SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 30 - 2013
Water
Rail on Brook Meadow
I spent about half an
hour this afternoon stalking the Water Rail as it
moved along the River Ems on Brook Meadow. I first
located it at about 15:00 on the west bank in front of
the grey metal railings of the Williams Coachworks
workshop. I took a lot of photos of the bird in the
rapidly declining light as it moved rapidly up the
river, frequently disappearing into the bankside
vegetation only to emerge several yards further on.
Here is the best image I got which shows clearly an
adult bird with slate grey chest and face, bright red
bill, red eye and white barring on the flanks.
Great
Spotted Woodpecker
Colin Vanner got this
rather nice image of a Great Spotted Woodpecker near
Southwick today. But is it a chap or a girl? A male
would have red on the back of its head, but not a
female. I wonder if Colin can tell us? Colin confirmed
that it was, in fact, a male.
FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 29 - 2013
Graham's
Hedgehog
Graham Petrie agreed
that the Hedgehog he found in his garden yesterday
should be in hibernation. It is way too small to
survive the winter without help at only 260 grams, it
should be double that by now. He spoke to the Little
Prickles hedgehog sanctuary based in Fareham but they
were inundated. The mild weather has resulted in some
late broods and most won't survive as they just don't
have the fat reserves. They said Graham's animal will
need looking after until the spring, but if he can
fatten it up over the next month it may hibernate from
Xmas onwards. On sanctuary advice, it is getting fresh
water and cat food (with cat biscuits for roughage)
and they reckon it should put weight on daily, at
least a couple of grams but once it settles maybe up
to 10 grams a day. Graham says it is eating well and
likes the hot water bottle wrapped in a towel which
Graham has provided for it. All home comforts!
Advice on Hedgehog
care:
The sanctuary told him
the animal would be certainly on its own by now and to
keep an eye out in case there were others from the
same brood as they would need a rescue also. Look out
for coughing which can indicate Lungworm, a common
hedgehog problem, and green poo, an indication of
stomach infection. Get in touch if either of these
things occur or if it doesn't start gaining weight.
They like warmth when they are this small as well and
a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel is a good idea.
They are not riddled
with fleas, they can have hedgehog fleas but these do
not transfer to pets or people. You shouldn't feed
them bread and milk as they are lactose intolerant.
You need to keep them in a large plastic storage box
(Graham uses a 100 litre box with a folded blanket
over the top to maintain heat, not the lid that the
box comes with), with hay/straw, a cut up old fleece,
stripped newspaper (they will get out of a cardboard
box). They are also capable of piling up all the
bedding into a corner and then standing on their back
legs to get out as well so quite a high-sided plastic
storage box is required.
A clean out every
couple of days. Human contact should be kept to a
minimum (gloves when handling because they are prickly
and so they don't get used to your scent). A 260 gram
hedgehog will eat a tin of cat food in 2 to 3 days
(high metabolism). Keep in a garage or shed (a very
good idea because they do smell really musky!). They
can suffer from ticks, which are easily visible!
Graham adds a disclaimer that he is no expert, but is
having to learn quickly, but found talking to the
local sanctuary people very helpful.
Romney
at Prinsted
Romney Turner walked
round Prinsted shore for some exercise this morning
and got some good photo despite dull weather. She saw
two Kestrels and got this fine image of one hovering.
Romney also catured
this Little Egret in flight which looked as if it has
an injured right wing, but seemed to be flying OK.
Can't say I have ever seen an injured egret before.
THURSDAY
NOVEMBER 28 - 2013
Nore
Barn
09:30 - About 2 hours
after high water. Tide falling fast. Hundreds of Brent
Geese, Wigeon and Teal were on the calm water. Two
Spotted Redshank were in the stream, plus the
Greenshank. I think one of the Spotted Redshanks was
subsequently chased off.
I counted 7
Pintail in the main channel, 2 males and 5 females
- unusual as I usually see them in pairs. Here are
three females and a male partly hidden.
