nature notes II

[Walter]

On opening my motorhome door this morning I found dozens of what appear to be house flies in the gap between the door and frame.
Made my skin crawl , they were unable to fly and fell to the floor still alive . Temp was minus 6c
I'm guessing they were trying to find a warm place for the overnight !

[Roses]

I put our brown bread crusts out for the birds, which they usually eat within a very short space of time, no doubt with a bit of help from any passing rat. However, since Christmas they have spurned the crusts, I wonder if people have been putting out left over festive food for them and they have been overfed?

[ekim]

First clump of frog's spawn seen yesterday and wild primroses and violets in flower.  They will regret it.

[wigginhall]

Saw my first snowdrops on Boxing Day, plus some cherry trees out.  Very mild, not good for some plants, which need a freeze.

[SusanDoris]

I walked to town this morning and on the way heard two bird songs which I'm not sure about, so I have two bird song questions, for which answers will be appreciated.

1. Which bird gives five or  six tweets, pause  repeat several times.  The tweets are strong and firm, same pitch, same volume. Dave-at-the-gym was telling me recently that chiffchaffs' calls can be heard more easily during the winter months in large gardens, of which there are quite a few near here, so I wondered if it could be a Chiffchaff. Can't ask Dave, he's on holiday, bird watching somewhere!

2. Which of the tits does a 1&a2&a3Aa pause repeat two or three times. Three notes, first one stronger than following two which are a third down the scale from first. Definitely not a Great Tit; apart from anything else the song was much lighter than a great Tit's.

[ekim]

I don't know if you are able to click on the appropriate arrows on this Woodland Trust site where it has recordings of some more common bird songs..... https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/04/identify-bird-song/

[ekim]

.... or play this recording..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8-dOm7-WEI

[SusanDoris]

I don't know if you are able to click on the appropriate arrows on this Woodland Trust site where it has recordings of some more common bird songs..... https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/04/identify-bird-song/

Thank you, yes, I could click on the site, but it said, 'your browser does not support the audio element' or something.

And the other link says I have to fill in a form!

[Bramble]

I walked to town this morning and on the way heard two bird songs which I'm not sure about, so I have two bird song questions, for which answers will be appreciated.

1. Which bird gives five or  six tweets, pause  repeat several times.  The tweets are strong and firm, same pitch, same volume. Dave-at-the-gym was telling me recently that chiffchaffs' calls can be heard more easily during the winter months in large gardens, of which there are quite a few near here, so I wondered if it could be a Chiffchaff. Can't ask Dave, he's on holiday, bird watching somewhere!

2. Which of the tits does a 1&a2&a3Aa pause repeat two or three times. Three notes, first one stronger than following two which are a third down the scale from first. Definitely not a Great Tit; apart from anything else the song was much lighter than a great Tit's.

1) Nuthatch possibly? Chiffchaffs tend to go on a bit longer than 6 notes before pausing.
2) You'd be surprised how versatile great tits are. 

[Nearly Sane]

2) You'd be surprised how versatile great tits are.

Some can get to be PM

[SusanDoris]

1) Nuthatch possibly? Chiffchaffs tend to go on a bit longer than 6 notes before pausing.
2) You'd be surprised how versatile great tits are.

Thank you for reply. Yes, I did wonder about Nuthatch, but I thought they were more inclined to do single notes then pause.
I know that Great Tits have a wide range of songs, but I didn't know they varied much in volume.

I'll keep listening!

[Bramble]

Thank you for reply. Yes, I did wonder about Nuthatch, but I thought they were more inclined to do single notes then pause.

Male nuthatches sing runs of about 6 loud rising notes and get going early so you are quite likely to have heard them about.

[Roses]

When I was coming back from the supermarket this morning there were at least a thousand or more seagulls circling around in the sky, yet we are a good distance from the coast. The fact they had come so far inland is usually an indication of stormy weather, OH JOY!

[Enki]

In the last few days I've been going on daily bike rides checking on the birds in my local area, something that I've probably neglected to do over the past few years.

Anyway I thought I'd share some of my moments with you. One visit was to my local cemetery. I found a protected sunny corner from the cold wind. After a short time I saw a song thrush, two long tailed tits, a couple of dunnocks chasing each other, a very busy buff-tailed bumble bee and both a peacock and tortoiseshell butterfly which decided to settle on some of the flowers left on/by the headstones. Even though the wind kept the clouds pushing across, from time to time the sun transformed the whole cemetery in a blaze of colour, predominately yellow and white from the everpresent daffodils and narcissae.

Another day involved a long climb towards a nearby village with a stop on a bench halfway. Glad as I was of the rest, it gave me time to look at the trees in the very extensive garden opposite me. I heard a green woodpecker yaffling and it soon gave views on one of the still bare trees. My journey was accompanied by the wistful song of robins, and the constant cooing of wood pigeons interspersed with the odd collared dove giving it some wellie.

Yesterday I cycled along towards the local golf course, and then walked by the side of it.Nice dry grass! Quite a few people were walking too, especially with dogs. The dogs had never had it so good, I thought. Everyone was sensible avoiding others by at least 2/3 metres.
A female sparrowhawk was spiralling upwards, and a buzzard floated across. In the bushes near a nearby ditch, a bullfinch sat out prominently,and in a bare group of trees next to the fairway, a great spotted woodpecker could be seen sticking out like a sore thumb. Suddenly I heard the unmistakable, very welcome but monotonous song of a chiffchaff close by, almost certainly on migraton. Nature carries on regardless. Spring is out of the blocks!!

