Thursday 27th January 2022 was overcast as usual but initially there was no rain and no wind. The young hedge on the river bank was full of birds. The location provides shelter down on the banks and amongst the dense stems of Hawthorn and Hazel together with the brown leaves of the Hornbeams, with a young Oak retaining its brown leaves close by.
The landscape was now at its wildest; what could be wilder than an old Oak more than two hundred years old, habitat for thousands of creatures (mammals, insects and birds, fungi and lichens).
The tree has withstood storms and floods, hot summers and freezing winters, it's only adversary being a type of mammal, sometimes called human.
Its essential root protection, dense ground cover, mostly Brambles Hollies and Ivies forms an important extension to the wildlife habitat provided by its branches and bark. Soon the first spring flowers, Lesser Celandine then Wood Anemone will appear at its roots attracting the first pollinating insects.
Birdsong, muted by dense leaf cover in the summer, today echoed along the river, some quite remarkable its volume and intensity close up, often with another bird answering from across the river. Robins are masters of this and today 40 were counted, most singing loudly, all guarding their own territories, easily seen perched on prominent branches, never moving far off. Unlike the Robins, Blue Ts were constantly moving about it the trees, especially Willows, selecting buds here and there which they would open by carefully removing the outer brown husks. It was good to see so many (75) in such ideal conditions along the whole length of the river. Great Ts were also seen, in fewer numbers (23) and singing loudly with their individual variations on the 'teeecher' theme, most moving amongst the river bank roots and low vegetation, remaining less visible. With them, the Wrens (11) were mostly seen on or near the river banks singing very short songs.
Other birds seen in large numbers were House Sparrows, in their individual colonies, amounting to over 100 individuals in total, some singing, even in the rain later in the morning. Blackbirds were now seen mostly foraging on the muddy grass and river banks (23), the autumn's meagre supply of berries and fruits having long since been plucked. Only 3 Song Thrushes were visible, in the same areas as the Blackbirds although most were probably unseen within roots of hedges, as were the Dunnocks, only 2 were heard singing then seen in undergrowth. Goldfinches (19) were seen in small groups, some
singing and others following each other into a hedge. There are still seeds on the Dock plants and some thistles which they are eating as winter rations.
Starlings were very active, chasing in small groups or in one large group of about 30 on the very top of an old Oak, the total today was 47. The characters of this area are the Carrion Crows (7) which are permanent residents and keep an eye out for trouble but always tolerate visiting birds, apart from the Magpies which are opportunists. This year they have been active extracting very small insects from under the balls of moss they find, mainly on nearby rooftops. They spot a clump of moss and fling it expertly off the roof onto the ground below, collecting insects left behind. More than usual (10) were seen today, chasing in the Oaks. A single Pied Wagtail was seen foraging on the grass. Woodpigeons can usually find food anywhere and today 47 were seen in various places on the grassed areas or ivy bushes. In the old Oaks Nuthatch calls could be heard from a tree then the bird moved to another branch and could easily be seen. In all 5 individuals were seen each in a different Oak or Ash. Probably most started preparing nest holes last month.
The weather was not suitable for birds which use thermals such as Buzzards but 2 Jackdaws, 70 Herring Gulls, and 63 Black-headed Gulls in a their exclusive separate group were present.
Lastly a Little Egret was seen near a drainage basin close to the river. It suddenly went up into a small low tree, waited a few minutes then dropped back down, into the shallow river where the water was not so muddy. It was very interesting to note that two Moorhen accompanied the Egret and followed it's foraging using slow careful step on the river bed closely, hoping perhaps that it would disturb some small creatures for them to catch.
