Male Great Spotted Woodpecker (red neck-patch not showing
Wren on a quick stop-off
Female Blackbird
Sunbathing squirrel yesterday!
There’ll be a short break in transmission while I travel down for a momentous family day in Catsfield- mum’s 90th birthday! I’ll leave with a few recent photos and be back to blogging soon. Conditions: Wet and grey, though milder than the last couple of days. Temperature: Max 7- Min 7 C.
Bullfinches were drawn into the garden again today by the frosty weather. Most of the ones coming in winter will be native birds, that don’t stray more than a few kilometres from their breeding grounds, but some come in, as the weather worsens, from further north, including Scandinavia. These migrants have a deeper, more powerful call than the thinner piping call of native Bullfinches, so you might be able to tell them apart from that. They tend to prefer feeding on seeds and suet-based foods in hanging feeders. The ability
Male Bullfinches feed easily from hanging feeders
Male Bullfinches are among the most colourful visitors at any time of the year.
of Bullfinches to digest cellulose from energy-rich buds might be frustrating for gardeners and farmers but it saves many of their lives when seeds run out in the wild, during winter. Favourite buds seem to be from fruit-bearing wild and garden bushes and trees- Blackthorn, Crab Apples, Hawthorn, Plum and Pear especially. I personally think their presence outweighs what we lose in buds later in winter, and in early spring. Conditions: A beautiful crisp, frosty morning with light cloud and blue sky. Temperature: Max 5- Min 3 C.
Holly is a wonderful, slow-growing evergreen tree that could help wildlife in our gardens in several ways. The density and prickliness of the foliage provides shelter for many nesting birds including Thrushes, Blackbirds, Dunnock, Finches and Goldcrests . Bees and Bumblebees love the nectar and pollen from the tiny flowers and the caterpillars of the Holly Blue Butterfly feed on the flowers and buds in spring (the summer brood feeds on Ivy). Birds of the Thrush family especially love their berries in winter. The deep leaf-litter that tends to form under Holly Trees is also great for hibernating small mammals and
The small, delicate Holly Flowers
toads. Shade-tolerant, Holly bushes are either male or female, and need the other form nearby, though not necessarily in the same garden, to be pollinated and produce berries. The Holly has long been held as powerful in traditional beliefs, including the practice for centuries of planting one near the back door as protection from Witchcraft and Lightening! The wood was used in wet weather, as it’s fierce way of burning means it lights well even when wet. Conditions: A beautiful dawn was followed by a bright, cool, dry day. Temperature: Max 8, Min 2 C
Young Holly berries, still green, on native Holly
One of the variegated garden varieties of Holly, just as useful to wildlife as the native variety.
The lovely dawn this morning
I watched two female Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other out of the trees and off the feeders in the garden the other day and since then, only one has visited, or at least only one at a time. I wondered if it was an adult chasing a young female but can find no details about this behaviour and in the past, as can be seen, we have had two males feeding through winter without dispute- territorial battles are usually confined to males in
The two females kept chasing each other away
These two males a couple of winters ago were happy to feed next to each other
spring. Anyway, it made for some fascinating viewing- they were much more intent on aggression towards each other than feeding and between our two gardens there are plenty of feeders to choose from! Conditions: Dry, still day with a little brightness, especially towards mid-afternoon. Temperature: Going down at present- Max 9- Min 3C.
The second female also on high alert during this spell, and didn’t feed.
Great Tits are thought to be one of the quickest birds to find new food-sources, and their over-winter survival rates are higher (despite the density of the cat population) in suburban areas than in woodlands, though their breeding is more successful in woods than gardens. Their diet shifts at the time of year from invertebrates to seeds and fruit. In a good year of Beech seeds (‘mast’) , they will stay longer in beech woodlands, in flocks, feeding on the fallen mast on the ground but in a poor year, or as supplies run out, they come into gardens more and more. In gardens the average number in mixed
Great Tits visit gardens throughout the year, like tis acrobatic young bird.
But expect more in the garden as they switch their diet in the winter.
flocks is 3, which is the number we keep getting, despite having 23 Blue Tits in a mixed flock here the other day! Apart from moving from uplands in severe winters, the resident population doesn’t move far. East coasts populations are swelled by migrants from across the North Sea. Conditions: A little brighter skies today following heavy rain through the night. Temperature: Max 14- Min 8C
Great Tits have their smart winter coats now, too- males have a wider stripe of black than females.
Sadly, yesterday I found this dead Goldcrest in the garden. These, our tiniest birds are coming to gardens more now we’re getting to winter. Over half a million pairs breed here but the numbers go up to 3-5 million with an influx of migrants fleeing even bleaker weather in Scandinavia- one has been found that was ringed as far away as Russia. They make landfall on the east coast, feed up and rest, and then spread out over the country. . In the past, people simply didn’t believe such a tiny bird (about 5-6 grams, the weight of a ten pence piece) could travel independently across the North Sea so it was called the ‘Woodcock Pilot’, as it was thought to hitch a ride in the feathers of
Close-up of the Goldcrest I found dead yesterday
I think the Goldcrest died from disease
This shows its crest and it is a bright orange-red inside it’s beak, faded a little here.
