Wildlife December 2010

[Michael J Campbell]

These pics were taken through the kitchen window,and yes I know I need to Clean the windows but it is too cold outside.

Feeding frenzy
Male blackbird=Turdus merula
Redwing =Turdus iliacus  &  Common starling = Sturnus vulgaris
Female blackbird=Turdus merula

[Gerdk]

Gerd, I know people with the 3 chamber sparrow box and all they get is one pair. Maybe other forum members have experience with the sparrow terrace
Pat, yes they are ours. Can we have them back, please

Mark, I'will be lucky with one couple - better than none! We'll see.

Gerd

[mark smyth]

1.4 million small birds trapped in Cyprus to make a controversial dish of pickled or boiled songbirds
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/267412-cypriot-bird-trappers-flock-to-british-military-base

[mark smyth]

Michael I have been feeding chick crumbs to the thrush family in my garden

[mark smyth]

Just heard on a bird report that hundreds of skylarks are at a site beside the sea in County Down. At least 600 are at a site near Portrush on the north coast.
Lots of
bramblings being reported http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?v=1&f=281083
woodcock in gardens
and short-eared owlshttp://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?v=1&f=279445

[Juan Fornes]

Michael, good to see different species through your windows!
Mark: same problem as with Cyprus happen with Malta: it is such a good spot for the birds to stop in the middle of their Mediterranean cross during Spring/Autumm migrations... Hunters kill thousands birds every year: raptors, insectivores... And nothing is done.
What a sight must be those larks...

Tjhis early morning I went to see the marsh, and I was rewarded by the sight of
- common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) picture 1 and 2 (fishing in one of the channels)
- The rare Squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides), and even rarer as a wintering heron (picture 3 and 4)
- Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) picture 5
- Great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) resting and drying on o wall after fishing (picture 6)
Also there were some Crag martins (Ptyonoprogne rupestris) wich I couldnīt photograph, the only member of the Hirundidae wintering here.

[Juan Fornes]

And some pics of Sterlings. In Spain there are two species of Starlings: the sedentary Spotless Starling (Sturnus unicolor), wich inhabits mainly villages and towns (they have increased their territory, and now occupies almost all the Iberian Peninsula) and the Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), and almost unknown breeding here until the ī60s, now counting some thousands pairs, but a very very abundant wintering, offering impressive shows when roosting in cities. Pictures were taking of birds coming to roost in the huge Ficus trees of Valencia. Iīve tried to post video without success.

[mark smyth]

Juan I like your proverb

It is strange seeing your starling without spots http://www.birdguides.com/iris/pictures.asp?v=1&f=226457

[Juan Fornes]

   Very nice picture of the Spotless Starling Mark: thank you for your search!. Itīs indeed a lovely bird, with very beautiful reflects on its feathers. Every year we find some almost fully grown chicks on the street (relax: Iīm not going to post a pic of another lemur to be cast up in the air... ). Iīll try to take some picture of them next year. Itīs very funny to hear, above all in Spring, "frogs" singing from the tv antenna on the roof .Well, frogs or whatever you can think of: any interesting sound suceptible of being imitated, will be imitated by these bird.
    I, again, have failed in posting pictures: the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) was missing (wich should have been picure 5), sorry  . There must be a black hole in my computer (well, in fact the black hole must be in my head...)

[Stan da Prato]

Some pictures of winter wildfowl from the East Lothian coast. There is a wildfowling ban in operation now to help birds through the severe weather so it is important  not to disturb them as they then burn up what reserves they have. First wigeon flying over frozen saltmarsh where they would normally be grazing. Next teal which would usually be in among reeds. Third drake mallard on ice showing how colourful this common species is in sunlight. Then two mallard feeding by upending. Goldeneye drake and then two ducks which are less vulnerable as diving ducks do not feed on land. Person feeding hungry birds - note that  some are better able to benefit than others. Greylag geese on ice -these are feral birds now  increasing in SE Scotland but at least they are a native species. Canada geese are also  increasing  and a concern as they interbreed with greylags to produce odd hybrids as in the last picture.
SdP

[mark smyth]

Great set of photos

The river that runs through my town was totally frozen over right out a couple of 100m in to Lough Neagh. No-one to feed the ducks and swans there. I met a couple in Asda who were buying multigrain bred for them. Hopefully crowds arrive tomorrow because of the fast thaw that is happening now

[mark smyth]

I told you about a field over here with 600 skylarks. The number grew to c800  .
http://nibirds.blogspot.com/2010/12/impact-of-cold-weather.html

I also read that the guy who reported the huge numbers on the coast bought mixed seeds to feed them

[Juan Fornes]

   Stan: nice pics! So showy the Goldeneye male! Itīs a very rare wintering bird here in Spain, and mainly in the north. Hybridizations between native and foreign birds can sometimes be a real problem. We have a hard case here in Spain: the very rare White-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), a very curiously billed duck wich has very often its tail held in vertical, and has in Spain their only european distribution- Census in 1977 showed as few birds as 22, but due to different projects  (mainly thanks to the "Amigos de la Malvasía" (friends of the white-headed duck) group), numbers increased to more than 1,000 and then in the year 2000, 4,500 birds were counted. Now, one of the worst problem is that they hybridize with the  Ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis), wich come as an allien bird from introduced birds in Europe, and spreading their range in Spain since 1980īs. When will we learn to respect nature, and let her do her work as she has been doing for over 4,500 million years...
   Mike: sorry to hear your cold problems keep causing so many problems. 800 larks together... what a sight it must be! Great for the people helping!

Edit:for information, the photo below of the white headed duck is from the internet.

[mark smyth]

Juan you will be happy to know that N Ireland has almost removed all of out wild Ruddy duck. It's estimated that only 10 are alive

[mark smyth]

Are you ready to laugh?
http://www.funvid.eu/index.php?page=videos&section=view&vid_id=105541