Garden birds nesting activity.

The local birds certainly think spring is here - despite the gale force winds and hail! I've watched a Robin building a nest right at the base of a shrub among some ground cover plants and when I checked there were five eggs in a beautifully hidden nest at ground level. These hatched successfully but unfortunately the nest was predated before the young fledged

As Robins are very territorial I was surprised to find a second nest in a previously ignored nest box on our garden wall only a few metres from the first nest. The sitting bird flew out when I routinely checked all the garden nest boxes. 

This 2nd nest ended up with 6 eggs & six young hatched and will hopefully soon be fledging.

Brood of 6 healthy Robins

Several pairs of Blue & Great Tits are on eggs and this pair spent quite some time exploring this box on an old ivy covered tree stump. Lovely to see this activity so close from the comfort and warmth of the study! 

Every year Blackbirds attempt to nest early in the garden and every year they get predated. Later clutches seem to be more successful as the nests seem to be better hidden once all the shrubs are in full leaf. This nest was 30 cm above the ground in a holly bush but very exposed. I didn't think it would last long - it didn't! But not for the reason I thought. I came home the other day and found a sad little pile of brown female Blackbird feathers 2m from the nest. It looks like she got taken by a Sparrowhawk.

We've a Tawny Owl box on an old oak in the back garden. A Barn Owl roosted in it last spring and the year before that Jackdaws nested but abandoned the clutch of four eggs. This year Stock Doves have been checking it out.

If they do nest the box will probably have to be fumigated at the end of the season! 

Although not quite garden birds pour local pair of Little Owls can be seen from the garden and seem to be fairly settled in their preferred oak after having seen off the unwelcome attentions of Grey Squirrels, Stock Doves and a pair of Jackdaws.

Hopefully our garden nesters will have a successful breeding season.

Hilbre visit

I've managed a few trips to Hilbre recently - mainly to help on the never ending maintenance necessary on the Obs & the heligoland on a windswept and salt sprayed island. As usual the sunrise was spectacular and the dockside cranes at Liverpool docks took on a prehistoric appearance silhouetted by the rising sun.

These photos were from a couple of weeks ago when there were still a few winter visitors lingering alongside newly arrived migrants. Brent Geese numbers were greatly reduced as the majority of birds had already headed off to their high arctic breeding grounds. Among the commoner Pale-bellied there was still a lingering Dark-bellied bird.

My first Whimbrels of the year were seen and heard but the majority of the wintering Curlews have moved off to breed. Other winter visitors included Red-throated Divers and a few Common Scoter.

The resident Meadow Pipits were proclaiming their territory with parachuting display flights and also singing whilst perched on the tops of bushes or from fence posts.

Another vocal resident this time of year are the local Wrens. They seem to thrive on Hilbre and their breeding numbers are boosted with a small but regular passage. Linnets have also returned to breed and the adult males are beginning to look stunning in their resplendent red waistcoats.

Not many birds were caught and ringed but we did catch this female Blackcap with a 'pollen horn' where pollen has tuck to her feathers as she searches for insects in the blackthorn flowers which are now beginning to cloak the bushes in clouds of white flowers and hiding the lethal thorns! 

More actvity on pond opposite house.

Every year the pond in fields opposite house fills and overflows creating a short lived wetland habitat. Every year the local farmer tries to chase the wildfowl off claiming they give his sheep worms. In reality sheep get worms through picking up the larvae when feeding in wet grass  and not off wildfowl. Sheep cough up the larvae that have hatched inside them and these larvae live in wet grass before getting ingested by another sheep and the lifecycle starts again. Funnily enough many of his sheep are also limping - a sign of foot rot which is also transmitted from sheep to sheep.

Despite his activities the pond attracts a small number of good local records annually. This year has been no exception. Its home to Great-crested Newts and attracts the local Heron when these amphibians come out of hibernation to breed.

This year, for the first time, we also had a Little Egret drop in for a couple of hours presumably on the look out for newts as well.  Although we've had them fly over the garden and seen them occasionally nearby this was the first to drop into the pond.

Another recent visitor that dropped in and stayed for short while was this Cormorant. Presumably it dropped in to check on the fishing as a check of the literature doesn't mention newts as a source of food for Cormorants.

A few years ago when the 'beast from the east' resulted in virtually the whole field being swamped a few good waders turned up including Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit & Curlew. This year it's attracted another Curlew and my 'first' Green Sandpiper.

Lapwings are regular spring visitors in small numbers but this year was exceptional with over 120 birds being counted at one stage.

Gadwall is another infrequent visitor with only one other record (albeit multiple birds). This year the pond attracted five birds of which one pair stayed almost a week.

 Virtually every morning the first thing I do before going down to make a mug of tea is check out the window to see what the pond has attracted over night.

Reed Bunting on the garden ringing list!

Reed Buntings are pretty rare birds near me. Although we have ponds around us there is no vegetation as its always eaten by cattle or sheep.  They're normally a spring passage bird and although the occasional one may stop a couple of days they're normally 'fly overs'. Unusually we had one stay a couple of days just after Christmas feeding in a field of stubble along with good numbers of Linnets & Chaffinches. I saw it several times in the roadside hedge adjacent to the stubble and was hopeful it would stay until after January the 1st to get it on my 2021 patch year list. No chance.

We've never actually had one in the garden before so imagine my surprise when I caught and ringed a 2nd calendar year female Reed Bunting in the garden yesterday (12th April). It had no fat deposits and a low pectoral muscle score so presumably its not the December bird relocating and must have come from further afield.

