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After 4 weeks migrating from Africa, some as far south as the Cape, swallows arrive in the UK during April, we;ve already seen our first two at the reserve!

Keep an eye out this April for the bird that wears the uniform with glossy blue-black upperparts, white underparts, a blue band across the breast and the unmistakeable long streamers of their tails. Look a little closer and you will see that their throat and forehead are a rich, deep red.

Frequently seen flying over Aird Meadow in front of the centre, or around the river Calder - swallows are feeding on a range of insects including bluebottles, houseflies, bees, hoverflies, mayflies, aphids and flying ants (yum)!

Often returning to rest in the same nest made of mud and lined with feathers and grass, swallows incubate 3-6 eggs for two weeks, then feed young for around 3 weeks and then continue feeding young for a further week once they leave the nest (lazy birds!). Young are often seen perched waiting for their parents to feed them.

Swallows can raise two or three broods in a year, with some staying into November in the southern parts of the UK before leaving for the 4 week migration back to Africa.

Swallow facts:

• 570,000 pairs breed in the UK
• Females have shorter tail streamers than males
• The oldest known swallow is 15 years and 11 months
• A brood of swallows need 6000 flies a day to survive.

Arriving at an area of water near you this March / April is the small bird that looks like a miniature swallow - the sand martin.

This delicate looking bird is one of the first birds to arrive back in the UK after it's long journey from the southern Sahara, the Sahel, where it spends the winter.

This slim bird has brown upperparts, white underparts, pointed wings and a slightly forked tail. They have started appearing in small numbers on areas of water around Lochwinnoch - collect a bonus sticker as part of the wildlife challend during March / April - so come on over and have a look. 

Sand martins love eating midges which they catch in the air as they gather over areas of water (even better for us then!) 

Soon after arriving, they seek out sandbanks in rivers or sand and gravel pits to nest. They dig a hole into the vertical sand banks and create a chamber at the end which contains grass and feathers. In this chamber they incubate 4-6 eggs for two weeks. They feed the young with the midges for a further 3 weeks until the young leave the nesting chamber.

Sand Martin Factfile:

• Up to 270,000 pairs nest in the UK.
• Sand martins can rear 2 broods of young in a good year with pairs often changing their mates for the second brood.
• They excavate holes up to 2 metres long.
• Sand martins can move stones up to 4 times as heavy as themselves.

Every year, thousands of whooper swans make their annual journey from the Icelandic tundra to spend the winter in the UK. When March arrives and the temperatures increase, they make their long trip back home to Iceland. Along the way, many of these birds stop off in Scotland, to feed, roost and rest and this is the story of one such bird.
 
Whooper swans are one of the RSPB Lochwinnoch reserve’s best loved winter visitors and many people choose the reserve as the place to come and see them each year. Numbers have reached up to 60 in recent years.
 
This year the Wetland and Wildfowl Trust (WWT) have radio tagged 40 whooper swans as part of their monitoring programme of these beautiful birds, to track their route and find out exactly how they manage on their journey, and one of these tagged birds landed in Lochwinnoch.

According to a spokesperson for the WWT:
“Lars, (The birds name) set off on migration from WWT Martin Mere on 11/03/2009, flying from Martin Mere to the Solway Firth. He spent a day or so around the Solway before leaving on 13/03/2009. At 0300 he was flying over Paisley and at 0400 was on Castle Semple Loch, the last fix from CS Loch being 0900 on the 13th. After leaving this area, he then flew up to the Isle of Lewis and on the 17/03/2009 he set off, over the Atlantic for Iceland. At 0900 on the 18th he finally made landfall into Iceland”
 
Lars was ringed and tagged at WWT Martin Mere reserve on 31st January 2007. He weighed 10.4kg and was named by primary school students. They typically live for 9 years, but have been recorded as old as 26!

Whooper swans differ from our commonly seen mute swans in several ways, including their beak colour, size and most importantly, their whooping calls. They arrive here in Oct/Nov and spend the winter on the reserve and in other parts of the UK, feeding on nearby farmland during the day and roosting on the Castle Semple, Aird Meadow and Barr Loch’s during the night. The birds head back to Iceland in March each year.
 
Whooper swans are amazing birds and seeing them at the reserve every year is wonderful. They are much more vocal than mute swans and always seem to be seen in large groups. Although the birds have left us this year, they will be back in October and we will be listening out for their whooping calls, announcing their arrival to the reserve. It is fantastic that using modern technology, we can find out exactly where the swans are going and what they are doing along the way.
 
