AnnMarie's Blog

Grey Wagtails are a bright active bird, rather more colourful than their name suggests.

They prefer to live along fast flowing sections of rivers & streams and are native residents across much of Britain, particularly western areas like Wales.

An ideal location would be one with plenty of rocks & pebbles to perch upon and with rocky banks that present ideal nesting hollows & cracks. The further addition of some woodland shade would provide the perfect abode with plenty of insects just waiting to be made a meal of. The two pictures in this post illustrate just such a location and the wagtail in the first picture is holding a scrumptious beak-full of wiggly insects.

Grey Wagtail populations are susceptible to harsh winters, amongst other things, and they are currently considered to be of amber conservation status (RSPB).

Like all Wagtails, the Grey Wagtail bobs & wags its long tail almost constantly. If you are lucky enough to find an upland river where Dippers & Wagtails share the stage, you’d be forgiven for feeling that you were viewing the next energetic dance craze! If you’re visiting my neck of the woods, look out for the action along the Afon Dulas.

For more Wagtail pictures, pop across to my galleries at Natures Universe.

RSPB Big Garden Bird watch, it’s amazing how quickly the year goes by.

We chose to do our watch on the Saturday this year and it’s been a beautiful crisp cold day. Most of the expected birds turned up for their daily feed, you can see our results further down this post.

A Nuthatch enjoys a black sunflower seed.

But first I’d like to recount some behaviour of the Pecker variety. To be more precise the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. As those of you who follow my posts will know, we have good numbers of these woodpeckers on the farm and some visit the feeders year round. Currently we have 2 males and 1 female who are regular feeder visitors. Peanuts & Fat balls are their usual preference but one male has developed a liking for sunflower seeds. He is however, very particular about his preparation and eating ritual. Once he is confident that the area is safe, he collects several sunflower seeds from the feeder. Next he flies across to an old post that has a small hole in it. He places the seeds in the hole and bashes them with his beak. This appears to not only remove the hard shell but also pounds the kernel in to fine chips & coarse flour that he then heartily enjoys. This process he then repeats, until disturbed or satisfied. I’ve posted a 2 minute video of this to my YouTube channel, which you can watch at the end of this post.

Now back to the BGBW. As promised our results are in the table below, guarded by Mrs Woodpecker:

Species No. Chaffinch 50 Blue Tit 15 Great Tit 11 House Sparrow 10 Blackbird 8 Brambling 6 Coal Tit 5 Dunnock 4 Robin 4 Song Thrush 4 Pheasant 4 Nuthatch 3 Jay 3 Goldfinch 2 GS Woodpecker 2 Carrion Crow 1 Greenfinch 1 Tawny Owl 1 Summary: 18 species 134 individuals

I’m pleased that some of the Bramblings showed up this year. They have been absent or few in numbers for a several winters but this winter has seen a good number on the farm. They have such fabulous plumage too.

A Brambling perches on a hedgerow twig.

As you can read above, Chaffinches are in great abundance and each morning the farmyard is alive with the hubbub of gossip between their various families in the surrounding hedgerows. Despite the fact that they seem to find plenty of food around the stables & barns, they are still very prominent at the feeders each day.

A Chaffinch in the winter sun.

I think the only regular visitors that didn’t turn up for today’s count, were the Siskins. But then they seem to have been staying up in the forestry during cold spells, only coming down to the feeders when it’s damp & milder; so perhaps their no show was to be expected.

Ah, time to do the evening rounds now. I hope your BGBW was successful and if you haven’t done it yet, good luck for tomorrow.

Here’s the Woody video I mentioned:

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It must be spring, just the other day this cheerful reed bunting was singing away.

Reed buntings (Emberiza schoeniclus)  breed in areas of rush & reed at the side of bogs & lakes. They are noted for singing from tall reeds or from shrub branches that overhang the water; indeed this is exactly what this one was doing. A lot more settled than the nesting Canada geese that I was watching! More on the argumentative geese in a later post.

