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The sun has been shining on us in Lochwinnoch, and not a moment too soon as we prepared ourselves for our annual tadpole hunt (part of our fantastic frogs series). Swarms of people decended upon us at 11am to come and look for the wiggley wigglers (also know as tadpoles, and in some countries, polliwags!) and also to find out some facts about tadpoles, look for frog food and generally have lots fo fun!

A great day has been had by all, with everybody catching at least one tadpole, but mostly up to about 30!

 Tadpole facts:

1. It takes 16 weeks for a tadpole to become a fully grown adult frog
2. In the first 4 weeks of its life, a tadpole eats its own egg yolk which is stored in its belly
3. Tadpoles have tiny teeth which they use to eat algae
4. Tadpole legs begin to pop out at 6 weeks old
5. At 12 weeks old, a tadpole is old enough to leave the water but it may still have some of its tail left.
6. Tadpoles breathe through gills
7. Tadpoles are also known as polliwags
8. Tadpoles love to eat lettuce
9. If temperatures drop, tadpoles can become suspended and not develop until the water warms up
10. A young frog is called a froglet
11. Water tigers often eat tadpoles
12. Tadpoles are young frongs, toads or newts
13. Tadpoles have a sucker which they attach themselves to plants with
14. Frog eggs are known as spawn

Paula

We have been monitoring the progress of our two nests closely as we estimated the date of hatching for the blue tit family would be this weekend. In previous years we have come in one morning and found 10 hungry mouths being busily fed by two attentive parents and haven't really had an opportunity to witness the hatching process. Two days ago, whilst sitting having a cup of coffee, one of our volunteers said, "I'm sure that egg just moved!" and proceeded to watch the nest for half an hour to see if it would do it again. Alas, it seemed to be a one off, but nonetheless a good sign that things were starting to happen.

This morning, I was sure that we'd come in to find all of the eggs hatched, but it seemed we would have to wait a wee bit longer. However, as I watched more closely, a beak popped out! Only one of eight so far, but I'm sure the others will catch on soon enough. Just one tiny little beak from a tiny little egg to make you realise what an amazing process birds go through to live, thrive and survive.

I'll look forward to watching the rest as they progress.

Paula

Arriving in early May from Africa, the swift is one of the last migrants to arrive back in the UK, and they will be gone again by mid-August. Our first sighting in the area was on 26 April this year, with sightings on the reserve from 9 May onwards.

Keep an eye high in the sky at this time of year and you may spot this blackish-brown bird with bow shaped wings returning.

Although they have a shorter body than swallows, swifts make up for it with their longer, curved wings giving them their distinctive crescent shape in flight.

Their flight is rapid and fluctuating, followed by long glides. Swifts are known to feed on around 300 different species of insects and spiders. This means that swifts probably eat more creatures than any other British bird (wow!). In fine weather, swifts can be hard to spot as they feed high in the sky, but during bad weather, swifts can often be seen low over water, so this is a good time to get good views of them.

Swifts nest in old buildings with suitable cavities to nest in. They build a nest with a shallow cup of grass they gather on the wing, and cement together with saliva. They lay 2-3 eggs which are incubated for almost 3 weeks. Young then remain in the nest for one to two months depending on the weather. Young are then independent as soon as they leave the nest. They do not breed until their fourth year.

Even though swifts are born in Britain, they spend only one third of their lives in here. Arriving in May and leaving in August - I recommend you get out there and see these amazing birds whilst you can!

So, following on from our 1 blue tit egg last week, we now have more exciting news. Whilst the blue tit has now finished laying hers (total for this year is 8 eggs) we also have action from the great tits nest, which appears to have 5 eggs this year. This is the first time we've had a camera on the great tits, and its already shown many differences from the blue tits.

One, which i mentioned in the previous post, is the structure of the nest - whilst the blue tit appears very neat and tidy with a perfectly formed cup for its eggs, the great tit has a wider variety of materials and has lined the cup with wool. The cup of the great tit also appears at the back of the box, whilst the blue tit is quite central.

Also, it is very obvious that the great tit eggs are speckled and the blue tits are quite plain.

I expect we will discover many more difference over the coming weeks, but for now, a brief fact file about our very own reality TV show stars:

Blue Tit family:

• 8 eggs laid this year (10 in 2008)
• Incubation began on 3rd May
• Average incubation time is 13 - 15 days, giving an approximate hatching date of 16th - 18th May
• Once hatched it takes approximately 18 - 21 days for the birds to fledge
• Blue tit diet consist of insects and spiders, with fruit and seeds eaten in the winter
• Egg weight is 1.1g
• Fun fact: most birds can see ultra-violet light, but the front of blue tits heads glow under UV light. This is the way that the female chooses her mate.

Great tit family:

• 5 eggs laid this year (average is 7 - 9)
• Incubation began on 6th May
• Average incubation time is 13 - 15 days, giving an approximate hatching date of 16th - 18th May
• Once hatched it takes approximately 18 - 21 days for the birds to fledge
• Great tit diet consists of invertebrates (esp. butterflies and beetles) and spiders, with seeds and fruit in the winter
• Egg weight is 1.7g
• Fun fact: The black stripe on a male great tit is an indicator of status. Larger stripes are more attractive to females.

Bird facts are courtesey of the BTO's 'Birdfact' pages www.bto.org.uk/birdfact