For more information about the WWT’s Super Whooper tracking programme visit http://whooper.wwt.org.uk/whooper
 
For more information about seeing whooper swans at RSPB Lochwinnoch nature reserve, visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/l/lochwinnoch/ or phone us on 01505842663.

Paula

Dear RSPB,

I've lived in this area all my life and would never dream of leaving, I have everything I need right here for me. My friends all feed here, all sleep here. I met my missus here. Even the neighbours, most of them are fine. Some of them are tiny wee things, what with their long tails and bright pink plumage. Some of them are bigger, and have the most melodious of voices. All the tits, the finches, the wrens, dunnocks, buntings, siskins, all top notch chaps and gals. Brand new, thats what they are. The ducks are a laugh although some of the tufted ones are quackers.

But if there's one thing I cannot abide, it's bullies! Here's my point. I'm down there, doing my thing, picking at the seed dropped from the feeders by some over-enthusiastic goldfinch and rooting about in the undergrowth for any worms the robin may have missed and all of a sudden this thug is sizing me up! Looking at me like I've personally offended its family, somehow. Then without provocation its flying straight at me, all angry and the like. Shocked, I retreat - I have no wish to get all scuffed up by some big-beaked seasonal visitor. But its all over me again. Then sometimes there's two of them, badgering me and ruining my day and all. They act like they own the place, where really its just timeshare for them.

It's really annoying sometimes!

What's worrying is that with all this talk of climate change, we may be seeing more of the winter migrants, seeking warmer weather here because their home turf is frozen solid. I guess, however, thats just a bridge we'll have to cross when we come to it. Harrumph.

Blasted fieldfares!

Yours sincerely,

Mr Black Bird, 10 Apple Tree Lane, Wormton, UK

Written by Andrew Kyle, Lochwinnoch volunteer

Valentine's Day is not all about flowers, chocolates and cards you know. It is traditionally the time of year that birds are supposed to start pairing up and it is also (supposedly) the day that birds choose their nestbox for the season ahead. Of course, in reality this isn't quite the case, or we'd be witnessing mass bird hysteria as they fight for the best, safest spots! Blue tits would be queuing up round the visitor centre and demanding we install more housing!

However, there is definitely change in the air. A lot more song can be heard in the morning and throughout the day. Ducks and swans have begun their courtship behavior - not just to start new relationships but to re-ignite the old flames. Many birds that have spent the winter alone will now be making preparations for the return of their mate and many getting ready to start anew.

This week (14th - 21st Feb) is National Nestbox Week and marks the last chance to put up a nestbox if you want birds to use it this year. Although it appears to us as if birds only pick their nestbox when they start bringing the material in, if you look closely they are making spot checks all through the winter. Carefully looking to see if there is a good supply of food, plenty of shelter and safety from predators in the spot that they will raise this years family.

Some birds, such as robins, blackbirds and song thrushes have been known to be nesting already, therefore it is very important to note that it is too late to clean out your nest boxes this year (the birds may do this themselves anyway) as some birds may have already started nest building and you wouldn't want to disturb all that hard work!

So, what kinds of nestboxes should you be installing? Well, depending on your garden, at least one tit box would be a good idea - this can be mounted on a tree, a wall, a shed - anything really! And should be placed about 2 - 4m high facing between north and east (thus avoiding the strong sunlight and wettest winds). Tit boxes should be installed in the autumn, but they will not seriously start investigating them until February & March. Tit boxes should have a 25mm hole (for blue, coal and marsh tits) to avoid competition with other, larger species.

If you have some good, thick vegetation in your garden (some big shrubs, ivy etc) then you may well have an ideal spot to site a robin/wren box. These boxes are open fronted and should be placed low down (below 2m) and well hidden.

If you are lucky enough to have house sparrows in your local area, why not install a terrace box? House sparrows spend their whole lives in colonies and there are no exceptions when nesting. Either a 3 chambered box or 2 or 3 individual boxes, loosely spaced, could be situated high up under the eaves of your house. The entrance hole should be 28 or 32mm.

There are many other types of boxes as well - woodpecker, owl, kestrel, starling, house martin, swallow, treecreeper - all of which help us to provide alternative nesting spots for birds when suitable habitat is scarce. For a comprehensive guide on all types of nestboxes, visit the BTO nestbox guide at http://www.bto.org/notices/nestbox_guide.htm. And if you would like to buy a nestbox of your own, visit www.rspbshop.co.uk plus, get 10% off all nestboxes during National Nestbox Week!