About 20
Black-tailed Godwits were feeding on the mudflats
including colour-ringed birds - WO+LW flag and R+GL,
both regulars this winter.
Emsworth
Harbour (east)
From Nore Barn I went
east along Western Parade to the millpond seawall from
whereI counted 15 Lapwing roosting on the emerging mud
islands in the main channel. There were also about 20
Black-tailed Godwits scattered around the mudflats
including two more colour-ringed regulars this winter
R+LG and W+WN.
Brook
Meadow
No sign of the Water
Rail on the river today. Just the regular group of
Mallards (2 male and 1 female) and a pair of Moorhens
foraging on the east bank in Palmer's Road Copse. It
was good to hear the first bursts of winter song from
Wren and Song Thrush on the meadow today.
Slipper
Millpond
A Pied Wagtail was
leaping up at the windows of the French doors of the
houses overlooking Slipper Millpond. I have seen this
before on the windows of Brendan Gibb-Gray. I think
the bird gets fed.
Emsworth
to Warblington
Peter Milinets-Raby
did a low tide walk (with John Norton) from Nore Barn
along the shoreline to Pook Lane and back via
Warblington Church (10:20am to 12:45pm). I must have
just missed them at Nore Barn. They went west while I
went east. The Nore Barn observations were much the
same as mine. Other observations were:
Off Conigar Point: 6
Pintail (3 pairs), 4 Knot, 120+ Dunlin, Huge numbers
of Teal (200+), 2 Reed Bunting and 30+ Linnets in the
stubble field (numbers much lower than last visit).
Skylark over. Greenshank heard.
Off Pook Lane: 340
Brent Geese close to shore, but they soon moved
inland. 200+ Dunlin
3 Knot, 27 Shelduck,
17 Curlew feeding in the field south of the cemetery.
Chiffchaff calling along Pook Lane (Tit flock
encountered contained 8+ Long-tailed Tits, 3+ Great
Tits, 6+ Blue Tits and a Goldcrest).
2 Green Sandpipers
flew up from Wade Court direction flew over Pook Lane
calling and appeared to go down behind Castle Farm
(probably to the Cress Beds). In the field next to the
Castle Farm Barn there were 499 Brent Geese grazing.
(I did not count the juveniles, but got the impression
that their numbers were in the 80's). On the wires
over the farm were 16 Stock Doves.
Hedgehog
Graham Petrie found
this little character wandering about his Havant
garden this morning. He thought it looked a bit
underweight for this time of year so he's hoping it
will feed! Should it not be hibernating at this time
of the year? I have asked Graham to keep us posted.
WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 27 - 2013
Water
Rail
On a quick walk
through Brook Meadow late this afternoon in poor light
I had a clear sighting of the Water Rail moving down
the west bank of the river about half way between the
observation fence and the S-bend. This was our 5th
sighting of a Water Rail on the River Ems since Nov
15.
Pintail
in flight
Romney Turner got this
excellent image of four Pintail in flight (two males
and two females) over Farlington Marshes.
Nutbourne
Avocets
Peter Adelien reported
on SOS Sightings yesterday "a conservative count of 55
Avocets in the channel leading to Nutbourne Bay on the
rising tide". I would appreciate confirmation of this
exceptional number if anyone gets down there.
Garden
butterfly boom in 2013
British Trust for
Ornithology reports a good year for butterflies in
gardens covered by the Garden BirdWatch scheme. A late
spring meant butterflies had a very slow start at the
beginning of the summer, with emergences up to four
weeks late. This produced sharp peaks in activity
later in the year than is usual and many species were
present in numbers well below what would normally be
seen in the Garden BirdWatch figures for early summer.
Come July, the weather improved and butterflies made a
spectacular comeback with many sudden and dramatic
increases in numbers.
Three species did
really well, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell and
Peacock. The recovery of Small Tortoiseshell was
particularly welcome after so many years of scarcity.
Let's hope this beautiful butterfly is back for good.
