tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86138923594402419692024-03-13T20:39:32.608-07:00The Rattling CrowAfrica Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.comBlogger266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-847857812814465372023-11-26T07:21:00.000-08:002023-11-27T07:55:48.986-08:00A flock of local Lesser Redpolls<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoi_ZVgYuF1lU0G4DYJREhnUl3Z9dXj9jq5n5uXgGCBmH0Y4Dehhv1FeXKjC2jDLh0G1gNLw9g-fRY44BOZc5xMcBh3UUwyLi7o7cMGta6IMQ3KXSxOfl1UlcHCP07F6W9LuWcAzSK3uUhdvcmC0q-_npN6vAY8U_sw93yXYEspSjxLJOZOPgWDavE98Br/s3089/IMG_7295%20(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3089" data-original-width="3088" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoi_ZVgYuF1lU0G4DYJREhnUl3Z9dXj9jq5n5uXgGCBmH0Y4Dehhv1FeXKjC2jDLh0G1gNLw9g-fRY44BOZc5xMcBh3UUwyLi7o7cMGta6IMQ3KXSxOfl1UlcHCP07F6W9LuWcAzSK3uUhdvcmC0q-_npN6vAY8U_sw93yXYEspSjxLJOZOPgWDavE98Br/w640-h640/IMG_7295%20(1).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The coldest morning of the year so far, I take a walk around my patch. Lesser Redpolls are a rare winter visitor in the city, and it's hard to predict where to find them but my local patch has been quite reliable every year and cold weather pushes them south. Today I encountered a small flock quietly feeding on catkins in some small birches in the cemetery. There were at least five, one of them, a male. They allowed me to approach and watch them hanging from the thinnest branches, holding a birch catkin against the branch with a foot while feeding from it so that they can extract the seeds more efficiently.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNZUbh61hI_txRr0sdnCrl7Ca6WWuLQ4TSy2JLonazxz9hZuMst_TGbUiUklDSudBzRwI96boOL3v_z5614_UNhl10il_PnXh2sMO5-zpH4T-Krvook9AyRiXqjChgjp_IEtsaVaN8uUVxAL17e5qNHsQe95zP0km_2r8QZ6SWZf_dPqDBBNogKVVbOs5/s3144/IMG_7310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2358" data-original-width="3144" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNZUbh61hI_txRr0sdnCrl7Ca6WWuLQ4TSy2JLonazxz9hZuMst_TGbUiUklDSudBzRwI96boOL3v_z5614_UNhl10il_PnXh2sMO5-zpH4T-Krvook9AyRiXqjChgjp_IEtsaVaN8uUVxAL17e5qNHsQe95zP0km_2r8QZ6SWZf_dPqDBBNogKVVbOs5/w400-h300/IMG_7310.JPG" width="400" /></a></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Adult male Lesser Redpoll.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoFc9R-8m8U2yjibfnDqN6wK3SINgcEz7gxITRom1z8q0qLPDdMH_Lsu_QT9faMFWS4NHi_uP3tvKZWg6XZxFHONDsV4hK93jy3eYYTFM0NbJZtgwwPGhqE_obVY-TfmMz9LPMTAVZhAqZE3ZEp-sAP14pSSdsvi4cz6OjMAevvAY11BwS4kOhHlOIOlW/s2790/IMG_7305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2093" data-original-width="2790" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoFc9R-8m8U2yjibfnDqN6wK3SINgcEz7gxITRom1z8q0qLPDdMH_Lsu_QT9faMFWS4NHi_uP3tvKZWg6XZxFHONDsV4hK93jy3eYYTFM0NbJZtgwwPGhqE_obVY-TfmMz9LPMTAVZhAqZE3ZEp-sAP14pSSdsvi4cz6OjMAevvAY11BwS4kOhHlOIOlW/w400-h300/IMG_7305.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DMtITrbbz2Lg8QxXdrKsXOvwt5vb-f3qXGyUwwPDsFvJoMri2rNtsys6FbYOz_QHkWoOkc9RUWtCEJPje1pMdE6NsXB6Z2Fhw3lCMhQnCBJUen4bbd9yC7R8KoBwLaadG2GqTmgrQLz7n3m5dvCqKjVXllFBLfWfvE_kqOu73SxpvhCDofAqo97lao16/s4608/IMG_7290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DMtITrbbz2Lg8QxXdrKsXOvwt5vb-f3qXGyUwwPDsFvJoMri2rNtsys6FbYOz_QHkWoOkc9RUWtCEJPje1pMdE6NsXB6Z2Fhw3lCMhQnCBJUen4bbd9yC7R8KoBwLaadG2GqTmgrQLz7n3m5dvCqKjVXllFBLfWfvE_kqOu73SxpvhCDofAqo97lao16/w400-h300/IMG_7290.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here you can see how they hold catkins while they feed.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoPiEoVCKvN6KJa0NgR2OV-XI_fInvbbY8SkVROvJW90obWTeP_JOjQKiQB4jcpxF5oErcQWSHjVs_BrfFBa5APaCzkS06AcWpSghrg3nmT1jc0N4QMpB2vxfxpEd_cR_JXUvFBzPtYJT3ZCqamCm8GFidHUMmUAp48yphyphenhyphen3xN_PYQ2pDTZvXQYiFdsgU/s4608/IMG_7282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoPiEoVCKvN6KJa0NgR2OV-XI_fInvbbY8SkVROvJW90obWTeP_JOjQKiQB4jcpxF5oErcQWSHjVs_BrfFBa5APaCzkS06AcWpSghrg3nmT1jc0N4QMpB2vxfxpEd_cR_JXUvFBzPtYJT3ZCqamCm8GFidHUMmUAp48yphyphenhyphen3xN_PYQ2pDTZvXQYiFdsgU/w400-h300/IMG_7282.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A female/immature feeding.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNWXZEHHuPNp6CpVXOJE-oBqKGqjdZuq4ALuLYD5L53Tt9xt8Y0uypK4RzxHnuermuc0dRa3H1b3QFwxpnlHJ7hMY5zbA8b6oPJHrsKD2_CkNx-SomXA0uv_DzLEgQXExcFYlvqTntTAqBoUuTF1Q3Bgysvc48et_nUTOlgJqgmf1mVvBNMnotT89o71m/s4608/IMG_7301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNWXZEHHuPNp6CpVXOJE-oBqKGqjdZuq4ALuLYD5L53Tt9xt8Y0uypK4RzxHnuermuc0dRa3H1b3QFwxpnlHJ7hMY5zbA8b6oPJHrsKD2_CkNx-SomXA0uv_DzLEgQXExcFYlvqTntTAqBoUuTF1Q3Bgysvc48et_nUTOlgJqgmf1mVvBNMnotT89o71m/w400-h300/IMG_7301.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A view of the flock. From a distance, very hard to see!</div><p>They kept feeding, until a sudden Blackbird alarm flushed them all but one. The lone individual called, and left flying towards the flock.</p>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-26077832893649530002023-10-09T13:13:00.000-07:002023-10-09T13:13:32.520-07:00Rooks hoarding acorns<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzaTdYIMA7DCiPAmxUOVeNNspQs94mn6yW0t5FqS10f2wQsfN8w5VHGQGi7rTbGUgcBToYzqkxvUrmAibDzCkxKRlxnrxk-bXsKwZr75d4qPYVRIeOzF4ITA93PWFfrU8izTUUBQn6yPhzMLMR6GtxtSnaxdRlJmEVRkw5mGmoLx_OcxD3050NieS1-HH/s4125/IMG_4575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3093" data-original-width="4125" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDzaTdYIMA7DCiPAmxUOVeNNspQs94mn6yW0t5FqS10f2wQsfN8w5VHGQGi7rTbGUgcBToYzqkxvUrmAibDzCkxKRlxnrxk-bXsKwZr75d4qPYVRIeOzF4ITA93PWFfrU8izTUUBQn6yPhzMLMR6GtxtSnaxdRlJmEVRkw5mGmoLx_OcxD3050NieS1-HH/w640-h480/IMG_4575.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p>It is a mast year, with a bumper crop of acorns across the city. October is peak acorn season and last week I saw the first Rooks carrying acorns. Acorns are packed with energy, and several bird species take advantage of them. Woodpigeons, presumably swallow them whole from the trees, but Rooks and Jays collect the harvest and store it for use during the winter. Both species are scatter hoarders, and cache individual acorns on the ground, and use their extraordinary spatial memory to recover them later in the year, when other food resources are scarce. Although the Jays are best known for this behaviour, Rooks are also amazing acorn hoarders. Rooks can transport acorns - and other food items - in a pouch under their tongue, which obviously bulges as they fly over with their pouch full. The number of acorns they can carry depends on the acorn size, and varies from 2 to 7. They prefer to cache the acorns on grass, and can fly up to 4 km from oaks to suitable grassland. Once they find a good spot, they drop all the acorns they are carrying and bury each one by one, by first making a hole in the ground with their bills, and then hammering the acorn in and covering it with grass, leaves or soil. Later on, they will visit the caching sites in the winter, find their stored acorns and crack them open to feed. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTFB0tMMhYOiOX7yk31Ie_VkNyZlKnbfibla5omIzg4a09ejEP0Nv0IbCiwFPNgBJqZbZBV7xaoE84drBWqcXJQc4eUv-pPqkAmg53as2sxCYbkl72E7KT0nQ_dFOBP4EfLE3_ErcyMMUPoB5U_FEc48L0emrzb-tanIUMNcPCJlroGOh-fX_2-sT21e8/s4608/IMG_4897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCTFB0tMMhYOiOX7yk31Ie_VkNyZlKnbfibla5omIzg4a09ejEP0Nv0IbCiwFPNgBJqZbZBV7xaoE84drBWqcXJQc4eUv-pPqkAmg53as2sxCYbkl72E7KT0nQ_dFOBP4EfLE3_ErcyMMUPoB5U_FEc48L0emrzb-tanIUMNcPCJlroGOh-fX_2-sT21e8/w400-h300/IMG_4897.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A vocal Rook on an oak canopy, surrounded by plenty of acorns.</div><p>Rooks, unlike Jays, are very social and engage in communal acorn collecting, becoming very vocal when landing on the oaks canopy. They prefer to gather acorns with other Rooks, and individuals appear to join other individuals gathering acorns by flying in the opposite direction of individuals with full bills. When it comes to caching though, Rooks prefer to be alone, to avoid cleptoparasism, when other individuals try and steal their stored acorns.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9yb2JO2Axzkb47HfcVJL0jcT-v-8ii5WP_HkeD_lhJeGTY90-BtO6HpmoNzxRQ47Q3QnFqbCaEYhtjWRTlf3K_l6QK7eUI4L2L59l4NLFUbqpEMZ25OyaXnTsk4IXmWRuBfkpGrsdTbSToGz47_cRyHbm9qUEYtKJ24YFKOL16noKL8AEuAHpBAPEYsv/s4608/IMG_4572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9yb2JO2Axzkb47HfcVJL0jcT-v-8ii5WP_HkeD_lhJeGTY90-BtO6HpmoNzxRQ47Q3QnFqbCaEYhtjWRTlf3K_l6QK7eUI4L2L59l4NLFUbqpEMZ25OyaXnTsk4IXmWRuBfkpGrsdTbSToGz47_cRyHbm9qUEYtKJ24YFKOL16noKL8AEuAHpBAPEYsv/w400-h300/IMG_4572.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Rooks displaying, the individual on the right, with distended sublingual pouch, passed an acorn to one on the left, presumably they are a mated pair.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lMX5L5Z6QKwlvla1y4csP0eTRv3kHBOW9SGBrCY1QB8wQWBJyR9Vap-_9MYyktTH36fsnV8V8yz-h5wmFwAYqo3udrfbTXfciuwQhv8gVcBf32yN48LKi2sNEGg2PLNfXewJUaIQ7k9z-eILorzIlxBHFF3kB8Acn7-CuPXkFBrvTkTM4fynmu1Sa49M/s4608/IMG_4576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2lMX5L5Z6QKwlvla1y4csP0eTRv3kHBOW9SGBrCY1QB8wQWBJyR9Vap-_9MYyktTH36fsnV8V8yz-h5wmFwAYqo3udrfbTXfciuwQhv8gVcBf32yN48LKi2sNEGg2PLNfXewJUaIQ7k9z-eILorzIlxBHFF3kB8Acn7-CuPXkFBrvTkTM4fynmu1Sa49M/w400-h300/IMG_4576.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>More information<br /></b><br />Waite, D. R. K. Food caching and recovery by farmland corvids. Bird Study 32, 45–49 (1985)<br /><br />Källander, H., 2007. Food hoarding and use of stored food by rooks <i>Corvus frugilegus</i>. Bird Study, 54(2), pp.192-198.Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-87808993777567242522023-03-24T12:50:00.002-07:002023-03-24T12:50:27.355-07:00Siskins Galore<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3-WGUh9HtU07zcQhX8Ir-CCD6wRcZ-AeoZjj4md_IdLImdJ0TQoMyxwf4FTbHNC7oLGl2TlJ-VCbL3N3YVMkd6jwV4xLSwUDNKAWsTe0fN4a7rkHHo_YjbVR007508YVO8HPE3yh5LHE-DMBKQGv1IMJhCyrLS8d30eyPDaiiyEwFKE7ycL6CIKEVA/s4608/IMG_2760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3-WGUh9HtU07zcQhX8Ir-CCD6wRcZ-AeoZjj4md_IdLImdJ0TQoMyxwf4FTbHNC7oLGl2TlJ-VCbL3N3YVMkd6jwV4xLSwUDNKAWsTe0fN4a7rkHHo_YjbVR007508YVO8HPE3yh5LHE-DMBKQGv1IMJhCyrLS8d30eyPDaiiyEwFKE7ycL6CIKEVA/w640-h480/IMG_2760.JPG" width="640" /></a><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">There is something about birdwatching that I find so rewarding: learning a simple thing, like a species contact call, opens a new world. Although they are regular wintering birds, I don't think Siskins are becoming more common around Hull. It is just that once I learned the beautiful soft, sad 'pew! call, then I am seeing them everywhere, and this year I have really enjoyed watching Siskins. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6wkj0EOXBZtob8ngQFPpmfXJWqqhFba0bsF-EZ4VACJ-o77UvY8zj5V41AuVBb_JeLWw4DiU6Bs1K9Gb4mnkBqeDG3xQglb3RwzeXx1gKhwXqCWuhymEcnWIDMasQRgAU6H4VwrW4KLoQGfZ53Tk-JDoLFcWijBiYNcrAnhNmrMQBzlxPXkFoc5mdw/s4608/IMG_3171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6wkj0EOXBZtob8ngQFPpmfXJWqqhFba0bsF-EZ4VACJ-o77UvY8zj5V41AuVBb_JeLWw4DiU6Bs1K9Gb4mnkBqeDG3xQglb3RwzeXx1gKhwXqCWuhymEcnWIDMasQRgAU6H4VwrW4KLoQGfZ53Tk-JDoLFcWijBiYNcrAnhNmrMQBzlxPXkFoc5mdw/w400-h300/IMG_3171.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Siskin feeding on Italian Alder this afternoon.</div><p>In the depths of the winter, when days are gloomy and cold, Siskin flocks rove around the city looking for Alders. They feed on both Common and Italian Alders, clinging from the cones sometimes upside down, deftly extracting seeds with their pointy bills. In quiet areas they might come down and feed on seeds on the ground.</p><p>In the last few weeks, the chattering singing chorus of Siskins have alerted me to flocks feeding in Lombardy Poplars in three different locations around the city, possibly as the seeds in Alders are becoming depleted. I was intrigued as I thought these catkins were pollen catkins. Lombardy Poplars are male clones, which produce red pollen catkins. Being wind pollinated I didn't think they had nectar (which would be odd for a finch to eat anyway), but I've never heard of a bird feeding on pollen. What are they feeding on then? Insects, possibly aphids, is a possibility, but it appears unlikely so early in the year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJc7bc5KC0ITKMOCGlbW1KmLR9FrQA3z0yaPQOy3vh5cszJpx6pPjufNaWXa_PEFOSZ5krorFTZDoV2XMMvWt5GExomFcx2iD5flaJjfNKYkaUAZ0wWiGT1C_DsAs_opiZDct8-oGi-sq6YZCpAPFWvNHUmE5N7Fo_lTO_fJ8zoSMQPXr_Xs4lGjRDZQ/s2428/IMG_3000%20(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1821" data-original-width="2428" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJc7bc5KC0ITKMOCGlbW1KmLR9FrQA3z0yaPQOy3vh5cszJpx6pPjufNaWXa_PEFOSZ5krorFTZDoV2XMMvWt5GExomFcx2iD5flaJjfNKYkaUAZ0wWiGT1C_DsAs_opiZDct8-oGi-sq6YZCpAPFWvNHUmE5N7Fo_lTO_fJ8zoSMQPXr_Xs4lGjRDZQ/w400-h300/IMG_3000%20(1).JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Male Siskin feeding on Lombardy poplar catkins.