Innehållsförteckning för October 2017 från Bird Watching

ONE OF the advantages of a loft conversion (and one that the salesmen never mention), is that it’ll make it easier for you to hear migrating Redwings every autumn. Yes, really. On clear evenings last October, with the skylights open, I heard them fizzing over more than once. Turn to page 24, and you can find out more about these wonderful visitors, including how you might get them in your garden. Having done that, you’ll be ready to read our free Garden Guide to find out more about attracting all sorts of species this winter – my own favourite regulars are the Nuthatches that visit our feeders. Finally, I’m looking to add Long-eared Owls to my #My200BirdYear list (see page 20), and our cover birds are the subject of Dominic…

October is many birdwatchers’ favourite time of year. It is very much one of the key migration months of the year, and, of course, migration brings excitement and the chance of something special or even very special, indeed. Here are five great birds to look for this month. 1 YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER Not much bigger than a Goldcrest, this delightful little eastern ‘Phyllosc’ is going through a period of increase as an autumn passage bird in the UK, with more than 1,000 birds sometimes found during October (plus a few overwintering individuals). Most are found in the northern isles or the east of England or the south-west of England. Listen for the distinctive ‘pseeooeet’ call and look for the bold yellow supercilum and double wing-bars. 2 GREAT GREY SHRIKE All shrikes…

Tide tables (like the ones we provide each month in Bird Watching ) can be very useful to birdwatchers. This is not just to keep you safe from being cut off by the tides, but also for helping you decide where to be at what time. A classic example is provided by a reserve such as Frampton Marsh RSPB in Lincolnshire. The reserve is at lowest tide some distance from the mouths of the Rivers Witham and Welland as they pass into The Wash. On the highest spring tides, though, the whole vegetated marshland beyond the ‘sea wall’ becomes flooded. So, if you want the best from the reserve, arrive an hour or so before one of these tides and watch as all the waders stream in…

LANDSCAPE October is prime time to explore unimproved grasslands that have escaped application of agricultural fertilisers (‘improvement’). Country estates, such as those filling the National Trust portfolio, often play host. They are fungal heaven. INVERTEBRATE WEB OF LIFE… AND DEATH Dew-laced mornings, fizzing with sunny promise, demand that you explore your garden. The Garden (or Cross or Diadem) Spider is the hardiest of the UK’s trio of orb-web arachnids – the only one still active this late in the year. It is also the most common and widely distributed, so there is really no excuse for not locating one, then admiring both its silken construct (a beautifully murderous trap) and the weaver’s dramatic, predator-repelling markings. FUNGI MEADOW MARVEL Churchyards are fun places to wander this month. Many tend to include…

SPECIES FACTFILE REDWING Scientific name: Turdus iliacus Length: 19-23cm UK numbers: 4-16 breeding pairs 690,000 wintering birds Habitat: Hedges and orchards in open countryside Diet: Berries and worms IT IS THE TIME OF YEAR when I, and many others, strain our ears in the night time darkness, waiting, hoping, and listening for a sound that heralds the arrival of winter. It is not a loud dramatic sound, but it is certainly a distinctive one – it is the flight call of Redwings on migration. The Redwing is a member of the thrush family, a relative of the familiar Blackbird, Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush. Another thrush, the Fieldfare, is closely associated with the Redwing, with both species often being seen together. They are known colloquially as the winter thrushes, and…

"Minority ethnic people go out into nature less than the white population. The research is clear that although access is reduced by deprivation, ethnicity has a significant impact" IMAGINE YOU ARE BIRDING on the Somerset Levels in spring. You’re surrounded by lovely scenery and the calls of birds like the Cuckoo and Bittern. You walk past people of all backgrounds, keen birders, old, young families on bicycles and maybe even someone in a wheelchair along the disabled-friendly paths. You think to yourself how great it is that nature organisations make their reserves so inclusive. However, what you fail to notice is the obvious. Something that you are so used to, you never think about. That is, that those who are out in nature are almost entirely white. Once it’s pointed…

A FEW YEARS AGO, the Guinness Book of Records claimed that the Butt of Lewis was the windiest spot in the UK. Other locations make similar claims, but being on the exposed north-west tip of Lewis with persistent battering from the Atlantic winds it seems to make sense. The lighthouse here is yet another ‘Stevenson’ building but the big prize are the birds often blown off course, like the Purple Martin, a first for Britain, in September 2004, and what about watching 8,000-plus Great Shearwaters passing in two days! Of course, you have to pick your days, but the atmosphere of a mega birding site is worth it even on a bad day. Seabirds pass by, but this is home to several species, like Guillemot and Black Guillemot, Razorbill, Shag…