I used to ring a lot of Reed Buntings in my early ringing days at Wicken Fen (Cambridgeshire) but rarely these days. They are a scarce spring passage migrant on Hilbre and I think the last one I ringed was there a few years ago.

A long overdue trip to Hilbre

 With the easing of lockdown restrictions I'd hoped to get to Hilbre last week but a leaking radiator pipe beneath the floorboards upstairs at home and the need to wait in for a plumber put paid to that. However, I managed to get across yesterday for the tide. An early tide meant an early start and it was still dark at 05.45 when I drove off the ramp and onto the beach art West Kirby. The weather wasn't conducive to passerine migration with a strong NNW blowing and -2C  temperatures and the forecast of snow and hail flurries! 

It was still dark when I arrived at the Observatory and I had a brew before waiting for the dawn to start breaking before doing a tour of the island and the heligoland traps. Reaching the north end there were quite a few gulls feeding on the edge of the rising tide including a couple of Kittiwakes and three Little Gulls. I'd left my camera back at the Obs as it was still to dark to be able to photograph anything but I hurried back to get it to try and photograph the Little Gulls. By the time I returned they'd moved further out.

First glimmer of sunrise looking east towards West Kirby

View looking south from the air raid shelter 

The old Lifeboat station reflecting the rising sun at the north end

An adult Kittiwake seemed to be doing circuits of the island and was seen flying down the west side and then between Middle & Hilbre before flying back up the east side.

Unfortunately it was seen on the rocks below the east side cliffs as the tide receded and looked moribund.

It appeared that the strong northely winds had displaced quite a few seabirds and as the tide rose they started leaving the Dee estuary up the west side of Hilbre. Six Red-throated Divers (including three together), a number of Common Scoter, several Razorbill, a Guillemot and an adult Gannet were all watched heading out and into the wind.

Common Scoter

Red-throated Divers

As the tide fell a large party of Turnstones flew into the rocks at the north end and were joined by six Purple Sandpipers. One of the Turnstones was ringed on the right leg with what appears to be a BTO ring. As we haven't ringed any Turnstone for a number of years and we ring on the left leg, this is probably a bird ringed elsewhere in the UK.

Turnstone - lower picture shows metal ringed bird.

As usual the Purple Sandpipers were very photogenic and it won't be long before these, and the Turnstones, start departing for their Arctic breeding grounds.

Most of the resident passerines are beginning to think about the breeding season and a pair of Rock Pipits were displaying at the north end whilst a solitary Meadow Pipit was bravely doing its display flight and running the risk of getting blown off the island! 

Rock Pipit

Meanwhile the resident pair of Carrion Crows were seen breaking of branches from the few trees on the island to repair their nest.

A male Eider has been hanging around the island for awhile. With the first recorded breeding of this species confirmed last year there are hopes they'd do the same this year. I didn't see it around Hilbre but as the tide dropped it appeared on the rocks to the east of Middle Eye. 

Fantastic birds and at one time quite a rarity on the N Wirral coast.  Interestingly it appears to be in wing moult.

Despite the atrocious weather it was good to get out and although there weren't any spring migrants theres always something to see around Hilbre. 

Horse leech

A few weeks ago, after heavy rain and flooding in the front garden, I found what I first thought was a New Zealand Flatworm in the front lawn. Further investigation and some advice from several friends suggested it was actually a Horse Leech (haemopis sanguisuga). A new species for me and a new one for the garden.They don't feed on horses although there is anecdotal evidence of them getting up the nostrils of animals drinking from the water courses they live in.

They'll move onto land to search for earthworms they they ingest but will also feed on midge larvae and other small aquatic invertebrates. 

They're widespread throughout the UK but under recorded. They're hermaphroditic and each leech becomes impregnated at the same time when they mate.

Incredible creatures and a real surprise to find in our garden! 

Redpolls

 We don't often get Redpolls in our garden. Usually they're a spring passage bird heard buzzing overhead. However, this year I found a small party in the village feeding in a silver birch on January 5th approximately 1 km away as the bird flies.

I was surprised to look out the window recently one morning to see a superb male Lesser Redpoll feeding with Gold & Greenfinches on one of our sunflower heart feeders. later that day it was joined by two more and the following day, following a break in the wet and windy weather we'd had, I put a mist net up to try and catch and ring a few finches.

What great little birds. In total I caught and ringed six new birds with two recaptures on subsequent days. The last time I'd ringed a Redpoll in our garden was 2018! 

All the birds caught had a good fat score suggesting they hadn't moved far so could have possibly been the birds I saw nearby in January. All of them were 2nd calendar year birds (Euring 5) identifiable by a combination of tail feather shape and wear and the presence of a moult contrast in the greater or median  coverts (although this was hard to photograph).

 Redpoll Euring 5 tail feathers showing how pointed the retained juvenile tail feathers are.

In total there were 6 males (above) with varying amounts of red on their breasts and 3 females (below)

Beautiful little finches and a privilege to see them in the hand.

I also ringed a few Goldfinches and Greenfinches including this brightly coloured second calendar year male (Euring 5) that had 2 retained juvenile greater coverts. This is quite unusual and made ageing easy. Most juvenile Greenfinches moult the majority of their greater coverts in their post juvenile moult with only a smaller percentage retaining the two outer ones.

Hopefully I'll cathc a few more Redpoll and possibly Siskin as they start to move north again