</div><p>So, a bit like the Goldfinches feeding on lichen covered branches, I don't have an answer to what Siskins are feeding on, but Lombardy Poplars are plentiful around the city parks and playing fields, where they are planted as wind breakers, so hopefully they will stay around a little longer.</p><p>Please do let me know in the comments if you know the answer to the mystery!</p>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-171507174245062042023-02-19T13:30:00.000-08:002023-02-19T13:30:01.385-08:00Waxwing gift passing display<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrscPN70E8NPBahDx7c4RGGcEmuTBNYt4Yzko4BD2WyhWsQDV63TNUDp2qhiQiwRnFoa5UGdt8HUTDTza-JLNp5WYohJ_5cINFFvPR7U3XLMk_9twpE-0xHDVOnKRTbKxNsRER-lcyq3DMyKv5OzMoL_2muARLDSSitR9Kf2YR3my-DgntrB9qv7BQA/s2024/IMG_1972.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1518" data-original-width="2024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrscPN70E8NPBahDx7c4RGGcEmuTBNYt4Yzko4BD2WyhWsQDV63TNUDp2qhiQiwRnFoa5UGdt8HUTDTza-JLNp5WYohJ_5cINFFvPR7U3XLMk_9twpE-0xHDVOnKRTbKxNsRER-lcyq3DMyKv5OzMoL_2muARLDSSitR9Kf2YR3my-DgntrB9qv7BQA/w640-h480/IMG_1972.JPG" width="640" /></a> After a long hiatus, I came across some Waxwings today. Six individuals were perched high up on a Lime tree, taking the sun in. They were quite active, changing branches, pecking the shiny, red tree buds. Two in particular called my attention, as they approached each other touching bills, then coming apart. I took plenty of photos, some unfocused by branches getting in the way, but, looking at them in more detail back at home, I noticed that the two individuals 'billing' were doing more than that, they were exchanging an object, probably one of the tree buds, in a ritual display called 'gift passing' (top shot). The behaviour is seen both in the Bohemian Waxwing, which we get in irruption years in the UK, and in the American Cedar Waxwing. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefO7Mx2V8o8sSRXpyvmq6-05M5gFjLBdr3GH7RkLXnc2Dig-hZj4vMTFmruka6iw_XGCKhClgGtXArJp8gVBqaoQsWu6V7pBhMwbIuZf9nGo2kJ672qulkn8Iq-krhpx2N2cTjqVwnIFGXnQ4TtSkqIEJmUuNyjDNZpnPazCL2WuTM7VwCoJgRWyx8A/s2556/IMG_1973.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1917" data-original-width="2556" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefO7Mx2V8o8sSRXpyvmq6-05M5gFjLBdr3GH7RkLXnc2Dig-hZj4vMTFmruka6iw_XGCKhClgGtXArJp8gVBqaoQsWu6V7pBhMwbIuZf9nGo2kJ672qulkn8Iq-krhpx2N2cTjqVwnIFGXnQ4TtSkqIEJmUuNyjDNZpnPazCL2WuTM7VwCoJgRWyx8A/w400-h300/IMG_1973.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The behaviour consist on passing an object, then the individual with the object jumps away, then joins its mate, which 'receives' the object, then the behaviour is repeated and the object passed backwards and forwards repeatedly.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoL9hzJH_pWFivt0RtQ5IDv1IVil7g2NoVZb-fZW8oBa95jMyU7hICLlumkrAPGAIRX_Kics-YbJIL_qKQxGwEufhoYbSSwYVOttaM_qnvEotX5wSaDkh4a0_XXi_1d_j96jepRN3tyjyUEOJlZCdFclJ23ARWrCbsD4UN0JIkRo3DI9DZCZu1_C_Wg/s2688/IMG_1971.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="2688" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoL9hzJH_pWFivt0RtQ5IDv1IVil7g2NoVZb-fZW8oBa95jMyU7hICLlumkrAPGAIRX_Kics-YbJIL_qKQxGwEufhoYbSSwYVOttaM_qnvEotX5wSaDkh4a0_XXi_1d_j96jepRN3tyjyUEOJlZCdFclJ23ARWrCbsD4UN0JIkRo3DI9DZCZu1_C_Wg/w400-h300/IMG_1971.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The individual on the left has the gift now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8xuMxOGP49HEdHpna2gS2JqX47c3-xThW1sa8H8oOVuTi3m8mLokssH_SDY8Fs1LCNVMpSmsgVNfFkRmnqE6867SrxAHNf40XsznIr9Bd2LIp4FH4lfQiB1CDX2vHGdQPAOLtC1vsAKTEmAbS2WJ__ZHOdGkGxTcqw32RswLulQnjSVywZZ4SbhUPA/s2989/IMG_1970.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2242" data-original-width="2989" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8xuMxOGP49HEdHpna2gS2JqX47c3-xThW1sa8H8oOVuTi3m8mLokssH_SDY8Fs1LCNVMpSmsgVNfFkRmnqE6867SrxAHNf40XsznIr9Bd2LIp4FH4lfQiB1CDX2vHGdQPAOLtC1vsAKTEmAbS2WJ__ZHOdGkGxTcqw32RswLulQnjSVywZZ4SbhUPA/w400-h300/IMG_1970.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The individual on the right has it now. Note the raised crests.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMPDb5P1fE_Y_44DShH9MwqI7Co5Gk9iy2EmuofS4ALb1a-H-t5K9tfETC1EXGfa1Oego741D-tQVDUspGuIqlen-Xfvlf0RKSbQZDyEDvSyCvGN52-N1QLZiPnSBLJbgdD80zcRw5uTmpod9k7rzUAlLLLnQdGPwwi-A_OuPpwJwgs54A7qq1G6ceA/s2446/IMG_1967.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1835" data-original-width="2446" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMPDb5P1fE_Y_44DShH9MwqI7Co5Gk9iy2EmuofS4ALb1a-H-t5K9tfETC1EXGfa1Oego741D-tQVDUspGuIqlen-Xfvlf0RKSbQZDyEDvSyCvGN52-N1QLZiPnSBLJbgdD80zcRw5uTmpod9k7rzUAlLLLnQdGPwwi-A_OuPpwJwgs54A7qq1G6ceA/w400-h300/IMG_1967.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here a Waxwing shows interest in the bright red, shiny buds of the lime tree.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCafcFpT5t_he0flQlgxdZOzegj-m5bgwXad7L06jG-j_Lk-__DW793ORIqor25wMhd-VIL_NIzIJEgEj45HyVITvmiE_qAJi_Y4xWqndNzOHDEmJFN1COpU3XoG0g_LoXT3NM_x7grbxOlvRWgvBbxbWUJxzoUfVC8QnIf_Q-5uxTKI6GM-IP8stYww/s1463/IMG_1963.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1463" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCafcFpT5t_he0flQlgxdZOzegj-m5bgwXad7L06jG-j_Lk-__DW793ORIqor25wMhd-VIL_NIzIJEgEj45HyVITvmiE_qAJi_Y4xWqndNzOHDEmJFN1COpU3XoG0g_LoXT3NM_x7grbxOlvRWgvBbxbWUJxzoUfVC8QnIf_Q-5uxTKI6GM-IP8stYww/w400-h300/IMG_1963.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here, another individual holds some buds in its bill.</div><p style="text-align: left;">I found a description of the behaviour, based on captive individuals and illustrated with photos, which shows that the display is also accompanied from fluffed rump and belly feathers, raised crest and lowered tail, the latest something not very obvious in my photos. The male appears to initiate the behaviour, obtaining the object, and sidling to the female, presenting it. If successful she will accept the object and reciprocate, after jumping away, then close. It is difficult to sex Waxwings, males apparently have longer crests and a more clearly delimited black chin patch.</p><div><p style="text-align: left;">This is a clip of the behaviour in the Cedar Waxwing, there seems to be a lack of recordings for the Bohemian Waxwing, although the description and my observations fits both species sharing this wonderful display.</p><div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jfWS_lrczyA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><b>More Information</b></div><div>Meaden, F. M. & Harrison, C. J. O. <a href="https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V58/V58_N06/V58_N06_P206_208_A046.pdf" target="_blank">Courtship display in the Waxwing</a>. <i>British Birds</i> <b>58</b>, 206–208 (1965)<br /><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-15890977257677689412022-09-04T06:13:00.000-07:002022-09-04T06:13:21.358-07:00Goldfinches feeding on Horse Chestnut leaf miners<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrw3B7k-76PsVmlxwFQ2MoLrTDAUijY1Mm44erXTlgEKQlu1dnPLYfEhn3HM4ghnnmezVvl1ndR0Jg9raYdgV4Jc2gWHJksnGJDGNrdDRucVFdCFRkg5kDAAlUId1Fixz6608mvSkbCgoReIXUX_bcLL9JRI-Ayqlnd2llZtNAmBEVG2E1_vgzBbJ4w/s2925/IMG_6135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2193" data-original-width="2925" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrw3B7k-76PsVmlxwFQ2MoLrTDAUijY1Mm44erXTlgEKQlu1dnPLYfEhn3HM4ghnnmezVvl1ndR0Jg9raYdgV4Jc2gWHJksnGJDGNrdDRucVFdCFRkg5kDAAlUId1Fixz6608mvSkbCgoReIXUX_bcLL9JRI-Ayqlnd2llZtNAmBEVG2E1_vgzBbJ4w/w640-h480/IMG_6135.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p>Goldfinches' diet is mainly composed of small seeds that they can deftly extract from seed heads using their long, thin bill. I have blogged before on their agility and <a href="http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2014/03/problem-solving-goldfinches.html" target="_blank">skill manipulating seeds and stems with their feet</a>. Loose flocks will move about in search of food. In spring they feed on dandelions, later in the summer on teasels and creeping thistles, whilst in the winter they feed on tree seeds including alder, birch <a href="http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2014/01/goldfinches-feeding-on-ash-keys.html">and ash</a>. They are an adaptable species, and have taken to feeding on garden feeders, especially on niger seeds and sunflower seeds. They have also learned to feed on the <a href="http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2011/11/plane-tree-harvest.html" target="_blank">dangling fruits of plane trees</a>, planted in city avenues. They are also <a href="http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2013/11/charming-seed-predators.html">seed predators of Rowan trees</a>, feeding on the seeds and discarding the pulp of the rowan berries. Finally, in the winter they spend a lot of time <a href="https://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2019/12/what-are-goldfinches-doing-on-tree.html" target="_blank">pecking tree branches</a>, and it is still a mystery to me what they are doing in there!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSendTE3QU2RKTL3Vqh9-RzpLPkEpX2p_WLRitt2jjb8CBI8BaVJjxCFFBHFTFBDkhDG7z3gWcBWjcX4bOcSMYsZRBbf6GR7LjU_jMMzjcvScmZa5sisiJu3ey-OztfTHJm_U0xZKAwep5xhkSKxO669vrhK7DEAdm3V_gsOIEOy2zqwoSa1Ih9sCLg/s2951/IMG_6132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2213" data-original-width="2951" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZSendTE3QU2RKTL3Vqh9-RzpLPkEpX2p_WLRitt2jjb8CBI8BaVJjxCFFBHFTFBDkhDG7z3gWcBWjcX4bOcSMYsZRBbf6GR7LjU_jMMzjcvScmZa5sisiJu3ey-OztfTHJm_U0xZKAwep5xhkSKxO669vrhK7DEAdm3V_gsOIEOy2zqwoSa1Ih9sCLg/w400-h300/IMG_6132.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: start;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzea4-lBuAzsSgknNbCJCFFSIYS-HmZgYAYUGqxAnwuEbrzm1HqYZahgCP7fmby30UC-OhcxE_69_4zuUUxtBCgLYIdYtqbusQKRwlUt8IY4wera3zRfRLdSGVmCBauCchRgmZ3Gy36Xv2MR3lmJqXx2NN_K4NL8wbkhrPyoOc5onwaxeoKt-pM1cyhQ/s1969/IMG_6131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="1969" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzea4-lBuAzsSgknNbCJCFFSIYS-HmZgYAYUGqxAnwuEbrzm1HqYZahgCP7fmby30UC-OhcxE_69_4zuUUxtBCgLYIdYtqbusQKRwlUt8IY4wera3zRfRLdSGVmCBauCchRgmZ3Gy36Xv2MR3lmJqXx2NN_K4NL8wbkhrPyoOc5onwaxeoKt-pM1cyhQ/w400-h300/IMG_6131.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A Blue Tit feeding on Horse Chestnut miners. <a href="https://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2016/10/great-tits-feeding-on-horse-chestnut.html" target="_blank">Several tit species</a> are able to use this plentiful resource.</div></div><p>In a visit to my local cemetery I wasn't totally surprised when I found a group of Goldfinches feeding on leaf miners amongst Blue Tits. Using their feet to hold onto a leaf, they were extracting the miners, presumably pupae given the time of year (note the brown blotches on the leaves on the photos). The horse chestnut leaf miner, <i>Cameraria ohridella</i>, is <a href="https://abugblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/clouds-of-horse-chestnut-miner.html" target="_blank">a micromoth that has expanded its range throughout Europe from its native Balkans</a> and is now widespread in cities and towns across Europe, responsible from the early browning of Horse Chestnut leaves in summer.</p><p>This is the first time I see Goldfinches feeding on invertebrates, but they are already known to be one of the few predators of this newly arrived species of moth (see Ralph Hancock's blog <a href="https://kensingtongardensandhydeparkbirds.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-family-of-four-jackdaws-flew-over.html" target="_blank">here</a>). In a previous study, only tits, including Blue Tits, Great Tits and Marsh Tits were fed on the late larval or pupal stage of the miner. The bird species known to predate the miner are all small, dextrous and agile birds, and able to use their feet to hold onto leaves. This food resource is plentiful for a few months, as there are several generations of miner per year, so the miner provides a great resource of food in the summer months. The adult moth is also a source for food for other insect-eating birds.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2pxCLkqyTv9bByypStuof7Qjz-GWOVOYqHK0iMqszaQsU3Hfyqew9jNo-lHmyfuNsqRklI7k7QmmW69uky-4EoFsuQ1ujBknoqoxodJcLV2Kw9vHIvvTDEjn7qKU3kgOlrcz_WZQVIpqo1DbhhMgudbPKt_B4LB3mjCwmaBskOeTeVL7MY787oZmHA/s4608/IMG_6148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2pxCLkqyTv9bByypStuof7Qjz-GWOVOYqHK0iMqszaQsU3Hfyqew9jNo-lHmyfuNsqRklI7k7QmmW69uky-4EoFsuQ1ujBknoqoxodJcLV2Kw9vHIvvTDEjn7qKU3kgOlrcz_WZQVIpqo1DbhhMgudbPKt_B4LB3mjCwmaBskOeTeVL7MY787oZmHA/w400-h300/IMG_6148.