Earlier Birds

The earlier birds catch the worms?

Not always the wisest of choices in this “dog eat dog” world of survival of the fittest. Yet Blackbirds are known for taking risks by attempting to rear an early brood. But this early?

For more information, please follow the attached link to Chris Foster’s wonderful blog at Considering Birds.

Considering Birds

An insistent chirrup gave it away: a just-out-of-the-nest blackbird begging for food under the shelter of an evergreen oak. Its parents were both in close attendance, and if they’re capable of complex thought they were no doubt thinking smugly that their gamble had paid off. The blackbird is usually an early bird, but a fledged chick on February 10^th is evidence of an astonishingly early breeding attempt, though by all reports not an isolated one this year. Somehow this pair had snuck around building a nest, feeding and raising a chick almost under our noses, deep in the low hedges that line a well-traversed footpath. I’d seen the male carrying a worm, rather than immediately swallowing it, but not put two and two together. I hadn’t heard him singing, nor seen either parent carrying nest material.

At dusk on that same day a different male blackbird was in full…

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A Christmas Robin with a spring in its step, not least its voice! And just why might that be.

Of late, I’ve heard song from Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins, Mistle Thrushes, Great Tits and Coal Tits and probably a couple more I haven’t mentioned. Why?

Perhaps this pre-Christmas Davis weather station graph might help guide you towards an answer.

 

Pre-Christmas Air Temperature Maximums from Newbury, Berkshire – December 2015 so far.

 

Yes, the unseasonable Temperatures aren’t helping our bird’s natural processes of late, least not, nature in general is pretty confused. The minimum Temperatures as illustrated by the chart below don’t help things much either. You’ll note that I am yet to register a single Air Frost in December. Once again, the blue line (in this case, maroon) represents the approximate average conditions expected in any given year.

 

Pre-Christmas Air Temperature Minimums from Newbury, Berkshire – December 2015 so far.

 

Now time for some Christmas cheer. Voted No.1 in David Lindo’s UK’s Favourite Bird survey, as promised, here is our Christmas Robin.

 

A Robin Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula)

Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year from Tony Powell and UKbirdingtimeline.com

 

 

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Climate Change effects on our already vulnerable Bird species

Here is an article which recently grabbed my attention, courtesy of BirdLife International. Do have a read through it.

The Messengers: Preview our upcoming climate change report

As with most things in nature, be it climate, birds or otherwise, there is a certain amount of predictability about our knowledge of things but also other aspects remain unchartered waters, so to speak. One thing you can be sure of, is that some species are in dire need of human intervention if they are to sustain their own populations. With frequent flash flooding episodes on the rise, we know for a fact that such events will continue to decimate many vulnerable ground-nesting bird’s broods. Equally, when left unchecked, so too do the rising numbers of egg and chick-raiding predators. These are in reality additional threats over and above those mentioned within the article. I therefore believe that we at least need to mitigate against Climate Change, even if it is the only action most will be willing to take.

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Posted by: Tony William Powell on and

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