News archive
November 2009
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Patchwork
Winter and early spring, of course, saw the flock of Goosanders on the lake, and I seem to recall numbers approached thirty this year. There were some wonderfully crisp and sunlit days throughout the winter, and vividly coloured sunsets, which appeared to burn out the trunks of trees, were commonly viewed across the lake. From higher ground I just don't recall before, such beautifully coloured and patterned skies across the city and along the Tyne Valley. However the most rewarding and exciting birding action took place on an area of the patch I had not taken much interest in for some period of time.
Almost as much as nature watching, I enjoy writing about it and I share my thoughts and observations in a blog. In March I learnt from a fellow blogger and friend of mine that there was a pair of Short-eared Owls on my patch. I was quickly along the wagonway to a relatively unexplored area. I remember, only too well, the bitter cold air being blown across the open landscape as I watched for these owls. On my first visit I think I caught a brief glimpse of one of them, but distance made me feel uncertain. Never one to admit defeat, I was back the next day and was rewarded with close up sightings of the pair of Short-eared Owls as they quartered the fields, landed on pylons and bushes and at times on the ground. Calls were clearly audible. I soon forgot the cold creeping over my entire body as I watched these birds up close for around forty-five minutes. The owls seemed oblivious, or at least unconcerned, by my still and silent presence. This was to be the first of several watches during which I observed early courtship and pair bonding and on a couple of occasions a food pass or practice food pass as the birds talons met so very briefly in flight. These sightings provided some of my best ever glimpses of Short-eared Owls and their behaviour. I also discovered a small flash which had attracted flocks of Lapwing and Grey Herons, and which I certainly intend to keep an eye on once the water returns. During my time along the wagonway I also had very good sightings of birds such as Grey Partridge, Golden Plover, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting. Hunting Kestrels are common here as are large flocks of Linnet. I learnt early in my birding carer that Short-eared Owls are nomadic and will often not be seen in the same areas each year, as they follow their prey where it is abundant. This won't stop be looking for them again later in the year!
As spring slowly turned to summer, I found that this year appeared to be a good one for warblers on patch and I found the usual nesting areas of Chiffchaff, the first to arrive, Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Whitethroat. Whitethroat seem to have had an especially productive year. Other star finds included the nest hole of Nuthatch, where I initially found an adult bird working on making the hole smaller, and the nesting area of Sparrowhawks, where I listened to the demanding calls of chicks.
As summer arrived I have to admit that much of my attention has been taken with insects, and patch firsts included Five-spot Burnet Moth and Southern Hawker Dragonfly. Another highlight of the year was watching Common Blue Damselflies almost cover the smaller lake on one of those very hot days of early summer. I had never seen so many. I was well rewarded as I spent a good deal of time watching intently the small areas of undisturbed grassland, one of which has returned to nature following the destruction by fire of a local school some years ago. I couldn't help feel that this would make a wonderful area to take school children for natural history lessons. The Five-spot Ladybirds and their larvae would delight any child, I'm sure.
This has been a butterfly summer without doubt and I have found sixteen species on my patch alone. I won't attempt to list them all, but highlights included large numbers of Small Skipper and Wall Browns, my first ever patch Speckled Wood, which I found in the church grounds, and a first Small Copper on patch. The star of the butterfly show was however without doubt the Painted Lady Butterfly and I have no doubt that if I include all those seen both on and off patch it will take me well into triple figures. I'm sure that many members will be aware that this has been an extraordinary year for the migrant Painted Ladies. Very heavy rains in the mountain areas of North Africa made for ideal breeding conditions for this butterfly and it is understood that millions have migrated to Britain in 2009. I found my first lone Painted Lady on 28th May. Then within a few days I was counting them in double figures along the wagonway as I also watched the changing colours in the fields that made me appreciate Georges Seurat's pointillism technique even more. There are still some Painted Ladies about as I type, but the return migration is probably underway now. The ones I initially found on the wagonway were very worn and tattered and it is easy to imagine that some of these had made their way from Northern Africa, or perhaps they came from Southern Spain where the migrants stop over and give rise to a first new brood. Wherever they came from they were certainly attracting the attention of numerous hunting Swallows which were on occasion flying across the pathway below my head height. I learnt later that thousands of Painted Ladies had been counted within an hour as they passed over parts of Southern England. I am pleased to have witnessed, at least in part, this uncommon event and I reported my sightings to the Butterfly Conservancy Council which has been mapping the Painted Ladies' progress. To put things in perspective, during a poor year for Painted Ladies in 1967 only 100 were recorded in Britain! The butterflies have given me some fine photographic opportunities and only a couple of days ago I spent twenty minutes taking photographs of a Small Tortoiseshell which had become intoxicated on the Ice Plant Sedum spectabile in the garden. I remembered as a child taking photographs of butterflies on the Ice Plant in my aunt's garden in Cumbria, of which I still have the transparencies, and I seem to remember that this present plant originated from there. My botanical interests are still alive and strong and have been very helpful when I have considered the food plants of Butterfly Larvae as this knowledge is a great help in finding butterflies.
Returning to the birdlife on patch, I'll just mention some of the more memorable highlights. First of all there was the arrival of the Sand Martins in large numbers. I wouldn't even like to estimate numbers, but they hunted over the entire lake and once again I had never seen numbers of Sand Martins like this before. I had actually come down to the lake to find the Little Gull, but that particular bird had flown. Watching and listening to so many Sand Martins certainly made up for that. I did in fact find the stunning Little Gull in full summer plumage, which had attracted a number of birders, the following day. I assume this, smallest of all gulls, was making for the breeding ground in a north easterly direction. It remained at the lake for several days where I had wonderful sightings of it, at times only a few feet away from where I stood.
The other species of bird that has given so much pleasure this year is the Great Crested Grebe. I have found it most interesting to study these birds from their early courtship, through their raising of a brood of five chicks, until now the juvenile birds are fending for themselves. On occasions I watched as all five chicks were carried on the back of one of the adult birds and then, as they grew bigger, watched as they called in a demanding fashion and were fed by the adults. As time went on five chicks became two and I was told by someone who was photographing the birds (a non-birder) that the other three youngsters had been adopted by another pair of Great Crested Grebes. I have to say I felt this unlikely, but there were three juvenile birds with the other pair and I must admit I had never seen any sign of that pair nesting. This had me reaching for the books. My copy of The Grebes/Jon Fjeldsa (Oxford Press Bird Families of the World). The information suggests adoption by the other pair is most unlikely, although chicks of Great Crested Grebes have been seen to be reared by Red-necked Grebes before, but this is thought perhaps to have been because the Red-necked Grebes nest had been parasitized by the Great Crested Grebes. I'm keeping an open mind on this, but would like any information from anyone who has seen the second pair of Great Crested Grebes definitely nest. If they did adopt these three youngsters it seems to me that this would be very unusual. I learnt also that the male and female adult Great Crested Grebe tend to favour one of the youngsters and each one will form a bond with one juvenile and ignore the other. I did watch this behaviour develop with this family.
I do hope that you have enjoyed hearing of my observations on patch. I have certainly enjoyed describing them. As I said initially, I don't feel that taking a real interest in a patch is like work at all. However it does take time and commitment, but the rewards in terms of pleasure and learning are immense. I can end by mentioning another new patch tick seen just a few days ago. It was a Whinchat.
Brian Moorhead