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyonGSuh45a9Ikt8FN5vhKmiiMZV7dDz_GYm73EV8Ng1P2UMZ1jLaOjoc4XBi9v0EgiTnhsefV119tPDtAJuyByDrb6jhXI6f3YfwFlPIVMPrQATAyTdbhulBN9Vvafs9duZQ0BxC3-LgGCvaJM3C3E6QSxTrClmX_wbYKVpOY7SZKgwA4ZAucd--oA/s4608/IMG_6141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyonGSuh45a9Ikt8FN5vhKmiiMZV7dDz_GYm73EV8Ng1P2UMZ1jLaOjoc4XBi9v0EgiTnhsefV119tPDtAJuyByDrb6jhXI6f3YfwFlPIVMPrQATAyTdbhulBN9Vvafs9duZQ0BxC3-LgGCvaJM3C3E6QSxTrClmX_wbYKVpOY7SZKgwA4ZAucd--oA/w400-h300/IMG_6141.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhja9Mkn-BemnZCy_EZkoSG9JIWSUZi0AfCr23lTzO0FMWYtp715FOZZOSmFcq8ryKNnkLwqapl9OqOYNwp5_KZWfm1xsKytM6MPYLDvRhW2netyvgvQmpmtVMTVULptwnkELTGZTIFTbwbiSYav_EsG-uFbjHx83ks1loEjKqFPrRcQ_nJgnna8s3fRQ/s2699/IMG_6134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2024" data-original-width="2699" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhja9Mkn-BemnZCy_EZkoSG9JIWSUZi0AfCr23lTzO0FMWYtp715FOZZOSmFcq8ryKNnkLwqapl9OqOYNwp5_KZWfm1xsKytM6MPYLDvRhW2netyvgvQmpmtVMTVULptwnkELTGZTIFTbwbiSYav_EsG-uFbjHx83ks1loEjKqFPrRcQ_nJgnna8s3fRQ/w400-h300/IMG_6134.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>More information</b><br style="text-align: left;" /><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Grabenweger, G., Kehrli, P., Schlick‐Steiner, B., Steiner, F., Stolz, M., & Bacher, S. (2005). </span><a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.484.3587&rep=rep1&type=pdf" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Predator complex of the horse chestnut leafminer <i>Cameraria ohridella</i>: identification and impact assessment</a><span style="text-align: left;">. Journal of Applied Entomology, 129(7), 353-362.</span></p></div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-47741129709344709342021-12-04T07:08:00.002-08:002021-12-04T07:08:38.066-08:00Mistle thrush pairs defending berry trees<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kkqqEAGzrp4/YafBm6f96lI/AAAAAAAFgbM/EzB5uvK1rmg97OGLU6kVHGaNKxyFAinHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2386/IMG_6927.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1789" data-original-width="2386" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kkqqEAGzrp4/YafBm6f96lI/AAAAAAAFgbM/EzB5uvK1rmg97OGLU6kVHGaNKxyFAinHwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_6927.jpeg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Several bird species hold territories during the winter, like Robins or Wrens defending their patch and singing through the winter. It is rarer that a pair will defend a winter territory. I have covered examples like Stonechats and Pied Wagtails before. The former usually include a male and a female, but they are unlikely to be a mated pair.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dx6dfhVjRe4/Yak4SU5NqrI/AAAAAAAFgm0/0bmUwAJyE7EqiwWHW83LThDXwc3QmuxaACNcBGAsYHQ/s4608/IMG_3138.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dx6dfhVjRe4/Yak4SU5NqrI/AAAAAAAFgm0/0bmUwAJyE7EqiwWHW83LThDXwc3QmuxaACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_3138.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">A pair of Mistle Thrushes near their cotoneaster tree. Northern Cemetery 30/11/21.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Earlier in the week I saw some Rowans heavy with berries along a street. A Mistle Thrush sat on a taller tree nearby. Then another individual flew from the berry tree, a pair! Later in my walk, I saw another pair of Mistle Thrushes near their defended cotoneaster (above). I then realised seen paired Mistle Thrushes in the winter before, near their defended trees. Are they a resident pair? Is a pair better than a single individual defending their berry larders?</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u29truUhlrA/Yak2FVezQpI/AAAAAAAFgmg/RGeCZuD-mFMOmCw_AAQ2s88InvM2YxyeACNcBGAsYHQ/s6000/combine_images.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u29truUhlrA/Yak2FVezQpI/AAAAAAAFgmg/RGeCZuD-mFMOmCw_AAQ2s88InvM2YxyeACNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/combine_images.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Clockwise from top left, Yew, Ivy, Rowan and Holly ripe berries.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><b>The berries</b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;">Mistle Thrushes are well known for their winter defence of berry resources. Holly is one of the most important defended trees in the UK, followed by Hawthorn, Mistletoe, Yew and, later in the winter, Ivy. At Hull, I've seen Mistle Thrushes defend Holly, Yew, Rowan, Whitebeam and Cotoneaster. Often the same trees are defended year after year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MTV7fjgLORM/YafBlNrw6xI/AAAAAAAFga4/C0GuknbLmCkgBqprg-WCxVgJ6iynfk8IgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2912/IMG_2887.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2184" data-original-width="2912" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MTV7fjgLORM/YafBlNrw6xI/AAAAAAAFga4/C0GuknbLmCkgBqprg-WCxVgJ6iynfk8IgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_2887.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mistle Thrush on defended holly, one of an Avenues of Hollies at East Park defended by a pair, 23rd November 2021.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DC2YJGnLu6M/YafBlKQr0aI/AAAAAAAFga8/u2P7-7nXuh8uYu03HdaJ4N7v36tmScAtACLcBGAsYHQ/s3540/IMG_3398.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2655" data-original-width="3540" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DC2YJGnLu6M/YafBlKQr0aI/AAAAAAAFga8/u2P7-7nXuh8uYu03HdaJ4N7v36tmScAtACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_3398.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mistle Thrush overlooking its defenced Rowan, 1st February 2021.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t-Sn19XQjI0/YafBmkV-boI/AAAAAAAFgbE/iRvexFjPcV8ZjT_BHO4rQqIOTwVrFJQTwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2461/IMG_3651.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1845" data-original-width="2461" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t-Sn19XQjI0/YafBmkV-boI/AAAAAAAFgbE/iRvexFjPcV8ZjT_BHO4rQqIOTwVrFJQTwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_3651.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mistle Thrush on General Cemetery on its defenced Whitebeam at Pearson Park. 17th October 2014.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JOHeNVdFFh4/YafBm071SwI/AAAAAAAFgbI/ijvAJznaCwIib5X_UXx7qwCrioSKQmRbACLcBGAsYHQ/s3648/IMG_4605.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JOHeNVdFFh4/YafBm071SwI/AAAAAAAFgbI/ijvAJznaCwIib5X_UXx7qwCrioSKQmRbACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_4605.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mistle Thrush on its defended berry-laden Yew.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Zm_uWE8JLc/Yak7Z3NO_4I/AAAAAAAFgnY/vsjsIrg-CikJqRy-uTY8b2bswNk7H9-MQCNcBGAsYHQ/s2949/IMG_0429.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2211" data-original-width="2949" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Zm_uWE8JLc/Yak7Z3NO_4I/AAAAAAAFgnY/vsjsIrg-CikJqRy-uTY8b2bswNk7H9-MQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_0429.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A Mistle Thrush atop the church rooftop checks the yew opposite, on Cottingham Road Community Church garden. 14th November 2017.</div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Defence behaviour</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">Aggressive tree defence behaviour is spectacular: The Mistle Thrushes use their loud rattling or churring calls, repeatedly and chases other birds away from their tree. Most aggressive interactions involve repelling other Mistle thrushes, but also any other thrushes, like Blackbird, and various finches, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Waxwings and even single Woodpigeons. Defence consists on chasing intruders, often silently and even if the birds were feeding on fallen berries under the tree. If there is a conflict then the individual might flick its tail and wings, their white underwings flashing, while churring persistently. Churring also occurs in flight during chases. Their defence is effective due to their large body size - they are the largest European thrush. Curiously Barbara and David Snow, who studied this behaviour in the UK note how the Mistle Thrush chooses who to attack carefully and it will chase only some species away so long as they are food competitors for the particular tree it is defending. For example Starlings are left alone in hawthorn and holly (whose berries they rarely eat) but chased from Ivy, which they eat. Greenfinches and Great Tits, are chased from Yew (they feed on the seeds) but not from Holly, which they don't eat. Eventually, after a few attacks, the local birds will learn to avoid the defended trees, and the Mistle Thrush just watches from a distance, and often this is how you'll find a Mistle Thrush, sitting on a vantage point near its precious tree.</p></div><div><div><p><b>Establishment of the guarded tree</b></p></div></div><p style="text-align: left;">Snow and Snow describe that the system of tree defence is established in October or early November, when song might be occasionally heard and other Mistle Thrushes are vigorously driven off until the territory is set. That way they can exclusively feed on these berries through the winter when they are needed. The defended trees become their winter larders, standing out on the landscape, packed full of berries when all other trees have been stripped out. Mistle Thrushes actually avoid feeding on the berries of their defended tree if they can, especially when the weather is mild and the ground is soft and they can rely on worms and other invertebrates. You need to pay attention to these trees full of berries later in the winter to recognise that the reason they are there is that a Mistle Thrush is just sitting atop a tree or aerial nearby, preening or resting. Unfortunately this effort will be worth nothing if a hard weather spell drives flocks of winter thrushes or Waxwings onto their area, then the Mistle Thrushes despite their best efforts may be unable to maintain their tree defence and lose their berry crop in a day or two. If the weather is mild, the tree can hold its berries until spring, and then, usually by the end of March, trees stop being defended. The Mistle Thrushes start nest building, often nearby. In the case of their defence of holly, the long-lasting berries, which can remain in the tree for up to nine months, are often used to feed their young. The hard work of defending the tree through the winter pays off not only to increase adult survival but as parental investment.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOMzZmp03OE/Yak7y13NP3I/AAAAAAAFgnw/R0stNymrrQI9oX0LmSufXPlI2Z-P9nQzQCNcBGAsYHQ/s3898/IMG_0432.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2923" data-original-width="3898" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOMzZmp03OE/Yak7y13NP3I/AAAAAAAFgnw/R0stNymrrQI9oX0LmSufXPlI2Z-P9nQzQCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_0432.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A pair of Mistle Thrushes near berry laden rowans at Auckland Avenue, 14th November 2017.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Pair defence</b></div><div><p style="text-align: left;">If Mistle thrushes stay to breed on the area near their defended tree, it would make sense that the pair defends the tree, rather than one individual. Snow and Snow describe how pair defence is more common and successful than single individual defence, although no data is given as to the proportion of pair defence. They say that "nearly all trees successfully defended throughout the winter were jointly defended by a pair of Mistle thrushes" and that “pairs or individuals centred on a source of fruit which, if all goes well, will be defended through the coming winter.” In contrast, research on Mistle Thrushes defending Mistletoe clumps in woodland in Poland did not find evidence of pair defence. Could it be that pair defence occurs in some situations or for some berry sources and not for others? Anecdotal observations, however, suggest that members of a pair can defend different trees in the same area, and join forces if one of the pair loses their tree. On their article on Mistle Thrush defence Barbara and David Snow comment:</p><div><blockquote><span style="color: #2b00fe;">"When fruit territories are first established, in autumn, each defended tree may be guarded by a single Mistle Thrush or by a pair. It is probably common for members of a pair to establish themselves at neighbouring fruit-trees. Thus we had three cases where two Mistle Thrushes began by defending separate trees quite near to one another (60-180 m) and later, when one of the trees was stripped (as a result of the onslaught by Fieldfares and Redwings in the severe weather of December 1981), the two jointly defended the tree that still had fruit. In another case a pair of Mistle Thrushes jointly guarded the same holly tree from October or November in the two successive years, continuing throughout the winter in the first year but losing the fruit to invading Fieldfares and Redwings in the second year."