Thomas Hardy heard his thrush in Dorset on the final day of the 19th century but despite the shift in location and time, some things do not change. While cycling near St Front today I picked up the song of a mistle thrush coming from the other side of the valley. This species has been showing itself for several weeks now, usually in the poplar plantations where it feeds on the mistletoe which gives it it's name. Today was the first time this winter that I've heard one in song. Up to now it has been just the distinctive rattling call which has announced the birds' presence.
Anyway, it's a good poem (as are most of Hardy's) and any reader of this blog who does not know it should do a google immediately.
The other highlight of today's excursion was a confiding male sparrowhawk which flew from a tree as I approached and the sat on an old sunflower stalk just fifty yards from me. I watched it for some time, admiring its strong colours, especially the orange breast barring. I can never work out the function of the random white spotting on the back of the male's head and wings though. The bird was still there when I returned along the same track some ten minutes later.
The big finch flocks seem to consist entirely of chaffinches at the moment; search as I might, I could not find one brambling in any one of them.
Long tailed tit flocks and small groups of firecrests are easy to find but I have not seen a coal tit for some time. A single marsh tit was near the Bonnieure yesterday.
Nuthatches are pretty active and a pair of short toed tree creepers were busy feeding near Ventouse today.
Buzzards are by far the most common raptor this December but it's quite a few days since I have seen a harrier.
Monday 30 December 2013
Thursday 19 December 2013
Blackcap and Woodlark
And the fine,warm weather goes on!!
Today's 15k bike ride in the environs of La Poterie turned up just on thirty species but, for me at least, a few of them were a little special.
The male blackcap near St Front was the first I've come across since the majority of them moved back to their southern winter quarters at summer's end.
Woodlarks are always a delight to see--and hear. Usually they occur as a tight bouncing flock of 10 to 20 birds but today they showed themselves at the top of a small tree and their little crest and broad supercilium were clearly visible. There were 13 of them.
I always think that the grey wagtail's name is a misnomer as it makes them sound rather dull. In reality they appear as bright yellow and powder blue and with their extremely long tail they are the most striking of the wagtail family. The bridge at Valence is as good a place as any to find them and one was bobbing along the river bank today.
I also caught up on a few of those species which eluded me on my last ride but nothing in the line of winter passerines such as redwings, fieldfares, bramblings and siskins------- and still no bullfinch!
Today's 15k bike ride in the environs of La Poterie turned up just on thirty species but, for me at least, a few of them were a little special.
The male blackcap near St Front was the first I've come across since the majority of them moved back to their southern winter quarters at summer's end.
Woodlarks are always a delight to see--and hear. Usually they occur as a tight bouncing flock of 10 to 20 birds but today they showed themselves at the top of a small tree and their little crest and broad supercilium were clearly visible. There were 13 of them.
I always think that the grey wagtail's name is a misnomer as it makes them sound rather dull. In reality they appear as bright yellow and powder blue and with their extremely long tail they are the most striking of the wagtail family. The bridge at Valence is as good a place as any to find them and one was bobbing along the river bank today.
I also caught up on a few of those species which eluded me on my last ride but nothing in the line of winter passerines such as redwings, fieldfares, bramblings and siskins------- and still no bullfinch!
Monday 16 December 2013
Crested Tit
It's quite a while since I've seen a crested tit in Charente. The previous ones were were in the Braconne forest and this one was no so far away in the Foret de Bois Blanc near Gerat.
Yesterday was another superbly warm and sunny day and it tempted me to take on a 16K walk in an unfamiliar area. I chose the Chemin de Deux Sources which starts and ends in Gerat but first I took a detour to the Touvre Source itself.
This beautiful protected stretch of water held quite a few species of wildfowl, mainly mallard of course but also lots of gadwall, coots, moorhen, little grebes and mute swans and there was just one wigeon to give a bit of variety. I've seen kingfisher and little egret here before but none were on show yesterday.
It's also a good location for water pipit and a a pair dutifully turned up and perched for me in a nearby tree.
The walk proper produced several other interesting species: a red kite was sharing a thermal with four buzzards, firecrests were plentiful, and the conifers which held the crested tit had also couple of goldcrests.
Thrushes are still thin on the ground though and I saw only singletons of mistle and song thrush. (but while speaking of thrushes, there was a solitary fieldfare in my garden yesterday.)
Yesterday's full list came to just over 40 species (but as always, with some strange absentees eg greenfinch, linnet, cirl bunting, stonechat, dunnock and grey heron.)
The ones that did turn up were:
cormorant
mute swan
mallard
wigeon
gadwall
coot
moorhen
little grebe
buzzard
kestrel
red kite
great spotted woodpecker
green woodpecker
wood pigeon
collared dove
carrion crow
rook
jackdaw
magpie
jay
water pipit
meadow pipit
white wagtail
skylark
blue tit
great tit
crested tit
long tailed tit
firecrest
goldcrest
short toed treecreeper
nuthatch
robin
wren
starling
house sparrow
chaffinch
goldfinch
blackbird
song thrush
mistle thrush
chiffchaff
Yesterday was another superbly warm and sunny day and it tempted me to take on a 16K walk in an unfamiliar area. I chose the Chemin de Deux Sources which starts and ends in Gerat but first I took a detour to the Touvre Source itself.
