Blackthorn Blossom suddenly appears

March 24th 2015 - comparing with the same day last year, the Blackthorn blossom has appeared 'on time' at least.

Blackthorn blossom mixes with last year's bramble leaves. New

Bramble shoots are visible too.

Wood Anemone flowers just opening under the Oaks

The day was cold  but with some gaps in the cloud and not much wind and background noise low.The river was lowish and clearer as there had been very little rain for some days. Wild garlic growth had been slow but was now forming a carpet under the trees, with Cow parsley and Wood Anemone in the Oak roots. Most Blackthorn was still in bud but flowering well in sunny locations leaving the rest of the riverside looking very bare and dry. It was 'The Day of the Wrens' and Chiffchaffs which had arrived during the past fortnight were now in competition. Black clouds were approaching and it became quite cold in their shade and progressively colder as a northerly breeze sprang up.

A very loud scuffle broke the stillness in the thicket close to the path. Angry calls revealed a songthrush in the base of a thicket and a second songthrush flew left, perched and started to sing whilst a third flew up giving an alarm call then resumed its song. It was not clear what caused the alarm - there had been a sparrowhawk about but this seemed more like a territorial dispute. Other song thrushes were singing in different locations along the river (6) total.

Robins were still singing strongly and will keep this up for many weeks, only pausing to bathe and preen - and forage (22). Many blackbirds were seen all along, mostly under the damp earth at the base of hedgerows or digging in the harder ground on the banks amongst the Lesser Celandine. Only two were singing out of the 24 seen. A pair of nesting dunnocks were perched on a sapling for a better view of their surroundings but dropped quickly back into the brambles on the bank. Another was seen flying up from under a willow (3). In the river a mallard pair paddled slowly along whilst another male perched on an 'island' of twigs (3); no need now to struggle against the current, finding quiet backwaters will become easier as the riverbank vegetation grows up and over, proving hiding places.

Singing wrens (24) dominated the 'soundscape', singing full, loud songs often answered by another bird nearby, most choosing higher perches where they are visible. Nest-building will be done in secret, in silence, however.

Arriving migrants, the chiffchaffs (12) start singing as soon as they arrive and have recovered from their long flights. They will stay put where foraging is good, with sufficient supplies of insects to feed their young when nesting. The river environment provides perfect habitat for them with dense vegetation and thickets and their early arrival in spring usually enables them to settle before the other warblers arrive. The late spring of 2013 however was hard for them and the river was even more important to their survival, with its own 'microclimate' in the frozen landscape, where insects could be found down on the sheltered banks, warmed by the unfrozen water.

The new 'scrape' seen from the river bank with large muddy 'beaches' 

after water was allowed to drain into the river - but leaving a good quantity in the deep part of the scrape. Black-headed gulls and other birds have been foraging in the mud and bathing in the shallows.

House sparrows were numerous as usual (80) but staying under the cover of brambles and hawthorn hedgrows, chatting, being very aware of the presence of a sparrowhawk, its stealthy habits and characteristic shape and flight. Starlings (55) just seem to keep together - safety in numbers, whistling loudly in their day roost where they gather in numbers. More were feeding out on the grass whilst others took to the air on group missions. Blue tits (54) were on the move, bickering and singing, never still for long, many searching amongst the ivy for insects and possible nest sites inside old trees whilst others are already nesting.  Great tits (24) were still calling loudly, the males looking very bright in their breeding plumage whilst long-tailed tits (7) now mostly in pairs, called very softly to each other, selecting materials in the old oaks for their nests which take several weeks to build from scratch each spring.  Chaffinches (3) and greenfinches (4) have not been numerous in this area, perhaps preferring dry sandy and gritty areas rather than clay and mud but Goldfinches (17) do very well here, with permanent colonies often located in dense ivy where they sit and sing, flying out together to forage on seeds, then separating into pairs in the spring to nest.

A jay suddenly flew across - they are returning to the riverside oaks after spending the winter in woods elsewhere perhaps where there were acorns. Loud drumming from a great spotted woodpecker was answered by another, drumming in a distant tree (2) and high calls in a conifer alerted me to two  goldcrests foraging. Two nuthatches were still busy perfecting their nest, working together, with one doing the work whilst the other sat nearby and kept watch, then changing over roles.

