Nature Notes: December 2014

Birds

A normal December day started with the blackbirds (Turdus merula) arriving in the half light of morning. The alarm call of the blackbird always heralds the first light as they stake their individual claims to the feeders. They expend a lot of energy sorting out the pecking order and local disputes. There is one female who seems to be the boss or perhaps she is just the most aggressive. I suppose females compete for resources and males compete for mates.

By 08:00 the wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), robin (Erithacus rubecula) and tits are beginning to arrive. The next on the feeders are the gang of sparrows, who together with the tits pick their favourite seed and then scatter any they reject.

Under the table is the spent dried mass of fallen leaves and decayed flower stalks; it is here that we find the hedge sparrow or dunnock (Prunella modularis) picking up the fallen seed. 

He is not alone in this occupation as up to ten chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) can be found flitting between the seed of the table and the ground.

The time is now 08:30 and the first woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) arrives. Suet is usually their favourite food and their first port of call. However, they are rather fond of peanuts as well. The one thing that makes peanuts more attractive is the fact that a second woodpecker has arrived and is tucking into them. This usually always ends with a chase.

On a cold frosty morning when the birdbath is frozen solid and the daylight lasts for a little more than six hours the birds race to get as many calories inside themselves before night falls again. They jostle for position, they flap their wings, they peck each other, they fight territorial squabbles and then they are startled from their occupation to flee to the safety of a nearby bush.

Then little by little the bravest return and the feeding starts again.

Other bird sights for December were:

A mixed flock of thrushes, redwings and fieldfares eating the holly berries and fallen crab apples on the Roman Road.

Ten blackbirds eating the remains of the fallen apples in the garden.

One starling (Sturnus vulgaris) came to feed at the table but didn't stay long. I wonder if he had been part of the murmuration I saw last month?

Two buzzards (Buteo buteo) still flying about B woods area.

Ten collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) were seen in the garden on the 20^th. This is really exceptional as we usually only have two or three at the most.

Three long tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) in Junk Woods

A cock pheasant comes into the garden every day to search for seed under the bird table.

Mammals

Two groups of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are often seen in the fields near the house. There is what looks like a larger individual and a smaller companion. There is also another group of three.

One evening after Christmas I was walking on Yellowcraig beach at dusk when I spotted a dead porpoise on the beach. The head and tail were intact but the blubber had been removed from the rest of the body. This gave it the appearance of an anatomical model. Close by was a flock of crows silhouetted by the moonlight as they waited by the tide line.

The next morning I walked the same stretch of beach and all that was left of the porpoise was the backbone and the upper jaw. I suppose such a good meal doesn’t turn up everyday.