Those which had a lower reporting rate than in 2012
were Holly Blue and Red Admiral. I was surprised to
see that Red Admiral had declined as this was the one
butterfly that I was seeing everywhere in late autumn.
TUESDAY
NOVEMBER 26 - 2013
Nore
Barn at sunset
15:30 - 16:30 - I
spent an hour at Nore Barn with the tide slowly rising
and the sun setting over the trees on Warblington
Farm. The scene was quite magical with hundreds of
birds scattered over the dead calm waters of the
harbour, basking in the warm glow of the low sun.
A
flock of 80 Black-tailed Godwits were feeding in the
shallow water of Nore Barn Creek.
Here are just a few of them, literally glowing in the
setting sun.
Spotted
Redshank and Greenshank were in the stream, but not
easily distinguishable in the fading light.
I can now appreciate
why photographers call this 'the golden hour'.
Egret
in Dolphin Lake
Another atmospheric
photo was sent to me by Maurice Lillie who captured
this Little Egret fishing in Dolphin Lake. Maurice
said it flew out and back, out and back in the space
of less than two minutes. The tide was falling fast so
there was probably a lot of food about.
Langstone
Peter Milinets-Raby
had a walk along Wade Court Road to Langstone Mill
Pond (11am to 1pm). Birds of note were: On the Pond:
Just two young Mute Swans, so the third has gone
missing! 16 Teal. 2 Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Water
Rail again heard squealing. Off shore was a very close
Black-tailed Godwit feeding with 5 Teal, plus further
out 6 Lapwing. Buzzard and Sparrowhawk over Wade Court
and a Chiffchaff heard here. Here is the godwit.
MONDAY
NOVEMBER 25 - 2013
House
Sparrows return
A couple of weeks ago
I invested in some new feeders for the garden and some
different 'No more mess' bird seed which I thought I
would try as a possible alternative to sunflower
hearts. Well, the Goldfinches have not touched the new
seeds, they have stayed loyal to the sunflower hearts,
but House Sparrows seem to love them! This morning
there were 12 on the feeders, which is the most I have
seen in the garden since May 2007. I don't think this
indicates a sudden resurgence in the House Sparrow
population, but rather the discovery by this group of
some food to their liking in my garden.
Here
are a couple of sparrows on one of the new
feeders
Water
Rail
While strolling
through Brook Meadow this morning I had a very brief
but distinctive sighting of a Water Rail scampering up
the west bank of the river in front of the brick
building south of the north bridge. This was probably
the same bird that was seen last week in other
locations along the river. It clearly moves along the
river.
Sparrowhawk
Peter Milinets-Raby
found this chap on his garden fence when he pulled
back the bedroom curtains at 7.30 this morning as the
sun was rising. Looks like a juvenile to me with white
marks on the scapulars and streaks across the chest.
SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 24 - 2013
Geocachers
on Brook Meadow
Rod Smith of Friends
of Hollybank Woods, a keen Geocacher, asked the
conservation group for permission to use Brook Meadow
as a site for a hidden Geocache plastic container. In
return he offered the services of the 'Geocachers
Flying Squad' to help with conservation work on the
meadow. The offer was gratefully accepted as we had an
awful lot of arisings from recent cuts to be raked and
cleared, a very onerous task. So, this morning about
40 Geocachers assembled in Palmers Road Car Park,
having travelled from as far afield as Salisbury,
Farnborough, Wales and Lumley Road. In addition to
raking and clearing the arisings several of the
geocachers collected litter on the meadow, not that
there was an awful lot of it.
For a full report and
photos go to the Brook Meadow diary page at . . .
http://www.brook-meadow.hampshire.org.uk/bm-diary-2013.html
Nore
Barn
Peter Milinets-Raby
spent 90 minutes at Nore Barn this afternoon just
before high tide (12:30pm to 2pm). The weather closed
in quite quickly and the photo opportunities were very
few and rather distant. Plus a female Sparrowhawk
disturbed all the birds and it took ages for the
Spotted Redshank to re-enter the stream. The birds of
note were: 750+ Black-headed Gulls dropped in to preen
and wash before the rising tide pushed them off.