THE UPPER REACHES of the Afon Alaw flow northwards into Llyn Alaw, opened in 1966 and now the largest freshwater lake on Anglesey. From here the river makes a south-west journey of some five miles to reach the estuary. According to the Mabinogion, the earliest prose stories of the literature of Great Britain, drawn from earlier oral traditions, Queen Branwen, having escaped from Ireland, landed here with a few survivors before dying of a broken heart. Blaming herself for the destruction caused on her account, this fairest and most beautiful of woman is buried, so legend tells us, at Bedd Branwen close to the Alaw. A small estuary with a narrow outlet channel, the Alaw is easily viewed from vantage points along the shore by way of the Anglesey Coastal…

ONE OF THREE high-altitude woodlands on Dartmoor, Wistman’s Wood (together with Piles Copse and Black-a-Tor Copse) is an unusual habitat for southern England. Springing from the crevices between mighty moss-upholstered granite boulders which have been eroded from surrounding tors, the curious Pedunculate Oaks of this exposed site are stunted, their twisted limbs draped with the lichens and bryophytes for which the wood is noted, and which add to the haunted, ethereal atmosphere. Wistman’s Wood is steeped in legend and mystery. This 8.5 acre woodland sits above the east bank of the West Dart River , an area where there is much evidence of human activity dating back to the Bronze Age. The development of the woodland appears to correlate to times of human absence when there were less people about…

Hobby by Andrew Armstrong Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Lens: 500mm Shutter Speed: 1/1,250 Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 640 Sparrowhawk by Kevin Bowers Camera: Nikon D7200 Lens: 150-600mm Shutter Speed: 1/2,500 Aperture: f/6.3 ISO: 400 Swallows by Sue Court Camera: Nikon D3300 Lens: 150-600mm Shutter Speed: 1/800 Aperture: f/7.1 ISO: 200 Cuckoo by David Blackwell Camera: Canon EOS 1 Mark II Lens: 600mm Shutter Speed: 1/2,000 Aperture: f/5.6 ISO: 800 SEND US YOUR BEST PHOTOS Send us your best birding snaps to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk every month to be in with a chance of seeing your photo in print. All images should be high resolution (300dpi). Get in touch with Bird Watching Bird Watching, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag…

THERE ARE CERTAIN CITIES in the world that just do not conjure up images of being an urban birding paradise. Stuttgart is one of those cities. It is perhaps better known for any and everything else but nature. However, a visit to Stuttgart proves that nature does flourish here. It is also quite hilly, with some of the slopes draped in vineyards crisscrossed by hedges, especially around the Neckar River that skirts the city. During the summer, some of the vineyards are home to Green Woodpeckers and thin populations of breeding Cirl Buntings and Red-backed Shrikes. The slopes also look good for sheltering passing migrants, as there is plenty of cover, with bare patches of earth for the ground foragers. Sadly, the urban birding scene in the city appears to…

SOUTH WEST Highlights Despite being an excellent month for rare seabirds, it was Dorset’s first Yellow Warbler, on 22nd, which was easily the biggest news for the region, in August. The bird was at Culverwell, Dorset. In Cornwall there were reports of Fea’s Petrels as well as multiple records of Wilson’s Petrels and a host of scarce shearwaters. AVON HIGHLIGHTS: A Woodchat Shrike was at Chipping Sodbury Common (from 30th). CLEVEDON: There were four Garganeys (8th), a Common Scoter (23rd) and Fulmar (12th). Maxima included 22 Little Egrets, 600 Ringed Plovers, 255 Curlews, 14 Whimbrels, 125 Black-tailed Godwits, 750 Dunlin, 240 Redshanks, ten Greenshanks, three Golden Plovers, a Little Ringed Plover, two Knot, two Ruff, two Bar-tailed Godwits, two Curlew Sandpipers and a Little Stint. There was a Short-eared Owl,…

