Any cuckoos out there? ... and other BirdWatch/NatureWatch news

[LinMM]

No Jane they are all here in Saltdean eating ALL the bird food and seemed to have started calling in the morning earlier than usual this year!!

[Anon2]

No Jane they are all here in Saltdean eating ALL the bird food and seemed to have started calling in the morning earlier than usual this year!!

It's the lack of pigeons eating the bird food that made me realise they are missing. We've a glut of robins, wrens, woodpeckers, sparrows and blackbirds this year feeding. For some reason (cat?) the crows stay in my neighbour's garden.

[LinMM]

Our greatest joy so far is that in recent days we have had TWO thrushes in the garden after not seeing any at all for about two years or so. I hope they manage to stay around and not get chased off by the many blackbirds around!

[taxi4ballet]

I've seen more thrushes lately, including one having a great tussle with a large worm today - the thrush won 

 

The other bird on the up around here is the little egret. I've spied one flying overhead a couple of times when I've been in the garden recently, and dd saw one perched in a tree a couple of weeks ago.

[LinMM]

For us it's also been the sparrow recovery....have quite a few now and a pair nested in the "group" box last summer. I'm still not convinced these group boxes work but you never know perhaps all three ( they're all attached to each other) will get occupants this year. We've got three robins at the moment.....two of which are always chasing each other and ....loads of starlings which is why I'm always bemused when I read they are on the endangered list.

[FrankH]

The fact that a bird is on the endangered list doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't still common in part of its range. Starlings have declined drastically in numbers in the last 50 years in the UK. I remember in the '50s and '60s huge flocks over SW London, doing all their beautiful and intricate patterns of flight. Nowadays in the same area, I can't recall seeing more than a very few in a year, many years none at all.

 

It's good to hear that they are still common in East Sussex, a beautiful part of the country which I also know, as I was at school there in the '50s.

 

Just done a day's volunteering at the London Wetland Centre. Had a good view of a Snipe, not a particularly rare species, but one which I had never got a really good sight of before. Also a number of Pochard, a very beautiful duck, which is also now on the "Red List", as it has been declining in numbers at an alarming rate.

 

And two robins, astonishingly bold. One quite happily hopped up to about a foot away. I was opening my bag, and perhaps it thought I had goodies for it.

 

Although none today, little egrets are quite frequent visitors to the LWC. Also bittern, 2 or 3 individuals reported today.

Edited January 5, 2017 by FrankH

[hfbrew]

We spent many happy hours at London Wetland Centre whilst ds was at White Lodge!

 

I am personally pleased to see so many sparrows in our garden because they have declined rapidly and a couple of years ago there weren't any at all on our part of the estate.

[FrankH]

We spent many happy hours at London Wetland Centre whilst ds was at White Lodge!

 

I am personally pleased to see so many sparrows in our garden because they have declined rapidly and a couple of years ago there weren't any at all on our part of the estate.

 

I'm sure I can speak on behalf of the LWC, and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) in thanking you for this lovely comment. As a charity doing valuable work in the UK and around the world, every visitor helps the cause of nature conservation.

 

Richmond Park is also good for birdwatching. I have only been once in recent years, when I walked from the eastern entrance to the Pen Ponds and back. I got a very good view of a Common Tern fishing. On the way, there was a fine view of White Lodge in the distance. What a wonderful setting for a school!

 

House Sparrows, like starlings, were birds once taken for granted - indeed all too often regarded as "pests". Their massive decline in numbers, to the point of almost complete disappearance in many parts of the UK, will be obvious to anyone who has lived through the last 40 years or so. It's good that there may be a bit of a revival. I have seen the occasional individual in my area of SW London recently, but it's still an infrequent observation. Its relative, the Tree Sparrow, which I've never seen, is in an even more desperate situation, although the RSPB reports a small upturn in numbers, albeit from a very low base.

 

I am grateful to Jane and others for resuscitating this thread. I was afraid my very long post about my dramatic encounter with some ducks might have killed it off! Well, you are to blame if I now post some more rambling reminiscences of observations of life among the feathered dinosaurs (which is what birds actually are!).

[hfbrew]

My ds used to love being able to tell his friends what all the ducks and other waterbirds actually were on Pen Ponds in Richmond Park.

 

He also used to say some of his academic lessons were disturbed by the parakeets outside the windows.

 

I remember standing and watching skylarks in Richmond Park and I also loved seeing the Green woodpeckers there too.

 

When I first joined Rspb 30 years ago I dreamed of seeing Red Kites. Now I see them from my garden frequently!