Just thought I'd try to lift people's spirits.

[Roses]

There seem to be a lot less birds around than usual, mostly pigeons and magpies. I haven't seen any squirrels for a few months, which is strange, as they were always there the second one put out bread for the birds.

[ekim]

Yes, Spring has certainly sprung.  There is a small wooded area a couple of miles from my home which I walked to.  It is carpeted with primroses, celandines and wood violets, which in the sunlight, makes the whole area glow.  There are a few bluebells in bud.  I spotted 5 Brimstone and 2 Peacock butterflies.  The early purple orchids are appearing in leaf and there are many wild onions in blossom and bees were flying in and out of a wild hive in a hollow oak tree.

[Roses]

Although we have had quite a mild winter, I have noticed that the plants like daffodils, and the leaves on trees have been much slower to appear this year.

[Aruntraveller]

One of the side effects of the lockdown quarantine thing going on is that I spend much more time staring out of the window than I should.

Across the road is a silver car, been parked there for over a week now and a couple of seagulls spend a lot of their time strutting about on top of said car. Aside from being noisy I do find seagulls quite entertaining.

Anyway it prompted me to thinking that maybe they are a couple. Looked seagulls up on the internet and found this out:

Mating behaviour
Seagulls usually mate for life, although sadly if the pair cannot produce healthy chicks they may divorce. Divorcees can be seen as less attractive to first time daters, often being left single and alone for a few nesting seasons.

Seagull science
Seagulls are one of the few birds in the world that can drink fresh and salt water. They have a special gland near their eye that removes the salt from their system.

Communication
Gulls are strong communicators, signalling one another with specific calls and even body movements.

Food for thought
Gulls are omnivores and will eat fish, eggs, insects or molluscs. They will consume pretty much anything including human refuse, and even other birds like pigeons.

See what you learn when you have too much time on your hands.

[Nearly Sane]

Glasgow seagulls are huge, and carry razors.

[Walter]

Glasgow seagulls are huge, and carry razors.

sea- you- gulls?

[Walter]

Although we have had quite a mild winter, I have noticed that the plants like daffodils, and the leaves on trees have been much slower to appear this year.

Lr

its all to do with 'frames of reference' , you see ,if you..........

[Enki]

Update on my local bike rides which I do every day and which included a couple of new places(which are still very local). The daffodils are past their best now, but tulips are starting to open. Birdwise, I've now seen and heard several chiffchaffs and blackcaps. However, the best was walking past a bramble covered ditch when the unmistakable sound of a cetti's warbler suddenly erupted. I managed to get fleeting views of this very elusive bird. This was once a rare bird in the UK and mainly seen in the south of England in very small numbers. I saw my first at a place called Stodmarsh in Kent years ago. Heard my first skylark of the year,(now becoming a scarce species), saw two glorious bullfinches, a dapper little goldcrest and had 8 buzzards together soaring on a thermal. Butterflies are on the increase now, including sightings of green veined white, brimstone, peacock and a delightful comma. Still waiting to see my first swallow of the year however...

[ekim]

On my walk, the Early Purple Orchids are now out in blossom as are King Cups.  Some Orange Tip butterflies are now making an appearance.

[ippy]

Update on my local bike rides which I do every day and which included a couple of new places(which are still very local). The daffodils are past their best now, but tulips are starting to open. Birdwise, I've now seen and heard several chiffchaffs and blackcaps. However, the best was walking past a bramble covered ditch when the unmistakable sound of a cetti's warbler suddenly erupted. I managed to get fleeting views of this very elusive bird. This was once a rare bird in the UK and mainly seen in the south of England in very small numbers. I saw my first at a place called Stodmarsh in Kent years ago. Heard my first skylark of the year,(now becoming a scarce species), saw two glorious bullfinches, a dapper little goldcrest and had 8 buzzards together soaring on a thermal. Butterflies are on the increase now, including sightings of green veined white, brimstone, peacock and a delightful comma. Still waiting to see my first swallow of the year however...

I'm no twitcher enki but I did look into what was this unusual bird song I heard in my garden, after listening to various bird song samples on my PC the bird seems to be an Eurasian Great Tit, Eurasian? Would that be correct? Here in north Essex, (the not London by sea part of Essex).

ippy.

[SusanDoris]

Update on my local bike rides which I do every day and which included a couple of new places(which are still very local). The daffodils are past their best now, but tulips are starting to open. Birdwise, I've now seen and heard several chiffchaffs and blackcaps. However, the best was walking past a bramble covered ditch when the unmistakable sound of a cetti's warbler suddenly erupted. I managed to get fleeting views of this very elusive bird. This was once a rare bird in the UK and mainly seen in the south of England in very small numbers. I saw my first at a place called Stodmarsh in Kent years ago. Heard my first skylark of the year,(now becoming a scarce species), saw two glorious bullfinches, a dapper little goldcrest and had 8 buzzards together soaring on a thermal. Butterflies are on the increase now, including sightings of green veined white, brimstone, peacock and a delightful comma. Still waiting to see my first swallow of the year however...

On my very short walk outside my house, I have heard a couple of SongThrushes, a Chaffinch  plus Robins etc, but there is one that I haven't worked out yet. I think it is in a fir tree at the back of the long garden that backs onto mine.