IF YOU’VE CREATED a bird-friendly garden, then it will inevitably also be popular with all sorts of other wildlife. Having followed the advice in the rest of this guide, you’ll be well on the way to ensuring that it, too, survives the winter, but bear in mind these extra tips for even better results. 1 Check bonfires before they are lit for sheltering and hibernating animals, such as Hedgehogs, Toads and Frogs – the best bet is to gather the material for any fire only just before you light them. 2 If you’ve got a compost heap, be careful when you turn it or disturb it any way. Because they give off heat, they can also attract Frogs, Toads and other animals, so be very careful before plunging a fork…

Fieldfare These large thrushes arrive from Scandinavia at the same time as Redwings, and the two species often form mixed flocks throughout the winter, feeding on farmland and pastures, and along hedgerows. They’re generally less likely to turn up in gardens than Redwings, although they can be tempted by berries and windfall fruit during periods of bad weather. They’re easily recognised in the field, with their all-dark tails, pale grey rump, lower back and head, ochre breast, and white underwings – they also give a loud schack schack schack’ call while flying. Grey-cheeked Thrush A North American species, but shy and small (even smaller than a Redwing). Most of the birds that find their way to Europe are first-winters, but the greyish cheeks and face are still distinctive, as is…

UDALE BAY RSPB reserve covers 400 hectares, mainly mudflats and marsh in the extensive Cromarty Firth, less well known than the Moray Firth close by. A drive around this area gives you an insight into the massive oil industry, with many oil rigs anchored in the area. The area is important for its concentration of sea ducks, waders and migrating geese, especially Pink-footed, all the way from Iceland. Around 10,000 can be found in this area using the reserve to feed and roost, especially in the spring. Icelandic Greylags also appear and you have to search through the flocks to find oddments like tundra and taiga Bean and Greenland White-fronted Geese. Wigeon and Teal winter on the site along with Pintail and Mallard, throwing up more oddments like American Wigeon…

This is a lovely area of Shropshire countryside with arable crop fields, thick hedges, trees and streams, with a bird-loved lake where you’ll need your binoculars to see the range of birds that live there. It’s privately owned, so you have to spot from the fence, but it’s worth the effort. The paths are marked but sometimes they are a bit overgrown in areas, but it’s good fun finding your way! So, I’ve suggested a start from the Combermere Arms car park at Burleydam and then you can spend as few or as many hours as you choose in the area. The big birds in the sky are Buzzards but you should also see a Kestrel on your route. The actual reserve is described as ‘flower-rich hay meadows’ and it…

DESCRIBED AS ‘unimproved neutral grassland’ this reserve has much more to it than you might think from these words. It is thought that the word Quebb originally meant marsh, and there is still an area that helps to suggest that it might be right! There are lots of trees and a very varied herb-rich area and quite a variety of species such as Ragged Robin, Dogs Mercury and Ox-eye Daisy with Bramble thickets encouraging certain birds. Streams on the reserve border are unpolluted, so again are an encouragement to wildlife. Because the reserve is relatively small, I’ve suggested a longer walk unless you prefer to spend a longer time in the reserve. So, what will you see? Certainly Blackbirds, thrushes and tits, but also Whitethroat and Garden Warbler are recorded…

GET IN TOUCH Have you got a question about your local patch or bird identification? Email your question to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk What is this obliging bird? Q My friends were playing golf at Abersoch, North Wales, in April and this bird kindly agreed to have pictures taken. I think it may be a Rustic Bunting, but do know they are a rarity and usually on east coast/Scotland. Sadly, I wasn’t on the golf trip but as a keen birder would appreciate your thoughts on this beautiful little bird. Tim Whittaker A It’s not a Rustic Bunting, but it is another very notable sighting – a male Lapland Bunting. The red-brown nape patch is very distinctive, along with the black and white markings around the face. Small numbers visit the UK each…

THEY MAY LOOK pretty much like many other scopes on the outside, but inside the Harpias are different. You need to look through them to really appreciate these high-end offerings. There are two Harpias – one with an 85mm objective, and one with a 95mm objective. Both are zooms and include the eyepiece. The 85 is a 22x-65x; the 95 a 23x-70x. Unusually, the glass that does the zooming is in the objective, not the eyepiece. This means the eyepiece can be smaller and sit more comfortably near the eye. Zoom and focusing rings wrap around the barrel, with noticeable differences in resistance so you won’t mix them up. Here’s where it gets even more interesting. When you zoom there’s no image tunnelling – no claustrophobic narrowing of the view.…