[FrankH]

I should have thanked Janet McNulty for her kind words after my account of the apparently grateful Mallard. In fact, I was encouraged to continue posting such accounts, but owing to constraints of time, couldn't do so for a few weeks. By the time I looked at the thread again, it had slipped far down the list. Looking at the thread made me worried that my effusions had effectively shut up other posters who might otherwise have posted amusing and/or interesting accounts of bird behaviour.

 

None of my other observations have the drama of the one I described above, which remains the most extraordinary encounter I have ever had with wildlife. But there are other incidents I have observed which have reinforced the conclusion that birds have more intelligence, organisation, and emotions, than they are usually credited with.

 

Anyway, here is another observation on bird behaviour which especially caught my attention. It happened in the same summer (2014) as the incident I described with the mallards, and on exactly the same stretch of water - Bluegate Gravel Pit, a large pond/small lake in the eastern part of Wimbledon Common. The incident highlights the differences in the marital arrangements and childrearing procedures to be found among birds in general, among waterfowl (Anseriformes - swans, geese, and ducks) in particular.

 

On the one hand, most northern hemisphere species of ducks behave in a rather similar fashion to Mallard. The birds pair up during the winter/early spring. The male guards the female, protecting her from harassment by other males. However, once she starts brooding the eggs she has laid, fertilised by him, he deserts her. Thus she has to bring up the ducklings by herself.

 

On the other hand, swans and geese go in for basically lifelong monogamous partnerships. Divorce can occur, but is rare (I've seen figures quoted as 5% for Mute Swans, and 0% for Bewick's Swans, i.e. divorce apparently unknown in this species, although I suspect that this may be because there haven't been enough studies). The partnerships generally end only with the death of one partner. The survivor then exhibits signs of what looks like grief. However, a second partnership may occur if a suitable partner turns up.

 

Thus in swans and geese, both parents are involved in the care of the young. This has an effect on brood size. Because in most ducks, there is only the mother present to defend the young, predation takes a much heavier toll, even though the mothers are usually assiduous and brave in defence of the ducklings. And she has a much more difficult task in keeping control of a brood of lively young. Hence ducks tend to lay very large clutches of eggs, often well into double figures. While swans and geese usually lay less than 10. The presence of two parents means that the rate of loss through predation is much less.

 

The incident I am about to describe involved a family of Canada Geese. I was standing on the bank of Bluegate GP, on about the same spot as I had the Mallard encounter I described previously. A family of Canada Geese were swimming towards the southern part of the lake, and about to pass me. The two parents were swimming in front, side by side, with five fluffy goslings right behind them.

 

Suddenly, something seemed to change for the parents. They turned to each other, and one, or both, gave a low honk. Immediately, one of the parents broke off, let the goslings swim past, and placed himself behind the young. I say "himself" because that is the order which Mute Swans apparently generally take in convoy - the female at the front, the young in the middle, and the male at the rear - and I would expect that other species of swans and geese would do likewise. It is the logical order, because the males are bigger and stronger, and the rear - the blind side - is the direction from which danger is most likely.

 

I'm not sure what, if anything, disturbed the parents. I don't think it was my presence on the bank - Canada Geese in urban areas at least are not afraid of humans. There was a Little Grebe (Dabchick), swimming around in the lake near where the change in swimming order took place, but I wouldn't think the geese would regard this as a danger. It could have been that the parents were simply enjoying a companionable afternoon "stroll", when one, or both, suddenly thought "Oh heck, the kids". Or maybe it had all been pre-arranged?

 

A little while later I walked past the south end of the lake. The family were on a patch of grass, with the goslings grazing away. On either side stood a parent, head up, stock still. They didn't threaten me, but I knew that if I looked like I was going to threaten the goslings, one parent, or both, would have gone for me. Nick, one of the workers at the London Wetland Centre certainly found out the hard way, when he was attacked by a male Hawaiian Goose (a close relative of the Canada Goose), who thought that Nick was threatening his gosling. That male would have been especially jittery, as he and his mate had just lost two goslings, out of three, to a predator, probably a heron, a couple of nights previously.

 

The marital arrangements of swans and geese is actually that most typical of birds - the majority of bird species go in for lifelong monogamy. Whereas only a minority of mammals manage such a degree of marital fidelity.

[Anon2]

We have and always have had masses of house sparrows but I will be on the look out for the tree sparrow now. Plenty of undergrowth, hedging and trees for it in vicinity.

[LinMM]

The only place I've seen tree sparrows is at an East Sussex Wildlife reserve at Pulborough .....definitely worth a stop if ever in the area.

They were fairly near the main entrance there and I was fascinated as had never seen them before. I think they are definitely a bit wilder than ordinary sparrows so don't go too near housing but I'd be pleased to hear of some who are showing regularly in gardens!!