</span></blockquote>Snow and Snow indeed suggests that the same individuals, if they survive, may defend the same trees year after year, but their birds weren't ringed, so we can't know for sure. I'm surprised there is still so much to known about this widespread bird!</div><div><div><br /><b>More information</b><br />Skórka, P. & Wójcik, J. D. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/2zY9vz" target="_blank">Population Dynamics and Social Behavior of the Mistle Thrush <i>Turdus viscivorus</i> During Winter</a>. <i>Acta Ornithol. </i> <b>40</b>, 35–42 (2005).</div><div><br /></div><div>Snow, B. K. & Snow, D. W. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/J642Qs" target="_blank">Long-term defence of fruit by Mistle Thrushes <i>Turdus viscivorus</i></a>. <i>Ibis </i> <b>126</b>, 39–49 (2008).<br /><br />Snow, B., & Snow, D. (2010). <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qwQvv2INiqUC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=snow+birds+and+berries&ots=n4ON_2e6Xo&sig=1y3ULZFZ3zMvTOhc6sOcmPYKD48#v=onepage&q=snow%20birds%20and%20berries&f=false" target="_blank">Birds and berries</a>. A&C Black.</div></div></div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-47445418052209568682021-03-31T11:50:00.000-07:002021-03-31T11:50:05.279-07:00Anting Carrion Crows<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M2Hab_2UYdQ/YGSZhLExFeI/AAAAAAAEObY/q9IxphcVdc0Raadt-fcEj-2tMB8u-erygCLcBGAsYHQ/s627/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-31%2Bat%2B16.46.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="627" height="468" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M2Hab_2UYdQ/YGSZhLExFeI/AAAAAAAEObY/q9IxphcVdc0Raadt-fcEj-2tMB8u-erygCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h468/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-03-31%2Bat%2B16.46.34.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />I've wanted to film crows anting for quite a while. Anting is a behaviour carried out by a range of birds (I dealt with Blackbirds anting in a <a href="https://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2016/07/blackbird-anting.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>), but it is rare to observe it. Anting can be active - the birds picks an ant (or ants) and rubs it on its feathers - or passive - the bird allows the ants to climb onto its plumage. The behaviour involves distinctive movements such as sitting close to the ground or partially opening the wings and tail dragging. The bird movements on top of the ant's nest or direct disturbing of the nest will also encouraging the ants to come out of the nest and climb over their feathers, as anyone who has had a picnic on an anthill will attest.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pqYvNctfszU/YGTC14IAftI/AAAAAAAEOd4/r8dkTYOJ7NoXeqg80h6B-bdpW-ztp9r_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1816/IMG_1887.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1816" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pqYvNctfszU/YGTC14IAftI/AAAAAAAEOd4/r8dkTYOJ7NoXeqg80h6B-bdpW-ztp9r_gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_1887.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A Carrion Crow anting at my local park. 27/07/2016.</div><p> The first time I watched anting behaviour in crows I was driving, waiting on a red light. It is a very distinctive behaviour, but I had no chance for a video or a photo! I have seen it a few more times, but didn't get a good video of it. Today, as I got out of my car I noticed the local pair of crows on the verge opposite. I used the car as a hide and filmed them. First, one of them first seemed intent in getting some nest lining material, but the other went to the base of a tree trunk and pecked, and pulled some vegetation from around the tree. Then it pressed its body against the ground. The second crow joined the first and both enjoyed an 'anting' session.</p><p>Watch both clips and a clip of the ants nest:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8p4xHFB-Q6U" width="320" youtube-src-id="8p4xHFB-Q6U"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5mJbRjiGl0E" width="320" youtube-src-id="5mJbRjiGl0E"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bv8PSq4xEdc" width="320" youtube-src-id="Bv8PSq4xEdc"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><b>Why anting?</b><div>It might be surprising, but is still unclear why birds carry out anting behaviour and there are a range of hypotheses. Some claim that it is some form of feather maintenance. Species of ants that eject formic acid (<i>Formica</i>, <i>Lasius</i> and <i>Camponotus</i>) as part of nest defence are preferred for anting. Formic acid has insecticidal and acaricidal properties. One of the first hypothesis is that the formic acid kills or repels bird ectoparasites such as feather lice or mites. This has had some support. In the summer of 1943, in Transbaikalia, Dubinin killed four Blyth's Pipits that had been anting, counted all the feather mites and checked the mites behaviour. Many mites were already dead and a total of a third of the mites died over the next 12 h, and the rest seemed very mobile. The birds feather smelled very strongly of formic acid even 12 h after the shooting. The control for this experiment were four pipits that hadn't been anting. Only 0.9% of the mites died after 24 h, and they stayed more or less immobile. However, other experiments tested this hypothesis were inconclusive.</div><div>Another hypothesis draws on the formic acid has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, and could be beneficial to keep in check bacteria and fungi that feed on feathers. Although the experiment showed that pure formic acid inhibits feather bacteria and fungi's growth, the results were not conclusive when more natural doses were used that reflected ant's formic acid content. An ornithological enigma!</div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>More information</b></p><div>Morozov, N. S. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/kKWHJ7" target="_blank">Why do birds practice anting? </a><i>Biology Bulletin Reviews</i> <b>5</b>, 353–365 (2015).</div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-66708012866423353702021-01-19T10:28:00.000-08:002021-01-19T10:28:25.233-08:00Mute Swans leaving home<p>There was a news item yesterday regarding a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55707197" target="_blank">Mute Swan that had crashed through someone's bathroom window</a>. The swan was treated for cuts and taken for further treatment. The photos suggest that this was a young mute swan. What was it doing to crash in such a way?</p><p><b>Young leaving home</b> </p><p>This time of the year young Mute Swans will be leaving their parents' territories, in search of new homes. Cygnets share their parents territory for a few months, but as the parents start preparing for a new breeding season, the male, called 'cob' becomes more and more intolerant of his offspring, busking to them and trying to keep them out of the water. This blog post was prompted by the arrival of a young mute swan to my local patch, which I saw this morning for the first time. It has possibly dispersed from a nearby lake, where they have bred this year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tXtOy-5ruBo/YAbtd4Wcs0I/AAAAAAAD-qk/T8wzR3oyb8MxTIiSrqzkKlbceTxiD7TkACPcBGAsYHg/s2965/IMG_2936.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2965" data-original-width="2965" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tXtOy-5ruBo/YAbtd4Wcs0I/AAAAAAAD-qk/T8wzR3oyb8MxTIiSrqzkKlbceTxiD7TkACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h400/IMG_2936.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A newly arrived Mute Swan at the drain today.</div><p>Parents vary in their tolerance to immature swans in their territory, or this may depend on the size of the lake, possibly smaller territories may prompt cobs to chase their offspring earlier. One pair in a local park has two batches of young, the oldest were being chased on Saturday out of the water by the cob.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0ElFq_z08Y/YAcLD2L-dHI/AAAAAAAD-sk/GlAxMBXcE3MwHIDs_CgEHScTJpwZzd1zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s4608/IMG_2244.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0ElFq_z08Y/YAcLD2L-dHI/AAAAAAAD-sk/GlAxMBXcE3MwHIDs_CgEHScTJpwZzd1zgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_2244.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">26th December 2020. Adult pair of swans chase their yearling outside the water.<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5W-DqpCeH8E" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cob busking to young, followed by the pen.<br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Fly practice</b></p><p>Swans are one of the largest flying birds. They are also not amazingly manoeuvrable, and collisions (for example with electric lines) are one of the main mortality causes in swans. Taking off involves paddling on the water while flapping wings, they need a clear length of water to do this and then upon starting their flight they will need to fly up so that they clear any obstacles such as trees and houses on their way. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OGY204cMZU0/YAb06iqkcWI/AAAAAAAD-rA/sTBAJw9upQsfnjRX0GKIMDusgky0i5JjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1583/IMG_9707.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="1583" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OGY204cMZU0/YAb06iqkcWI/AAAAAAAD-rA/sTBAJw9upQsfnjRX0GKIMDusgky0i5JjgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_9707.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mute Swan in flight.</div><p>Watching swans in my local area, I've become aware of practice flying in which young and adults participate. This activity may help the young acquire key flight skills, taking off, landing and strengthen their wings A short chase by the male may end with several members of the family flying along the lake, to land at the other end, but I've also seen lone young practicing when alone. There is a very good description of practice flying in the blog <a href="https://www.swanlife.com/months-four-to-six" target="_blank">Swan Life</a>.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PLXj3KVNd5M" width="560"></iframe> </p><div><p style="text-align: left;">Cob encourages young to fly. I described the behaviour in my <a href="https://wildathull.blogspot.com/2020/12/urban-birding-at-hull-december-at.html" target="_blank">Wild at Hull blog on the 8th December</a>: "As I got to the lake I saw the Mute Swan family gathered on the north edge of the lake. The adult pair had their two yearlings, born in 2019, and three young born in spring 2020. Usually swans chase their young away from their territory in the autumn, but this pair tolerates their young for much longer, probably because of the large size of the lake and plentiful food. The cob, however, was all fluffed wings and lowered head, a behaviour called 'busking' to one of the two older young. After a short chase, the young started flying, followed by a younger sibling and dad, and all three flew to the other end of the lake. I watched this happened three times while I was there. The swans only needed to drift on the wind to the top of the lake, and then take advantage of the gentle head wind for an easier lift. They yearlings might be getting ready to finally leave their natal lake, practicing taking off and landing".</p><p style="text-align: left;">Another clip of the 'practice flight' next. This is not a take off that failed, the trees and the end of the pond make it impossible that the swan would be able to take off in this direction. Practice flying and landing seems to be the motivation behind it. Note the feet propel the swan over water increasing speed and lift, and are also key to brake when landing.</p><p style="text-align: left;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_1uf2ivpeow" width="560"></iframe> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>More information</b></p><div><p>Collins, R. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/iFQQlr" target="_blank">Sex Differences in the Movements and Mortality of Mute Swans</a>. <i>Waterbirds: The International Journal of Waterbird Biology</i> <b>25</b>, 157–161 (2002).</p><p>Frost, D. (2008) <a href="https://www.conservationevidence.com/reference/download/2286" target="_blank">The use of ‘flight diverters’ reduces mute swan Cygnus olor collision with power lines at Abberton Reservoir, Essex, England</a>. Conservation Evidence 5, 83-91.</p>Birkhead, M. and C. Perrins (1986) The Mute Swan. <br /></div></div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-84447214578833754762021-01-04T08:57:00.000-08:002021-01-04T08:57:22.587-08:00Ice-breaking Mute Swan<img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhqFHHtKvGI/X_M586hx6KI/AAAAAAAD8Ok/u3HIObDYZUsYT2FhcWNRYTey40_3Urb2gCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h480/IMG_2655.JPG" /><br />The ponds and lakes in town are all covered on ice after the last frosts. The other day I watched as part of a family of swans landed on ice on their lake, the young walking tentatively on the slippery ice. Today a pair of swans reached the edge of the ice and the cob seemed determined to move on. It pushed its chest onto the ice and broke it, moving forward each time. I noticed how after each break, it did a tail shake, as they often do after landing. I wonder if the swan feels like it is in unchartered territory and is nervous while breaking the ice. Tail shaking is something waterfowl do after an exciting event (mating, landing). The cob fed under where the ice had been, but then it decided to turn round to its partner.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vht-zawtAGc" width="320" youtube-src-id="Vht-zawtAGc"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cob mute swan ice breaking.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39GAiiBgels/X_M58xdVXwI/AAAAAAAD8Ok/9gGT4pRcie0jAympoMkkG6qZqCucpEyNACPcBGAsYHg/s3007/IMG_2652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2255" data-original-width="3007" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-39GAiiBgels/X_M58xdVXwI/AAAAAAAD8Ok/9gGT4pRcie0jAympoMkkG6qZqCucpEyNACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_2652.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div>Often lakes that have swans have some open water, as the large, heavy swans are able to break the ice. If they can't and the lake becomes fully iced over, then all waterfowl leaves in search of some open water. <p></p></div><div>These are some photos of a mute swan family in a different lake.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bx2FTLQxtjI/X_NEnHj0vzI/AAAAAAAD8O4/wI84SdQ_Dq0li1sMlI082-8MpP18D0QXgCPcBGAsYHg/s4608/IMG_2530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bx2FTLQxtjI/X_NEnHj0vzI/AAAAAAAD8O4/wI84SdQ_Dq0li1sMlI082-8MpP18D0QXgCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_2530.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Initially one of the young was on its own.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JXpsQsB1Pv8/X_NEnJVXLCI/AAAAAAAD8O4/DIqLefr6B2YJB2n0lGGZq29hyCC46Rk0wCPcBGAsYHg/s4608/IMG_2541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JXpsQsB1Pv8/X_NEnJVXLCI/AAAAAAAD8O4/DIqLefr6B2YJB2n0lGGZq29hyCC46Rk0wCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_2541.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8GatqL1Y50/X_NEnB4kURI/AAAAAAAD8O4/iux9fKWtDCwbsQOz3ulBdJXrMRX4Wnq5wCPcBGAsYHg/s4608/IMG_2548.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n8GatqL1Y50/X_NEnB4kURI/AAAAAAAD8O4/iux9fKWtDCwbsQOz3ulBdJXrMRX4Wnq5wCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_2548.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Its family had landed on the other side of the lake, on the ice, and it flew towards them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VW0i4mHSx7w/X_NEnMgqw6I/AAAAAAAD8O4/wTgNXsUj0lglhzsVlcW-1WkLiRA-pxmiQCPcBGAsYHg/s4608/IMG_2554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VW0i4mHSx7w/X_NEnMgqw6I/AAAAAAAD8O4/wTgNXsUj0lglhzsVlcW-1WkLiRA-pxmiQCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_2554.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The young was then keen to return to the open water.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-fTRB4HQQg/X_NEnKaWxzI/AAAAAAAD8O4/sKDLDom6hJkskS86ocRRFmHcqKgaPMOcQCPcBGAsYHg/s3425/IMG_2555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2569" data-original-width="3425" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q-fTRB4HQQg/X_NEnKaWxzI/AAAAAAAD8O4/sKDLDom6hJkskS86ocRRFmHcqKgaPMOcQCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_2555.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The pen was happy to stop to preen and rest on the ice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-soPIUDkDHyY/X_NEnHtEQ4I/AAAAAAAD8O4/JBW_52GgitgSznMV32kvNMAZEwS5nZcBgCPcBGAsYHg/s3110/IMG_2557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3110" data-original-width="3110" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-soPIUDkDHyY/X_NEnHtEQ4I/AAAAAAAD8O4/JBW_52GgitgSznMV32kvNMAZEwS5nZcBgCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h400/IMG_2557.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v4kHxOZC63k/X_NEnKfLZAI/AAAAAAAD8O4/ooM_S4QKAiY7Wvioe5BNCRLSmTtiCUutACPcBGAsYHg/s4608/IMG_2559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v4kHxOZC63k/X_NEnKfLZAI/AAAAAAAD8O4/ooM_S4QKAiY7Wvioe5BNCRLSmTtiCUutACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_2559.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-68310999969384810242020-12-08T07:26:00.000-08:002020-12-08T07:26:06.814-08:00Carrion Crows feeding on Plane Tree fruits<p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0yTjWaEDDU/X8-Xkp6oYpI/AAAAAAAD10U/qNHtVCrq5dkcEHqXBcQqJUPHep2BofIZQCPcBGAsYHg/s2609/IMG_1788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2609" data-original-width="2609" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0yTjWaEDDU/X8-Xkp6oYpI/AAAAAAAD10U/qNHtVCrq5dkcEHqXBcQqJUPHep2BofIZQCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h640/IMG_1788.JPG" width="640" /></a>This morning I took a walk near a local park. On a square lined with Plane Trees, some pollarded, a flock of Goldfinches fed on the bauble-like fruits, often hanging from them acrobatically, as <a href="http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2011/11/plane-tree-harvest.html">they often do</a>.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1543" data-original-width="2057" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EIMZdIr8tDE/X8-Xklu3wnI/AAAAAAAD10U/eWn8XsH_y2Mbc9yx-XaXvgZLpa4lIw15gCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1810.JPG" style="color: #0000ee;" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1917" data-original-width="2557" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vq_uHCM8_Ug/X8-XksAHNoI/AAAAAAAD10U/d2_dSzlxtoAKTdjACyMK69WaCv4xjps5ACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1793.JPG" style="color: #0000ee;" width="400" /></div><p style="text-align: left;">Then I noticed the crows. They flew to the tip of the branches, where the plane tree fruits clustered, once they gained their balance they moved to the tip of the branch, and picked on the fruits, pulling at their stem. Then they purposefully hanged down from their legs, then only one leg while holding the fruit on the other and attempting to break the stem. What complex thing to do! Some of the fruits had frayed stems, like they had been chewed a few times. If a crow breaks the stem but drops the fruit, the other crows will be quick to go and steal the price. I didn't see this, but I did see chases and close guarding of the fruit by the owner crow, often flying to a safer place holding onto it.</p><p></p><p>All three crows did this, often the three of them hanging from branches at the same time. At least twice I saw they were successful, and then they flew with the fruit on their bill, once transferring it to their feet before landing and starting breaking the fruit open for their seeds. I'm always amazed at crows, I have covered how they <a href="http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/2017/03/carrion-crows-dropping-mussels.html">crack mussels and periwinkles at the beach</a>.</p><p>Today's behaviour, however, really topped it up. Were they copying the Goldfinches? Crows are always to the alert, they must have noticed the Goldfinches feeding on these fruits and had a go at getting them!</p><p>This is a video made with three clips I took from them</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="288" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pIqH1jpq2OA" width="347" youtube-src-id="pIqH1jpq2OA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And a few photos of the behaviour.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MVgdj1UK74s/X8-XklLUjfI/AAAAAAAD10U/wOISO831v7sQY-_YAMnZ-7GWD-fcT-VPQCPcBGAsYHg/s4608/IMG_1789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MVgdj1UK74s/X8-XklLUjfI/AAAAAAAD10U/wOISO831v7sQY-_YAMnZ-7GWD-fcT-VPQCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1789.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-12RRJWf8KHE/X8-XkhddfJI/AAAAAAAD10U/_RDGp_55CREXBh8Dum85CBeXLI9k4TqwQCPcBGAsYHg/s2531/IMG_1794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2196" data-original-width="2531" height="346" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-12RRJWf8KHE/X8-XkhddfJI/AAAAAAAD10U/_RDGp_55CREXBh8Dum85CBeXLI9k4TqwQCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h346/IMG_1794.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hanging from one leg, holding onto the fruit with the other.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__gxOOF9aXQ/X8-Xkmqpx8I/AAAAAAAD10U/wmHI7Gyez_QGI0DsoDSCEJSA7rl2PYbHwCPcBGAsYHg/s3105/IMG_1795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2328" data-original-width="3105" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__gxOOF9aXQ/X8-Xkmqpx8I/AAAAAAAD10U/wmHI7Gyez_QGI0DsoDSCEJSA7rl2PYbHwCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1795.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbxHU06VR-w/X8-XknInAdI/AAAAAAAD10U/pJ0i-Hmjqe02Hzz9CtgqScJpFRFEMaFmACPcBGAsYHg/s3087/IMG_1796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2315" data-original-width="3087" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbxHU06VR-w/X8-XknInAdI/AAAAAAAD10U/pJ0i-Hmjqe02Hzz9CtgqScJpFRFEMaFmACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1796.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WH975jagEjM/X8-Xkl_sm1I/AAAAAAAD10U/6-jj2ndGnIgmDcCrNBx1vlAZd52iKU4ggCPcBGAsYHg/s4608/IMG_1798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WH975jagEjM/X8-Xkl_sm1I/AAAAAAAD10U/6-jj2ndGnIgmDcCrNBx1vlAZd52iKU4ggCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1798.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hIIBmANTtvA/X8-Xktn__uI/AAAAAAAD10U/2yCRHaHX-GwX0nrD0dlDPhQvgs_IeX4mACPcBGAsYHg/s2259/IMG_1800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1694" data-original-width="2259" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hIIBmANTtvA/X8-Xktn__uI/AAAAAAAD10U/2yCRHaHX-GwX0nrD0dlDPhQvgs_IeX4mACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1800.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxxdBGMRnCs/X8-Xktj9m4I/AAAAAAAD10U/FR8bnZhNGvQuaCwhjjE24PLwehhKiJrZgCPcBGAsYHg/s2267/IMG_1805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1700" data-original-width="2267" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XxxdBGMRnCs/X8-Xktj9m4I/AAAAAAAD10U/FR8bnZhNGvQuaCwhjjE24PLwehhKiJrZgCPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1805.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QWr1LUGd6zM/X8-XkmopXiI/AAAAAAAD10U/kM2LLfZBRFc-khAkYU5IJWnHtCQNmTDzACPcBGAsYHg/s1625/IMG_1807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="1625" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QWr1LUGd6zM/X8-XkmopXiI/AAAAAAAD10U/kM2LLfZBRFc-khAkYU5IJWnHtCQNmTDzACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1807.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Crow with its prize.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mGCVcy0qI7I/X8-XkqMG1sI/AAAAAAAD10U/FncXQlxv9_0eQefNeWe7PjCOsicj0Q1KACPcBGAsYHg/s3226/IMG_1812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2419" data-original-width="3226" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mGCVcy0qI7I/X8-XkqMG1sI/AAAAAAAD10U/FncXQlxv9_0eQefNeWe7PjCOsicj0Q1KACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_1812.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The pink gape suggests this is a young crow, feeding on the plane fruit. I wonder if this is a family, with the young copying the adults in learning this skill.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll be very interested to head from anyone that have seen this behaviour in their local crows!</div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-46713441210541421612020-11-08T05:07:00.003-08:002023-05-10T06:35:45.183-07:00Herring Gull pair long call duetting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EWuJHH_q830/Xd0X0XSSR6I/AAAAAAABOsw/SJ_SMHiOKIY7b5C_AcHcQmVyu_0MbTR0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_1265.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EWuJHH_q830/Xd0X0XSSR6I/AAAAAAABOsw/SJ_SMHiOKIY7b5C_AcHcQmVyu_0MbTR0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_1265.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">