Amongst them were 2 winter plumaged Mediterranean
Gulls and 22 Common Gulls. There was just the one
Spotted Redshank in the stream, which was eventually
joined by a Greenshank.
Apart from the Mute
Swans, a single juvenile Brent Goose, a single
Redshank and 2 Wigeon there was nothing else, the
Sparrowhawk having scarred everything off.
The female
Sparrowhawk dashed through the lot and grabbed a
Starling and plunged into a marshy tussock with its
prey. Five Carrion Crows were soon pestering the
Sparrowhawk and the bird sat still for ten minutes
trying to ignore the crows. However, the crows became
insistent and the Sparrowhawk was chased off and the
Starling was dropped in the process. The Starling fell
into the sea and over an agonising five minutes tried
to swim to the nearest mud bank. When it reached the
bank it was unceremoniously pounced upon by three
Carrion Crows who fought over the dying bird before it
died and the action continued behind a tussock, until
eventually just one dominate crow won the
trophy!
Trevor Carpenter was
at Nore Barn yesterday and got this fine image of 'our
friend' seeming to say 'Hallo, Trevor. Have not seen
you for a while'.
Colin's
photos
Colin Vanner sent me a
selection of photos he took yesterday at Southwick. I
particularly liked these two.
I
don't think I have featured a Pied Wagtail in this
blog before and this is a beauty!
Long-tailed
Tits are never easy to capture, but this is a cracker
- and what an eye!
SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 23 - 2013
Water
Rail
Yesterday morning (Nov
22) Maurice Lillie was walking towards the north
bridge from the north on Brook Meadow, when he saw a
ripple in the river and thought it was possibly a
Water Vole. However, a bird emerged from under the
east bank where Maurice was standing about 25metres
north of the bridge. He said it practically ran across
the water and up into the opposite bank, its white
tail at one end and long red beak at the other
confirmed it was a Water Rail.
This was our 3rd
sighting in the past week of what was probably the
same bird. I had thought it may have moved on but
presumably not. The last Water Rail we had in this
area of the river was the one that was there and
showing well for about 5 weeks from 15-Feb-2012. I had
a look for the Water Rail this morning but did not see
any sign of it anywhere along the river on Brook
Meadow.
I found a dead Brown
Rat lying on the north path near the river. There was
no obvious sign of any injury. The regular group of
Mallards was swimming up river by the S-bend, with a
female accompanied by two males.
Horse
Chestnut galls
I had a look at the
large Horse Chestnut tree growing in the grounds of
Holmwood House in Kings Road where Jennifer Rye found
the large crown gall on the ground on Nov 12. There
are in fact many other such galls growing on various
parts of the tree, some huge ones on the main trunk
and branches.
Roosting
Lapwing
I stood for a while at
Fisherman's Walk outlook over the harbour which was
calm and very peaceful at about 1 hour to high water.
A group of Black-headed Gulls was roosting on the
beach near the old jetty including 4 Lapwing. We
usually do get small groups of Lapwing roosting in the
eastern harbour. Only three Lapwing are shown in this
photo.
Wintering
Coots
I am surprised there
is as yet no sign of the usual winter invasion of
Coots into the harbour or onto Slipper Millpond. I
could only find 4 individuals in the harbour beneath
the quay this morning, which is as many as I have seen
this winter. At this time last year there were 30
which had increased to 74 by early December. My record
count for Coots in the harbour was 186 in January
2011.
Spotted
Redshank
I walked along Western
Parade to Nore Barn in the warm sunshine this
afternoon at about 14:00. I was surprised and
delighted to find the Spotted Redshank still present
in the stream despite the fact that is was almost high
water. I was interested to see it swimming, which I do
not often see.
As expected, the bird
was not at all disturbed by the close proximity of
lots of people walking past with dogs and children. In
fact, while I was there two unruly dogs rushed into
the swollen stream chasing the swans, but the Spotted
Redshank hardly turned a hair (or a feather). What an
amazing bird. It was still present when I left at
about 14:30, clearly intending to sit out the high
tide.