This beautiful protected stretch of water held quite a few species of wildfowl, mainly mallard of course but also lots of gadwall, coots, moorhen, little grebes and mute swans and there was just one wigeon to give a bit of variety. I've seen kingfisher and little egret here before but none were on show yesterday.
It's also a good location for water pipit and a a pair dutifully turned up and perched for me in a nearby tree.
The walk proper produced several other interesting species: a red kite was sharing a thermal with four buzzards, firecrests were plentiful, and the conifers which held the crested tit had also couple of goldcrests.
Thrushes are still thin on the ground though and I saw only singletons of mistle and song thrush. (but while speaking of thrushes, there was a solitary fieldfare in my garden yesterday.)
Yesterday's full list came to just over 40 species (but as always, with some strange absentees eg greenfinch, linnet, cirl bunting, stonechat, dunnock and grey heron.)
The ones that did turn up were:
cormorant
mute swan
mallard
wigeon
gadwall
coot
moorhen
little grebe
buzzard
kestrel
red kite
great spotted woodpecker
green woodpecker
wood pigeon
collared dove
carrion crow
rook
jackdaw
magpie
jay
water pipit
meadow pipit
white wagtail
skylark
blue tit
great tit
crested tit
long tailed tit
firecrest
goldcrest
short toed treecreeper
nuthatch
robin
wren
starling
house sparrow
chaffinch
goldfinch
blackbird
song thrush
mistle thrush
chiffchaff
Sunday 8 December 2013
Great White Egrets and Cranes
Today's weather was about as good as you could get in December, being both warm and sunny after the overnight frost and even the Red Admirals were on the wing.
I took a bike ride that took me along along the Son-sonnette and was very surprised to catch a glimpse of an egret flying behind the trees, seemingly disturbed by a buzzard. I was even more surprised when I went to investigate further and found not one egret but two feeding in a field close to the river. Nor were they the more common little egret but the much rarer great whites, both with the bright yellow bills which this species sports in winter. A few weeks ago I reported my brother's sighting of great white egrets near Roumazieres but this is the first time I can remember seeing them in this part of Charente.
In the long distant past of my early bird watching, great white egrets were unlikely to be found away from Eastern Mediterranean lagoons and Les Oiseaux Des Charente gives just one sighting in 1979. Things have changed remarkably since then and records at all times of the year now come from all over Western Europe. One has been present on the Isle of Wight throughout the summer for instance.
The sunny day's birding didn't end with the egrets as a skein of about 30 cranes flew over my house just after I arrived back there.
There were a few good birds in between as well, over thirty species in fact. These included a small flock of woodlarks near St Front and a group of at least half a dozen chiffchaffs feeding together on the insects that were swarming in today's warmth. This is another interesting species as regards changing distribution.
The numbers of this summer migrant which decide to winter in Europe have seemingly been increasing over recent years. The number of them which I saw or heard today was into double figures and there have been plenty of them about, including in my garden over the last few weeks.
As always, in just few hours spent birding, some common birds eluded me and there was no sight or sound of goldfinch, greenfinch or magpie today.
And speaking of missing species, I'm still looking for the first bullfinch of 2013 and there are only three weeks left!
I took a bike ride that took me along along the Son-sonnette and was very surprised to catch a glimpse of an egret flying behind the trees, seemingly disturbed by a buzzard. I was even more surprised when I went to investigate further and found not one egret but two feeding in a field close to the river. Nor were they the more common little egret but the much rarer great whites, both with the bright yellow bills which this species sports in winter. A few weeks ago I reported my brother's sighting of great white egrets near Roumazieres but this is the first time I can remember seeing them in this part of Charente.
In the long distant past of my early bird watching, great white egrets were unlikely to be found away from Eastern Mediterranean lagoons and Les Oiseaux Des Charente gives just one sighting in 1979. Things have changed remarkably since then and records at all times of the year now come from all over Western Europe. One has been present on the Isle of Wight throughout the summer for instance.
The sunny day's birding didn't end with the egrets as a skein of about 30 cranes flew over my house just after I arrived back there.
There were a few good birds in between as well, over thirty species in fact. These included a small flock of woodlarks near St Front and a group of at least half a dozen chiffchaffs feeding together on the insects that were swarming in today's warmth. This is another interesting species as regards changing distribution.
The numbers of this summer migrant which decide to winter in Europe have seemingly been increasing over recent years. The number of them which I saw or heard today was into double figures and there have been plenty of them about, including in my garden over the last few weeks.
As always, in just few hours spent birding, some common birds eluded me and there was no sight or sound of goldfinch, greenfinch or magpie today.
And speaking of missing species, I'm still looking for the first bullfinch of 2013 and there are only three weeks left!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)