You have probably seen Gibbon pairs duetting in nature documentaries or <a href="https://youtu.be/JLOn8F0p96s" target="_blank">videos</a>. It is a territory display that shows how the pair is well bonded, and the turn-taking of the duetting is amazingly precise, the pair alternating calls to produce a single 'song' that advertises their presence and ownership of a territory. But you don't need to travel to distant tropical jungles to witness pairs duetting animals. Herring Gulls do it all the time. Because their long call is so familiar we tend not to pay much attention to it, but I was made to stop a couple of days ago when a pair landed on a chimney stack opposite my house (above). One of the pair seemed intent on long calling, and started to call, followed each time by its partner. Long calls become commonplace during the breeding season, when pairs defend territories or food, as it appears to have an aggressive function. <a href="https://www.hbw.com/ibc/sound/european-herring-gull-larus-argentatus/pair-dueting-while-defending-its-territory-front" target="_blank">Here</a> is a sonogram of it. The gull starts calling with the neck pointing down, the calls well spaced, then the calling becomes faster in a staccato and the gull stretches its neck and points up and then the call dies in intensity. In 'The Herring Gull world, Tinbergen describes the call, saying that 'The voice of the herring gull is wonderfully melodious’‘There are few sounds as evocative, as stirring as the profound, plaintive beauty of their calls.' However, he missed the fact that it often occurs in pairs, there the pair message is not to each other, but to other gulls. The duetting has also been described in other gulls, like in the Western Gull.</p>
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A pair of Herring Gulls with their two young duet on a roof in Filey.</div><p style="text-align: left;">
Often, one of the pair starts the call, and the other joins in and they end the long call together, necks stretched, bills pointing up.<br />Why do gulls long call? They seem to do it when they have asserted their ownership of something (food, for example) or finish a squabble, or sometimes the whole Herring Gull colony calls and pairs joins together. I'm surprised I've found so little about this amazing behaviour other than anecdotal references to it, but this is a wonderful <a href="https://www.birdguides.com/gallery/birds/larus-argentatus/526368/" target="_blank">photo of a pair duetting</a>.</p><div><b>More information</b></div><div>An article on long calls in various gull species. <a href="http://earbirding.com/blog/archives/4538" target="_blank">Earbirding</a>.</div>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-91188928531193322032020-10-18T06:33:00.002-07:002020-10-18T06:33:31.385-07:00Pink-footed geese commute<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MKzuEzkWRXA/X4xAv4X6dFI/AAAAAAADNeQ/ZdJX--AT_j0GP0Tv9u57_NS5l1MGoLm4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s4348/IMG_0267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3261" data-original-width="4348" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MKzuEzkWRXA/X4xAv4X6dFI/AAAAAAADNeQ/ZdJX--AT_j0GP0Tv9u57_NS5l1MGoLm4wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/IMG_0267.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the highlights of my bird year is to first hear and then see the wavy skeins of Pink-footed Geese flying over from their summer breeding quarters in Iceland and East Greenland.</div><p>
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</p><div style="text-align: left;">This morning, I headed to my local park to carry out the Wetland Bird Survey. I counted the Greylag and Canada geese flock, the Common Gull flock, all recently arrived, and the resident Mallards and Moorhens. But al through, there was a beautiful background noise of calling Pink-footed geese. Flock after flock flew over, their arrival preceded by their echoing calls. Most were going north, 1500 of them.</div><p>
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</p><p>You might be puzzled to see these geese flocks flying north or east early in the morning, how can it be that they are not going south? The reason is these birds are wintering or staging their migration in the Humber Estuary. What we are watching is their daily commute, in fact, their morning rush hour! Every night, the flocks gather to roost Read's Island and Whitton Island in the upper Humber estuary, where they are safe from disturbance and predation. At day rise, the birds fly to fields on Holderness or the wolds to feed, favouring fallow fields, or the spilt grain in those fields still to be planted, and also left-over potatoes! A similar movement happens towards Lincolnshire.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-yN-AGck68/X4w6EeTqgrI/AAAAAAADNdQ/XIMNU9nCYPc4-QSlHRKd1WSgCyB5BUdPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/Pink-footed%2BGeese%2BHumber%2BEstuary%2B%2528BTO%2BWeBs%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="600" height="392" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-yN-AGck68/X4w6EeTqgrI/AAAAAAADNdQ/XIMNU9nCYPc4-QSlHRKd1WSgCyB5BUdPwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h392/Pink-footed%2BGeese%2BHumber%2BEstuary%2B%2528BTO%2BWeBs%2529.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>The Pink-footed geese population suffered strong declines in the 20th century, but it has been steadily increasing in the last couple of decades. The increase was followed by a renewed use of the Humber Estuary for wintering and also as a staging post on the way to Norfolk. UK coasts and estuaries now hold a sizeable amount of the total wintering population of this geese species, estimated to be about half a million birds.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htVwRx8jsag/X4w-qrvrCTI/AAAAAAADNds/LPCQdBc-SBY-gcnISz4aK-LoLe4XnVd4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2318/IMG_0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1738" data-original-width="2318" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-htVwRx8jsag/X4w-qrvrCTI/AAAAAAADNds/LPCQdBc-SBY-gcnISz4aK-LoLe4XnVd4gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/IMG_0231.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>With the constant daily movement, it is unavoidable that a few stragglers will separate from the flock. They call pitifully when trying to catch up. Many will eventually find the flock. Some others, which could mainly be young birds which haven't learned the route, may be disoriented and join a Greylag flock, as has happened <a href="http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/search/label/Pink-footed%20geese" target="_blank">several times in our local parks</a>. </p><p><b>More information</b></p><p><a href="https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/blacktoftsands/b/blacktoftsands-blog/posts/a-humber-spectacular#:~:text=But%20recently%20one%20bird%20on,daytime%20or%20on%20moonlit%20nights." target="_blank">A Humber Goose spectacular</a>. RSPB Blog by Pete Short.</p><p><a href="https://monitoring.wwt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Mapping-feeding-Pinkfeet-in-England-Final-report-vFinal.Jan15-2.pdf" target="_blank">Mapping the Pink-footed Geese</a>.</p><p><a href="https://app.bto.org/webs-reporting/" target="_blank">WeBs survey results</a>.</p>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-10728074790008096902020-03-10T11:15:00.004-07:002020-03-12T10:32:41.672-07:00Colour-ringed Waxwings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I went to see the Hessle waxwings this morning, where a flock has been present since last Friday. Straight away, I saw two photographers looking at a tree. I soon joined them and the 18-strong flock was there, in a small street-lining cherry tree, facing the strong westerly wind. The light was beautiful compared to my previous Waxwing sightings, most of the time in the depths of winter. The birds were quite mobile, trilling and moving from tree to tree before descending to the unlikely source of berries this time of year: hawthorns.<br />
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No supermarket car pars, but car dealerships this time.</div>
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The 18 strong flock. </div>
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<b>Berries, what berries?</b><br />
Probably most hawthorns in the country were stripped of berries long ago. Not these. The leaves of some of them sprouting amongst last year’s crop of berries. The reason for the late berries could lay in the location of this hedge: a very narrow strip of land between the A63 and a busy local road on an industrial estate. Every time the waxwings descended to feed, roaring trucks on one side and fast delivery vans on the other, I feared for their safety. Photos don’t really convey the feeling of being there, the noise of the road and the wind, the feel of the acrid stench of the traffic fumes at the back of your throat. This stressful food location has probably kept the local thrushes and Woodpigeons away.<br />
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On the hawthorn: berries and fresh shoots.</div>
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<b>Colour rings</b><br />
Two of the waxwings had plastic rings with different colour combinations on their legs. The yellow plastic over metal of their right legs indicate that both birds are part of the 2019 ringing scheme by the <a href="http://grampianringing.blogspot.com/">Grampian Ringing Group</a>. In fact, information supplied by Raymond Duncan from the Grampian ringing group indicates that both birds were ringed on the 7th December 2019, in Aberdeen. One of the birds, a female with white, black and red rings stayed put until the 5th of January at Aberdeen, the other, a male with light green over dark green and dark green ring was found in Thirsk (N Yorkshire) on the 30th December and 3rd of January. Waxwings move towards the UK at the beginning of winter, in large numbers when the berry crop in Scandinavia is poor, what is called irruptions, and then they move south and east through the country. Is it coincidence that both birds are together in Hessle? Although social birds, Waxwings are not known for forming strong individual bonds when they move about during winter. However, there are reports of the same birds returning to favoured spots in different irruption years, so the same individuals may meet again in these Waxwing hotspots.<br />
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The Grampian Ringing Group has many years of experience colour ringing waxwings: they have colour-ringed thousands of waxwings for over thirty years. This winter, their dedication has paid off with 100 ringed waxwings and some resightings across the country. Their blog is a treasure trove from everything waxwing including how to sex and age them. Resightings of colour ringed birds, particularly when the colour rings and their position can be ascertained, are crucial to follow the movements of Waxwings without need to recapture them.<br />
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The male was ringed in Aberdeen in December.</div>
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Female also ringed in Aberdeen in December.</div>
<b>Males, females and ageing</b><br />
Waxwings of different sexes and ages appear similar at first sight, but they are subtly different. Examination of their plumage pattern can actually be used to age and sex them. Adults have their primaries edged with white and bright yellow, forming a ‘hook’, while young individuals have only one side of the primaries lined with white or pale yellow. When the wing is closed this forms a single line. First winter immatures also have a shorter crest. The ‘bib’ is larger and sharper in males, while the bib edges are diffuse in females. The yellow terminal tail band is wider in males. Males have over 6 waxy red feather tips, and these are longer in adult males, but there is some overlap between sexes. Females have a small number of smaller waxy tips. Some of these features are visible in flight, so you may want to have a go at sexing and aging your waxwings from photos.