For all the Spotted
Redshank news and photos go to . . . Spotted
Redshanks
Insects
on Ivy
I usually check the
Ivy hedge as I approach Nore Barn from Western Parade.
Today the warm sunshine had attracted several
Bluebottles and Drone Flies to feed on the few
remaining open flowers. Here are two Drone Flies, so
called because they look remarkably like Honey Bee
drones.
OTHER
NEWS (from SOS)
Dick Senior saw two
Marsh Harriers (a male and an all dark bird) at
Thorney Little Deep at midday today.
Doug Yelland saw a
male Dartford Warbler on the Prinsted shore at
13.00 today on the extended run of brambles above
water on inner side of ditch, about 50m north of the
point where the snow buntings were a couple of years
ago.
FRIDAY
NOVEMBER 22 - 2013
Emsworth
Harbour
I cycled from home
around the millpond and along Western Parade to Nore
Barn this morning on a rising tide. I counted 104
Mallard on the pond, but the swans are still absent,
all but for the 'litter nest' family. It was very cold
standing on the millpond seawall where I could see a
group of 9 Greenshank huddled together on the edge of
the channel.
I met Susan Kelly who
told me her book about the travels of an Anglo Saxon
monk named Willy was back on track; he's currently in
Damascus of all places! I'm looking forward to reading
it.
Onto Nore Barn where a
chap launching his boat disturbed the birds in the
stream and they did not return. Before they went I saw
the Spotted Redshank and a collection of Black-tailed
Godwits. I walked to the top of Nore Barn Creek which
was full of Wigeon and Teal with a few Brent Geese
mixed in.
I noticed some flowers
were opening on the Butcher's-broom bush near the path
to the south of the woods.
Brook
Meadow
Malcolm Phillips had
his regular walk around the meadow early this
afternoon and got photos of several of the resident
birds. The one I liked best was this Blue Tit
surrounded by Ash tree seeds.
Thorney
Island
On Nov 19 Barry
Collins reported a very smart looking Wheatear in the
field behind the hide on the southern end of Thorney
Island, which has been present since the 10th Nov. He
and Margaret then did a Dark-bellied Brent Goose
productivity count on Thorney airfield and had 78
juveniles in a flock of 500 (15.6%).
THURSDAY
NOVEMBER 21 - 2013
Brook
Meadow
There was a chilly NE
wind, but good turn out of nine volunteers for the
regular conservation work session. The main tasks as
outlined by Jennifer Rye, the leader for the session,
were to cut and clear the rest of the orchid area and
to start cutting the sedgey area above the causeway
that has not been done for a few years. The full
report and more photos is on the Brook Meadow web site
at . . . http://www.brook-meadow.hampshire.org.uk/bm-diary-2013.html
Maurice
using the power scythe to cut through the rampant
vegetation above the causeway
Brian Lawrence was on
the meadow with his camera looking for Water Rail, but
with no success. I think the bird Pam saw earlier in
the week must have moved on. However, while watching
the river Brian did see the now regular Grey
Wagtail on the north river near the large Ash
tree.
Nore
Barn to Warblington
Peter Milinets-Raby
was out mid morning for a walk from Emsworth, then
along the shoreline to Pook Lane then back via
Warblington (11:05am to 1:35pm, with high tide at
1ish). The highlights were as follows:
Nore Barn: 163
Black-tailed Godwits (most up to their bellies in
water - two coloured ringed birds WO- -/LYtag and
R-R/LG). 2 Spotted Redshank, a Little Egret, 11 Mute
Swans and a single Dunlin in the stream. 2 Grey
Plover, 191 Brent Geese, 152 Wigeon, 80+ Teal, 2
female Pintail, 2 Shelduck, 3 Little Grebes.
