Watching the birds

 Our bird feeders are often used by the local sparrows who live in our garden hedges.  This year there are also some juvenile collared doves using the facility.  They can be seen waiting atop the greenhouse for the food to go out in the morning.  Other regular visitors include starling, magpie, pigeon, dunnock and the occasional green finch.

 The sparrows have had lots of young again this year and they usually sit in the hedge or in the nearby trees to be fed by their parents.

The most satisfying event this year is that the goldfinch, who have been around for years, have just discovered the feeding station.  They have started feeding on the niger seed that has been put out for some years, but seldom used.  I have seen them at the feeder on a couple of occasions, always in pairs.

These 3 little ducklings were cruising the Avon at Stratford this week.  The chicks are very advanced this year after the warm and dry spring.

Birds

Having walked around the countryside in the past few days I am posting a few of the birds I have seen on my travels.

This dipper was hunting for food in the waters of Lathkill Dale in Derbyshire.  Dippers can be seen in any reasonably flowing stream in this area as long as there are exposed stones in the water flow where they can stand.  I love to see them bobbing up and down as they attempt to see what is below the waters surface.

At the Wollesley Gardens Staffordshire conservation area we came across this cheerfully chirruping Robin.  Robins are probably the only local birds that sing all year.

There are lots of Robins about.  We called them "Robin Red Breasts" as children. This little fellow was snapped on the pathway at Longton Park, Staffordshire.  Not the usual angle from which to see a robin.

At the Consal Forge visitors centre there are a lot of bird feeders.  For some years now, there has been a pheasant that seems to live under the feeders, feeding on the fallen grain.  He is an old bird and his habit of remaining on protected parkland has surely preserved him from becoming a target for the local shoots.  The long tail feathers are occasionally seen adorning hats and I have used them to fletch arrows in the past.

Rails are also common in local rivers and lakes.  This is a Coot (white Bill and forehead patch)  There are also a lot of Moorhens (Red Bill).  This Coot was resting at the side of the lake in Longton Park.

Rock Doves are also very common in built up areas of the City.  They are often called pigeons, but when they are seen at by the side of a Wood Pigeon they are clearly much smaller birds.

Birdspotting in Wales

On Saturday we headed out to Chester, a journey which proved a challenge as part of the A41 was blocked north of the Harthill roundabout.  We had to detour out towards Wrexham to turn back into Chester.  We decided that we had time to drive out onto the North Welsh coast and ended up for a few hours at Llandudno.  A walk along the promenade and out to the pier allowed us to see gulls and waders a plenty.

 

 We saw a lot of oyster catchers feeding on the shoreline.  These birds were looking for small molluscs and small creatures on the strand line at high tide.

Not so far away were red-shank.  These small waders feed on muddy flats, probing for food in the soft mud.

The town as very busy as there was a Celtic Craft Fair in the streets.  We ventured into the Fair and discovered an RSPB stall where we were able to find out about the facilities at Conwy reserve.  So- off we went to see the birds.

Within the bounds of the reserve are two lakes.  A board walk and pathways allow access to the whole of the area and there are hides situated at intervals around the site.

Apart from the usual shop, they have a very good cafe with a glass wall that overlooks one of the lakes.

The reserve is on the A55 coast road, directly off junction 18, which is west of Llandudno Junction (junction 19).  If you have an interest in birds and you find yourself in North Wales, this is an excellent visit.  The site is on the River Conwy and you can see Conwy Castle in the distance and on the horizon  (on a clear day) Mount Snowdon is a distinct feature.

It's cool

The first day of 2009 is here and it is cool this morning. Temperatures are hovering around -1 degree and all is frosted and frozen. We ventured out to see some old friends in Nottingham and on the way we diverted to the village of Ruddington to locate the local museums. Afterwards, we found the local nature reserve and walked in the cool January air. The reserve at Ruddington is a man made space with woodland, meadows, an artificial lake and a railway heritage centre at the heart of the park.
The lake was frozen and a forlorn looking flock of black headed gulls were standing out on the ice. Rails, like this moorhen, were walking amongst the reed beds looking for suitable food.
A chorus of chatter came from the resident magpies, who were perched high in the trees on the lookout for anything that captured their interest. Most of the small birds were active, with chaffinches, sparrows and redstarts flitting amongst the branches with the various tits.
No such hassle for the mute swans - they just break up the ice and swim where their food is. Even in this weather they will graze near the edge of the lake. They are large birds.

In the village we parked up to seek refreshment. We were accompanied by a grey wagtail which would not come too close, but maintained our company for the crumbs of some home made biscuits. This little bird was traffic wise and took the crumbs from the roadside onto the pavement to consume them, then came back for more.