What first sparked your interest in birdwatching, and when? I was nine years old, when sitting in a classroom at school, a Nuthatch started visiting the bird table just outside the window. I was curious as to its identity. Recognising this interest, my parents bought me The Observers Book of Birds. Who was your birdwatching inspiration or mentor? There are three people who inspired me and set me on the road. I met Roy Coles, the then warden of Bough Beech Reservoir, at the age of 12, he really encouraged my birding and was a keen photographer, too, teaching me such skills as how and where to set hides. Geoff Burton, the Kent Ornithological Society recorder for West Kent, encouraged me to send my records in. David Tomlinson gave the…

THE BREEDING SEASON is well and truly out of the way, so you can go about your business without the risk of disturbing breeding birds. And, of course, the main growing season for most plants is over, too, so you can plant for next year, as well as getting all the essential maintenance work done that will keep your garden looking good and attracting more wildlife. So, if you already do your gardening with wildlife in mind (perhaps you were inspired by the guide in our June issue), here’s what you should be doing as the days grow shorter… BORDERS Leave herbaceous borders intact, wherever you can. Decaying plants can act as shelter for small mammals and insects, and seedheads are doubly important – they provide natural oil-rich food for…

A WIDE RANGE OF BIRDS pursue a wide range of survival strategies, as you’ll discover below, so follow these 20 tips to give the birds that visit your garden the best possible chance to make it through the colder months. 1 FEED THEM! It might sound obvious, but even if your garden is a great source of natural food, sitting in the midst of countryside that also provides natural food, putting out at least some feeders will make a difference to at least some birds. In a really cold snap, for example, large numbers of birds will be on the move from much further afield, and might strip the area of the seeds and berries that your resident birds were relying on, so your help could be vital. 2 BE…

Yes, Puffins and Barn Owls are characterful and amazing, Kingfishers are gorgeous, and Robins stormed the vote for Britain’s favourite bird, but have you ever met anyone who doesn’t love Bearded Tits? They combine exceptional good looks (both in plumage and structure), endearing behaviour, and a distinctive attractive ‘ping’ call. And they have the added attraction of being both scarce (fewer than 650 breeding pairs in the UK) and exotic, being the only member of their family in Europe. Apparently, taxonomists disagree and the Bearded Tit may be a member of its own family, or a member of the parrotbill family, which in turn may be closely related to the babblers or warblers. One thing is certain, though – the Bearded Tit is not a true tit. But, as with…

We are stretching the definition of tracks and signs this month, by looking at the sounds made by birds, particularly when unseen at night. Many birds move and migrate at night, only revealing their presence by flight calls. To witness this, at the simplest level, this can involve popping out into the garden and listening for the overhead ’seep’ of October’s Redwings (like the aural equivalent of staring up into a meteor shower, but with better chance of success). You may hear many other birds flying over at night and may want to record them for ID purposes. At some bird observatories, such as Portland BO, they use recording equipment to detect bird movements. In this way, for instance, they have recently discovered there is a considerable night time overhead…

IN 2015, I WAS GIVEN the chance to watch the breeding Bee-eaters in Cumbria, only a 10-minute drive from my house. I was fascinated at such an exotic species nesting so close to home, and spent many hours watching them along with about 500 pairs of Sand Martins, and several predators including Hobby and a solitary Carrion Crow which had adapted to catch the martins in flight! Two years later, the news of breeding Bee-eaters at East Leake (pictured below left and right), Nottinghamshire, was announced, with up to 100 people visiting the area before 28 June, when the press was told. A car park was set up with two fully employed RSPB staff manning the site, along with volunteers from RSPB, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, Notts Birders Group, South Notts…

AS I WRITE, it’s early September. Birdfair has been and gone, but one thing that came across loud and clear throughout three days at Rutland Water was how many of you are enjoying Bird Watching’s 2017 #My200BirdYear challenge. Put slightly to shame by how many of you have already completed it, I thought I’d better assess my own efforts, and prepare for a final push to take me past the 200 mark. As things stand, I have 171 species ticked, with a group of Spotted Flycatchers (migrants slowly heading south, judging by their behaviour) the latest, at a local country park over the Bank Holiday. That was a pleasing chance encounter, because I’d been struggling to find any, and only came across these while encouraging a stubborn dog to follow…

