28 Saturday May 2016
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Bert: ‘Ernie, don’t look now but there’s a woman over there with one those gadgets with the long black tube attached. What do you think she’s doing?’
Ernie: ‘I don’t know, Bert. You see a lot of humans with them, and they point them right at you. Total invasion of privacy, I reckon’
Bert: ‘Maybe if we look the other way, she’ll stop doing it.’
26 Thursday May 2016
Tags
baby birds, birding, birdwatching, Blue tit, British birds, chicks, Coot, duckling, gosling, Greylag goose, Mallard, nuthatch
After having the very upsetting experience of seeing a Lesser black-backed gull grab and devour, whole, a little coot chick earlier this week, I want to celebrate today the birds that have made it … so far. There seem so many obstacles in the paths of baby birds, so many predators looking for an easy meal, problems with inexperienced parents not caring for their chicks properly, and also, in some cases, a lack of sufficient food. It seems a miracle any of them make it to adulthood. Here are some that are doing better than most.
These Coot siblings are doing well, and are looking much more adult now they’ve lost their orange and red head feathers.
This little Mallard duckling was so cute, scooting along quickly, feeding actively, keeping closely behind mum. Fingers crossed for him/her!
You’ve heard of the ostrich hiding its head in the sand? Well, it seems this Greylag gosling is trying the ‘hiding its head in the nettles’ version.
Baby Blue tit was sitting on the pavement outside my house yesterday but quickly, though slightly erratically, fluttered up to the nearest tree as I approached. Luckily, one of its parents was nearby and flew down with some food. Its big eyes make it look surprised by the big wide world outside the nest!
This Nuthatch is the most advanced chick I’ve seen and was actively feeding itself on a tree in a local park, though it was stopping often to preen. Moulting its baby fluff must be an itchy process.
19 Thursday May 2016
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, chicks, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Gallinula chloropus, Moorhen
Are you ready for more cute bird babies? The Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) chicks at Forest Farm Nature Reserve last Friday were the first I’d seen, so I just had to take lots of photos of them. They looked a lot like coot chicks to me, except perhaps with even bigger feet!
According to the RSPB website there are around 270,000 breeding pairs in Britain so the chances of seeing them are fairly good, especially in lowland areas. The adults build a nest on the ground, in amongst thick shrubs for protection, and lay between 5 and 8 eggs that take about three weeks to incubate, with both male and female taking turns on the nest.
The parents also share the feeding of their offspring, though the chicks are able to feed themselves after a few days, and are fully fledged 6 to 7 weeks after hatching. A few weeks after that, the chicks head off on their own and the parents will often raise a second brood. That sounds like an awful lot of moorhens in the making but, sadly, as with most birds, predators take their toll.
chick callisthenics?
If you want to know more about moorhens, I found a delightful article online here. Meantime, I hope my photos make you smile as much as I did while watching these little cuties.
14 Saturday May 2016
Humans have a love-hate relationship with the Feral pigeon (Columba livia domestica). On the one hand, we love to feed them – until recently, crowds would flock to London’s Trafalgar Square to be photographed feeding the birds (an activity now banned), and what child didn’t learn to love birds through feeding pigeons (or ducks). On the other hand, we hate the mess they make and spend millions defacing our buildings with anti-pigeon spikes and wires to stop pigeons roosting on their handy ledges.
Yet, the pigeon has long been a friend of humankind. It was probably our first tame bird, having been domesticated as early as c. 4000 BC; it has seen war service and been awarded medals as a carrier of messages; it has been admired for its homing abilities; and it was once an important source of food.
While many feral pigeons have the grey colouring of their Rock dove ancestors, others display a multitude of colour combinations, ranging from almost completely white through red and brown to almost completely black. The reds are my favourites, just because they’re so different, but I think all pigeons are pretty and I would never call them ‘rats with wings’, like Woody Allen did in his 1980 film Stardust Memories.
08 Sunday May 2016
Around the British Isles, near rivers and lakes, ponds and meres, reservoirs, flashes and gravel pits, the Eurasian coot (scientific name Fulica atra, and commonly just called coot) can currently be found nesting. In shallow water, sometimes using the support of an underwater obstacle (two pairs in Cardiff are using the lights that illuminate the council building!), they build nests of sticks and grasses, and bits of human detritus like plastic, paper and other assorted rubbish.
Mrs Coot lays between 5 and 10 eggs then incubates these for around three weeks, while hubby brings her food and continues to beautify the nesting platform. Though exceptionally cute, the chicks are bizarre-looking wee things, little bundles of black fluff with reddish-orange heads and a ruff of yellow feathers around their necks. The vibrant colour fades during their two-month fledgling period and juveniles look more greyish-brown, with a lighter throat and face.
Though both parents feed the chicks, they rarely all survive. This can be due to predation by Lesser black-backed gulls, mink and pike, though sometimes, if there is a lack of food, coot parents will occasionally kill their own chicks, sacrificing one for the good of the others.
07 Saturday May 2016
Tags
Australian magpie, birding, birdwatching, British birds, European magpie, Gymnorhina tibicen, Magpie, New Zealand birds, New Zealand magpie, Pica pica
What I grew up in New Zealand thinking of as a magpie is nothing like the magpies I see here in Wales, which is not really surprising as they are totally different species and the New Zealand bird is actually Australian. Confused?
