Cross-billed blue tits, poxy great tits and a drooling green woodpecker

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The morning's ringing started well, with a good catch including recently arrived blackcaps, chiffchaffs, garden, sedge and willow warblers. The good fortune didn't continue, as the breeze increased and that put paid to chances of a large catch. Cuckoos calling and swallows overhead added to the spring feel, but there was a few other oddities which grabbed our attention, things that perhaps wouldn't have been obvious without having the birds in the hand.

The first is this blue tit Cyanistes caeruleas, which has crossed mandibles. You'd think that this would make feeding difficult, but this individual was in perfectly normal condition.





This female great tit Parus major has avian pox, which is caused by a virus frequently transmitted by biting insects, or through direct contact. The lesion at the rear of the tit's head isn't near the bird's eyes or bill, so shouldn't impair its longevity.



Bird of the day was undoubtedly this one-year-old male green woodpecker Picus viridus, which showed a feature of its feeding behaviour rarely seen - the copious volume of thick saliva they produces to keep their barbed tongues sticky, which helps them mop up their ant prey. It's always fantastic to get something as special as one of these in the hand, even if your hands look like they've been mauled by the end of it all.

Odds and ends

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A couple of brief local walks today. The first was to my local heath, a five minute walk from my front door, where I hoped to add a few roving records to the altas effort. A fine dawn chorus, with swallows chattering overhead. The highlight was a very unexpected red kite Milvus milvus being harassed by a carrion crow as it passed over - they really are doing well, and spreading from the Chilterns.



The only worthwhile macro shot was of this squash bug Coreus marginatus.


In the afternoon we headed to Ash Ranges for a walk in the sun; while the species list was short, as usual it had some real quality, including tree pipits, buzzard (still uncommon this far east) and singing woodlark Lullula arborea.

Dent de lion

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I spent this morning completing a timed tetrad count for one of my local atlas squares, and in so doing discovered an interesting new patch of local beech woodland that I hadn't previously been aware of - after lving within a mile of it for almost 8 years. Three cuckoos provided the highlight and my first house martin of the year flew over later.

No time for any photographs, but I took a few in the garden in the evening sun - the dandelions Taraxacum officinale have already set their first seeds and provided a welcome diversion.

Lunchtime macro

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I spent lunchtime yesterday taking some macro shots on campus - the warmth had brought a lot of insects out. The breeze was challenging and the light too direct, but it was good to get the first close-ups of the year under my belt.

Female hairy-footed flower bee Anthophora plumipes

Greenbottle Lucilia sp.

Seven-spot ladybird Coccinella septempunctata

This holly blue was supping moisture from a watered flower bed.

Holly blue butterfly Celastrina argiolus

These longhorn moths were swarming - there must have been hundreds bobbing up and down, but they were difficult to get a shot of - this will have to do...

Longhorn moth Adela reaumurella

Grey heron

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A quick wander out to a site where close up views of grey heron Ardea cinerea are almost guaranteed - unfortunately the light was a bit too contrasty, but nevertheless, it was good to blow the cobwebs off the camera...

Lesser redpoll

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Following on with the recent theme of few photographs and fewer words, another image from a recent ringing session - this time of a first-winter male lesser redpoll Carduelis cabaret. This, along with a Cetti's warbler, was the highlight of a quiet morning. I'm getting to that point where a day's trudging in the middle of nowhere is called for...

Siskin

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Another quiet morning's ringing, with small numbers of great and blue tits, a couple of reed buntings, and this first winter male siskin.

Treecreeper

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A very quiet morning's ringing last Tuesday, which almost started well with a sparrowhawk managing to avoid the net. Apart from a few blue and great tits, the highlight was two treecreepers Certhia familiaris which hit the net at the same time - probably a pair. I took the opportunity to get a few images of the adaptations that allow them to forage successfully in tree bark - long curved bill, strengthened tail feather shafts and long claws.

White tailed sea eagle 0, Lapland bunting 4

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Last Sunday was predominantly spent in the freezing wind, staring at a field in Hampshire. The light was terrible, rain constantly threatened, and the juvenile white-tailed sea eagle that's been lurking at the wrong end of the UK wasn't seen all day. The odd raven and buzzard passed by, but no barn door sized eagles.

I took a quick lunch break to visit Milford-on-Sea, which was only a few miles away. The wind was driving large breakers onto the shore, and the brent geese Branta bernicla were sensibly keeping their heads down.



Lapland buntings Calcarius lapponicus are pretty scarce on the south coast, and a group of at least four were showing well at the edge of a stubble field, gleaning seeds.






Nearby the edge of Keyhaven Marshes had greenshank Tringa nebularia, black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus, rock pipit Anthus petrosus and turnstone Arenaria interpres foraging close enough for a few images in the gloom and wind.

Glossy ibis and water vole

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Taking a risk with the weather, and not missing the opportunity of a rare quiet afternoon, the current triumvirate of scarce west Berkshire birds was the target for the day - dipper, great white egret and glossy ibis. All were within a few miles of each other, and started with the great white egret being seen flying over and landing in a tree as we drove down a country lane - very unexpected but welcome. Our first stop was for the overwintering dipper at the weir in Welford. The bird showed quickly, but views were poor in the rain, and I regretted not taking a scope as views were distant. Given the short afternoon light and the rain, we headed to Great Shalford for the great white egret, where there were a few little egrets, but no sign of the GWE. We made this a brief stop, but were happy that we'd at least caught sight of it.

The highlight of the day was the glossy ibis Plegadis falcinellus (click any image for larger) at Freeman's Marsh. The weather cleared, and on occasion there was even a little winter sunshine. The first view of the ibis was as it flew over disturbed by a dog walker, landing in a tree to preen. Little egret foraged in a stream while a kestrel waited on the overhead cables. After a while the ibis headed back to its preferred foraging place, where we were initially over cautious in approaching - the ibis was unconcerned about people passing by. It provided great views as it hunted among the cress beds, catching a miller's thumb as we watched, and illustrating just how appropriate its name is.

Glossy ibis

It wasn't only glossy ibis that caught our attention in this corner of the brook; a foraging water rail skulked among the bankside vegetation, while this water vole Arvicola amphibius fed, ignoring the audience. It's not every day that you have such success is such a short period of time - an afternoon full of highlights!