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Volunteer & Farmer Alliance
Quite often, and in winter in particular, it means I get cold and wet ! However the rewards can be superb. Watching a buzzard get harried by a Sparrowhawk is one such instance, another is seeing an adult wren feeding it's newly fledged young with insects. This year a highlight was seeing three newly fledged Swallows sitting on the branch of a tree over a pond and the parent birds flying in to feed them without even stopping to perch. The best so far though was to find Barn owls breeding in a box up in the apex of - yes, a barn! Not only that but seeing the four owlets ringed, thanks to Chris and his myriad contacts. Last Thursday evening saw us assemble with the ringer and the farming family and watch the owlets brought down in bags, weighed, ringed, sexed and their age determined. Did you know that Barn owl chicks can be aged to the day by measuring the length of a primary feather from its unfurling point to the tip? These four were from 37 to 43 days old and they hatch at two day intervals.
Although late in the year for breeding ( it is thought that this is a second brood but not in the same site) the chicks were well developed and weighed between 350 and 450 grammes each. They will fledge in another 30 or so days and probably be still dependant on the parent birds for another month after that. It's sights and experiences like this that make it all worthwhile Phil Antrobus
Fancy being an RSPB volunteer? Click here http://www.rspb.org.uk/volunteering/about/about.asp Volunteer for the Volunteer & Farmer Alliance http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/farming/vandfa/index.asp
Ann
Thomson - A holiday to remember.
So what drives a girl to book herself onto a holiday, unaccompanied in the middle of wild Wales with the prospect of 4 days with total strangers? Quite simply Birds - this was an opportunity for this novice bird watcher to pick up more than a few birding tips, see some very special birds set in stunning landscapes with a brilliant guide and as it turned out some very pleasant company -Betty, Rachel, Sue and Dave, interestingly the girls outnumbered the men by 3 to 1! John Davis who runs the Mid Wales Birdwatching holidays is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the birds and wildlife. He leads groups of up to six people at a time and I would recommend the holiday to any one who is interested. I stayed at the George Borrow Hotel and from there excellent views of Red Kites and Restarts were to be had. The holiday's are inclusive, including accommodation and all meals. Here is John's report on the bird watching Tuesday
19th A
warm, dry, cloudy-bright day which began with a short drive to
Trisant. We first viewed Siskins and Goldfinches on a A pair of Redstarts were nesting in one of the buildings and the male showed extremely well. On one of the nearby lakes a pair of great Crested Grebes had one, down-covered young. The female was on their nest with one egg visible and the youngster was adding nest material to it! Nearby a pair of Whinchat were seen, plus Buzzards, Kites and Ravens. . We
had our picnic lunch at Cwmrheidol by a set of falls on
River
Rheidol. On a ledge over the water was a Grey Wagtails nest
with 2/3 young, here we had good views of the busy adults bringing in
food. We then drove to the Nant yr Arian Red Kite feeding site,
in it's wonderful lakeside setting the Red Kites are fed every day at 3pm,
at least 50 Kites were present .On the adjacent lake we sighted Tufted
Duck and Little Grebes. Wednesday
20th A quite bright warm day with a few showers which hardly interfered with our bird watching. We spent the day at the RSPB reserve at Ynyshir, beside the upper reaches of the Dyfi estuary The reserve boasted mixed habitats of Welsh oak woodland, wet grassland and the saltmarshes of the estuary.
Thursday
21st We
began the day at the coast at Clarach, just north of
Aberystwyth. Coastal weather was breezy, mild and quite bright in
contrast to the largely wet day inland. Sadly, no Chough
appeared during our brief visit but we got to grips with Rock
and Meadow Pipits. Here we saw the first Gannets of the day and a
pair of Linnets. We
then drove north to Ynyslas Nature reserve, at the mouth of the
Dyfi estuary. The Reserve is made up of three parts: Cors Fochno,
an internationally important peat bog; The Dyfi Estuary, an
internationally important feeding ground for thousands of wading
birds and the beach and sand dunes of Ynyslas. On the sandy
shore, outside the protected, roped off area, was a female
Ringed Plover on her eggs. We learned from one of the summer
wardens that 6 pairs had attempted to nest this season. So far,
all had failed and some were on their third and last attempt, we
hope this one made it.
Offshore we noted more Gannets Lunch
was taken at the revamped, complete with murals of the 4
element, the Victorian railway station of Borth. Sadly,
this is where we had to say goodbye to one of our fellow
birdwatchers, Sue who was on a 3 day break. Within
a few minutes we were sea-watching at Borth one of the longest
beaches in Ceredigion, not for the Surfers
that love the area but for the sight of plunging Gannets and
gliding Manx
Shearwaters We
then drove inland to an upland valley known for its Goshawks.
None obliged (it was one of those days) but we did get to see a
singing Tree Pipit and heard more elusive Lesser Redpolls. We
returned to The George Borrow hotel and for Betty it was to be
her last evening of the trip. Friday
22nd Ann
was keen to see a Dipper, so we began the day back in the
Rheidol valley at the falls at the far end of Cwmrheidol. There
was no sign of the birds near their nest site but we had
excellent, prolonged views of a bird on a set of falls a little
further upstream. Unfortunately it then began to rain, so we
made a dash for the coast where we enjoyed a fairly sunny day. We
stopped at the picturesque harbour town of Aberaeron and
again had distant views of Gannets and Manx
Shearwaters. A little further to the south, the cliffs at New
Quay produced all the expected birds: Kittiwakes, some with
eggs, some with young; Guillemots, many with chicks; Razorbills,
Fulmars, Cormorants, Shags - including two nests with well grown
chicks; Herring Gulls, although very few this year had young and
Ravens. Gannets of varying ages were observed at close
quarters, then seen plunging into the sea with other seabirds in
a feeding frenzy as shoals of fish
appeared at the surface. Unlike our trip to Clarach we caught up
with our elusive Choughs, 2 adults and their 3 young, these
striking crows showed well on and off throughout our visit.
Linnets and
Rock Pipits frequented the clifftop and a fitting end to our
birdwatching day was the Peregrine Falcon which timely put in a
appearance. I
should also mention a different type of wildlife seen from the
cliffs that day, at
least 3 superb Bottle-nosed Dolphins putting on a prolonged and active
appearance. All in all, a very productive visit, followed by tea
in the village and the final drive back to The George Borrow. Over the 4 days the total number of bird species encountered was 91.
Interested in an adventure of your own? : Our phone number is 01970 890281 or you can e-mail us at johndavis@midwalesbirdwatching.co.uk www.midwalesbirdwatching.co.uk
David Holland - A personal study of wintering Blackcap's in a Liverpool Suburb
I have noted the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) focus on overwintering Blackcaps and thought you might be interested in a verbal account of the data I am inputting from my garden to Garden BirdWatch (GBW) and BirdTrack. I received my first winter blackcap in 1997 (my GBW began in 1995) and for the first three years recorded Blackcaps in one or two weeks in the new year each year. In 2000 I got my first pre-Christmas Blackcap and after that, pre-Christmas Blackcaps have run at 1-3 per year to 2004. But winter 2005 brings a marked interest. A male BC appeared in
the garden Nov 6 and I recorded a BC every week after (with
one exception at the end November) Of greater significance is the
results over the last four weeks when I have had 5-6 recordings
each week. On one day (Dec 16) I recorded 2 males at one
moment and at another 1 male and one female, giving me three
individuals on the day. No' of weeks Blackcap seen in the garden
In their dietary habits, I have recorded bread (once) and cotoneaster berries being eaten.
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The
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Registered charity
no. 207076 |