The bird that lives in Britain is the European magpie (Pica pica) (pictured above) and is a member of the corvid family, a relative of crows, rooks and jackdaws. The bird that lives in New Zealand is Gymnorhina tibicen, one of the nine species of Australian magpie (there were thought to be two Australian species in New Zealand but this is now in doubt).
The Australian birds are called magpies because of their physical resemblance to the European birds – it was quite common for British settlers to name birds, animals and plants after similar ones ‘at home’. Australian birds from Tasmania and Victoria were introduced into several areas of New Zealand in the 1860s and 1870s by local Acclimatisation Societies to control pasture pests like grass grubs, and their supposed importance to New Zealand agriculture was the reason they were afforded legal protection till 1951.
The magpies in New Zealand can be very aggressive birds, occasionally attacking both animals and humans that stray too close to their nests during the breeding season, though their nests are usually built high up in tall trees so their attacks are, in fact, unwarranted.
03 Tuesday May 2016
Posted in birds, nature, nature photography
I’ve always thought Ryan Gosling was rather cute but, sorry Ryan, you pale in comparison to these little guys and gals.
The Greylag geese (Anser anser) at Cardiff’s Roath Park Lake have produced at least three nests of goslings so far this spring, and they are the most delightful little creatures: awkward on their feet, quick to learn, well trained to stay close to mum and dad, playful little jokesters, fast growing, bundles of fluff.
Greylags usually lay between five and eight eggs, often in a large floating nest hidden amongst reeds, though at Roath Park they seem to nest under the vegetation on the small islands, where they’re protected from predatory Lesser black-backed gulls. Unlike many waterbirds, Mr and Mrs Greylag stay together to feed and guard their offspring, and the family will remain together until the adult birds are ready to mate again.
28 Thursday Apr 2016
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One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told.
Eight for a wish,
Nine for a kiss,
Ten for a bird,
You must not miss.
So the modern version of the rhyme goes. The original version, first recorded in 1780, was a little more sinister – One for sorrow, Two for mirth, Three for a funeral, Four for birth, Five for heaven, Six for hell, Seven for the devil, his own self – reflecting the common perception of magpies as birds of ill omen.
The magpie, with the easiest-to-remember scientific name of Pica pica, is a member of the corvidae family which also includes jays and crows, ravens and jackdaws. One look at that strong beak shows the similarity. But these birds also have other things in common: they are intelligent, able to solve problems and have excellent memory. They have a strong sense of curiosity, are sociable and are brilliant mimics. Many people think of magpies as black and white but, of course, they’re not. As soon as the sunshine strikes their back, wing and tail feathers, you can see what a gorgeous bluish sheen they feathers have.
My question is: what does it mean when you see 12 magpies together?
25 Monday Apr 2016
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Blackcap, Blue tit, British birds, chaffinch, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Great tit, jackdaw, robin, Woodpigeon
We’ve seen some of the landscape at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park; we’ve checked out the prime lakefront real estate; and we’ve been tit-elated by some of its small birds. Now, here’s what was on Nature’s menu last Wednesday.
The absolute highlight of the day was seeing my first Blackcap, and not just one, but five in total, at different times, in different locations, including a female (she wears a brown cap). I was well pleased with that!
After a quiet birding day last time I visited, I was delighted to see more of my favourites this time: a robin was feeding its fledgling; the great and blue tits were demanding food; chaffinches and wood pigeons were getting tucked in to seed left by others; two buzzards were gliding overhead, looking for lunch; a jackdaw was collecting nest-making materials.
As well as these and many other birds, there was a wonderful assortment of butterflies and bees feasting on the lesser celandine and wild violets flowering along the path edges. There were occasional clumps of bluebells and wafts of wild garlic flowers, and it was a gloriously warm spring day. A man I met during my wandering told me I looked happy, and so I was, doing what I love most – being with nature.
23 Saturday Apr 2016
Posted in birds, nature, nature photography, spring
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, chicks, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Mute swan, nesting, nesting birds
I checked out the nesting neighbourhood again a couple of days ago so here’s the latest family news.
At the original three-nest site: the Mute swans appear to have abandoned their nest, which was empty – maybe they just weren’t ready for parenthood. The Great crested grebe that had chicks but lost them was still sitting on her second nest, and she was sitting tight again so I still don’t know what she’s sitting on.
The Coots that had three chicks in my last update now have just one chick remaining. The family has left the nest, though are still in the same general area. Both parents are actively feeding the little guy but, sadly, I’m not overly optimistic about its chances as there were a lot of gulls, flying overhead and perched on nearby lamp posts, just looking for the right scavenging opportunity.
Nearby, at the other Great crested grebe nest, the grebe has been usurped by a Coot. Her partner was about and feeding her but she didn’t stand up so I have no egg update for her.
I recently learnt of another Coot nest, also nearby, and seeing that was the highlight of the afternoon. Six chicks, all well developed and seemingly ravenous, were frantically being fed by both parents. Very cleverly, the parents were keeping them sitting under a lip of concrete at the water’s edge, so they were quite well protected. Let’s hope they continue to thrive.
earthstar 
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