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And not far below the Bunting, toads were a courting. The Common Toad (Bufo bufo) spawns in strings rather than the clumps of frog spawn that we find. You can see more about Toads in my post from last year.

 Click image for a larger view …

Nothing like some romance in the reeds

To view how some of the garden birds approach landing on a feeder, I photographed them at high shutter speeds. The composite image below shows some of the results:

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They each appear to approach at significantly different speeds. The chaffinches certainly seemed easier to catch in frame than the blue tits, who frequently beat my reactions!

Just a brief post for now – its been a busy week

These beautiful little birds, a garden favourite here in the UK, have been having a tough time in the recent spell of winter weather. The British variety is in fact a sub species called “Erithacus rubecula melophilus”. Several Robin’s have been visiting our feeders and I thought I’d share some recent pictures …

Click on any of the images to see a larger view.

Robins breed in parks, gardens & woodlands. They enjoy eating snails & worms and whilst they will take seeds, a nice tub of mealworms is what they’d really like to find at your garden feeder. Robins are fiercely territorial and with both sexes being similarly marked, mating time must be fraught with confusion! Both genders sing a warbling song that is used to advertise territory, you may be able to distinguish the song in my video at the end of this post.

You can read more about the Robin on either the Wiki or RSPB websites.

As mentioned I also took a brief piece of video, just expand this post to view it …

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As promised here is the video short that accompanies my post about the Kites at Gigrin Farm, from last Wednesday.

I’ve adjusted my video export settings for upload to YouTube, I think these are better – hope you agree.

As usual this post is split to assist quicker loading of the site, so please click continue to reveal the video …

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Last Wednesday we took a trip down to Gigrin Farm to photograph the feeding of wild Kites. Firstly may I say what a wonderful job Chris Powell at Gigrin Farm & the Welsh Kite Trust do in helping these magnificent birds of prey to thrive once again. If possible please do show your support by visiting them; it’s a wonderful experience that you won’t forget.

  Click any image to see a larger view …

During cold spells the number of birds needing the extra food can increase to a good few hundred, the skies were certainly full of them on Wednesday. And Red Kites weren’t the only species in attendance:

The picture above shows a Kite in company with Buzzard, Grey Heron and Crows.

The red Kite was once very common in the UK and enjoyed Crown protection during medieval times since the birds were so helpful in cleaning up the streets of towns. However this changed and the Kite found itself persecuted by some groups from the Victorian period onwards. Kites were eradicated completely from Scotland & England but just clung on in the remoter regions of mid-Wales. It is believed that at the worst point, only one breeding female survived. With the help of caring Farmers & conservation organisations the Red Kite is now thriving again and has been reintroduced to both Scotland & England.

When possible Kites prefer to skim the ground, pick up prey and then eat on the wing, as below:

Whilst most Red Kites show the classic chestnut / russet red colouration, occasionally some are born paler (leucistic), such as Gigrin’s “White Red Kite” . A paler Kite can be can see pictured below:

Red Kites (Milvus milvus) usually pair for life and whilst average longevity is about 10 years, some have been known to live well in to their 20’s. I think they have particularly captivating faces, as shown in the full res crop below:

Such a piercing stare of concentration.

Of the other species present the common Buzzard is perhaps the most impressive. A quite large & stocky bird of prey, it is a common sight at home with us in Dyfi forest. The common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) has a similar lifespan to that of the Kite. One clear behavioural difference that you will see at a feeding station is that the Buzzard prefers to eat on the ground vs. the Kite in the air. They are not easily intimidated by the Kites:

The kites do swoop in at considerable pace and are definitely not adverse to getting ‘up close & personal’ with the other avian life; as the heron below discovered:

Anyway this post has become plenty long enough, with many pictures. I am preparing a series of Bird of Prey prints & posters which I will start to release towards the end of the month on Posters Wales. If you have any special requests, please do email from the contact form & I’ll see what I can do for the more popular ones. Currently I really want to photograph a wild Welsh Hen Harrier but this could be a tricky one, so all sighting emails will be gladly received, thanks.

