31 Mar Nothing new to report today on a beautiful spring day. The most amazing thing was a STARLING in Dove Street who was mimicking the sound of screaming kids! At first I thought it was a group of toddlers playing in the street but was astounded to see the Starling sat on a wall making the sounds! Starlings are great mimics of course but this was pretty impressive! I think all the local Blackcaps have now left as I haven't seen or heard any for a week or so. They may well have migrated back to central Europe (their breeding quarters) and will be replaced any day now by birds from southern Europe and Africa who will be spending the summer in Britain - it's a complicated life being a Blackcap! |
30 Mar A beautiful spring morning with lots of sunshine. The first COMMA butterfly of the year flew along the cutting at Fairlawn Road. The CHIFFCHAFF was still nearby and singing well - perhaps it will stay (it might even be the same individual that was there last summer - an amazing thought after flying all the way from Africa) and a GOLDFINCH was singing at the junction with Ashley Hill. A HARLEQUIN LADYBIRD was near the Fairlawn Road bridge. A party of LONG TAILED TITS was at the allotment gardens. |
25 Mar I've decided that the wind is one of the most important factors affecting birdsong - after all when you are similarly afflicted, singing is not an obvious response (that's enough wind jokes. Ed.) It's just that this morning the volume and variety of avian music was phenomenal, especially in the park, yet in the last few days of strong winds, birdsong was noticeably suppressed. I'm also convinced that as the season progresses, birds become more confiding, the urge to find mates and defend territories cancelling out fear of predators. So it was with the two WRENS in the park, singing from exposed perches rather than from low cover. I stood between their respective territories which are only a couple of metres apart, and their continous high, shrill trillings were deafening. Great stuff. A good count of 6 JAYS flying over St Andrews Road from the trees behind the Old England was quite impressive as well. Despite the cool temperatures and early hour (8.45 am) a BUMBLEBEE was nectaring on the WHITE DEADNETTLES. It looked more like a Bombus terrestris rather than a B. lucorum (i.e. it had a buffy tail rather than a really white one) but hey, I could be wrong! |
24 Mar Despite some sunny periods in the morning, the afternoon was grey and drizzly. At 9.00am there was lots of JAY noises outside the window and no less than three birds flew over the garden. This afternoon at around 3.45 one of the CHIFFCHAFFS was singing on and off, moving between the station and the allotment gardens. In the park were the usual ROBIN, CHAFFINCHES, BLUE and GREAT TITS, WOODPIGEONS and a singing WREN. In the garden two ELDER blossoms are out! |
23 Mar A chilly but often sunny day. I found another CHIFFCHAFF at the top of the railway path flitting around the mature trees. It looked like a different individual from the one I saw at the station yesterday, more 'washed out' and lacking the yellow under the tail. Also there was a calling GOLDCREST. At the station two JAYS were feeding along the low vegetation near the tunnel (see photo below) and nearby half a dozen HOUSE SPARROWS and two DUNNOCKS were in the allotment gardens. A singing BLACKCAP was in a garden at the top of St Andrews Road and yet another Chiffchaff was calling in my garden this afternoon! Twice today I witnessed a male BLACKBIRD chasing a WOODPIGEON - once in the garden and again at the station! |
22 Mar I was waiting for the 13.21 train to Clifton (I do have a passport) and just as the train was approaching the station I thought I heard a snatch of CHIFFCHAFF song. It was all slightly frustrating to not be 100% sure so I made a point of returning at around 4.00pm after a bit of shopping. After twenty minutes of searching, I heard the bird calling opposite the station shelter and was delighted to see it flitting low in the bushes, obviously enjoying the warm sunshine in a sheltered spot. It was a lovely little thing with a surprisingly bright yellow area under the tail. This was almost certainly a migrant - amazing to think that a couple of weeks ago it was probably in sunny West Africa! The station also produced a couple of GREENFINCHES, three or four each of WOODPIGEONS and COLLARED DOVES and around the same number of male BLACKBIRDS. Nearby, a party of LONG-TAILED TITS were once again along Station Road opposite Colston's Girls' School. |
