Something For The Weekend

Spring has yet to arrive. In fact the weather at the moment here in Lancashire is still like winter with low temperatures, biting easterly winds and even snow predicted for the weekend. 

Something For the Weekend 

With little prospect of birding or ringing I dipped into the archive for the sunny days of Egypt in 2011. 

The post from February 2011 seems especially relevant now as we in the UK await Chiffchaffs fresh from the wintering grounds, one of the first spring migrants. 

Chiffchaff 

Ringers know that early Chiffchaffs often carry pollen residues on their bills. This pollen was deposited by the feeding strategy known as nectarivory, birds indulging in sipping nectar from flowering plants during which flowering pollen is left on the bird itself, mainly around the base of the bill, the part of the bird most closely in contact with the flower. Nectarivory is also known to occur in some species of bats. 

Chiffchaff 

During the 2011 holiday to Egypt I saw countless Chiffchaffs and also saw nectarivory in action. The number of Chiffchaffs was not entirely surprising as unlike the closely related Willow Warbler which winters mainly in West Africa south of the Sahara, Chiffchaffs also cross the Sahara and concentrate in Senegal, while others remain in the Mediterranean North Africa of Egypt. 

At least 3 often inseparable races breed in the Middle East, collybita (includes brevirostris), menzbieri and probably abietinus and at least two others visit. So at any time, and especially during winter, spring and autumn the origins of Chiffchaffs and race of each individual in Egypt is hard to determine. The latest scientific and perhaps unremarkable opinion is that races of Chiffchaff interbreed freely, thus  making racial definition and identification in the field difficult if not impossible.  

There is no doubt that in Egypt I heard and saw our familiar UK collybita, with both the typical “hweet” call and occasional snatches of “chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff”. I also heard the “squeaky chicken” call frequently and on a couple of occasions, snatches of the fast, melodious song of Siberian Chiffchaff tristis, totally unlike the Chiffchaff song I know but more like a demented Dunnock. 

In Hurghada I witnessed many Chiffchaffs taking nectar, at times the liquid being visibly sipped as birds stuck their heads deep into the flowers, and upon the bird withdrawing from the flower, drops of the nectar spilling from their bill. A particular favourite plant of the Chiffchaffs was a flowering Mexican Saguara cactus shown in the photographs below. In a few of the pictures, by zooming up it is possible to see the nectar drops around the bill. 

Chiffchaff on Saguara cactus

Saguara cactus - Egypt

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

Chiffchaff

In the two week trip I had one sighting only of Nile Valley Sunbird, another bird that takes nectar. In view of the tremendous number of flowering plants in Makadi Bay my single sighting was a little disappointing. 

The biggest numbers of Nile Valley Sunbirds occur much further south than Hurghada, but in the last 100 years, helped by the building of tourist resorts, the species has spread from the southernmost parts of the Red Sea and up to the Cairo area where it breeds. I didn’t get to Cairo to look for more sunbirds so settled for my one brief encounter and a couple of distant shots.

Nile Valley Sunbird

Egyptian Garden

Some of that sun and warmth of Egypt would  be very welcome right now. Maybe soon? Log in again to Another Bird Blog to check.

Linking today to Anni's blog and Eileen's Saturday.