BTW a short video of flying & feeding Kites is to follow.

Here are some pictures of welsh birds of prey, from our trip to Nant yr Arian, Ceredigion; yesterday afternoon.

   Click on images for a larger view …

The Welsh uplands have become a stronghold for the beautiful Red Kite (Milvus milvus). There are several places where the wild kites are fed, to help in the continuing conservation effort; Nant yr Arian is just one such place. I have counted 39 Red Kites in the picture above; so the kites obviously know where to come for a snack!

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This second picture looks a bit closer and the clear reddish colour & forked tail of the kites can be seen as they wheel above the welsh uplands.

I’m still working my way through the images that I took but below are 4 more that show:

• A Kite swooping above a Crow & 2 Mallards
• A Kite talons outstretched to grasp some food, meanwhile a Buzzard stands watching
• A Kite flies past the visitor’s hide at Nant yr Arian
• And a close-up view of a Red Kite in flight

Click any of the images for a larger view

Kite posters will be available from Posters Wales, later this spring.

And finally a short YouTube video of the kites …

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Well its that time of year again where many of the UK’s families get out into gardens & parks to count the number of birds that are there. If you’d like to find out more please visit the RSPB web site. We duly did our count, with the noticeable change being more house sparrows & less goldfinch. We’ve recently had an issue with our supplies of niger seed, so that explains the Goldfinches and its very pleasing to see more sparrows.

Having received my Canon 5D MkII on Saturday lunchtime, it seemed suitable to take some test shots of the garden birds, here’s a blue tit:

  Click any picture for a larger view …

Various members of the tit family were here in significant numbers and so were the ever present chaffinches. This little Robin kept trying to creep up unannounced:

  Shy Robin

I don’t have the hide out at the moment, so these images were taken with the camera & I all camouflaged up but standing out in the open. The setup was 5D MkII on the back of 500mm L with 1.4 extender in place; all mounted on a monopod, to help me support the weight.

  House Sparrow

I always loved the 500mm lens on my 5D but I think it’s even better mounted on the MkII. I just had to try out the video feature so here’s a brief YouTube video for you. Please forgive my slight wobble but 700mm fl on a monopod in a breeze, it is not the easiest thing to steady

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The Eurasian Jay is a colourful member of the crow family and is resident across most of Europe. Jays breed in various types of woodland but prefer oak, for its abundance of acorns.

We are lucky enough to have a reasonable number of these rather shy birds, breeding locally. This year they have taken to visiting our bird feeding station. The other day I set up a remote camera to record the goings on; below is a sequence of 2 visits & flights away, just click the play button to view the sequence.

Jays really are very cautious birds but its well worth trying to get them calm to your presence, their plumage is truly stunning. You’ll certainly hear that they’re about, with the loud grating alarm calls that they make!

We’ve been a little concerned about the swallows & house martins this year; but all seems to be well now. Having heard of the poor weather in southern Africa just when their northerly migration was starting, it was worrying to see fewer than normal in the initial arrival. As time has gone on more & more have arrived such that we now have large numbers hunting for insects over the fields.

The house martin chicks in the nests on the house are now quite close to fledging, it seems quite a squeeze in those mud nests. In one particular nest the 5th chick has been pushed out, falling to his death in the nighttime but the other 4 seem very well, as per the image sequence below:

  Its squashed in here

  Incoming

  Some for you

   Oi! Give me some

    I’m going to swallow them both.

The parents are both hunting almost constantly through the daylight hours and with only 3 or so minutes between each foray there must be a large number of insects going in to the chicks!

This spring we added a new feeding station for our wild birds. It seems to have been quite a hit, especially with the youngsters. Some of them are very quick to get to grips with things, like the sparrow fledglings; others aren’t too sure at first, like a certain little blue tit.

