'The Migrant Waders' - day of the launch

This is the day on which The Migrant Waders will be launched in Colchester.

This beautiful book is lavishly and exquisitely illustrated by designer Ella Johnston. You can see some of her drawings on the accompanying poster here in the Dunlin Press shop. The book, beautifully produced and edited by MW Bewick and Ella Johnston of Dunlin Press, is 'a collection of illustration, evocative prose, poetry and reportage that follows the migration routes of wading and shore birds from the high arctic to the tropics.'

One of the contributors, Samantha Franks, is a Research Ecologist with the BTO. Martin Harper is the Conservation Director of the RSPB.

My Bittern poem has been included; and in a serendipitous way, I see the RSPB have just posted a piece by Rachael Murray about this elusive bird, known more often by sound than sighting. The Bittern, as I recall, was one of the threatened species to feature in the RSPB 'Conservation' board game that we used to play in the mid 1970s. I saw my first Bittern some thirty years later at Minsmere, and have since seen - and heard - a few more on the reserve. 

Tree Following ~ Silver Birch in December 2014 and early January 2015

                 and early 2015

This post is the ninth in my Tree Following series, part of a wider project run by Lucy Corrander from the Loose and Leafy blog. It is the first post of the new year, but is actually largely about December 2014. I am following a Silver Birch, B. pendula, in Suffolk, UK. You will find the other Tree Follower links on the Loose and Leafy blog ... so do take the chance to catch up with happenings in the arboreal world!

2015! Silver Birch Sunrise

Welcome or welcome back!

December has, inevitably, been a month of bare branches. Unlike this time last year when the weather was mild and damp, we have had a run of sub-zero temperatures, with wonderful frost-flower patterns on the car roof.

The chill factor has not prevented the Silver Birch from developing: take note of those forked 'twig ends'! Spring may not quite be on the way and last year's seeds are still winging their way on to my windowsill, but this kind of new 2015 growth is good to see. As I write the sky is overcast and the air is saturated with moisture, but it was bitterly cold at dawn.

New growth at the end of each twig!

I see the occasional Grey Squirrel in the tall tree that marks the start of the Local Nature Reserve, some 200 metres beyond our garden, but I have not seen a squirrel our side of the fence since December 11th. We have been trying hard to keep our supply of bird food topped up, and the squirrel in question discovered a feast of fat balls inside the feeder that hangs from the Silver Birch.

 The creature climbed, dangled, hung upside down and gorged. 

There came a point at which s/he could no longer reach the remaining bits of food, so s/he tried biting the wood on the outside of the feeder to enlarge the hole. I hope it didn't cause indigestion!

Then when that ploy no longer seemed the best option, the creature simply flipped off the lid of the feeder and climbed inside the cylinder. One very overstuffed Squirrel, and the only mammal noted in the vicinity during this period.

I can't *really* count this as a Tree-Following sighting as it was way up above the Silver Birch, but it was lovely to watch a Grey Heron flying past. This is an infrequent occurrence in my neck of the woods. I noticed a charm of Goldfinches on the Nature Reserve tree on 15 December: I have not seen this species in the vicinity of the Silver Birch since the early summer (May-June post).  

David, my husband, spotted the Green Woodpecker on the Silver Birch for the first time. I went to grab my camera, and the bird flew off, so alas, no photos.

We have hardly seen the Great Spotted Woodpecker this month. The Starlings have been frequent visitors, and when they are busy squabbling among themselves and slicing of bits of fat, there is usually a wily Robin underneath, waiting for the bits that fall. I have also noticed the Blackbird in the undergrowth and the Magpies up to their usual dive-bombing antics.

The Blue tits and Great tits have been constant visitors to the coconuts. A Thrush has been seen under the drooping birch branches from time to time. I'm guessing it is a Song Thrush. According to this BTO fact sheet, the little heart-shaped markings would suggest as much, since Mistle Thrush markings are more pointed like arrowheads.

The stars of the Christmas show (acrobatic squirrel apart) have been the Long-tailed tits, who have delighted us with their intermittent appearances. They visit the coconuts on the Silver Birch in groups of three and four and are such fascinating birds to watch as they interact with one another.

Moving on to insects and other creatures, I have seen a few moths, but these have been less frequent sightings. It was slightly off-limits in terms of distance from the tree, but we had a sleepy seven-spot Ladybird on our front door over the holiday. This morning there was a spider, but it vanished before I could take a close look.

For a list of species seen in, on or around the Silver Birch to date (nothing new to report for this last month), please follow the link here and scroll down.

Don't forget that the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is just around the corner, taking place on 24-25 January. And if you can't wait until then, you might consider subscribing to the BTO Garden Bird Watch, which I have only just heard about.

What surprises does February have in store? 

* * *

Postscript
Just to show that I am keeping my eyes open, here is a mature Silver Birch I noticed on Dunwich Heath some days ago, making my tree seem barely more than a mere sapling! Look at the rather grotesque fungus ...

 MY PREVIOUS TREE FOLLOWING POSTS

• November to December 2014
• October to November 2014
• September to October 2014
• August to September 2014
• July to August 2014 
• June to July 2014
• May to June 2014 
• April to May 2014
• March to April 2014
• February to March 2014

Canada Goose with Orange Band, Pakenham Mill

We visited Pakenham Watermill for the first time on Saturday. It lies just across the road from Mickle Mere, a reserve in the care of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. We headed off to the hide, and enjoyed watching the nesting gulls and the young Moorhens and Coots. There were a few geese about - Egyptian, Greylag and Canada. The Canada Geese were a fair distance from the hide, so the photo above was taken on my zoom and has been enlarged. I apologise for the poor quality, particularly since it would have been interesting and helpful to have been able to have read the ringing ID on the orange collar.    

My understanding is that the significant details to record if you spot a neck band on a goose are ...

• the species, in this case Canada Goose
• the colour of the neck band
• the numbers or letters on it
• the colour of the numbers

Sightings of banded birds can be sent to www.ring.ac (here) which is a website run by BTO on behalf of the European Ringing Schemes.

You can read about the Cotswold Water Park banding research project here.

There were some strange leafy 'creatures' lurking in the meadow near the mill stream! 

Home Patch ~ A Thrush (with a ring)

We have had a visiting Thrush for some time now. I think it is a Song Thrush, but am not entirely sure. Mistle Thrushes are paler in colour and their speckles are almost black.

Song Thrushes are classed as Red in terms of their conservation status. 

As you can see, this this Thrush is sporting a ring. I had not spotted the ring until I saw these photos, which once again proves to me (whether the picture quality is good or not - and these photos were taken through double glazing) that my camera is a useful tool in my wildlife watching adventures.

It would be interesting to know where the bird was ringed and where it was last recorded. I was astonished to read on the British Trust for ornithology (BTO) site that 'over 900,000 birds are ringed in Britain and Ireland each year by over 2,600 trained ringers'. 

As you can see below, there was also a Blue tit in our silver birch. In fact, there was a small flock in the garden.

• 2010 Ringing of a Mistle Thrush in a Suffolk orchard.
• Suffolk Wildlife Trust on ringing Tree Sparrows
• BTO Bird Ringing blog