18 Mar This morning in the park a female BLACKBIRD was trying to collect nest material and she was struggling with what I thought was a piece of straw about two and a half times longer than her! After about a minute of trying to break it in half with her bill she gave up and flew off. I went to see what the offending item was and it turned out to be a length of stitched material from a cagoule zip! No wonder she had difficulty trying to shorten it! Also in the park were about 8 female CHAFFINCHES (obviously not yet paired up) plus a WREN and a ROBIN. |
17 Mar Right on cue, this spring's first singing CHIFFCHAFF turned up at Narroways this morning - heard at 11.00. This small warbler is among the first of our summer visitors to arrive, usually about mid March, although they've been arriving earlier in recent years. Earlier this morning, two WOODPIGEONS were in the garden and one of them was displaying with much dipping of head and fanning of tail. |
16 Mar It was dull with a chilly breeze today and not very inspiring. The most notable sighting was that of a pair of CARRION CROWS at the station collecting nesting material from between the railway sleepers. As they both walked along the line, on opposite rails, I was glad that no trains were running today! When enough material had been collected they flew with it to the park. |
14 Mar On a dull and drizzly but very mild morning, a DUNNOCK was singing loudly in the garden while two very confiding CARRION CROWS were in Richmond Road opposite the Cadbury - they refused to budge as I passed! In the park at around 9.00 am a COAL TIT was singing in the pine near the lower entrance and two JAYS flew into the trees behind the Old England. A COLLARED DOVE, ROBIN and a couple of CHAFFINCHES were also in the park and it was nice to see good numbers of WHITE DEADNETTLE plants in flower there. Finally, a single JACKDAW flew high over Picton Street. |
13 Mar There was a light breeze this morning at 8.30 in contrast to recent windy days, and as I waited for my train I was serenaded by birdsong including that of a BLACKCAP. HOUSE SPARROWS were chirping away near the allotment gardens, and a group of BLACKBIRDS numbering about half a dozen, were feeding near the tunnel - as these did not appear to be paired off I wondered if they were migrants. There was another Blackcap singing in the garden and a GREENFINCH and COLLARED DOVE in Richmond Road. |
9 March A lovely sunny morning ahead of the storms forecast for the area tonight and tomorrow. Betwen 8.30 and 9.00 this morning the birds in and around the garden included 2 BLUE TITS, a GREAT TIT. a COLLARED DOVE, 3 BLACKBIRDS (2 males and a female), a JAY, 2 WOODPIGEONS, a DUNNOCK, 2 FERAL PIGEONS, a male BLACKCAP, a couple of CARRION CROWS, a MAGPIE. a singing GREENFINCH plus the usual LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS overhead. A Blackbird was seen to chase a Woodpigeon at one stage! At the Royal Mail office in Station Road were no less than 5 Magpies and at Fairlawn Road a party of tits included a confiding LONG-TAILED TIT. Near the iron bridge a nice SPANISH BLUEBELL plant was in flower. The feeders at the station had about half a dozen female CHAFFINCHES feeding on them. |
8 Mar Rain set in from lunchtime onwards so not that much to report, although a RAVEN was chased over the flat by two CARRION CROWS at 4.30 pm. There were two singing BLACKCAPS at the station at midday, one on each side of the railway line plus the Blackcap in the garden which has been singing and sub-singing all day. These are unlikely to stay and breed as they will no doubt be flying off to Germany in early April to nest. |
7 Mar A lovely day and the garden BLACKCAP was singing away in the morning. This afternoon a WHITE-TAILED BUMBLEBEE was visiting Dandelions in Fairlawn Road. In the garden, two WOODPIGEONS were having a fight, the sound of flapping of their wings alerted me to the action. At first I wondered if it was just playful scrapping between a male and female as part of courtship but these two really did mean business, flying at each other, pecking and using their claws! |
4 Mar A beautiful sunny day and very warm in sheltered spots. Rather quiet though. A JAY flew over the garden at 10 am, and my circuit of the patch at lunchtime produced several HARLEQUIN LADYBIRDS at the station along with a singing BLACKCAP there. A GOLDFINCH flew over the park, also there were BLUE TIT and WREN, while at Ashley Vale the GREY WAGTAIL was seen again on the brook and in St Werburghs a COAL TIT was in the community garden showing superbly. The LONG TAILED TITS were again in Station Road opposite Colston's. |
1 Mar It was all happening today - a SPECKLED WOOD butterfly was along the lane that skirts St Barnabas School at midday, and soon after a COMMON BUZZARD and a RAVEN flew over the railway path pursued by a CARRION CROW and several excited gulls -spectacular stuff! Two JAYS were on the patch, one in Old Ashley Hill and the other in the park. A HOVERFLY (I think one of the family called Eristalis which mimic bees) was at Fairlawn Road. |
