month’s blogs. We have a healthy, growing population despite the attention of local cats, including our own, or the odd, infrequent sparrowhawk strike.
Temperatures have exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. Not since 1976 has Dorset been this hot. There have been great opportunities to photograph widely differing species, some like the dragon flies and butterflies quite exquisitely beautiful. The sparrow population in particular has increased significantly since spring.
The garden has well and truly come alive with all sorts of creepy crawlies: peacock butterfly, red admiral, greenbottle flies, hoverflies, dragonflies, bumble-bees, honey bees.
Record temperatures have encouraged buzzards to soar on thermals in search of prey. As they pass over the garden, smaller birds call out warnings to each other, as they scurry around seeking cover.
Jays, blue tits, robins, goldfinch and sparrow are among the juvenile species seen this month.
At least two clutches of juvenile sparrows have produced so far. Judging by the antics of these two, there are more to come.
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.
In the garden two themes are apparent: nesting activity and birdsong.
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.
Whilst I have yet to see any evidence of birds actually nesting in the garden, there have been plenty of birds collecting nesting material.
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.
In recent days the sparrow population has been particularly vocal.
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.
I have seen a wren on a number of occasions and actually managed to capture a few images this month.
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.
A very distinctive bird, but quite restless, the coal tit is constantly on the move.
Slightly smaller and sleeker than a wood pigeon…
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
Stephen's Wildlife 