08 Friday Mar 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
You might remember the ‘Tiny bird, huge voice’ blog a week ago, about the sound being blasted out by a male Wren. Well, another bird, though not so small, can currently be seen, sitting high on tree branches and hedge tops, also blasting out its ‘Look at me’ song, though not as loudly as the tiny Wren. This small brown bird, once known as the Hedge sparrow, is the Dunnock, and he too sings a merry tune.
12 Wednesday Sep 2018
Tags
a jovial of dunnocks, birding, birdwatching, British birds, collective noun for dunnock, dunnock, fledgling birds, fledgling Dunnock, Prunella modularis
Apparently, a jovial is one of the traditional collective nouns for the Dunnock (Prunella modularis). Now don’t get me wrong, I love these little brown birds, I really do, but jovial is not an adjective I would normally use to describe them.
Indeed, I can empathise with the sarcasm of this birder’s comments: ‘Any birdwatcher worth his salt knows of the joy brought about by watching a dull brown bird dullishly dull about in a dull shrub. Indeed, I find myself incredibly jovial every time I think I’ve seen a good bird and it turns out to be a dunnock.’
However, while this little fledgling didn’t look anything like jovial, it certainly did make me smile. And, though my wander around Cosmeston produced some nice migrating birds, the highlight of my Monday was watching this little dumpling hopping along the path in front of me.
12 Tuesday Dec 2017
Tags
birding, birdwatching, blackbird, Brambling, British birds, Carrion crow, dunnock, Great spotted woodpecker, house sparrow, Nant Fawr, Nant Fawr Woodlands, Song thrush, walk in the woods
There was snow on the hills north of Cardiff on Saturday morning so I thought I’d try to get closer to take some photos but also combine that with a good walk. So, I jumped on a train and went a’stomping. Unfortunately, by the time I got closer, the snow had mostly melted away, which wasn’t helped by the fact that the footpath I had intended to follow, along the eastern side of the Llanishen and Lisvane reservoirs, was closed. So, I contented myself with a wander through the Nant Fawr woodlands and, afterwards, a circuit of Roath Park Lake.
I was rewarded with the sight, albeit distant, of my very first Brambling – my shots are heavily cropped so you’ll just have to take my word for it!
A small group of House sparrows was dotting about in bushes at the woodland edge.
I always thought Carrion crows were mostly solitary birds but this flock of about 20 proved me wrong.
The wood-tapping of this Great spotted woodpecker helped direct my lens in its direction, as did the singing of this little Dunnock.
And Song thrushes and Blackbirds were enjoying a hearty lunch of berries along the hedgerows.
07 Thursday Dec 2017
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, bullfinch, dunnock, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Kingfisher, long-tailed tit, Moorhen, robin, treecreeper
I had a meeting at Forest Farm last Friday so, of course, I took the opportunity while I was there to have a wander around the trails and along the Glamorganshire Canal. And it was wonderful, though I did come away feeling a little guilty. We’d had a week of low temperatures, with overnight frosts, and there was a bitterly cold wind blowing. It was obvious the wee birds were cold and hungry but I hadn’t taken any seed with me. Here are a Long-tailed tit, a male Bullfinch, a Dunnock, a Robin and a Great tit.
The water of the canal was sheltered from the breeze and very still, making for some stunning reflections (thank you little Moorhen). And I was treated to excellent views of a female Kingfisher, who sat for at least 15 minutes on her branch. From the way her feathers were fluffed up and she was hunched over her ‘toes’, I figure she was feeling the cold as well.
The Great spotted woodpecker was a treat, as were the Treecreepers – at least four of them, perhaps a family group, were actively scuttling up the branches in one small area by the canal. It was a grand day – my meeting went well and the birding was even better than expected!
10 Sunday Sep 2017
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, dunnock, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Greenfinch, Grey heron, juvenile birds, robin
I hadn’t been to Forest Farm for a while but, when I heard some rather nice fungi had been found, I was there like a shot (more on that tomorrow). And, of course, whilst there I had to spend some quality time with the lovely birds that can be seen in this beautiful nature reserve at any time of the year. Now, in early autumn, there are a lot of young birds, and they’re always fun, and hungry, and often quite confiding.
