Birds

February 09 notes

17/02/09 20:53 Filed in: Monthly highlights | February | 2009

After the protracted cold spell that closed schools locally and brought a smile to the faces of 1000s of school children who had the opportunity for some term time sledging, spring appears to be on the way. Temperatures are on the up and wildlife is starting to become active and move around. The birds are singing; we heard our first Song Thrush singing two weeks ago in central-south Birmingham. Robins, Tits, Finches, Sparrows and Starlings are all making their voices heard, just ahead of breeding season. Keep an eye out for the flocks of Long-tailed Tits (see photograph), the local acrobats, jumping around the branches in your local trees, chattering excitedly. Queen bumblebees have been active throughout the month, seeking out food on early flowering bulbs (Crocus, Daffodils and Snowdrops) ahead of gorging themselves on Goat Willow catkins towards the end of the month, and looking for suitable nest sites to raise their broods for the coming year.

As nature becomes more and more active there are a number of things to look out for as we approach March. Keep an eye out for the clumps of flowering Snowdrops, early Daffodils and the slender yellow petals of Lesser Celandine (see photograph to the left), on of our early flowering native wild plants. Some of our overwintering birds are still flocking in local areas, such as Redwings, Fieldfares and there are some notable rarer species around, notably Black Redstarts, which are Amber listed birds and beautiful and ornate Firecrests, resplendent with their white eye stripes. Elsewhere on local Midland nature reserves such as Brandon Marsh you might catch a glimpse, or more likely hear, a Bittern before they leave to breed elsewhere - but move quickly they’ll be gone by early March.

Things will really start to hot up in March - keep an eye on these pages for updates of what to look out for. If you get the bug for recording what you see then post your records to us using the contact form. Another fantastic resource that site to keep an eye on is the Woodland Trust ‘Nature’s Calender’ site. Well worth a look.

Tags: spring, Birds, Bird song, flowers, catkins, Blog

December 08 notes

16/12/08 23:34 Filed in: Monthly highlights | December | 2008

Keep an eye out for our visiting winter migrant birds. Although the summer migrants have left we have a few winter visitors that arrive every year from the continent and further north to overwinter in our milder oceanic climate. We have a large number of migrants that are either new arrivals or supplement our local populations during the winter. We also receive a good few species that are blown in on winter storms, stimulating discussion on web fora such as the Bird Forum and causing interest in local nature reserves in the region. We will identify

these visitors as and when they arrive. Two years ago we had flocks of Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) moving through the suburbs in southern Birmingham and Bromsgrove and they are now back in the north of the city at an Asda petrol station in Minsworth moving between there and Sutton Park (Dec 17 onwards). The birds are still around now (Jan 7th 09) and the picture to the left was captured by Neil Martin (copyrighted) at Garretts Green Road in Birmingham. A couple of weeks ago one of us (Emma) spotted a Lesser Redpoll (Carduelis cabaret) in Cannon Hill Park, only a couple of miles away from New Street Station in the city centre. It is surprising what can turn up - keep your eyes open.

If you are close to water bodies you will have seen the influx of water fowl such Tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula), Wigeon (Anas penelope), and Shovelers (Anas clypeata) to name only a few. If you live deep in the city keep an eye out for other species. You know winter is here when you see the influx of finches into the local parks and open spaces from the rural areas; listen out of the soft pan-pipe calls of Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) and the whispering flight chattering of Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis). Perhaps our most celebrated winter visitors are the flocks of Redwings (Turdus iliacus) and Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) that move around often in mixed flocks deep in the region’s urban areas. We love them!

Tags: Birds, Migrants, Blog