My Favourite Artist

I just had to do this blog before school today, even before going in my bird hide. You may remember this recent picture I took of the Shell Duck and the Pintails:

Well the brilliant artist Sharon Whitley has painted the best picture of my ducks:

Thank you so much Sharon

http://sharonwhitleytheramblingartist.blogspot.co.uk

Hiding Away

Unfortunately I have been poorly this weekend, consequently it meant I could not go to any birdwatching places, however I still got to see some birds, since I was allowed to go around the field and go in the hide.

I saw plenty of Fieldfares and Thrushes.

Plenty of garden activity today, especially Tits, as we had Blue Tits, Great Tits and a single Long Tailed Tit. I'm not sure where the rest of it's feeding party were.

 The usual Starlings were taking all the fat and seed that I put out for the Chaffinches.

And I had two new visitors this morning, just in my local field and the field next to it; first of all there was a Deceit of Lapwings in the field next to my house, a flock of about 50. They hung around all day feeding in the field and then taking off and circuling round every 20 minutes or so.

Then in the third field next to it there was either a Woodcock or Snipe, however I couldn't tell properly what it was. The field had cut corn and really muddy tracks. I couldn't get a picture, so I will never know for sure what it was. Any ideas?

Wild Bird Wednesday

Title Banner or No Title Banner

I have added a banner to the top of my blog, a Whooper Swan taken at WWT Martin Mere. What do you think?

Or should I go for this one:

I really like the three different ducks - the Shell Duck and the Pintails.

BTO Part 3 - Blues, Greens, Blacks and Bumble Foot

My third and final BTO post is mostly about me holding and watching the wonderful Blue Tit.

This little fellow was a little aggresive when Andy was passing it on to me, as you can see he was a little pesky, but I don't blame it as I am slightly bigger than him!  

You know when you see a Blue Tit on your feeder or in a tree it looks like an everyday bird, however, this little fella is probably more amazing than seeing a Slender Billed Curlew when you're holding one in your very hand.

It felt like holding the world when I was holding the Blue Tit. He allowed me to see if it was young or old by looking at the alula feathers (greenish for a juvenile).

This Blackbird didn't really fancy his ring being chosen for him, so he picked his own.

This image is a little blurred but it shows how the bird gets ringed. A lovely Greenfinch this time.

My brother was laughing so much when he was holding the Greenfinch, which set me off laughing and then everyone else. But it is so amazing to lift your hand and let the bird fly away.

This poor little Chaffinch was unfortunately not allowed to be ringed because it had bumble foot, due to this if a ring was put on it would rub on the leg and make it sore. Brian has to clean his hands after touching the Chaffinch with bumble foot to stop the bacteria spreading to any other birds. This is also why you should clean your feeders regularly.

This is another blurred image, but it shows how the birds get weighed in little pots. This was the Blackbird getting weighed.

Over all my favourite bird of the day was the small but beautiful Gold Crest.

And that is the story of my brilliant day with Andy and Brian from the BTO.



A Hand Full of Gold - BTO part 2

This is part 2 of my day at Martin Mere, when I met Andy and Brian who are ringers for the BTO.

The last bird that we got out of the net was .....................  a Gold Crest (the smallest bird in Europe), which I was made up with.



I was so interested in the fact that when Andy blew on the top of the head, burning orange flared from the crest on top of the head which proved it was a male, since the females crest doesn't flare orange underneath.

They are so small that their beak is only as long as your finger nail, however it doesn't change the fact that they are beautiful birds.

I was taught a lot that day and learned how to hold a small bird (two fingers alongside the neck and your thumb just above the Tarsus so it acts like a cage), and how to ring a bird, measure a birds wing, check to see if it's a male or a female and check to see if it's young or old.

Again the most enjoyable bit was watching the bird fly free and unharmed at the end.

I think I've got a head start to being a good bird ringer. I just can't wait to start my training.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Meeting The BTO At Martin Mere Bird Fair

I have just had one of the best experiences out of my birding life; the bird fair at Martin Mere. When I arrived I went to a hide called Kingfisher Hide where Andy and Brian were doing ringing demonstations. As you can see these are the nets that they put up.

Here are the rings and equipment they use.

The first catch of the day was a female Great Spotted Woodpecker. She really wasn't happy about being caught, but I can't say I blame her.

Just look at all the red on the back of it's tail.  The woodpecker was fitted with a size C ring, it's wings were measured and then it was weighed. 

I must say a really big thank you to Andy and Brian who showed me how to hold and release the birds.

Here is Brian passing me the woodpecker. I managed to avoid being pecked and got to see this wonderful bird up close.

I must admit this was the best experience. As brilliant as it was to see the bird close up, the bit I really enjoyed was letting it fly free again. 

I spent most of the day checking the nets with Andy, and helping both Andy and Brian ring, weigh and measure the birds.

There was an even more exciting catch than the woodpecker, but you will have to read about that later in the week. I have learnt so much today about telling the age of birds from they wings, but more about this in my next few blogs.

Hope your weekends were just as exciting.

Our World Tuesday

Breakfast with the Starlings, before it's too late!

Finally I've got more news from the birdhide, the greedy but beautifully speckled Starlings.

Even though this picture is a little blured, I really like it. It is just the fact that they typically have their mouths filled with food.

Even though we get loads of Starlings in our garden, (in europe)  from1979 Starlings have declined by 80% almost 40 million birds. 150 Starlings have beeen lost each hour since the 1980s.

Climate change, pollution, loss of habitat and global warming are all creeping in, so all of us birders and wildlife lovers are going to have to do something or eventually these birds will be as rare as the Ivory Billed Woodpecker.

And I just hope these birds will still be around for me to enjoy over breakfast in the hide.

What do you all think we should be doing to change this situation?