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The diffuse edge of the bib indicates this is a female.</div>
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After watching the Waxwings for a while, I went to their old haunts in Priory Park at Hessle. Trees lining the road between Sainsburys and Aldi supermarkets have been removed, but their favourite berry trees, rowans, are still there, of course, there wasn't a single berry left! </div>
Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-56717325780644573792020-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:002020-03-03T10:18:44.513-08:00Black-headed gulls paddling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've written about foot-paddling for worms on wet grass in Herring Gulls and Common Gulls <a href="https://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/search?q=dancing" target="_blank">in this blog before</a>. My local park has flooded in the last few weeks and Black-headed Gulls have moved in, enjoying the flushes, which bring up a lot of worms. Black-headed Gulls foot-paddle in water, but apparently they don't do it on wet grass like other gulls (but see the clips by Ralph Hancock in the comments). In an article on foot paddling in gulls Niko Tinbergen speculated that the reason could be that Black-headed gulls are not heavy enough to produce the vibrations on the ground that stimulate the migration of worms to the surface.<br />
I had never seen Black-headed Gulls paddling on water before. This morning there were at least 30 Black-headed gulls and I noticed a one briefly paddling on shallow water, and checking in front of its feet. A young gull came along and when at the same spot it started paddling too. I managed a short clip of it.<br />
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After a while one of the young ones got a worm, unclear if due to the paddling. Walking around the pools on areas where the gulls don't go by the road it was apparent that there were a lot of dead (drowned?) worms. I think that's what the gulls are after in the flood. The Herring gulls were also energetically pulling grass and leaves and soil from the shallow puddles to expose food.<br />
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<b>More information</b><br />
Tinbergen, N. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/cBQYzS" target="_blank">Foot-paddling in gulls</a>. <i>Br. Birds</i> <b>55</b>, 117 (1962)</div>
Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-65002753230845376952020-02-28T14:52:00.000-08:002020-02-29T06:31:03.183-08:00Wing-spreading in Cormorants<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The spread-wing posture of cormorants, like the individual above in a local park earlier this month, is one of their most distinctive behaviours. Multiple reasons have been offered to explain this wing-spreading behaviour, is it to dry their plumage? or is it thermoregulation (basking)? Even aiding their balance, signalling successful captures, or help swallowing fish have been put forward as possible explanations for this behaviour. The evidence in the Cormorant overwhelmingly supports the plumage drying hypothesis.<br />
A study by Robin Sellers on wintering cormorants in the river Severn provided strong evidence for wing-drying as the function of this behaviour. Cormorants engage in the open-wing posture almost exclusively after having been diving, when their plumage is wet. After a bout of diving, the cormorant will do some bathing movements in the water, flap its wings and shake its plumage before flying to a perch, where the wing-spreading takes place. Not only the wings, the tail is also spread at the same time. The longer they've been immersed, the longer they will stay open-winged.<br />
Wing-spreading was almost exclusively observed in individuals that had been in water the previous 30 min, and most of the cormorants that had been in the water did engage in wing-spreading shortly afterwards.<br />
Wing-spreading is often followed or preceded by preening the plumage. The duration of the behaviour is also inversely correlated to temperature and wind-speed, supporting the drying hypothesis. Rain tends to inhibit the behaviour.<br />
Wing-spreading in Cormorants is not associated to a successful fishing event, rejecting the 'digestion-aiding' hypothesis.<br />
Sunny conditions did not trigger wing-spreading, but at low wind speeds cormorants tended to orientate away from the sun.<br />
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<b>Super-wettability</b><br />
So, why don't other diving birds, such as grebes, auks or goosanders engage in this behaviour? The mechanistic, proximate reason is that cormorant feathers are not very water-proof, unlike other diving birds, in fact, they are very become waterlogged after a few minutes in the water. This is not due to a deficiency of their oil glands, but to a different microstructure of their feathers, which is thought to help reduce their buoyancy, and therefore energy requirements, during diving.<br />
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<b>Different birds different functions?</b><br />
Evidence also supports wing drying as the primary reason behind wing-spreading in other studied cormorant species (Shag, Double-crested Cormorant, Galapagos Cormorant, Bank Cormorant and Little Cormorant). However, in the tropical Anhingas, a group related to the cormorant family, wing-spreading takes a much larger proportion of their time than in cormorants, and the behaviour tends to happen for longer in sunny, cool weather, with their back oriented to the sun, and doesn't require wet plumage. Anhingas have a very low metabolic rate, which might favour efficient basking behaviour, and in captive, controlled conditions, oxygen consumption decreased as they engaged in wing-spreading. Therefore, the primary function of the behaviour in anhingas appears to be thermoregulatory ('sunning') rather than drying (although this may also have a secondary role). It is a cautionary tale that apparently identical behaviour in related species can have different functions.<br />
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<b>More information</b><br />
Sellers, R. M. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/OcJ9EI" target="_blank">Wing-spreading behaviour of the cormorant <i>Phalacrocorax carbo</i></a>. <i>Ardea-Wageningen, </i><b>83</b>, 27–27 (1995).<br />
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Hennemann, W.W. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/Y1YlN6" target="_blank">Energetics and Spread-Winged Behavior in Anhingas and Double-Crested Cormorants: The Risks of Generalization</a>. <i>Am. Zool.</i> <b>28</b>, 845–851 (1988).Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-57545155251730364452020-02-06T13:45:00.002-08:002020-02-06T13:45:51.035-08:00Long-tailed tits hanging and feeding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just a quick field note on foot use. I wasn't aware on Long-tailed tit foot use before, so I was very pleased to watch this behaviour. Sun flower hearts had been placed atop posts on a nature reserve and a flock of Long tailed tits was feeding on them. Individuals will pick a sunflower seed and jump to a branch t<i>o hang from it with one foot</i> while holding the seed on the other food to feed on it. Other tits hold seeds between their feet while they feed, perching on a branch. Is it that Long-tailed tits are not able to balance on a branch while bending down on their feet, maybe because of their long tail? I saw the behaviour repeatedly, and I should have taken a video, but I just got this shot from behind that shows the foot holding onto the branch and the other with the seed on it. What call my attention was the fact that they had to jump to a branch to hang from in a premeditated way so that they could feed. The <a href="https://two-in-a-bush.blogspot.com/2018/01/long-tailed-tit-feeding-behaviour.html" target="_blank">Two in the Bush blog</a> also describes this behaviour, with much better photos. Hanging from one leg poses no issue for these tiny acrobatic birds!<br />
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Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-17932363274651789532020-01-10T14:02:00.000-08:002020-01-13T11:25:51.583-08:00Stonechat pairs in winter territories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Species like the Robin keep territories during the winter, with males and female individuals defending their own separate territories, while in the summer, territories are defended as a pair. There are some exceptions in which pairs defend winter territories, often in different areas that summer ones. One of these species is the Stonechat. In their wintering grounds on the coast and around the Humber estuary, it is frequent to encounter Stonechat pairs in the same area, feeding near each other and following each other, with no aggression (top shot, a pair at Alkborough, Lincolnshire, 11/12/2017). Of course, winter territory defence has nothing to do with reproduction, and often happens in areas that don't even hold breeding pairs in the summer. This unusual behaviour must offer some benefit to persist in the population, maybe allowing individuals to increase their chances of survival to predation or competition and to secure sufficient food resources.<br />
A study of wintering Stonechats in the Negev desert (Israel), shed some light onto the behaviour. A total of 89 individuals were colour banded and followed through two wintering seasons. Their territorial behaviour was noted. The most surprising result of the study is that wintering Stonechat pairs are very fluid. Pairs often form after arrival to winter areas, and individuals rarely stay together all winter, instead pairs change frequently, with an average of just 4 weeks together per pair. In fact, none of the studied pairs stayed together all winter long and individuals arrived in the area and left at different times. This rules out that breeding pairs migrate together or settle on the same winter territory. Up to a third of individual are unpaired at any given time, but all associations are always between a male and a female. There were some aggressive interactions between members of a pair, which were commonly initiated by the male. Both males and females engaged in territory defence, with males more aggressive against intruders than females.<br />
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Male Stonechat at Kilnsea, 10/12/18.</div>
<b>Why pair in the winter?</b><br />
If pairs are not stable, don't migrate together, or don't form in preparation for the winter season, what is the point in defending territories as a pair? Males and female stonechats feed on the same prey, therefore there may be a cost on sharing a territory during the winter, when food resources may be very scarce. A possible benefit outweighing the cost may be joint territory defence: two individuals are better spotting and chasing away conspecific intruders or detecting predators and defending the territory against individuals of other species with similar food resources. In this study, individuals spent a lot of time defending the territory against Mourning Wheatears, but there was no mention of differences when pairs or individual Stonechats were involved.<br />
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Another pair at Kilnsea (13/1/2020)</div>
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<b>Why male/female pairs?</b><br />
These results don't clarify why associations are not between two males or two females defending a territory. The authors speculate that as Stonechats are sexually dimorphic, even in the winter, there may be constraints that prevent two males from living peacefully in the same territory, and the increased male aggressiveness may mean two females may be unable to defend a territory against a male/female pair.<br />
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<b>More information</b><br />
Gwinner, E., Rödl, T. and Schwabl, H. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/njm3RL" target="_blank">Pair Territoriality of Wintering Stonechats: Behaviour, Function and Hormones</a>. <i>Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.</i> <b>34</b>, 321–327 (1994).Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-48786882851986493002019-12-17T13:23:00.001-08:002019-12-18T11:18:45.096-08:00Loafing gulls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Gulls spend a good portion of their days doing what is known as 'loafing', in open areas of good visibility: playing fields, beaches, but also on water and on ice in frozen lakes, the same sites are chosen year on year. These loafing areas are different from night roosting sites. At loafing sites gulls appear relaxed: some sleep - head under wing - others sit or stand watching around, others preen. Immatures may play with objects such as sticks or leaves. Loafing areas are common areas, and tend to be quiet, with little or no squabbling or aggressive behaviour, often with several species mixing in the same area. Individuals come and go, commuting to their feeding areas, unless a disturbance provokes a sudden communal flight. On the coast, the number of individuals in a loafing area follows a tidal cycle - as low tides expose food resources the gulls move away the loafing area to feed- and also time of the year. Tidal influence in sleeping is highly prevalent in wading birds, which strongly depend on exposed shores for feeding. A study in Herring Gulls suggest that they have a dual sleeping pattern, with the proportion of sleeping gulls peaking at midnight and at midday. This may be a common pattern with urban gulls or away from the coast, where food is less related to tidal fluctuations.<br />
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A mixed flock of Black-headed gulls, Common Gulls and Herring gulls loafing on a rise on a local park.</div>
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Loafing gulls allow good opportunities to check individuals for plastic rings, as shown by this preening Common Gull.</div>
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A group of Common Gulls loafing on ice on a frozen pond of (16/1/2013)</div>
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<b>More information</b><br />
Shandelle M. Henson, James L. Hayward, Christina M. Burden, Clara J. Logan and Joseph G. Galusha. 2004. Predicting Dynamics of Aggregate Loafing Behavior in Glaucous-Winged Gulls (<i>Larus glaucescens</i>) at a Washington Colony. <i>Auk</i> <b>121</b>, 380–390.<br />
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Cooke, F. and Ross, R. K. 1972. Diurnal and Seasonal Activities of a Post-Breeding Population of Gulls in Southeastern Ontario. <i>Wilson Bull.</i> <b>84</b>, 164–172.<br />
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Galusha, J. G., JR and Amlaner, C. J., JR. 2008. The effects of diurnal and tidal periodicities in the numbers and activities of Herring Gulls, <i>Larus argentatus</i>, in a colony. <i>Ibis </i> <b>120</b>, 322–328.Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-48925670665488384632019-12-15T12:36:00.002-08:002019-12-15T12:36:39.775-08:00Wintering Chiffchaffs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the last month, I've come across a couple of wintering Chiffchaffs. The last of them this Wednesday on my way to work, the calling bird revealed it's presence atop a maple, busily feeding on the top branches. Although most UK warblers are breeding migrants, four species can be found during winter. Two of these are resident species, the Dartford and Cetti's Warblers. The situation is more complex with the Blackcap, which I've covered before, and the Chiffchaff.<br />
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<b>Sewage plants and wetlands</b><br />
Chiffchaffs are insectivorous year round, so they can't rely on garden feeding like Blackcaps during winter. Overwintering in Chiffchaffs was documented in the early 19th century, but this seem to involve very few birds. In recent decades, however, there seem to have been an increase in numbers, possibly aided by global warming. Ringing and recaptures have allowed estimates of around 100 individuals gathering in suitable sites. Chiffchaff winter survival depends on a steady supply of invertebrates (mainly midges, gnats and aphids) and sheltered sites where to roost. They appear to survive several consecutive nights with frost, so the increased temperatures may have more important effects on insect abundance, not actual survival of the birds. Suitable habitats include sheltered coastal areas, but they also use urban and suburban sites, especially near water, sewage treatment plants (where warmer water means an abundance of insects) woodlands and hedgerows. The Chiffchaff on the top shot, fed low on the marginal vegetation around an urban lake, East Park, Hull on 2/12/2013.<br />
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<b>It's complicated...</b><br />
The Chiffchaff is part of a species complex and its taxonomy has changed quite a lot in recent years. What was considered a single species now includes the Canarian and Iberian Chiffchaff, previously races now elevated to species level. The Chiffchaff proper is now divided into various races: the nominal race, <i>collybita</i>, breeds in the UK, whereas <i>tristis</i> or Siberian Chiffchaff, and Scandinavian Chiffchaff <i>abietinus</i>. The three races are very similar, differing in the tone of the plumage and subtle morphological features, and more notably, song and calls. Given this and the occurrence of intermediate forms between some of the species makes them very difficult to identify in the field.<br />
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<b>Residents, migrants and winter visitors</b><br />
It appears that the bulk of the UK breeding population of Chiffchaffs, belonging to the subspecies <i>collybita</i>, migrate south in the winter. In addition, there is very strong passage through the UK, especially in the autumn, mainly of northern European birds moving to winter quarters in the Iberian Peninsula, and Northern and Western Africa and these include a sprinkling of <i>abietinus</i> and <i>tristis</i> individuals. What about the winter birds? Where do they come from?<br />
