Just Resting.

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Wild Bird Wednesday

Feeder Birds: Siskin.

For this week's edition of WBW I am raiding the archives to share a few images of  Siskin (Carduelis spinus). 

All images were taken during an early March visit this year to Warnham L.N.R. where a hide provides an excellent opportunity to get reasonably close to a wide variety of birds making use of the various feeders.

One of our smallest finches with a relatively long, narrow bill for a finch and distinctive short forked tail. The image above is a juvenile. In the south-east during the winter many of the birds will be migrants from northern Europe and then, with some exceptions, there is a general migration northwards to breed mainly in conifer plantations.

The females (see above) are typically drabber than the males (below) that sport their very distinctive black crown and bib in full breeding plumage.

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Wild Bird Wednesday

WBW - Robin Serenade.

 A common feature of any of my local walks is to be serenaded by a Robin.

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Wild Bird Wednesday.

WBW - Tit Family.

All the birds called 'Tits' featured in this post are mainly woodland breeding species that I regularly encounter on my patch walks and with one exception are also regular garden feeder visitors plus two species have nested in the garden some years.

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). A common breeding resident on my local patch and a regular daily visitor to the garden feeder also using one of the three nest boxes in most years. Unfortunately no evidence of nesting in a box so far this year. As a youngster I remember their antics of  breaking through the milk bottle tops sitting on the doorstep and stealing the creamy top off the milk.

Coal Tit (Periparus ater). A resident mainly of coniferous or mixed woodland that often makes use of garden feeders during the winter months. It has a repetitive piercing call of  'situi' and 'tsevi' enabling the watcher to home in on its location within the woodland canopy. Excluding the Crested Tit, which is found in the northern Caledonian pine forests, it is our smallest Tit species.

Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) whose name doesn't match its habitat of damper deciduous woods. I usually  identify their presence by their call; a 'pitchoo' which sounds a bit like a sneeze but sightings are very infrequent hence the lack of suitable images to post here.

Often confused with the similar black capped but slightly larger Willow Tit which is now something of a rarity in Surrey with my last recorded sighting in 2008.

Great Tit (Parus major) uttering its repetitive 'teacher teacher' notes. Easily identified as it is the largest of our Tits and also well adapted to nesting in gardens. When visiting the feeders it will often fight off other, smaller tits to get to the food but the resident Robin will always boss them around!

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus). This one is not closely related to the other 'true' tits but a member of the small Aegithalidae (Bushtit) family. I always enjoy an encounter with these active and acrobatic feeders, often in a group, when they are hunting insects and spiders amongst the smaller branches while constantly chatting to one another. During the occasional hard winters we might a few visits to the garden feeders.

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Nature Notes

Wild Bird Wednesday
I'D-Rather-B-Birdin'

Simplicity.

A female Stonechat sitting pretty in the dull morning light on a Surrey heath. FAB.

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Wild Bird Wednesday
image-in-ing

Singing Blackcap.

My first sighting of a returning migrant Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) photographed during a morning visit to Tices Meadows today. A male in full song as it flitted back and forth in a small patch of woodland.

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Wild Bird Wednesday

Lanius excubitor.

After several visits to Thursley Common today I finally managed to get a reasonable image of a Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) that regularly spends its winter here.

Reed Bunting.

A visit to Warnham LNR recently provided the opportunity to get some close views of a species I have only once recorded on my local patch, the Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoenichus). One particular female provided some interesting poses.

The male also made an appearance at the feeding station so below are a couple of images.

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Wild Bird Wednesday.
Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Northern Shoveler.

During the early days of February I recorded a pair of [Northern] Shoveler (Anas clypeata) on the Great Pond at Epsom Common but failed to get any shots as they were always very wary and tended to hide in the waterside vegetation. However a recent visit to Farlington Marshes provided the opportunity to get a couple of images to share of both sexes in their breeding plumage.

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Short-eared Owl.

A very confiding Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) that I encountered during a walk around Farlington Marshes today.

There will be other images of the birds seen on my main blog (Wildlife Watching with FAB) once I have sorted through the numerous images.

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Winter Sun Worshipers.

Cormorants regularly turn up on the pond on my birding patch and this pair took the opportunity to enjoy some winter sunshine in between the recent strong gales.  FAB.

Linking to WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY.

Sylvia Songster.

Almost every woodland I stroll around at the moment the most prominent migrant songsters are the male Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla). Unlike some other warblers that like to announce their presence from a lofty open perch the Blackcap typically chooses a less obvious position much lower down in the leafy canopy sometimes totally hidden from view.

When I listen to its vocal repertoire I can understand why it is also known as the 'Northern Nightingale'.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday.

Common Moorhen.

A resident breeder found around my patch pond is the [Common] Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

A member of the Rallidae family with its distinctive long toes that enable it to walk on water, when frozen, and on waterside vegetation. Generally quite secretive although can be very bold in some locations and often utters an explosive bubbling or gargling call when it reveals its presence.

A very nervous species that frequently twitches its tail revealing the v-shaped white sides to the undertail coverts. Known by various names including Common Waterhen, Marsh Hen and River Chicken.

Its poster red bill dipped in yellow make it very easy to distinguish it from other water birds.

Linking to I'D-Rather-B-Birdin' and Wild Bird Wednesday. 

Patch Birds.

For this week's edition of Nature Notes and Wild Bird Wednesday I am posting images of a few of the species that I regularly encounter during my patch walks around Epsom Common Ponds during the winter months. You can find more information about this local patch by visiting the 'Birding Location' page on my main blog 'Wildlife Watching with FAB'.

Cormorants drop in from time to time to fish for a meal and can often be seen perching on one of the old tree stumps, wings outstretched, hoping to catch some winter sunshine.

Grey Heron. Nest building was well underway in early February somewhere nearby.

A few Tufted Ducks regularly take up temporary residence during the winter but when the pond froze over in mid February they moved elsewhere.

At long last the Black-headed Gull has nearly switched into its adult summer plumage sporting its dark chocolate coloured cap.

The largest of our winter thrushes is the Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) which migrated here from Northern Europe during last October will very soon be returning northwards again. I have only recorded a few individuals this winter compared to the large flocks of Redwing which have continuously evaded the lens!

The Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos), whose dogmatic and varied song is a joy to behold, is a year round resident.

The Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) always sings from a high vantage point.

You can listen to the distinctive songs and calls of the Song and Mistle Thrush HERE.

Up until a few years ago sightings of Coot on the Great Pond were very infrequent but now it is unusual not to see at least two or three on every visit.

A very infrequent visitor on the pond is the Greylag Goose and a pair turned up at the end of last week accompanied by a single Barnacle Goose (see below), a definite rarity for my patch.

One of the regular Canada Geese wasn't very happy about the intrusion of these other geese and attempted to intimidate the much smaller Barnacle Goose, but it wasn't fazed at all by the Canada's boisterous splashing antics.  FAB.

Classic Pose.

ISO 320; 1/320; f7.1 @ 277mm

Wood Nuthatch (Sitta europaea ssp. caesia) perched in its classic pose.  FAB.

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday.