Catch up and gold finches

22 September 2012

This morning post included our copy of Bird Watching.  Normally everything stop when the arrives.  The column from the BTO is about wigeon, and very interesting it is too.  It seems that the number of wigeons wintering here in the UK has fallen from the normal 400,000.  The reason is that due to climate change the birds are settling more in areas well away for the UK instead of continuing to here.  I don't know anything about that but it's something to think about.

Something else I have been thinking of is the general fall in bird numbers.  I'm no scientist so please be patient with me while I struggle on here.  I've read or heard that raptors lay less or more eggs dependant on the amount of food available.  Could that also be a reason why the other species numbers have dropped also?  The other question I wondered about is perhaps more complicated; "do birds have in-built sense that tells them that their species numbers are too high and some of the fall in bird numbers is due to this?"  Yes, 

I know that farm bird number have dropped because of the intensive use of inspect sprays, but what about other species.  My mind is muddled here and I can see the wood for the trees really.

Early this month I posted a photo of a sparrow hawk out the back of the flats where we live.  As I said before we have always fed the local birds.  However, we've never had a lot of gold finches visit our feeders, even when our back garden was alongside a wood.  So imagine our pleasure at seeing one gold finch on our feeders tucking into the sunflower hearts.  It's got better now though!  On Thursday Jan counted 13 gold finches on the feeders and the table with an unknown number in the trees as well.  Blue and great tits have been fairly scarce around here too, so we were pleased to see both on our feeders for the first time this morning.

The weather forecast for tomorrow in the south is pretty dire.  I was hoping for a run down to London and perhaps going to have a look at TUB's Scrubs patch.  Now I suppose I shall have to go north instead.  I have a fancy for Marsh Side at Southport and then maybe Martin Mere Wetland Trust.  We'll see.  Hopefully I will have something to report tomorrow or Monday.   

Porkers and bird visitors

6 September 2012

It's been ages yet again since I posted in here.  The simple reason for it is that we haven't been out birding.  Jan had was in hospital for an operation and just after that we moved home.  Now we are in a ground floor flat and felling very happy about it.  We're hoping that now we are properly settled in we can get out and do some real birding. 

On Sunday we had a day out to London Zoo and then into town to have a look at the South Bank.  Bird-wise it was a so-so trip.  We had around 10 birds on the drive down but none on the drive back seeing as it was fully dark as we came back we didn't see anything at all.  We were rather pleased though to see a small flock of ring neck parakeets flying around the zoo grounds.  There was also a fair number of grey herons on the zoo grounds too.

Back here in Dorktown now then ... for many years we have fed the local birds.  That hasn't changed since we moved here.  At the rear of the block is a self contained little community of mainly disabled or elderly residents.  It's a very friendly little area indeed and one we are really happy to be part of and accepted by.  Bird wise it's not quite so good however. 

Right from the first day Jan has been feeding the birds.  Mainly we just get collared doves, wood pigeons, magpies, dunnocks, blackbirds and house sparrows.  But one day last week was a very good day.  Look what Jan snapped ... 

a sparrow hawk!  She did a lot better than I did.  I kept shaking as I tried.  It was sitting about 20 feet away from our back door and stayed there while Jan was shooting for about 10 minutes.  What a treat that was!  On Monday I looked out of the kitchen window and saw two goldfinch on the feeder.  Jan saw them again yesterday.  OK, not a spectacular sighting but a first for us here in our new home.  What we haven't seen though are any of the tit species.  I know they've had a rough breeding year this year but I would have expected to see a few of them, at least great and blue tits.

Oh would you look at that!!!  I've been telling porkies - oh horror.  We did get out one day last month.  We went to Newport Wetlands; not that it was a particularly bird filled day mind.   pleasant day out though, which is always a good thing in itself.  The main problem at the site was that the tide was well out while we were there and we couldn't really hang about waiting for it to come back in.  Next time I will check the tide times before we set out - which reminds me ... I must check them for our next planned trip to - well, I was going to say the RSPB site not far from Southend-on-Sea.  But looking at the RSPB website it's not there now.  It's not even listed in Where to Watch Birds in Britain, strange that.  I remember going there one time some time ago.  Now we will have to look for somewhere else.  Good job I checked!