Nestbox dos and don'ts:

They should:

• Be robust - they are out in all weathers so should be strong and fit for purpose
• Be waterproof - treat them with a water-based preservative
• Have the correct hole size (and remember a variety of sizes will encourage different species)
• Be safe - no sharp edges, protruding nails or small gaps
• Have good insulation - wood or woodcrete is best
• Have no perches

They should not:

• Be brightly coloured - the more inconspicuous the better
• Be made from flimsy material
• Be too shallow - young birds could leave prematurely by falling out
• Be too deep - young birds may have problems leaving
• Be too smooth inside - again, this may make it hard for young birds to get out
• Have gaps - rain, wind and cold will get in

Paula, 15/02/09

Eating and doing what one does day in day out every day of the week is a mundane thing. You must understand that. Yet, we watch and we love watching the little birds flock to our feeders, eating and doing what they do. They sit and twitter, or perch and peck, and go on, every day, doing tiny things that set fire to our hearts and let our spirits soar. However, I started thinking, what do we look like to them? We stand and watch them doing things we find fascinating, but if we were to do those things ourselves we’d think nothing of it. I stood by the window watching a single blue tit the other day and as it perched there eating some of the newly discovered Fruity Nibbles, it stopped, and looked right at me. Just for a moment, I was transfixed. Was it as excited about the meeting of the eyes that I was…

…The man was staring straight at me. He had in one hand a bottle of juice and the other a sandwich and he seemed to have frozen to the spot. Now usually they’re always moving back and forth behind their walls, carting bags of food around, filling up our feeders every now and then, but most commonly watching us through the windows, pointing their telescopes, cameras and binoculars out in our direction, seemingly entranced by our antics. Personally, I don’t see the attraction. I visit the feeder, eat what I feel like, then dart off, hoping to catch the eye of the little minx from Aird Meadow or perhaps the cute one from the tree by the road. Then I return and repeat the process. If I’m up for a little bit of DIY I collect moss or bits of grass to pad the inside of my box for warmth.

They’re kind, those people, for saving me some effort. I use the boxes they make for us instead of making up nests myself. Although I have done so on occasion, don’t think me a sponger of charity! I think they’re amazing!. They devote so much time and effort to servicing us and what do we do in return? We do what we always do and would continue to do even if they weren’t there. Does that not mean we’re taking them for granted, letting them slave over us for no reward? I feel guilty sometimes.

Which is why, I guess, I every so often do something to impress them. It can be the smallest of things, but it gets them all in a fuss, swarming round the viewing windows and chattering away in their strange voices. I could fly close to the window and hover for a few seconds. Or, I could circle the feeders a couple of times then land atop the wooden peg. I’ve seen them drop their books and rush up for a better look.

The woodpecker and fieldfare have it nailed – they simply stay away for long periods and then they make fleeting appearances, knowing full well their rare presence is an event in itself. One wonders whether the hen harrier thinks the same.

To be honest, I’m not sure what it is we’ve done for them or why our little nothings make them so happy, but I know I’m happy when I see them watching us. They’re our guardians I guess, our angels. So when I see one transfixed by me looking at him, I feel a warm buzz inside myself, and I thank them for thinking so highly of me, never asking for anything in return.

Andrew Kyle, Lochwinnoch volunteer

A large-headed, long-bodied, thick-necked duck with a slender, long, hook-tipped red 'sawbill' would be GOOSANDER.

This bird is often seen in small groups at Lochwinnoch increasing to larger flocks towards the end of the day when they gather to roost on the water of mainly Barr Loch.

Male Goosanders are very obvious with a white body, black back and a dark green head.

Females have a grey body, reddish-brown head with a crest, an obvious white throat and a brown neck.

Goosanders feed on a wide variety of fish including young salmon, young trout and eels.  They even take small mammals as food!

 A few Goosander facts for you:

• Goosanders can live for 9 years or more.
• 8,900 winter in Britain.
• 2,600 breed in Britain.
• A few of the Britsh Goosanders fly to Norway to moult each year.
• Goosanders are members of the sawbill family so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish.
• First recorded breeding in Britain in 1871 in Scotland and since 1970s has slowly spread into England and Wales.

The most common medium sized black and white duck seen on areas of water in Britain is the TUFTED DUCK. 

Tufted Ducks are a diving duck with a short neck, rounded head and a relatively flat bill.