SPECIES FACTFILE HENHARRIER Scientific name: Circus cyaneus Length: 45-55cm Wingspan: 97-118cm UK numbers: 617 pairs, 29 on Isle of Man (in 2010) Habitat: Open areas with low vegetation Diet: Small birds and mammals “ Of the two failed Northumberland nests, one was thought to be due to fox predation, while the other was hit by heavy, prolonged rainfall when the chicks were still very vulnerable ” RECENT YEARS HAVE seen increasing concerns about the persecution of Hen Harriers in England, with numbers hitting all-time lows and extinction a very real possibility. So how did they fare in 2017? There were three successful nests, from a total of seven attempts, with 10 fledged young produced. Five of the nests, including three of the successes, were under the watch of the…

THE NORTHUMBERLAND COAST is one of Britain’s best-kept secrets, even among birders, but that means you can find your own birds and make your own discoveries of mini-hotspots. Budle Bay itself offers a location of manageable size but constantly changing conditions (because of the tide) for some leisurely birding , but if the fancy takes you, it’s easy enough to add a long walk along the coast to the dramatic Bamburgh Castle, a site of huge strategic and political importance since the early Anglo-Saxon period. Birds in the Bay vary according to the time of year, and the state of the tide, but at all times you can expect Grey Herons and Cormorants along the shore, Mallards and the commoner gull species in the water, plus Redshanks and Oystercatchers on…

THE AREA SURROUNDING the Trent and Tame Valleys offers a host of birding opportunities; as one area of gravel extraction is exhausted, more pits are dug out. Some have been left to natural succession while others have been landscaped and provide ample breeding and feeding opportunities for waders and wildfowl. The pools here are adjacent to the Trent and Mersey Canal and offer something for the whole family to enjoy. During the winter months, the three large pools hold good numbers of Tufted Duck, Pochard, Wigeon, Great Crested and Little Grebes, while one pool can even be viewed from the comfort of a car if you so wish. Passage waders include occasional visits by Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover while Oystercatchers, Lapwing and Ringed Plovers breed in the vicinity.…

AS AUTUMN MEETS WINTER, a wide variety of farmland birds are assured on this walk through classic Romney Marsh scenery. The medieval church of St Clement’s, constructed on a rampart to prevent flooding, is your starting point and worthy of inspection, together with its famous rose-pink pews. An ancient 500-year-old yew tree in the churchyard is also a sight to behold, and often attracts a Firecrest among the more numerous Goldcrests. The 12th Century church overlooks sheep folds that flood after rain, attracting winter thrushes. An adjacent copse, green lane, hedgerows, paddocks and farm buildings all add to the habitat variety along the first section of the walk, where the fast-declining Tree Sparrow is still present in small flocks among its more numerous congener. Drainage ditches, known locally as sewers,…

"Music and nature have always been my two main passions. Since leaving university it’s always been a case of one being the job and the other being the hobby. Now it’s switched around again" NATURE RESERVES EXIST not only to provide a safe habitat for wildlife to thrive in, but also help us connect to nature. Behind the scenes are the people who make these incredible experiences possible. Brian Briggs, a senior reserve warden at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) centre in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, is one of them. An accomplished musician with successful folk band Stornoway, Brian returned to his other love – conservation – two years ago and took time out from working on the marshes to tell us more about his colourful career. The nice thing about…

IS BHARATPUR THE best bird reserve in the world? So asked the late John Gooders, former Bird Watching contributor, author of the iconic Where to Watch Birds and a much-travelled birder. I have been lucky enough to travel widely, too, and I have found that Bharatpur offers the easiest, most spectacular and most exciting birdwatching of anywhere I’ve ever been. It is one of those places that will not fail to excite and surprise you, however many times you have visited it. Though everyone knows the reserve as Bharatpur, that’s the name of the nearest city, for its officially called Keoladeo Ghana National Park. It’s in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, and is about 85 miles south of New Delhi, or an hour and half’s drive west of Agra,…

IMAGINE FINDING A BIRD in England which has only been recorded five times in the UK, and never before on the English ‘mainland’. This is what happened to Duncan Walbridge on 21 August at Culverwell, Portland, Dorset. This Portland bird was the first in the country since 2005 (when there was one on Shetland) and the ‘earliest’ by a few days, presumably having been wind assisted by the residue of Hurricane Gert (remember that storm?). It was seen by perhaps 200 lucky birders, but was not relocated the next day. This amazing discovery came on the same day that another Yellow Warbler was found at Mizen Head, Co. Cork (which at least stayed to 22 August, before disappearing in the afternoon). Of the five previous Yellow Warblers in the UK…