Tag Archives: blackcap

Ornithological Notes

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Bear with me, the chronology is a nightmare.

Last night I said – “Yesterday morning, I saw a Goldfinch on one of the feeders in the back garden. It’s quite a common bird – number 8 in last year’s RSPB Birdwatch, but we’ve only seen two since we moved in.

Goldfinch

We have also had no House Sparrows and no Starlings, (Number 1 and Number 3 in the list, and only seen Long Tailed Tit, another top ten birds a handful of times. The 20024 results were

  • House Sparrow
  • Blue Tit
  • Starling
  • Woodpigeon
  • Blackbird
  • Robin
  • Great Tit
  • Gold Finch
  • Magpie
  • Long Tailed Tit”

Then, tired, and conscious that I had a big day ahead of me, I went to bed.

We used to have goldfinches on the farm, and in the back garden in Nottingham, so I have been surprised at the lack of them in Peterborough, particularly as we are on the edge of an area I would deem ideal. In Nottingham we actually had them singing as they perched on TV aerials. Here – two in three months.

Red Kite

Anyway, it’s a start. We then went to Nottingham to carry on with the house clearance. On the way back we stopped at McDonalds at Colsterworth and were surprised to hear the call of a kite. It shares some of the buzzard’s mew, but with a plaintiff whistle in it.

We looked round and saw a kite perching in a tree that had recently had some bits lopped off it. We have seen kites from the car park before, but never this close. It seemed to be calling to a kite that was perching two trees along. They continued doing this, and because we had to get on, we went tom eat. Twenty minutes later, the calling kite was still there, but jackdaws were occupying the nearby trees. They ere gathering to fly off and roost rather than mobbing the kite, but the other bird had gone. I will be looking up kites and courtship later. It’s an area near woodland, so it’s looking good for more kite breeding.

If you don’t look up the Colsterworth link look up this one – unbelievable!

Finally, arriving home, we saw some starlings perching in a tree near the house. I said to Julia how strange it was to see them so close to us, but not to get them in the garden. Not that I want too many of them as they do tend to take over. When we had unloaded I looked at the feeders and there was a starling on the fat ball feeder. Maybe they are starting to move about for spring.

Starlings at Slaidburn

Also, a couple of nights ago Julia heard the blackcap (the “Northern Nightingale” singing. We are now worried he is getting ready to leave for home (assuming he is one of the winter migrants).

Kite!

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Robin in the sun

I like Nottingham, and our old house has a lot going for it, including many memories. However, I have to admit that I no longer like staying there – I prefer the heating and the one floor convenience of the bungalow. I also like Peterborough. It’s not much of a town and it often ranks low in surveys, but it feels comfortable to be back. Nottingham has far more facilities, but I didn’t really use them much. There’s no point in swimming pools, theatres and big shopping centres if you don’t use them.

One of the unexpected pleasures of coming back to Peterborough is going back to the Military History Group. Although it’s nearly 40 years since I went to a meeting there’s something familiar and comforting about it.

Male Blackcap eating from floor feeder

So it was good to get back. We collected the bird food that I ordered to the wrong address, and put out peanuts and mealworms. The mealworms have been popular, the peanuts have mostly been ignored. This was a surprise as they have been popular in the past. Maybe the birds just need a day or two to get used to them.

The header picture is one I took this morning out of the kitchen window. I’ve never been able to take a picture of a kite from my kitchen before. I have seen buzzards from the back windows at Nottingham, but they are quite a way distant, as they tend to hunt over the golf course. Sadly, my picture lacks context, but by the time I got the camera into action I couldn’t get house roofs and the kite in the same shot.

Male Blackcap eating sunflower hearts

We saw a different black cap a couple of times this morning – one with a chestnut brown head – a female. Julia saw her with the male and then I saw her on her own later. Although we aren’t getting many birds, and although we seem to be offering food they don’t eat  (which can be adjusted as we go on), things seem to be going quite well.

Magpies on neighbour’s roof

Kite, almost over the garden

Another Bird Feeder Milestone

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I managed

Blackcap at the Garden Feeder

to get a half-decent Blackcap shot this morning. It was dull, the camera tried to use flash, then a Robin chased it off. But somehow I got a usable image. It’s a very distinctive bird to say that it’s basically grey.

As I started to type this, Julia called me through to see a Jay. I grabbed her camera (it is better than mine for this sort of thing because it has a rangefinder – mine only has a screen) and was lucky to get three shots of a Jay at the ground feeder.

Of course, the card was still in the computer. All I got was a message “No Card in Camera” when I reviewed what I had done.

