Winter Birding

It was winter chores and winter birds today with time for a quick update to the blog in between grandparent duties. 

Although we’ve had no snow out here near the coast there remain roads blocked not too many miles away in the hills inland, so while there’s no problem getting about, spring is still a way off. Mid-April used to be “Swallow Day” and it looks like this year might well revert to that rule of thumb. 

If the wind would drop I would have an interesting little catch of birds at the feeding station out on the moss where the selection and number of birds remains much the same. This morning when I went to top up the food supply there were still 6+ Brambling, 8 Chaffinch, 15+ Reed Bunting and 8 Goldfinch, not forgetting 3 or 4 Blackbirds which also spend time searching through the seed on the ground. 

Fieldfare

There are still Fieldfares about, a sure sign that winter is not quite over with 40+ today, feeding with c150 Starlings in a nearby stubble field. Beyond those and in the direction of Lancaster Lane I could see separate flocks of 140 Curlew and 60+ Golden Plover, some of the plovers in optimistic summer plumage. 

Curlew

Last week I mentioned the beautiful bubbling trill of the Curlew, a call specially related to courtship but which is sometimes heard at other times of year. The Curlew actually gets its name from the more familiar loud curloo-oo, a sound which epitomises the atmosphere of the lonely marshes and tidal landscapes where the bird is found.

So for all readers but also for Wally in US who asked about “bubbling”, close your eyes, turn up the volume, picture the wilderness, listen to the magic of a Curlew and then dream of warmer weather.

This post is linking to Stewart's Photo Gallery.