[Beryl H]

I sometimes see a dunnock in my garden, I think they are also called tree or hedge sparrows, very furtive, best way to tell them from house sparrows is their pink feet and legs!

[FrankH]

Dunnocks are also sometimes called "hedge sparrows". They are not the same as tree sparrows. Dunnocks are not true sparrows, but belong to a different family, the Prunellidae, the "Accentors". We have two species of true sparrow, family Passeridae, in the UK, the House Sparrow, and the Tree Sparrow.

 

You can also tell dunnocks from the true sparrows by the shape of the bill. Dunnocks have thin bills like warblers and thrushes. True sparrows have stout bills like finches and buntings.

[FrankH]

The only place I've seen tree sparrows is at an East Sussex Wildlife reserve at Pulborough .....definitely worth a stop if ever in the area.

They were fairly near the main entrance there and I was fascinated as had never seen them before. I think they are definitely a bit wilder than ordinary sparrows so don't go too near housing but I'd be pleased to hear of some who are showing regularly in gardens!!

 

Yes, tree sparrows in the UK are not associated with human habitations to the extent that house sparrows are. However in some other parts of their geographical range, which covers most of Europe and Asia, tree sparrows have become urbanised in the same way that house sparrows have become. This happens especially in regions where the house sparrow does not occur.

[Anon2]

Will they not live in same area Frank? We have lots of house sparrows that nest in any gaps they can find around barge boards, fascia on both house and outbuildings. Counted 16 on feeders at one point today. We are then surrounded by woodland on two side which is very busy for wildlife. Would like to think tree sparrows where able to nest in them.

[FrankH]

Will they not live in same area Frank? We have lots of house sparrows that nest in any gaps they can find around barge boards, fascia on both house and outbuildings. Counted 16 on feeders at one point today. We are then surrounded by woodland on two side which is very busy for wildlife. Would like to think tree sparrows where able to nest in them.

 

Yes Jane, they can and do live in the same area in many parts of Europe and Asia. When they live in the same area, the house sparrows will be more urban, and the tree sparrows more rural. However when, as in much of SE Asia, only tree sparrows are present, then they are present in towns and cities, behaving much as house sparrows do elsewhere. I seem to remember reading that somewhere there were both species coexisting in cities, but I can't be sure about that. If that is true, I suspect that it is an unstable situation, and that one species, probably the house sparrows, will eventually oust the other from urban environments.

 

To add to the interest (sparrows are actually very interesting birds) in parts of S and E Europe, W and central Asia, there is a third species of true sparrow, the Willow Sparrow, also called the Spanish Sparrow, which coexists with house and tree sparrows. Again, where the house sparrow is present, the willow sparrow doesn't live in truly urban environments. However is places such as Crete, Malta, Sicily, the Canaries, where there are no house sparrows, the willow sparrow has also become established in the towns, these urban populations taking on some of the behavioural characteristics of house sparrows.

 

And then, to add to the complexity, in much of Italy, neither typical house nor typical willow sparrows are present. Instead there is the Italian Sparrow, a confusing creature because the males look like a mixture of house and willow sparrow (the females of all three types look more or less the same). Some regard the Italian sparrow as a subspecies of the house sparrow, others as a subspecies of willow sparrow. In fact, it probably originated as a hybrid between the other two. 

 

There are several other species of true sparrow found in Asia and Africa. One of them, the Golden Sparrow, has males which are bright canary yellow in colour, not at all like what most people in Europe might think sparrows ought to look like!

 

You will realise that I like sparrows.

 

Jane, you will be fortunate if you do find tree sparrows living in your woods. Not because they aren't suitable habitat, but because the tree sparrow has declined in numbers in the UK to a very low level. The reasons for this, as with the decline in house sparrows, are, as far as I know, not really understood.

[taxi4ballet]

I don't remember whether we saw any sparrows there, but a few years ago we went to Kenya on safari, looking forward to seeing all the exotic wildlife.

 

The first thing we saw as we got off the plane was a starling!

Edited January 8, 2017 by taxi4ballet

[zxDaveM]

4 Robins were having a right ding-dong yetserday morning, as i headed to the supermarket. The corner of my road must mark the corner of their 4 territories I guess.

 

I used to get loads and loads of House Sparrows in my front hedge (I counted at least 24 one morning (and its a small hedge!)) - but don't seem to have seen more than a handful for months now. In keeping with their marked decline, sad to report

[Anon2]

We have gained a very noisy tawny owl in our garden. Few years since we've had one in our trees so nice to see and hear it although does scare the cat. 

 

 

[zxDaveM]

20 hours ago, Jane said:

We have gained a very noisy tawny owl in our garden - although does scare the cat. 