16 Thursday Feb 2017
‘I wonder if there’s anything up there to eat. Humans do sometimes leave food for us birds on these posts.’
Disappointment, and a rather accusatory glare at me, perhaps hoping that I might remedy the lack of seeds but I didn’t have any.
What a difference a week makes! The sun is shining, the dunnock stretches as high as it can to see if there’s any food and, joy, a kind human has left a huge pile of seeds!
05 Saturday Mar 2016
Posted in birds, nature, nature photography
Tags
birding, birds, birdwatching, blackbird, Blue tit, British birds, bullfinch, dunnock, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Great tit, robin, thrush
In spite of occasional hail showers and a biting cold wind, yesterday was another magical day at Forest Farm Nature Reserve. I was serenaded by robins, I laughed at the antics of the cute little blue tits, was entertained by the thrushes and blackbirds performing acrobatic stunts in search of the tastiest ivy berries, and enjoyed the most wonderful privilege of a great tit perching on my hand to eat the seeds I was offering. Here are a few of my photos.
A little timid, often overlooked, but very lovely dunnock
Both the thrush (above) and blackbird (below) were feasting on ivy berries
A great tit
Always so cute, a little blue tit
A male bullfinch – such stunning colours
No visit to Forest Farm is complete without a robin or twenty!
19 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in birds, nature, nature photography
Tags
birding, birds, birdwatching, blackbird, Blue tit, British birds, bullfinch, chaffinch, dunnock, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, little grebe, long-tailed tit, nuthatch, robin, wren
Many birders ignore what they consider the ordinary birds, the backyard birds, in favour of the rare and unusual. To me, that’s a bit like only being interested in famous movie stars and ignoring all the supporting actors, the bit players, the extras. I adore all birds but I am particularly charmed by the ordinary birds – every day they make me laugh and smile, their gorgeous colours and intricate plumage delight my eye, their melodies are better than any man-made music. So, for me, yesterday was another magical day with these beautiful extra-ordinary birds at Forest Farm Nature Reserve.
a male bullfinch, such a handsome chap
a little wren foraging in the undergrowth
another handsome fellow, a male chaffinch
Mr Blackbird keeping an eye on me
a dunnock – such a darling!
one of the cutest of them all, a blue tit
Mr Greedy, the nuthatch
a Little grebe is well camouflaged amongst the reeds
another cutie pie, a long-tailed tit
no day’s birding would be complete without a robin or three
29 Friday Jan 2016
Posted in birds, nature, nature photography
Tags
birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, dunnock, Great tit, nuthatch, robin
Forest Farm Nature Reserve, just north of Cardiff, is one of my favourite places, for a wander alongside the old Glamorgan Canal, for ferreting amongst the undergrowth for fungi, for enjoying the fresh air and an invigorating walk, and for photographing the local birds. With three bird hides and numerous informal feeding places scattered throughout the reserve, it’s almost impossible not to see birds. Mostly, they’re the familiar woodland and garden birds but Forest Farm is also well known for those extremely skilful anglers, the gorgeous kingfishers.
Here are some of the more common birds I photographed yesterday.
Mr Greedy, the nuthatch
Mr Hungry, the dunnock
Mr Handsome, the great tit
Mr Grumpy, the robin
Mr Scruffy, the great tit
22 Tuesday Dec 2015
Posted in birds, nature, nature photography
Tags
I am a huge fan of this small sparrow-like bird. Its name, Dunnock (Prunella modularis), comes from the Old English word for ‘little brown’ and its brown and grey colouring is certainly nothing flashy but it does blend in perfectly with the hedges and shrubs, bracken and leaf litter through which it constantly shuffles to find its snacks of beetles, ants and spiders.
The dunnock may look rather drab but its sex life is anything but. It may have an incredibly short copulation time, of a fraction of a second, but it more than makes up for that by being the most frequent fornicator of Britain’s small birds, recorded at once or twice an hour for a 10-day period! What’s more, it frequently dabbles in polygyny, polyandry and polygynandry. It seems that by mating with two or more males a female not only increases the diversity of the breed, she also helps to prevent rival males from destroying her eggs and encourages more than one male to feed her ravenous offspring. Smart female!