Off Conigar Point
(again no mud exposed): 67 Linnets in the stubble
field (perched on a hedge for a nice count!), 29 Stock
Doves in same field, 4 female Pintail, 4 Shelduck, 6
Cormorants, 35 Grey Plover, 1 Knot, 2 Turnstone, 180+
Dunlin, 5 male coming out of eclipse plumage and 10
female Red Breasted Mergansers loafing on the water.
106 Wigeon, 11 Lapwing.
Off Pook Lane: Young
Peregrine making several failed attempts to catch a
Dunlin and causing mayhem in the process. 20 Wigeon,
10 Brent Geese, 31 Curlew in the field adjacent to
Pook Lane (with 10 Stock Doves),
Chiffchaff heard
calling in the cemetery. Water Rail squealing from the
stream beside the Ibis Field, And finally back at Nore
Barn to watch 7 winter plumaged Sandwich Terns fishing
off shore, then take a rest on the buoys!!! Also this
juvenile Brent Goose was alone on the high tide
covered stream and even came out onto the main path,
looking very lost!
WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 20 - 2013
Nore
Barn
Maggie Gebbett had an
entertaining 15 mins watching the Spotted Redshank
getting cross with a Common Redshank, head down
chasing it around. The Greenshank took no notice -
although Maggie says it aimed a peck in the marauder's
direction when it went past. Also, 10 swans were in
the stream including cygnet, Little Egret, Grey
Plover, Wigeon, Teal and the usual wonderful
collection of Black-tailed Godwits including Nore Barn
regulars G+WR and W+WN .
Brook
Meadow
Malcolm Phillips said
there was still no sign of Water Voles or the Water
Rail. I suspect the latter may have moved on. But he
did see a large Pike by the deep water sign; no chance
of a good photo due to the reflections on the water
but, it was at least 18ins long. Two male Mallards
were pursuing a female on the river. Spring is in the
air?
Avocets
at Nutbourne
Romney Turner took a
walk along the Prinsted foreshore with friends
yesterday (Nov 19) and all were very excited to see a
flock of 36 Avocets in Nutbourne Bay. When they all
went up in flight Romney managed to capture most of
them in this excellent photo. I counted 34 in Romney's
shot. Brilliant.
TUESDAY
NOVEMBER 19 - 2013
Nore
Barn
15:00 - Tide falling
from high water at 12 noon. A bright sun low in the
west was casting long shadows. The Spotted
Redshank was feeding in the stream alone but for a
few Brent Geese and Wigeon. No sign of its 'friends'.
The best birds of the
afternoon were the Black-tailed Godwits which
progressively gathered in the Nore Barn Creek as the
tide fell. I pitched my scope in front of the wooden
seat installed in memory of my friend John Mant who
died in 2011. Nice to think of him here, if only in
memory. I counted a total of 98 in the flock which
included at least 5 colour-ringed birds:
G+WR - A mega regular
in Emsworth since Sep-08. 12th sighting here this
season.
L+RG - Only one
previous sighting in Emsworth on 04-Nov-11.
R+GL - Fairly regular
in Emsworth since 10-Sep-10. 2nd sighting here this
winter. PHOTO
R+RN - Only two
previous sightings in Emsworth on 16-Jul-12 and
17-Jul-12.
R+YN - 6th sighting
here this winter. PHOTO
Brook
Meadow
Malcolm Phillips went
round the meadow for a hour this afternoon looking for
the Water Rail, but only found the usual Moorhens. I
think that Water Rail may have moved on. No sign of
any Water Vole either. He did see two Little
Egrets in the trees which took off as he
approached.
MONDAY
NOVEMBER 18 - 2013
Nore
Barn
14:00 - I had a quick
look at the stream on a falling tide. The Spotted
Redshank was looking sprightly as always feeding in
the shallow stream
It was accompanied by
a Little Egret which spend a good deal of time
stirring up creatures in the mud with its foot.
In addition, 66 Brent
Geese were in the harbour with two families in the
stream with 1 and 2 juveniles respectively. These are
the Nore Barn regulars. Also, 5 Mute Swans.
