Urban Birds (and Mammals) in a Local Park

Treecreeper

Inspired by the launch of Nadia Kingsley's new book of art and poetry, DIVERSIFLY, on the theme of urban birds in Britain, we took a short spin around a local park to see what was about before the rain got too heavy.

Having seen the Kingfishers (here and here) on BBC Winterwatch recently, we were thrilled to find not one but two by the lake, presumably a male and a female. Will there be young in due course?

Sadly the birds were at the furthest point from us for much of the time, and since my zoom does not perform well in grey rainy weather, my photo is just a record shot - but it is always a thrill to see these birds, and I have never seen two at the same time before.

Catkins - I think these are birch ones... (whoops, Juliet thins they are hazel. My mistake. Thank you, Juliet!)

Coot

Young adult Black-headed Gull

The ice house from the days when the park was part of an estate

We were fascinated to see the small trunks growing vertically out of the horizontal trunk. This was where we saw our first rat. David also noticed a Grey Squirrel.

It's always lovely to see a Robin.

I had hoped there might have been more Snowdrops, but it was good to see the few that there were.

Good weather for ducks... This is largely, but not entirely, Mallard!

Look who's peeping out!

I don't know if our presence startled the rats, but the larger one, presumably the mother, swam off across the lake. The young one (peeping out of the trunk, two photos up) came down and sniffed around the tree trunk.

We also noticed Wood Pigeons, a Carrion Crow, a Bluetit and a Magpie. Not bad for a short visit in the rain...

First Treecreeper Sighting of 2017

Treecreeper (I took this photo some time ago)

I was thrilled to catch a glimpse of the little Treecreeper in the photo below on a recent visit to Christchurch Park. We had hoped to see Mabel the Tawny Owl, but she had gone AWOL; so this lovely little bird made up for her absence.

You can just make out the (2017) Treecreeper, with its long bill

I rather like the West Country nickname of Tree Mouse for this quiet but distinctive passerine.

Winter sunlight in Christchurch Park, Ipswich, 2017

Spring comes to Ickworth in Geraldine's Walk

Some of you may have read my two previous posts about our recent visit to NT Ickworth. I mentioned that we were on a quest to see snowdrops ...

 

We took the path that snakes its way through the wood that straddles Geraldine's Walk.

It was not long before we saw some catkins (below). I was keen to observe the tiny flowers. You can see one in the photo above. The photo below shows the position of the flower on the branch.

Catkins are always a sign that spring is on the way, but there were other signs, too ...

... such as my first primrose of 2015. The flowers were a bit ragged, but they were there.

The photo below shows a tiny Treecreeper on a huge trunk!

This view of Geraldine's Walk shows fallen leaves and beechmast from autumn, bare branches from winter and a glimmer of spring sunlight.

And here are the snowdrops!

I suspect the Snowdrops below had been decimated by some creature,

but mice and most rodents are not usually attracted to these flowers. 

There were quite a few petals strewn about and a few flower heads and stalks. 

What a perfect place to spend an afternoon in early spring!

There were quite a few Aconites ...

... still wet with dew drops ...

There was a clump of daffodils ...

... and high up in the treetops a rook was busy making a nest.

You can read a littler more about Lady Geraldine's Walk here.

Ickworth is a lovely place to visit in all four seasons.

Treecreeper and Nuthatch at Ickworth

We visited Ickworth last weekend to see the snowdrops (pictures still to come). While we were there, we saw two 'firsts' for 2015 ... a Treecreeper and a Nuthatch. Both these shy birds were high up in the branches, so apologies for the record-shot quality of my 'winter light' photos! 

Above and below: the Treecreeper

The photos below show the Nuthatch ...

Feeding time!

My total number of bird species recorded to date for 2015 is now 37.

The Tree Year (3): More Winter Visitors at the Larch

Welcome to my third post for The Tree Year 

about the Larch I am watching. 

This tree is in Carmarthenshire, South Wales, UK.

This is the Larch. It is still early in the season, but there are small signs of new growth.

Our 'friend', the Great Spotted Woodpecker, put in another appearance ...

This one is a male (with red mark on back of neck - not visible here): I wonder if we will see a female one day ...

We were delighted to spot Long-tailed tits here for the first time this year.

Two Long-tailed tits and a Blue tit.

Blue tits - and a female Siskin (upside down).

Mr and Mrs Chaffinch arrived.

Note the fresh growth on the larch branch. I think this a second female Chaffinch ...

... and another male Chaffinch.

For those who may not know, the Larch is a deciduous conifer from the Pinaceae family. We usually think of conifers as evergreen, but this species loses its needle-like leaves each autumn. The tiny cones ripen approximately 8 months after pollination. There are Eurasian and North American species. Larch wood is waterproof and hard-wearing - and used in the boating industry. It is also used for the building of houses in Central Europe. Scottish cabers, used in the sport of 'Tossing the Caber', are made from Larch.

Is this a Warbler, perhaps a female Willow Warbler?

The 'usual suspects', the Starlings, arrived on cue.

The male Blackbird preferred rustling around below the tree.

A hungry Chaffinch,

a cute Blue Tit ...

... and a striped Great Tit enjoy the feast.

Share and share alike!

Mr and Mrs Greenfinch breeze in.

Still room for a little one!

I'm not sure about the identity of the bird on the right. Any ideas, please?

The tiny Treecreeper scuttled away up the trunk ...

... until we could hardly see him! Such is the power of camouflage.

Of all the birds listed, the Starling is the only one to have RED conservation status. I know there has been a huge decline in this species, but, strangely, these are the birds we most often see at home in the Swansea area of Wales, UK. There was no sign on this occasion of the Grey Squirrel or of the Nuthatch. We saw a flock of geese in the vicinity: I must check my husband's photos for these. The fresh green growth of new Larch should be more in evidence on our next visit. I wonder what other changes we will observe then!


Previous TTY Posts

• TTY Post 1: Introducing the Larch - January 2011
• TTY Post 2: Winter Visitors - January 2011 
• The Tree Year

• You can listen to a soundtrack of a Downy Woodpecker if you follow this link to TTY participant, Mike, at the Slugyard.