Males are strikingly black and white birds with a long crest - hence called a tufted duck.  Note that it has a white patch on its side and a black back.

Females are generally brown with a suggestion of a crest.

Tufted ducks spend a lot of time diving for food.  The main food items are freshwater mussels, insects or plant material.

Large numbers of black and white diving ducks, the tufted ducks, the goosanders and the goldeneyes are currently at Lochwinnoch nature reserve.

A few Tufted Duck facts for you:

• 7,000 - 8,000 pairs breed in Britain every year
• Up to 60,000 individuals winter in Britain - most coming from Northern Europe.
• They dive up to a depth of 2.5 metres for around 15 to 20 seconds.
• Up to 100 dives per hour are common.
• Tufted ducks can live up to 15 years.

Look out for a black and white medium sized duck with a large domed head and a small bill.  You will be looking at a male GOLDENEYE.  Look a little closer and you will see that it has a greenish black head with a white patch in front of its yellow eye.

Goldeneyes visit us from Northern Europe to winter in the warmer British climate.  They form small groups that are constantly diving for insects, small fish or plant material.

Females are normally part of these small groups but are not black and white but mottled grey with a chocolate-brown head, square white wing patch and white collar.

Also look out for the male goldeneyes doing their courtship display by throwing their heads back to display their white breast - it is a sight to see and it is happening on a loch near you during January and February.

 Large numbers of black and white diving ducks, the Goldeneyes, the goosanders and the tufted ducks are currently at Lochwinnoch nature reserve.

A few Goldeneye facts for you:

• The weight of a Goldeneye is anything between 600-1,200g so around the weight of a bag of sugar.
• Their wings make a loud whistling sound.
• They live up to 8 years.
• Over 33,000 individuals winter in British waters.
• Around 100 pairs now nest in Britain mainly in the Highlands - in and around our reserves at Abernethy and Inch Marshes.
• They started nesting in Britain since 1970 using specially designed nestboxes on trees close to the water.

It may look like nuts in that nut feeder but it is not - It is fruity nibbles!

For the last few months we have been trying fruity nibbles instead of nuts and the results have been startling.

Fruity nibbles are made of suet, raisins and contain over 35% fruit.

From our experience by observing the behaviour of birds at our feeding station the top three fruity nibblers are:

NUMBER 1: The small blue and yellow bird with a white face - the Blue Tit.  The blue tit was the first of our feeding station birds to discover the fruity nibbles and they can't seem to keep off them with as many as five Blue tits at once on this small nut feeder.

NUMBER 2: Next to discover the fruity nibbles was the bird with the red under tail - the Great Spotted Woodpecker.  In particular, our female quickly took a liking to these nibbles.  She is often seen on the feeder just a few metres away from our viewing window when it is busy with our human friends.

NUMBER 3: Over the last few weeks the tiny black, white and pink bird has discovered these nibbles - the Long-tailed Tits.  Coming in numbers of around six at a time, these birds can't keep away from our feeders at the moment and they always head directly to the fruity nibbles.

The secretive Woodcock takes out bird year list to 48 species so far for 2009.

This large bulky wader with short legs, very long straight, tapering bill and large eyes was seen for the second time in two weeks flying past the visitor centre.

It is often difficult to see this wader, the only wader that takes woodland to be its home instead of the marshes.  You tend to see this bird either by almost stepping on it as it is so camoflashed or at dawn and dusk when this bird is most active, flying around the edge of the wood.

Look out for a large wader, rusty coloured with broad rounded wings when you are next out at dusk and perhaps you will see this secretive bird.

The last few weeks on the reserve have been great for anyone who has never managed to see a treecreeper, because they have been coming to the feeding station! These beautiful birds, closely related to the tit family, are mostly seen clinging to trees, working their way from one trunk to the next, starting at the bottom and working their way up looking for insects.

The feeding station at the reserve has two stumps that we have positioned to look as natural as possible, mainly for the users of our photographic hide, who are hoping to catch a quick glance of a woodpecker feeding, but we never really thought about the possibility that the treecreepers would start using it as well - but they have!

We have attributed this to the fact that we have been using peanut cake with insects in and the woodpeckers enjoy the cake itself, whilst the treecreepers enjoy the tiny pieces of insect contained within - especially on the very cold, crisp days when they are unlikely to find many elsewhere.

Also, the lack of leaves on the trees makes the treecreepers much easier to see in the woodland, and they have also been hanging around the picnic area and the wildlife garden. For those who are still able to hear them, their high pitched calls ring out amongst the other chirps and chirrups in the woodland.

