I haven't written a blog for a little while because I have been away for a few days, but it turned out to be a bit of a bus mans holiday really. Firstly we had a bit of a Dorset team visit to RSPB Hamwall in Somerset which is great place to watch starling murmerations. Although they were a bit of a distance away we watched 10,000's of birds coming in to roost in the reed beds. Hamwall is also really good for bitterns esspecially in the sping when the males start booming so if you get the chance it is well worth a visit! I then went up to Leighton Moss in Lancashire for a couple of days, this is where I first started my time with the RSPB over 18 months ago. Lots more starlings and this time they were right overhead which proved to be a bit messy! I also had a birding first in the shape of a glossy ibis which had been on the reserve since before Christmas.
Back to Arne and the usual suspects are still showing well with up to 1000 Avocets on the Middlebere channel along with several hundred brent geese. Dartford warblers are still best seen on Coombe heath and the ever elusive firecrests are still hanging about the car park. They are really there I promise, as proved by this fantastic picture taken by Dom last week.
The bird feeders at the back of the visitor centre are absolutely brilliant at the momment with nuthatches and great spotted woodpeckers being regular visitors but it is the tits that are stealing the show. The feeders and surrounding trees are alive with both great and blue tits with at least a dozen of each feeding at any one time with loads more waiting in the wings to take their place. It would be interest to know how many individual birds visit the feeders in the space of an hour. It really is a spectacle and many visitors are so engrossed in the views that they are reluctant to leave the centre to go on their walks! Whilst on the subject it is only ten days away to the RSPB's annual 'Big Garden Birdwatch'. Now in it's 33rd year this is the biggest bird survey in the world and last year over 600,000 people took part, counting over 10 million birds in 300,000 gardens. So to find out how to take part and 'step up for nature' visit the web site where you will also find helpful ID sheets. Although it is fun to do it provides important information about the state of garden birds and has highlighted dramatic falls in once extremely common birds such as house sparrows and starlings. So on the 28 and 29 January take an hour out to see what birds your garden holds. http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/?gclid=CJzshbaP560CFe4htAodnygqgA
There have been some unusual reports in the last few days as well, including a common crane seen flying over the reserve yesterday. I missed it again (one flew over a few months ago) but a visitor did come in to the visitor centre with a photo. We have also had a report of a goshawk circling over the Middlebere channel which is a unusual sighting for the area although there is a significant breeding population in the New Forest. Recently there have been several reports of lesser spotted woodpeckers in the woodland on the Shipstal side of the reserve. This increasingly uncommon sparrow sized woodpecker was regularly seen on the reserve a few years ago but has been abscent in recent years. It would be good to get any more reports and even better to see a photo!
A goshawk? Wow! Might that be confused for a female hen harrier? We saw something when out looking for the SEO (a no-show!) which we couldn't quite identify against the light. Where's the nearest reliable murmuration site to Arne by the way?
Dom, sorry to say this but we regularly get small (no more than 30) Starling murmurations in our back garden! This is in Canford Heath!
Michael, we have been registered for the big garden bird watch for a few weeks now. And we'll be doing it on Saturday.
Guess Starlings can go on list then.
Dom - I haven't seen it but there is a big roost at Holes Bay in Poole, best seen from a well know supermarkets car park and along the A350. There is supposed to be up to 100,000 there.
Wormsmum - Good to see you are taking part in the BGBW - let me know what you see on Sunday!
Hmm - cheers. Must check that out next time I sucumb to the temptations of a Quarter-Pounder With Cheese Meal. :-))
Not sure why I've only just got this and latest blog up on my computer for the first time, was definitely not there earlier - maybe computer still not sorted! Very odd.
Of course it's me and not the computer-got hub to 'bookmark' Arne at the current blog page when we got the computer back so each time I went straight to the same page instead of the home page - no wonder you thought I'd gone a bit quiet! Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted!
Glad you are back Pudweena. Technology!!
Good old hubs we always take the blame.L O L.