Sunday 19 February 2012

After the Big Freeze

Great Spotted Woodpecker (c) 2012 Richard Whateley
Mistle Thrush (c) 2012 Richard Whateley
Great Tit (c) 2012 Aileen Urquhart

Last week saw quite a thawing out after the bone-chilling previous week. Most of the wetland habitats were still frozen over, so were largely devoid of birds, so we tried to find birds in woodland. The Tuesday & Wednesday groups went looking for Bullfinches, which came up trumps again, although the courtship scene observed the previous week was not repeated. Other birds seen were Treecreeper, Redwing, Long-tailed Tits, Great Spotted Woodpecker, & Stock Doves.

The Thursday & Friday groups went to our only fragment of ancient woodland. Here, the most fascinating birds watched were some over-excited Great Spotted Woodpeckers. There were at least 2 females & 1 male, but another individual may also have been involved. One bird drummed on one resonant piece of wood, then there was a short pause, then it drummed on a different stump, which emitted a sound at a quite different frequency. One of the birds drumming was definitely a female, so it isn't only male birds which drum.

On both visits Common Buzzards were seen, which is a new bird for this particular area. It is unlikely that they will breed in the fragment of ancient woodland, as it is a very popular area with noisy ramblers & dogwalkers, so they are unlikely to settle down long enough to breed in peace. However, there are a couple of suitable copses nearby, so hopefully we will have some breeding in the area this summer. Other birds seen included: Blue, Great, Coal & Long-tailed Tits, Treecreepers, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Rooks, Carrion Crows, Wrens, Dunnocks, but only one session obtained decent views of some genuinely wild Bullfinches.
Bullfinch
ditto
Bullfinch [female]
ditto
Robin
Robin
Goldcrest
Record shot of Goldcrest
Record shot of Goldcrest
Treecreeper
ditto

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