Out in the open sky a skylark sang and two others were seen and heard in the distance. 21 herring gulls were gliding over high to catch the northerly breeze and lower over the fields 4 jackdaws were calling together with 3 rooks and 3 black-headed gulls. Carrion crows (30) were more numerous than usual, the recently-worked fields attracting them whilst others sat in tree tops. Large numbers of woodpigeons (70)  and a few magpies had joined the crows on the nearest field but suddenly they were all up as a buzzard flew over and down to land in a hedgerow.

The Slow Start of Spring in March

Sunday 8th March 2015

Exactly one month since the previous full report - what has changed since then along the Riverside? There has certainly been no sudden bursting into life, it even appears to be regressing with the effects of the cold dry wind.

A sign of hope, however. I spotted a large bumble bee flying along

the river bank, coming to land on the thick layer of last-year's leaves,

to gain some warmth from the hazy sun.

                          

The bee is a Buff-tailed bumble bee - Bombus Terrestris 

with traces of pollen on its head and back taking a rest from

foraging.

A bright morning with a southerly breeze and hazy sunshine with no frost this morning. The river was lower now but not yet clear of mud from fields upstream. The landscape still looks very bare, not much like spring, only the wild garlic shoots and catkins growing longer, the grass still brown and dry - if anything, even barer than 8th February.

Abundant signs of life along the river however from birdsong, robins dominating the river bank, singing from prominent song posts, chasing interlopers or suddenly appearing very close to me on a branch or fence (24), and good numbers of goldfinches chasing and singing from their usual ivy hideouts (33).  Blue tits (36) were very active foraging for insects in the oaks and dodging amongst the catkins, with some bickering but no actual song heard unlike the great tits (20) which were singing strongly, their calls carrying a long way through the bare trees, each seeming to have their own invention of simple song or call phrases.

Blackbirds were still silent but numerous (19) most feeding on the damp river banks where a few hardy Lesser Celandine flowers were appearing, with one or two clumps of snowdrops, usually seen much earlier.  Dunnocks (4) were singing strongly in the same area, with two dashing across the river to perch, tails flicking whilst a blackbird hurried away carrying a large worm. Starlings (34) added their cheerful whistling to the chorus from their day-roost whilst others joined woodpigeons (30) on the dry grass. Other woodpigeons were busy feeding on ivy berries or drinking and bathing down low on the banks sheltering from the increasingly cold wind. Carrion crows (12) were calling or perching in pairs now high in the trees. One was seen walking along the footpath methodically collecting fallen twigs, selecting those of precisely the right length for building or refurbishing its nest. Magpies (4) were seen collecting random twigs to add to their rough nests. Just one collared dove was seen, its mate almost certainly on their nest amongst the ivy. A great spotted woodpecker was seen in flight crossing the river, silently, but 3 jackdaws announced their presence with loud calls. Persistent drumming from the woodpecker was heard later. 

Not far away, a nuthatch was heard calling loudly, in warning, protecting its nest area - and further upstream two more were seen, probably a pair, with one extremely annoyed by foraging blue tits

on its tree (3).

It was very good to hear the far more tuneful song of skylarks (3) over the field, claiming their territories.

Some chaffinches were calling now (12) but most were seen foraging on the ground. Four greenfinches were seen, two calling, never usually seen here in large numbers. A green woodpecker yaffled from the trees and a bullfinch called softly, unseen until it flew across to another tree, a fine bright male.

At last, the river wrens were singing (17) and chasing along the banks, starting to build nests, the birds still very visible. Overhead, 2 long-tailed tits were seen collecting lichen from branches, for nest building in dense undergrowth.  Songthrushes (2) were silent this morning however and sheltering - they are more frequently seen and heard when the wind has dropped in the evenings and calm early mornings. House sparrows (51) were seen in good numbers too, they maintain their presence all year round in several colonies within dense hedgerows and bramble patches and within easy reach of the river where some were bathing today. Two mallard were enjoying shelter under the high banks of the river too whilst 85 herring gulls were seen sailing in groups overhead.

Last but not least, a brilliant white LITTLE EGRET suddenly flew up from the river where it had been foraging unseen behind the steep banks - and flew up amongst the trees, heading south along the river, stopping to perch on an oak. Further downstream a second little egret was perched in a tree branch over the river surveying the water intently:

One little egret, watching from the branch of an oak over the river

Eventually it flew off to join 20 black-headed gulls on the grass field - hoping to blend in with the crowd - but not quite! About half of the gulls were in summer plumage, with the rest in various stages of transition. They all soon flew off together, the little egret diverting off to the river downstream when the gulls went over to the nearby 'scrape'.