This post covers two weeks (instead of the usual one) and what a difference can two weeks make. Spring is definitely in the air now, with more flowers than ever bursting into bloom and we've even found our first frogspawn of the year. From the fields, hedges and woods: the sound of birdsong is all around. Over the last fortnight, we've had highest day-counts of five Song Thrushes, seven Skylarks and 13 Robins, alongside a total of six Nuthatches (with the majority of all these species singing). Perhaps not quite 'singing' but the "aoh-woo" calls of Eider can be heard clearly at this time of year as they begin their courtship display. These past two weeks have seen good numbers of Eider, with a high of over 410 birds counted. Great Spotted Woodpeckers forego using their voice, preferring instead to hammer out their territorial claims against the side of a tree - known as 'drumming'. We've counted a total of eight 'Great Spots' during the past two weeks (including a surprise visit from a female in our garden).
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| A female Great Spotted Woodpecker out to get some peanuts. |
Other species have already paired up: a pair of Collared Doves were caught in the act of copulation and Rooks are regularly seen carrying nesting material. A male and female Stonechat have been seen frequently at the Pool Field - these birds may well have stayed together for the duration of the winter. Our local Ravens have quite likely started to breed already - for while we did see a pair together once during the past fortnight, mostly a lone individual has been seen. Ravens can start to breed quite early and they may already have chicks in the nest. Despite a highest day-count of 32 birds (including a flock of 20 at the Scar beach), Carrion Crows are - for the most part - being spotted in pairs. One of the 'hybrid' crows (of Carrion Crow and Hooded Crow descent) has paired up with a Carrion Crow, it will be interesting to see what the resulting young look like.
Many other species are preparing for the breeding season by moulting into their summer plumage, even if they don't breed locally. A Red-necked Grebe, male Long-tailed Duck (out of a high of eight individuals), a Great Northern Diver (out of a total of seven) and a Red-throated Diver (out of a highest day-count of seven) have all been spotted sporting their breeding finery. Whist no Slavonian Grebes have been seen in complete summer plumage, one day saw five out of seven birds being in a transitional state between their two plumages. Black Guillemots breed locally and while many are now in their breeding plumage we have also seen an increase in their numbers from the past few weeks - with a total of 19 birds being counted. Other species are preparing for breeding not by their presence but by their absence: Teal numbers are decreasing (with only six counted at the marsh) as they depart for better breeding areas.
To add to this, spring migrants are beginning to appear. Following on from our first Gannet, the first of the last two weeks also saw a single Gannet but the second week saw them increase dramatically - with a highest day-count of 17 birds. We also spotted our first Sandwich Tern of the year - hopefully there will be many more sightings of this elegant seabird to come. A single Linnet and six Rock Pipits were counted; at this time of year migrating groups of Rock Pipits may be the 'Scandinavian' sub-species. Other winter species that are being bolstered by migrants include Meadow Pipits (a total of 27 individuals, composed of three flocks with ten, seven and ten birds) and Pied Wagtails (total of 25). Male Pied Wagtails begin to migrate first and it is therefore no surprise that most of the birds that we are seeing at the moment are males.
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| A female pied wagtail. |
Other migrants are our winter species that are now leaving. Pink-footed Geese have been heard calling at night and been seen flying overhead in small flocks. The Pale-bellied Brent Goose flock has varied considerably in number, with a high of 178 birds. A total of five Mistle Thrushes were sighted and two separate flocks of Redwings were counted (18 and 28), the latter of which had a Fieldfare with them. We also had a new species for the blog: a Smew swam past the Wig. Smews are quite often faithful to a site over the winter months, so perhaps this female was on her way back south. More of our winter species, however, are content to stick around for the time being. Four Twite put in an appearance, a single male Scaup lingered at the Wig and we had a highest day-count of 26 Goldeneyes. Some slightly more uncommon species include records of a male Velvet Scoter and a Purple Sandpiper that was at the Sailing Club Jetty.
Let's not forget our 'year-round' species! A selection of highest day-counts include 30 Chaffinches, 158 Common Scoters, 79 Curlews, three Goldcrests, three Treecreepers, three Herons, two Grey Wagtails, a Jay (we saw one bird each week), 200 Oystercatchers (all at the Scar), three Pheasants, 57 Red-breasted Mergansers, 20 Ringed Plovers, 16 Shags, 4 Shelducks, 9 Cormorants, 3 adult Great Black-backed Gulls and 43 Wigeon. Good numbers of gulls and waders were sighted, with highest day-counts of 308 Common Gulls, two Grey Plovers, seven Redshanks, a Knot, over 400 Herring Gulls, roughly 40 Turnstones and approximately 80 Golden Plovers. Singles of Long-tailed Tit, Peregrine (a male) and Siskin were present and, while not in as large numbers as last month, we counted 352 Starlings. Furthermore, both Guillemot (seven birds) and Razorbill (flocks of six and three) both put in an appearance after being absent for several weeks.
It's not just all happening at the Wig either, for the 'Woodpigeon Field' (mentioned in the previous post) once again produced results: 196 Woodpigeons were feeding in amongst some sheep. At the marsh, whilst the calls of Teal were less frequently heard there were a pair of Mallards, a male Wigeon and a Moorhen present. Our own garden has played host to a number of Sparrowhawks: two visits from each a male and a female (on one visit the male was successful in catching his dinner). Fortunately, with over 136 House Sparrows in our garden, there is plenty of prey to go around.
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| Canada Geese in a field by Loch Connell. |
At Loch Connell, a surplus of 200 Common Gulls were joined by 22 Herring Gulls, six Black-headed Gulls, a first-winter Great Black-backed Gull and four adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls (the first of this species that we've seen this year). Diving in the loch were six Goldeneyes, a Cormorant and ten Goosanders, while also out on the water were 15 Mallards, 60 Teal, 212 Wigeon and a Whooper Swan. Around the outskirts, two Herons were joined by a Curlew and two Oystercatchers. The fields around Loch Connell are still home to geese, with approximately 200 Greylag Geese, eight Canada Geese and roughly 1200 Pink-footed Geese feeding there. On different days, five Goosander flew overhead and the fields played host to a flock of roughly 500 Golden Plovers.
Quite a long post this time round - hopefully that makes up for covering two weeks instead of one! Finally, I have to finish off with a little bit of sad news for you. In just over two weeks, I'll be leaving the area for work for a few months. While I'm very excited, I won't be able to continue with writing this blog and (unless anybody local fancies writing up some short pieces??) it will have to go on hiatus until at least August. Sorry!
[All photographs are taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]
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