Long claws help it hang and manoeuvre on branches and twigs as it uses its thin beak to get at tiny, hidden insects in conifers
migrating Woodcock! It felt even lighter than I imagined- the weight of eggs laid by a female in one brood outweighs the normal weight of its body. I also hadn’t realise how bright orange the inside of its beak is (it has faded a little since it died but you can still see it in the photo). Its thin beak is ideal for picking small insects out of pine-needles and crevices. Their sweet song is so high-pitched many older people can’t register the sound. They do have high mortality rates, like most small birds, and this one looked as though it has a disease, but keep looking- they are about. Sian has just seen one in her garden. Conditions: A cooler, cloudy day, with a little breeze and rain moving in in the afternoon. Temperature: Max 8- Min 7C.
More about Yew Trees- some individual trees are thought to be the oldest living plants in Northern Europe. At least 500 churchyards in England are thought to have Yew Trees that pre-date their Church. From very early times Yews were seen as symbols of immortality, and have many rituals and powers associated with them. Yew branches were carried on Palm Sunday and at funerals. They were also thought to be planted on the graves of plague victims, to purify and protect the dead. The wood of Yew is very hard and beautifully marked. It is used by woodworkers to make bowls and many pieces of furniture, and its qualities have been prized by many cultures- a Yew spearhead was unearthed in Clacton, dating back 450,000 years. Longbows were made of Yew. Typical of old Yews, the photo’s (courtesy of Lynn) are from a great Yew in the churchyard next to the village I was born in- Crowhurst, Sussex. In 1680 this tree was measured by one John Aubrey- the girth was 33 feet at the base and 27 feet four feet up. It is thought to be at least 1300 years old. Conditions: Occasional bright spells in a cloudy, dry day. Temperature: Max 10- Min 7C.
Yew Trunk at Crowhurst, Sussex
Part of the trunk of the ancient Crowhurst Oak
As the autumn leaves drop rapidly, autumn fruits become a source of colour. None is more luminous, nor dangerous (and, perversely, valuable to us medically), than the Yew. Not a berry, this strange modification of a cone, called an ‘aril’ is valued by the Thrush family, especially Blackbirds. They can enjoy the non-toxic flesh and quickly eject the highly poisonous seed before it causes them any damage. Small mammals such as Dormice, and larger ones like the Badger can also eat the arils and the caterpillar of the
Yew ruits.
The Yew ‘arils’ showing the fleshy red shell holding the dark, highly poisonous seed.
With the light through them, they are a beautiful colour.
‘Silk Beauty Moth’ can eat the leaves. However, just a few leaves or seeds of the Yew can kill humans, horses and cows, It is the outer casing of the seed which is so deadly, but Greenfinches can somehow strip that off, without harming themselves, and digest the inner kernel! Modern medicine has harnessed chemicals in the yew species ‘Taxus Bachata’ to create treatments for cancer. I think the fruits are really beautiful. More about the Yew Tree itself tomorrow. Conditions: A still, cloudy day with occasional glimpses of blue sky. Temperature: Max 10- Min 7C.
The Coal Tits are always less numerous in our garden than Blue and Great Tits, and even when in mixed flocks, like at present, their visits to feeders are usually fast and fleeting. They prefer to eat their favourite sunflower seeds away from the open, in bushes or trees, before returning rapidly for another feed. As I described earlier in the year,
Coal Tit intimidated by the approach of another bird to the feeder.
Tis Coal Tit is gathering a seed and will fly off to a sheltered spot to eat it.
they are the only Tit to cache food and being smaller, they are more vulnerable to harsh conditions or food shortages, so that may be why they lay food up for times of scarcity. As these views show, they are always on the alert, often calling their ‘seep-seep’ calls to each other when they locate food-sources. They don’t stray far from their home range so you may be watching some of the same individuals all year round. Conditions: Another dull, mostly still day after heavy rain in the night. Temperature: Max 10- Min 8C.
Though Coal Tits will eat most seeds and fats you put out, its favourite is said to be sunflower seeds
Both the small birds that hunt on tree trunks have been around. The Nuthatch is by far the easiest to see, so I’ll post a couple of new photo’s of that. The Nuthatch can climb up and down tree-trunks, prising off pieces of bark to get at the insects, but they also come to feeders to eat seeds. The Treecreeper is much more timid and less likely to feed in the open, usually creeping round the back of tree-trunks almost as soon as you spot it. At this time of year they will move away from their breeding grounds, (usually in woodland), and venture a bit nearer gardens, though they seldom move further than 20km from their summer territories. Unlike Nuthatches, Treecreepers can only move upwards, working their way in spirals finding insects, with their thin, curved beaks, before flying off to start low in another tree. They are quick and busy and the first I saw of this one was a flash of bright white against the tree. It went as quickly, hence the poor photo. They have been likened to mice in the way they move and their mottled backs make them very well camouflaged if you don’t see their chest. Treecreepers will travel with mixed flocks of Tits at this time of year, so it is worth looking out when Tits come in. Conditions: A mild,
Blurred Treecreeper, but you can make out its curved beak- just!
The other trunk-feeder, the Nuthatch, is much bolder in the garden.
Nuthatches more varied diet also means you see them on feeders
sometimes wet day with occasional (very!) patches of sunshine. Temperature: Max 10- Min 7C.
Sheffield city nature diary by Penny Philcox 