Spring Voices and Sounds on the Riverside

As the sun warms the branches, treecreepers arrive to search for

insects hidden in the bark and under lichen.

Tuesday 27th January 2015 

After a cold night but with no frost, the morning was fine with no wind, high streaks of cloud moved slowly in a blue sky across a very low, watery sun  touching the tops of bare trees and thickets. The riverside at its barest revealed a riverside full of life. With exposed views through thickets and hedgerows and no distracting breeze or gale, every tiny movement amongst the twigs, stalks and undergrowth indicated bird or mammal activity, scuffles and calls were easily detected. 

Dry stalks of the bank side vegetation flattened by the river in flood formed good shelter and foraging. In places where river meanders bore less of the rushing force of water, vegetation remained almost untouched as the water rose and fell, rose and fell with the distant sea tides until the flood waters   finally joined the sea. The rich, damp earth that was left clearly attracted foraging birds and the river water now free from the orange earth carried down from fields upstream, attracted bathing birds. 

On the banks, Hazel catkins remained the only sign of spring but a closer look at the oaks revealed new leaf buds on each branch and twig.

Budding Oak on the winter riverside.

Voices carried far along the river course today in the calm air, with both the numbers and diversity of birds singing quite remarkable so early in the year - although there was no scent of spring in the air, only the typical scent of autumn and winter - decaying leaves.

A carrion crow called and another flew across the join it, with both sitting close together in the top of an oak. Others were seen flying over, also calling, with several seen feeding on the soaked grass (12).

Jackdaws flew over, calling (5) and two rooks were seen nearby but there are no rookeries here.

A group of noisy magpies (6) followed each other along the hedge and away, leaving a single grey squirrel to continue in its search for food - lean times this winter with no acorns. No jays were around to compete with the squirrel, they are most likely searching in the woods. Woodpigeons (25) are finding no shortage of food as they have a very varied diet and this winter there are abundant Ivy berries at least. Some were foraging in the Ivy or flapping and chasing whilst others were feeding on the grass and field stubble.  

House sparrows are always with us,  more vocal now, calling in hedges and from the midst of brambles once the day had warmed up (40). Robins (19) were all singing, some taking advantage of new perches, twigs shifted by floods. One sang in an oak then flew down onto the river bank stalks, then dropped out of sight onto an island of half-submerged twigs where I could hear it splashing. Others were out in the open sizing up the opposition, often confronting a stranger close up. The first robin to move away loses - without a fight - but if it stays put can be attacked. Hopefully once all the newly planted native trees and shrub grows up, their territories will not be so restricted. 

Whilst robins choose to dominate their own territories, starlings prefer to live in a group, where you see or hear one, there will usually be many more in the background. Today they were seen in two groups whistling and clicking optimistically whilst others flew across to join them in the Ivy and add to the chorus (25). Goldfinches at this time of the year also join others in a close-knit colony, often choosing the same sheltered location every day where they can sing and make sorties out together in search of food. Today there were several seen feeding on dry grass and thistle seeds in the sun along a fence and others seen foraging on grasses together with other birds, large and small,  as well the usual group mostly hidden but heard, out of sight in Ivy (18). Only one chaffinch was seen and another heard.

Further upstream a new sound drifted down through the bare oaks - the drumming of a great-spotted woodpecker. Good to hear it again after a long silence. Nuthatches (3) were calling in three different locations - they have already established their territories but younger birds may still be searching. 

Looking up into the top of the old oak pictured above, just as the sun reappeared, a treecreeper was seen foraging amongst lichen on the smaller branches in the crown which the sun was warming up. After a while it flew down onto the main trunk and started foraging anew, working its way up again. In another oak close by a second treecreeper had found a patch of sun-warmed bark to forage on. Even today, the sun, although appearing weak, was warming up the river bank where insects began to emerge. Further along the river, two goldcrests were busy amongst the pine needles, sometimes hovering in order to feed where there was no space to perch. This is near the location of the bat boxes which were installed almost a year ago and are now looking suitable weathered. Common Pipistrelle Bats had moved in after a few months last year but in the winter will have left to hibernate in buildings.

A single small bird was making contact calls in a tall poplar - it was a chiffchaff, one of the very few which remain here to overwinter when the majority migrate south to warmer countries in late summer.

Just one linnet was visible at the top of a tree in the sun, on the lookout for the rest of the group which were probably feeding in a field of stubble across the river.

In the sky about 35 herring gulls were wheeling noisily, then they were gone - but then black-headed gulls appeared (17) and looking down I spotted one on the water in the 'scrape' alongside the river, splashing and preening. It soon attracted several more of these smart small gulls which flew down to join it.

Blackbirds (39) were everywhere along the river, foraging amongst the Ivy, bathing down on the river's edge, scuffling at the base of brambles and hedgerows and throwing or kicking the wet leaf mould aside to find rich pickings. Other birds such as great tits  (23) watched, ready to take what was left, although they clearly had distractions, singing loudly now and chasing, a clear sign of spring. Each seemed to have its own call . Blue tits (62) were also very active, singing, bickering and chasing, some foraging amongst the Ivy, others on the oaks, all very visible. Dunnocks (9) were adding their voices to the riverside chorus, singing strongly now, from visible perches on twigs, tails flicking, enjoying the sun, foraging in the open and under hedgerows. Like the wrens, they are numerous here on the riverside but remain hidden in this idea habitat for most of the year. Several wrens (8) were seen flying low across the river but at present only a few were singing and their songs were short. Also hiding on the river under the banks were two Moorhens, probably a pair, making their way carefully and silently downstream.

The finest song today came from Song thrushes (8), at first only one was heard singing intermittently but as the early morning warmed up, it moved up with the sun and began to sing loudly. Another joined in from a tree across the river. As I walked away, their song could still be heard from a distance but more song thrushes started to sing at their own song posts along the river. Others were too busy foraging together with the silent blackbirds. Like the dawn chorus, each bird has its own place and time to sing, even in the winter.  Lastly a green woodpecker was heard yaffling in the small field by the river.  

A remarkable day!

   

Some other birds seen here during January 2015 were redwing, fieldfare, mistle thrush, buzzard, little egret, sparrowhawk, bullfinch and overwintering blackcaps.