I’m sure it will be back. And next time I will be ready. The bird feeders are already producing more than I could have hoped for – more species, more fun, more interest, more excitement and, of course, more frustration and more Senior Moments.

Little Egret – this wasn’t far away, but it may be over-ambitious to try to tempt it to the garden.

The squirrel was on the feeder first thing this morning, and things have got to the state where it merely looks at me disdainfully when I knock on the window.

One thing that helps it get to the seeds is the positioning of one of the arms on the main feeder pole.  That will be moved. It may be enough to stop the raids on the seeds. However, experience suggests it won’t be.

I’m happy to let it feed on the bread and other scraps on the floor (which include apple, cabbage, stale scones and some old dried fruit), but I object to it taking loads of expensive seeds, spilling them on the floor and keeping the birds away. If anything, it does good work on the floor by making sure there is nothing left for rats, plus, as I’ve said before – squirrels are part of the garden wildlife, and quite interesting, so it is welcome, as long as it behaves.

A Peacock once turned up on the farm (seen here with guinea fowl) so you never know what might happen.

I’ve been observing its movements, and had isolated a number of places where I could put vaseline and chilli. Unfortunately, as the feeder becomes more popular, the birds are starting to perch there too, as they wait for a turn for the seeds. I don’t want to make a mess of their plumage so it looks like I’m going  to have to postpone the use of the vaseline.

My next move, if the repositioning doesn’t work, will be mixing seed with spice and see if that keeps it away.

Blackcap!

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Blue Tit feeding on suet pellets

In our old garden we once had a winter visit from a Blackcap, though it was actually a female, so it had a reddish-brown cap. It is one of a number of species that is changing it’s behaviour and is expanding its range. They used to breed in UK then migrate to southern Europe. They still do, but birds from western Europe now migrate to the UK for winter as it is easier than their traditional migration into Africa, and because there is a ready supply of food to be had in our garden feeders.

I had been hoping to see one at our new feeders, particularly as my sister has a friend who gets them in her garden, which is only a few streets away. Today, Julia asked me about the identity of a bird she had seen on the feeder. It sounded like a Blackcap, but it also sounded like it could be a Coal Tit (which we have had before). Anyway, when I went through there was nothing to be seen. Eventually a small grey bird showed up and flitted about at the feeders – Coal Tit. From many positions the white nape is highly visible. This one, of course, did its best to keep the white flash hidden. They can be very annoying.

Great Tit on Garden Feeder

However, another black-headed grey bird appeared. It fluttered more than the tits and when it eventually showed itself properly, was definitely a male Blackcap. Normally the Great Tits bully other birds off the feeders, but they were content to perch and wait for the Blackcap, which has a reputation for being robust in defending its feeding space. It also fed extensively from all the feeders, trying fat balls, sunflower seeds and scraps from the ground feeder, where the tits tend to grab a seed, or beakful of fat and make for cover.

Of course, now that this has happened I don’t really have much to aim for. Have we, I wonder, peaked too soon?

Magpie foraging on mossy roof

These are a few of the new bird shots – the blurring of the Magpie (taken yesterday) is from the vertical blinds, which tend to get in the way.

 

 

Sea Buckthorn

Porridge, prunes and pomposity

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It looks like the boundary issue at the bottom of the garden has been solved. It’s cost me more than it should have done, and I feel I have been “beaten” in the negotiation, but on the other hand I have emerged with my dignity and I can now use my time for doing things I enjoy.

Well, to be honest, I do enjoy winding pompous people up, but after six months it grows stale. They probably think the same thing. I am now going to attempt to re-establish the wildlife habitat at the bottom of the garden. We had blackcaps breeding and a thriving colony of frogs. Now we have a clear view into the upstairs windows of the house on the slope below. That’s why we grew the big hedge in the first place – it’s very off-putting to look across and see a neighbour in a state of undress in their bedroom. I’d much rather see blackcaps.

I am going to grow blackthorn and hawthorn and am not sure what else. They will provide bird cover, thorny security and sloes, plus privacy and a windbreak (I am aiming for about six foot tall eventually, (though we may have moved by then). I may try to get one hawthorn to tree size to replace the one that the dickhead neighbour removed – we always had nesting birds in there.

We just had prunes for breakfast. With porridge. That will cause a few perturbations north of the border, where salt and misery are the only acceptable porridge seasonings. I did the Tinker. tailor rhyme and ran out of professions. Obviously my three surplus stones represented chicken farmer, antiques dealer and gardener in my declining career trajectory. Two more stones and I could have brought it up to date with shop assistant and poet.

It’s interesting to see there are other versions, though I do agree with A A Milne that there should be more professions represented.

That’s enough for now – off for a jolly day decluttering now…