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<b>Ringing and DNA analysis</b><br />
Ringing recaptures in the winter don't include locally breeding Chiffchaffs, suggesting that the winter birds are also migrants. Most of them appear to belong to the <i>collybita</i> subspecies, which breeds in western Europe and Southern Scandinavia. Recoveries of birds ringed in winter in Southern England have been made subsequently in N England and Denmank during the breeding season. Recently, DNA analysis has come to the rescue. It is possible to obtain enough material for DNA analysis from tiny feathers, dislodged when ringing birds. Sending these feathers for DNA analysis allows to discriminate between subspecies, as they have distinct DNA. Individuals captured in the south of England include some Siberian chiffchaffs confirmed by DNA. Over 20% of ringed wintering Chiffchaffs in a mixed woodland by a lough in Ireland was confirmed to be <i>tristis</i> and two individuals were confirmed as <i>abietinus</i>. So it appears that wintering Chiffchaffs include individuals from all three European subspecies, that once finding suitable locations during migration they settle for a while to feed. Ringing recaptures have found the same individuals wintering repeated years in the same location. Another intriguing feature of wintering Chiffchaffs is that males, which are larger than females, were the bulk of wintering chiffchaffs in the past, although females are increasingly wintering. There is still so much to learn on Chiffchaff migration, taxonomy and evolution.<br />
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<b>More information</b><br />
<div>
Clement, P. 1995. The Chiffchaff. Hamlyn Species Guides. pp126.</div>
<div>
Clement, P., Helbig, A. J. and Small, B. 1998. <a href="https://paperpile.com/shared/96Eue6" target="_blank">Taxonomy and identification of chiffchaffs in the Western Palearctic</a>. <i>Br. Birds</i> <b>91</b>, 361–375.<br />
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Birds in Cheshire and the Wirral. A breeding and wintering atlas. <a href="http://www.cheshireandwirralbirdatlas.org/species/chiffchaff-wintering.htm" target="_blank">Wintering Chiffchaffs</a>. </div>
<div>
O’Mahony, B., Farrer, D. and Collinson, M. 2008. Genetic identity of wintering Common Chiffchaffs <i>Phylloscopus collybita</i> trapped in County Kerry in 2015. <i>Ir. Birds </i></div>
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Ray Meads Ringing Group <a href="https://www.rmrg.org.uk/results/a-review-of-our-wintering-chiffchaffs/" target="_blank">A review of our wintering chiffchaffs</a>.<br />
Simms, E. 1985. British Warblers. The New Naturalist Series. Collins. 432 pp.</div>
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Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-29930282109821736292019-12-08T08:31:00.002-08:002020-01-11T07:27:57.105-08:00What are goldfinches doing on tree branches?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At this time of year I often see Goldfinches appearing to feed high on tree branches, often sycamores. It is hard to see what exactly they are doing, but definitely there are no seeds involved, it looks like they are pecking the bark or possibly lichens. I checked and they were not holding seeds under their feet (as they often do) or wiping their bills clean. They appear to peck the surface of the branch. I managed to photograph one that appears to lift and hold a bit of bark with lichen on top (top shot). <br />
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I am very curious to know what they are doing. During the breeding season Goldfinches use lichen to camouflage their nests, I only see this behaviour during winter. Has anyone seen this? Please comment! Some more photos of the behaviour follow.<br />
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3/12/2017.</div>
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25/01/2018</div>
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25/01/2018. This individual stayed pecking the end of this branch for quite a while.</div>
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16/11/2016</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: , , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "ubuntu" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;">UPDATE 11/1/20</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: , , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "ubuntu" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; white-space: normal;">I found out a chorusing Goldfinch flock in a local park today. Several of them were feeding on branches in two lime trees. I managed a couple of videos showing how they target areas at the end of broken branches and deftly peel bark and wood, discarding bits. If they are feeding on the bark or wood itself or on some invertebrates living in it is unclear.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #14171a; font-family: , , , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "ubuntu" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 23px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small; white-space: normal;"><br /></span></span>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LWf8hn2O47A" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-62792913334019515642019-11-09T08:42:00.002-08:002022-10-23T09:47:01.977-07:00Mute Swan acoustic communication<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've said it before, Mute Swans are not really mute, they have a repertoire of calls and sounds. They also use movements of their head and neck to communicate. There is a quick head bowing movement, and a courting movement in which the feathers at the top half of the neck are ruffled, while those at the bottom are not, while the swan bows his head alternatively to left and right; and the aggressive 'busking stance' of the territorial male. In this post I focus on sound communication. I have trawled through <a href="https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Cygnus-olor" target="_blank">Xenocanto</a>, an encyclopaedic website with thousands of bird calls, to compile the following selection of Mute Swan sounds. I was prompted to write the post after listening to an odd distant call, which I didn't recognise to start with, and I was surprised to find out that it was a mute swan's. I heard the call again today, young swans calling to a swan flying overhead. It is not straightforward to distill the 'meaning' of a call, but the context can helps.<br />
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<b>1. Snort</b><br /><p style="text-align: left;">
A short grunt or snort, often uttered when the swans are relaxed, and appears as a contact call while feeding, between members of a family, but also a greeting call. A lone young swan snorted when I walked by a lake near him.</p>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="https://www.xeno-canto.org/45470/embed" width="340"></iframe>
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<b>2. Begging call</b><br /><p style="text-align: left;">
A soft repeated whistle typical call of young. Mute Swans don't 'feed' their young by putting food in their bills, but they help the young to obtain their food by paddling with their feet to disturb the sediments or by pulling underwater plants. Even fully grown immature swans carry on whistling.</p>
<b>3. Wing-beat Sound</b><br /><p style="text-align: left;">
This loud sound produced by the mute swan's wing-beats is really eery, especially when it takes you unawares until you realise that is coming from a swan. It carries very well and appears to replace the trumpeting contact calls of other swans.</p>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="https://www.xeno-canto.org/504161/embed" width="340"></iframe>
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<b>4. Hissing</b><br /><p style="text-align: left;">
An aggressive sound, usually uttered by the female she has small young and a danger (human, dog) approaches. The bill is open and the swan adopts an upright stance towards the danger source.</p>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="https://www.xeno-canto.org/486422/embed" width="340"></iframe>
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<b>5. Contact all</b><br /><p style="text-align: left;">
A two-note contact call reminiscent of other swan's flight call. I heard this call when a pair was separated, maybe during landing (one ended up in the river, the other one in a lake). Also when a Mute Swan flew over a family, the juveniles used this distance call.</p>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="220" scrolling="no" src="https://www.xeno-canto.org/280866/embed" width="340"></iframe>
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<b>6. Courtship calls</b><br /><p style="text-align: left;">
A range of snorts and grunts during courtship.</p>
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Have I missed any? Let me know in the comments.Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-32812648154809295612018-12-17T12:44:00.005-08:002019-11-09T04:00:10.413-08:00Grey Wagtail feeding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Grey Wagtails breed in upland streams and rivers, but they are common passage and wintering birds in urban waterbodies, from small ponds to lakes. I watched one today in a local park,. Despite their name, they are surprisingly yellow, in the low winter sun this one shone very bright.<br />
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Grey Wagtails don't move much away from water, and often feed right at the water's edge picking tiny flies, beetles and other invertebrates, while wagging their long tails up and down. Today I was surprised by the behaviour of this wagtail when feeding on leaf litter by a puddle, as it was energetically lifting leaves and looking under them like a blackbird does.<br />
This clip shows the behaviour:<br />
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Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-8952370746321525652018-12-03T13:04:00.002-08:002018-12-03T13:04:49.742-08:00Watching Waxwings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday, I got up early and had a short drive to a local supermarket to watch some Waxwings that had been reported. Waxwings are <a href="https://therattlingcrow.blogspot.com/search?q=waxwings" target="_blank">irregular winter visitors</a> to the UK, especially to its eastern side, and are most likely to arrive to a supermarket car park near you. A lovely mild morning with sunny spells and a light wind, I walked around the quite empty car park checking the rowans, a couple of small ones still with berries. two Woodpigeons and a Blackbird were feeding on them, but no trace of Waxwings.<br />
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Woodpigeons.</div>
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Blackbird sitting on a rowan still laden with berries.</div>
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Suddenly, a flock of six Waxwings appeared silhouetted against the rising sun and landed on the tree in front of me.<br />
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<b>The safe tree</b><br />
Almost every time I've seen Waxwings, they alternate between bouts of frantic berry feeding and resting in a tree nearby. It's not just any tree, it is a particular tree. This tree attracts them like a magnet and they appear not to settle anywhere else. This time their safe tree was an ash, the tallest tree in a row on a rise by the road separating two supermarket car parks. The Waxwings spent a few seconds feeding on a yellow-berry rowan, and then they flew back to the top part of the ash tree, where they spend most of the time. Other times the flock would fly towards a rowan and return to the safety of their tree even before landing. They are extremely watchful, looking up nervously every now and then with bouts of preening, resting and calling.<br />
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Their quiff-life crests rise or flatten with their mood (compare the top shots taken a few seconds apart), sometimes becoming ruffled with the breeze. They are not particularly wary of people, some photographers assembled just underneath their tree, pointing at them with their cameras, walking right under them, and they paid no attention.<br />
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Birders and Waxwings on their safe tree.</div>
Instead, they are watchful of predators. Being small birds, similar to starling in size, they would be easy prey for Sparrowhawks. Indeed, later on, when I go for a wander in the area, I see a Sparrowhawk flying past chased by a flock of starlings.<br />
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This is the only shot I got of the Waxwings in the rowan where they fed.</div>
<b>Decision making</b><br />
When to go to feed? It was interesting to watch the individual Waxwings on the tree. At some point one of them appeared restless, and would fly from branch to branch around the others - which were preening or resting - or it would fly up and away from the tree a short distance, and if the others didn't follow, it would return. This individual appeared to be rallying the group to go and feed.<br />
Earlier in the week there had been nine Waxwings about, then the six yesterday. Today just two remained. Two Mistle Thrushes sat on a lamppost, guarding the rowans, so not sure the Waxwings will stay much longer. The two waxwings sat close in the tree and billed each other briefly, maybe passing some food?<br />
Early arrival of Waxwings indicate an irruption year, so I do hope there's more opportunities this winter to catch up with them.<br />
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Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-9817421173013177112018-11-29T13:31:00.001-08:002018-11-29T13:31:07.872-08:00Bullfinches eating Guelder rose berries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A group of Bullfinches were feeding just outside Dalby Forest visitor centre this afternoon. We watched them from a window, just over them, and they seemed quite unaware of us, providing a great opportunity to watch this usually shy bird in action.<br />
Bullfinches are seed predators of many fruit trees. Blackbirds, Thrushes and Woodpigeons are seed dispersers, they eat the berry whole, digest the pulp and the seeds drop to the ground, undigested and prepared to germinate. This is the reason trees and bush species evolved fruits, as the way to disperse their seeds. In contrast, seed predators discard the flesh and eat the seeds inside each fruit. Many finches, like Hawfinches, Greenfinches and Goldfinches, are seed predators too.<br />
Bullfinches favourite seeds include Honeysuckle, Rowan, Elder, Whitebeam and Blackberries, each ripening at different times of the year. Today, they were feeding on the bright red berries of the Guelder Rose, a late fruiting small tree. In their fantastic book "Birds and Berries", Barbara and David Snow document how bullfinches are one of the main seed predators of Guelder Rose.<br />
The bullfinches stretched to reach the berries (top shot) and used two techniques to get at the seed. They either opened up the fruit and picked the seed, leaving the flesh hanging from the bush or picked the berry and deftly extracted the seed. They will even hovering in front of the bunches of fruits to reach the most difficult ones.<br />
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A male picks a berry.</div>
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Female extracting a seed...</div>
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...and dropping the flesh.</div>
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There were not only bullfinches at the tree, a lone Robin, a seed disperser, was feeding on the berries, so even though there was a lot of seed predation going on, it's likely the Guelder Roses will manage to get some of their seed seeds to germinate.<br />
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<b>More information</b><br />
Snow, B. and D Snow 1988. Birds and Berries. T & AD Poyser. 268 pp.Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8613892359440241969.post-84953522227359426312018-11-24T10:56:00.000-08:002018-11-24T10:56:01.761-08:00A flock of Goosanders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I went to a <a href="http://wildathull.blogspot.com/2017/01/pickering-park-and-costello-playing.html" target="_blank">local park</a> today for a walk and found a flock of Goosanders in the lake. It is a fishing lake, frequented by anglers in the summer, but it was quiet today, and the Goosanders, had the fish to themselves. Goosanders are hard to count when they are fishing, as they are constantly diving -often one after the other- but I managed to count nine males and six females. I stayed away from the shore, half hidden on a tree trunk, as these ducks are wary of people. Soon after I started watching them, a male caught a large fish, another goosander followed it, interested, but the first one managed to keep it and swallow it.<br />
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Drake Goosander with fish.</div>
The Goosanders kept in a tight flock, when the fishing session was over they spent some time preening and flapping their wings and doing some exaggerated head shaking, which might also be related to courtship as the movement helps show their showy hairdos.<br />
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The fishing lake.</div>
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Shaking head looking straight up.</div>
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Drake Goosander.</div>
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The same drake. The photo shows the neck striations that form a 'bun' at the back of their head. </div>
Then a female went to the shore for a rest and a preen and one by one, several of the others followed her there, jumping awkwardly onto the edge. Their legs shone bright orange like Mallard's.<br />
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Africa Gomezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com2