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A flock of Goosanders
I went to a local park today for a walk and found a flock of Goosanders in the lake. It is a fishing lake, frequented by anglers in the summer, but it was quiet today, and the Goosanders, had the fish...
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Bullfinches eating Guelder rose berries
A group of Bullfinches were feeding just outside Dalby Forest visitor centre this afternoon. We watched them from a window, just over them, and they seemed quite unaware of us, providing a great...
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Watching Waxwings
Yesterday, I got up early and had a short drive to a local supermarket to watch some Waxwings that had been reported. Waxwings are irregular winter visitors to the UK, especially to its eastern side,...
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Grey Wagtail feeding
Grey Wagtails breed in upland streams and rivers, but they are common passage and wintering birds in urban waterbodies, from small ponds to lakes. I watched one today in a local park,. Despite their...
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Mute Swan acoustic communication
I've said it before, Mute Swans are not really mute, they have a repertoire of calls and sounds. They also use movements of their head and neck to communicate. There is a quick head bowing movement; a...
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What are goldfinches doing on tree branches?
At this time of year I often see Goldfinches appearing to feed high on tree branches, often sycamores. It is hard to see what exactly they are doing, but definitely there are no seeds involved, it...
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Wintering Chiffchaffs
In the last month, I've come across a couple of wintering Chiffchaffs. The last of them this Wednesday on my way to work, the calling bird revealed it's presence atop a maple, busily feeding on the top...
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Loafing gulls
Gulls spend a good portion of their days doing what is known as 'loafing', in open areas of good visibility: playing fields, beaches, but also on water and on ice in frozen lakes, the same sites are...
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Stonechat pairs in winter territories
Species like the Robin keep territories during the winter, with males and female individuals defending their own separate territories, while in the summer, territories are defended as a pair. There are...
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Long-tailed tits hanging and feeding
Just a quick field note on foot use. I wasn't aware on Long-tailed tit foot use before, so I was very pleased to watch this behaviour. Sun flower hearts had been placed atop posts on a nature reserve...
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Wing-spreading in Cormorants
The spread-wing posture of cormorants, like the individual above in a local park earlier this month, is one of their most distinctive behaviours. Multiple reasons have been offered to explain this...
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Black-headed gulls paddling
I've written about foot-paddling for worms on wet grass in Herring Gulls and Common Gulls in this blog before. My local park has flooded in the last few weeks and Black-headed Gulls have moved in,...
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Colour-ringed Waxwings
I went to see the Hessle waxwings this morning, where a flock has been present since last Friday. Straight away, I saw two photographers looking at a tree. I soon joined them and the 18-strong flock...
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Pink-footed geese commute
One of the highlights of my bird year is to first hear and then see the wavy skeins of Pink-footed Geese flying over from their summer breeding quarters in Iceland and East Greenland.This morning, I...
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Herring Gull pair long call duetting
You have probably seen Gibbon pairs duetting in nature documentaries or videos. It is a territory display that shows how the pair is well bonded, and the turn-taking of the duetting is amazingly...
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Carrion Crows feeding on Plane Tree fruits
This morning I took a walk near a local park. On a square lined with Plane Trees, some pollarded, a flock of Goldfinches fed on the bauble-like fruits, often hanging from them acrobatically, as they...
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Ice-breaking Mute Swan
The ponds and lakes in town are all covered on ice after the last frosts. The other day I watched as part of a family of swans landed on ice on their lake, the young walking tentatively on the slippery...
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Mute Swans leaving home
There was a news item yesterday regarding a Mute Swan that had crashed through someone's bathroom window. The swan was treated for cuts and taken for further treatment. The photos suggest that this was...
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Anting Carrion Crows
I've wanted to film crows anting for quite a while. Anting is a behaviour carried out by a range of birds (I dealt with Blackbirds anting in a previous post), but it is rare to observe it. Anting can...
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Mistle thrush pairs defending berry trees
Several bird species hold territories during the winter, like Robins or Wrens defending their patch and singing through the winter. It is rarer that a pair will defend a winter territory. I have...
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Goldfinches feeding on Horse Chestnut leaf miners
Goldfinches' diet is mainly composed of small seeds that they can deftly extract from seed heads using their long, thin bill. I have blogged before on their agility and skill manipulating seeds and...
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Waxwing gift passing display
After a long hiatus, I came across some Waxwings today. Six individuals were perched high up on a Lime tree, taking the sun in. They were quite active, changing branches, pecking the shiny, red tree...
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Siskins Galore
There is something about birdwatching that I find so rewarding: learning a simple thing, like a species contact call, opens a new world. Although they are regular wintering birds, I don't think...
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Rooks hoarding acorns
It is a mast year, with a bumper crop of acorns across the city. October is peak acorn season and last week I saw the first Rooks carrying acorns. Acorns are packed with energy, and several bird...
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A flock of local Lesser Redpolls
The coldest morning of the year so far, I take a walk around my patch. Lesser Redpolls are a rare winter visitor in the city, and it's hard to predict where to find them but my local patch has been...
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