Avocets
Romney Turner got a
great photo of some Avocets in flight at Nutbourne
recently. I counted 18 in the full photo that Romney
sent me, though I had to cut some out to make it fit
the page.
Anne de Potier found
31 Avocets at west Chidham yesterday at high tide
which is very encouraging. Keep a look out.
SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 17 - 2013
Water
Rail
Pam Phillips got
another view of a Water Rail on Brook Meadow at 7.30
this morning. It was south of the S-bend running up
and down the middle of the river. Pam said, although
the light was not good the bird's bill did not look
red. This suggests it could have been a juvenile which
has a much browner bill.
Long-tailed
Duck
Peter Milinets-went to
Hayling Oysterbeds yesterday to see the Long-tailed
Duck - typically with no long tail! He had to wait an
hour before the bird came close for a photo
opportunity. Peter says, the excessive amount of pink
on the bill and clear cut markings on the crown and
ear coverts suggest a first winter male; they are
usually more smudged in female. Also the bird is
beginning to acquire some winter male plumage on the
wing coverts.
Here is Peter's photo
of waders in flight over the Oysterbeds. What a
spectacle.
Bearded
Tit
Colin Vanner was at
Farlington Marshes yesterday and found the Bearded
Tits were showing very well in the reedbeds.
SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 16 - 2013
GARDEN
BIRDS
Goldfinches
I had a bonanza of
birds in my garden this afternoon. Thirteen species
included 15 Goldfinches, which are now my number one
garden bird, though when we first moved into our
present house in 1997 I hardly ever saw one. This
increase in Goldfinches using gardens is general
across the country as evidenced by the BTO Garden
BirdWatch scheme. See . . . http://blx1.bto.org/gbw-dailyresults/results/gbwr471-20.html
Interestingly, I have
recently installed a nice new seed feeder with four
perches which I bought from Stansted Garden Centre,
but the Goldfinches and other birds have largely
avoided it, despite it being filled with their
favourite sunflower hearts. They still prefer the old
battered two perch feeders which I have left up. I am
not surprised, since birds always avoid anything new
in their environment; however, there were one or two
brave fellers venturing onto it today and more will
follow I am sure.
Here
is a view of three feeders in my garden with some
Goldfinches - the new one is on the left.
Starlings
Today I also had 4
Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinch, 3 House Sparrow, which are
always good to see, but best of all were the 10
Starlings that suddenly crowded onto the feeders and
fatballs, but they did not stay long. Starlings are
such a rarity in the garden these days, whereas they
used to be so common, descending in flocks of up to
100 birds to gobble up food and then off they went in
a flurry of wings! Overall, Starling numbers in the
garden have plummeted from a mean weekly count of 27.5
in 2002 to just 0.2 last year.
OTHER
NEWS
Stuffed
Water Rail
I had a phone call
from taxidermist Michael Farley to say he had finished
stuffing the Water Rail that he found dead near Peter
Pond on Nov 11, so I went over to his house in Thorney
Road to have a look at it. The bird had hardly any
sign of damage from the accident and Michael had
mounted it attractively on a piece of wood surrounded
by some reed spikelets. Michael's place was quite
amazing, full of stuffed birds of many species, all of
which had been found by himself, usually beside the
road, or had been given to him by other people.
Here
is a photo of Michael's display taken with a flash in
his kitchen
Water
Rail in Fishbourne
Talking about Water
Rails, Roy Hay said he had seen one this afternoon in
the stream that passes through Fishbourne Meadows.
Clearly, Water Rails are moving through the area,
probably from breeding sites further north, though
they could be migrants from the continent.
Chichester
Gravel Pits
Heather Mills reported
on this morning's walk by the Havant Wildlife Group.
The highlight of the morning was an adult Great
Crested with 2 juveniles constantly begging for food,
on Great Copse lake.
For
the full report go to . . . http://familyfellows.com/hwg-walk-reports-2013.htm
For
earlier observations go to . . November
1-15