Anyway I’ve pieced together a short (~3min – 10Mb) video for you to take a look, just click the link below & then the play button …

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The greater Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) is the most common woodpecker in the British Isles. In fact there are thought to be about 25 million of them living in Europe.

Image Details: Focal Length 700mm 3 exposure mosaic Juvenile – note red cap Click image for a larger view …

I have a particular fondness for ‘woody’ and so I’m very pleased to have spotted at least 3 families nesting with us this year. They are real characters and it is fun watching the parents bring up their young. They are fairly nervous birds and don’t seem to like close human attention but with patience its surprising how much you can observe.

To identify the family members look for red markings on the head and neck; the male (3rd picture) has a red nape to his neck, whilst the female (2nd picture, below) has no red on head or neck, the juveniles (top picture) have a red cap, the young male’s often being brighter & larger than his sister’s.

Image Details:Focal Length 1400mm Female – note no red head markings Click image for a larger view …

They are resident all the year around across much of Europe and eat insects, seeds & nuts. They are also rumoured to take small birds eggs / chicks, if times are hard. Happily our families seem to feast on the peanuts that we put out, the many conifer cones in the woodland and of course our bountiful insect harvest!

They are well known for their rapid drumming on hollow trunks, which can be heard from quite a distance and have a specially adapted beak & skull to avoid injuring themselves whilst drumming. It seems that wooden electricity poles are especially good for drumming on, as many a frustrated engineer will tell you Their tongue is long and sticky enabling the recovery of insects from holes in wood or even choice peanut fragments from a feeder.

Image Details: Focal Length 400mm Male – note red nape Click image for a larger view …

For more on that tongue, can you make it out in the picture below? The barbs are just visible pushing the peanut chip up against the juvenile’s top beak. This picture isn’t ideal & I’m working on taking a sharper one but it’ll have to do for now.

To find out more about woodpeckers, try following some of these links:

RSPB page with sound & video

Wiki article on the Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Birds of Britain article on same

or try these two sources for more general Woodpecker articles Britannica or How stuff works.

Oh and if you like my images don’t forget that many are available as prints from my business sites; in fact I hope to have a woodpecker poster out this autumn (08).

The last few days I’ve been testing some new photography equipment. The weather has been fairly damp & murky, until today, which was beautiful. Anyway I decided that one of my test subjects should be some of the birds in and around the garden / hedgerows. Amongst others that includes:

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Here are a few images, be sure to click the link at the bottom to view the interactive image of a Dunnock:

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As I said today was a distinct improvement and I could do some winter hedgerow shots:

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Have you ever looked really closely at a small bird? Their fine feathers and exquisite colours are so beautiful. Click here for high resolution image of a Dunnock. The image is scrollable & zoomable and having been taken at a focal length of 1000mm, there’s quite a bit of detail (more detail downloaded each time you zoom, so give it a little while).

I’m really looking forward to spring now! Lots of photography opportunities.

BTW: Shameless plug here – if you’d like to purchase prints of my images, many are available for direct purchase from my business site: Celestial Galleries

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Technorati tags: Birds, Ornithology, Twitching, Photography

We have been watching the woodpecker family on & off, for the last few days. The male appears to be doing much of the work with their juvenile, who has gradually been coaxed out of the tree and down to our feeding station. This evening, a fairly dull wet one, the male was collecting food and passing it to the juvenile; who was sat watching, a mere metre or so away.

The young one accepts some food from Dad, as above, then waits & watches while his parent fetches some more.

For those of you who aren’t aware, the male Great Spotted Woodpecker has red feathers in the nape of his neck, the juvenile has a red cap and the female has no red marking on her head & neck.

After some time it looked like the young one wasn’t too impressed with the rain, so off they both flew.

I am not sure whether or not the female still has another chick in the nest, because she seems very reluctant to come to feed.