 

 

 

Good, on both counts! ;-)

[taxi4ballet]

We heard a cuckoo this morning, anybody else heard one yet this year?

[Jan McNulty]

No I haven't but the terns were screeching at the Marina this morning and I saw some ducking and diving over the water.

[Fiz]

My husband heard one last week in Lincolnshire.

[Vonrothbart]

We've had greenfinches in the garden for years, but strangely not seen one up to now.   

[LinMM]

Not heard a cuckoo and same here about the green finches.....until this year we've always had loads don't know where they are but miss their calls and song. 

On the other hand we've had a huge increase in sparrows ....nesting both at front and back of house at mo .....whether these two things are connected or not I don't know.

[Vonrothbart]

We've got our usual bluetits, but my next door neighbour who isn't that far away, just can't get them to nest in his garden. Like almost everyone, we have a pair of blackbirds. They've been very timid for a few years for some reason, but this years pair seem pretty fearless, so I'm going to try and get them feeding from close up. Oh forgot, no cuckoos heard yet.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Vonrothbart
addition.

[Shade]

Not in my garden but the riding stables has resident red kites and the martins have arrived. Always happy to see them.

 

[JohnS]

First time visiting this page - sorry not to have seen it earlier.  First cuckoo was Sunday 6 May in Cumbria, coincided with the first damson blossom and one tree is now completely bedecked so very much hoping we don't get any frosts.  Last year was the first time I got any damsons - had almost given up on the trees after 8 years of no blossom/fruit.  

 

In Kent we always heard the first cuckoo on 23 April - didn't really need a calendar.

[LinMM]

The starlings who've nested in our garden for the last six or seven years now are very regular as well!! Most years the babies fledge with a great deal of squawking around May 21st!! ......well maybe the day before or after....but nearly always the week before the whitsun bank holiday.

They are very entertaining...... When the parents are absent you see the fledglings perfectly happily feeding themselves but as soon as a parent is around its beaks opening and squawking for food as if they haven't fed for days!!

[LinMM]

I've heard a really good bit of news today ....that the very lovely Leonardslee Gardens near Horsham in Sussex is to reopen to the public again in July.

The Gardens closed in 2010 when a new owner bought the place from the Loder family....renowned plant collectors...and sadly it has been closed since then but now another new owner is opening it up again. It has taken longer than expected to get ready for the public again so unfortunately the wonderful azaleas, rhodies and bluebells will be over by July but it is still a beautiful place to walk around with the lakes and woodlands and different levels.....easy to find a peaceful place somewhere to sit on your own if you want to and has always been one of my favourites of all the Sussex gardens.

I used to go every year ....mid April to end of May is the very best time....when it was open and it was always the place I seemed to hear the first cuckoo of the Spring. In fact the birdsong there in general is terrific. So very grateful that the new owner is public friendly and this must also be nice for the Loder family who looked after the place for so many years originally.

 

[LinMM]

The starlings are out! Had the first two VERY noisy babies outside the window at about 5.30 am on Wednesday!! 

Not sure if they are "ours" though as don't think the box ones have fledged yet. But it will be obvious when they have! 

We have some new visitors to the garden for us....three jackdaws have started coming ....never had them before. But they are not aggressive like the magpies can be and happily starlings sparrows finches and tits are all feeding together.

Top dogs are definitely the two very BIG crows who come we call them Ca-Ca ....and Bruno....all the feeders empty when they fly in or just land on the roof though sometimes one of the magpies can give them a run for their money!! 

But it's only the magpies who fly deliberately "at" the other birds....I'm sure sometimes just for the fun of it not because they're trying to catch or kill any particular bird ...just like scattering them all....and then it gives them free range at the feeders!! 

[LinMM]

The Box lot have fledged!! They were out on Friday ....at the moment have counted four ...have only seen six altogether so far which might include the original two who fledged earlier. I don't know if there are others still to come from other gardens but the numbers seem down on last two years .....though not the noise level!! Some years have counted eleven babies all hanging around in the week after fledging.

After a couple of weeks they usually play this game of going in and out of the nesting box .....probably playing at Doctors and Nurses!! 

The blue tits are still in their box but the sparrows have also fledged and maybe on a second round as are visiting one of the three boxes still ( this is a series of three boxes connected together which sparrows are supposed to like)  but we never see them all nesting together eg: three boxes simultaneously occupied. 

We are really hoping to see a baby jackdaw in the garden .....not seen one before ....as the adults have now been visiting daily and often.

conspicuous by their absence this year are the blackbirds....I really miss their song in our garden....I can hear them down the road but not quite the same thing. Perhaps they are put off by the nesting starlings ....am not sure. I just think there are generally less of them around at the moment so not enough for one for each garden!!