And finally...I won't be writing the blog for the next month or so as I am off on my holidays! But i'll leave you in the capable hands of Mike Andrews.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.

Paula

What a beautiful, crisp winter we are having so far! I know that photographers have been coming in droves to the reserve to photograph ice-covered teasels and birds sitting on frosty branches, and I can't really blame them - I need to get out there more myself, and our photographic hide provides at least some protection from the cold, even if many of us are left with chilly toes!

The icy weather has also been affecting wildlife - the Aird Meadow Loch has been pretty much completely frozen for the past week, leaving little space for wildfowl, except for a few small areas where a number of birds can be seen congregating. The Barr Loch looks as if it has a coastline, you can see the waves lapping at the edge of the ice as if it is a beach!

The cold snap has also been encouraging quite a few of the local winter thrushes to visit our feeding station. One very striking fieldfare in particular has become very territorial of the apples we have put out, chasing off any bird that comes near them! That includes the five 1st winter blackbirds that have been hanging around, 2 robins, 1 mistle thrush (who was bigger than the fieldfare!) and a large group of house sparrows and chaffinches. However, seeing this unusual visitor so close to the building has been fabulous for our visitors, most of whom have never really seen a fieldfare before.

We have also continued to be visited regularly by at least two different male hen harriers - one with light plumage and one much darker. They never fail to entertain us as they swoop along the reedbeds, flushing snipe and wildfowl as they go and i'm finding myself running out of the office quite often to the cries of 'hen harrier!'

Hello everyone!

This morning was the best morning for birds I have had this month! And it was all because I decided to walk a different route to work - had it not been for this change in my routine, they day might have been quite different.

When I woke up this morning, I was very pleased to see the sun shining. The last few days had been quite dull so it was a welcome start. I headed out along the road and suddenly heard some unusual bird calls. I looked up in the trees and low and behold, there were about 35 waxwings sitting above me, not a care in the world, chattering away and preening themselves. Well, I almost whooped with joy - I have been trying to see waxwings for a number of years and have always arrived to find they have moved on to a new berry tree somewhere, but not today! I phoned everyone I knew (who was awake!) and told them to come and see them. Zul, the reserve manager, said this was only the second time he'd seen them in the village, so was also delighted. After watching them for about 20 minutes we headed towards the reserve to open up and see what else was around.

Well, the morning just kept improving; a female long tailed duck was on the Aird Meadow loch, and also a very obvious female scaup. About 30mins after seeing these, the male hen harrier decided to put in an appearance. Now, we have been seeing him every few days, but only fleetingly. Today, he hung about for over an hour, so plenty of visitors were able to see him as he swooped over the meadow, flushing snipe as he went.

On a different note, there has been a large increase in the number of mole hills appearing around the feeding station. The high water levels over the past few weeks has probably pushed them up towards the higher ground, and that's where they have decided to stay, there seems to be at least one new mound every morning - there must be a good supply of invertebrates for them to enjoy!

This week has been one of interesting sightings. All around the local area, there have been lots of reports of unusual ducks, waxwing invasions and huge counts of swans (163 whooper swans near Inchinnan!) The reserve has been subject to several 'unconfirmed' rarities this week as well, including nuthatch (heard but not seen), long tailed duck (disappeared into the reeds) and barred warbler (hidden away in brambles).

Whilst for most of us high winds and unexpected hail storms are pretty unpleasant, for birdwatchers, it often means some passage migrants stop off in their local patch, providing many people with hours of delight hunting for the elusive species in question.

This week for me has been all about trees, part of my work involves looking at the reserve trees for health and safety reasons, and this week i was lucky enough to be able to visit one of the least accessible woodlands on the reserve, and the trees there were absolutely stunning. Although most of the leaves have now fallen from them, the bark and the features on these ancient giants were fascinating. I learnt that when a beech tree loses a limb or if the bark becomes diseased, it can heal itself. It blocks off the offending areas and forms a sort of 'scab' to protect the rest of the tree, and where limbs are concerned, the tree grafts itself around the site of the break to protect itself from the elements. Wow!

Trees with no leaves are actually quite a good thing for birdwatchers, as it is at this time of year that you can actually see the birds moving around on the branches. This is a great opportunity for many of us to swat up on our ID skills and also, to try and put bird calls (rather than songs) with the birds themselves - it is always much easier to learn things like calls when you can both see the bird and hear it - so off i go a-listening...

Enjoy your week!

Paula