Surprise garden visitor

We have a few different species of birds visit our feeders, but today we had a visit from a bird we have not seen in the garden before, a Siskin. I noticed a squabble going on between a Goldfinch and another bird on the nyjer seed feeder and on closer inspection this revealed itself to be a Siskin! I quickly set my digiscoping gear up, before the bird flew and managed to get a couple of shots of it feeding on my sunflower hearts feeder before the local Sparrowhawk buzzed by scattering everything. Unfortunately the bird stayed on the `wrong` side of the feeder giving me only glimpses of this splendidly bright bird.

The Siskin is a member of the finch family and at first glance can be mistaken for a Greenfinch, but on closer inspection it is a much smaller, slimmer bird than its bulkier cousin. They breed in coniferous forests mostly in the north and west of the country, but spend the winter in all parts of the British Isles with some having migrated from Europe.

The species is not rare and in the winter months is fairly common in the area with flocks of a couple of hundred being present at Woodwalton Fen and Ferry Meadows CP. This bird, however was on its own and a welcome addition to my garden list.

Yellowhammer

The male Yellowhammer (also known as the Yellow Bunting) is one of Britains brightest birds. In spring he has a yellow head and breast, a rich brown streaky back and a plain reddish-brown rump. The female is much duller, with pale yellow below the bill and in front of the eyes, lines of brown along the breast and flanks and two dull wing-bars.

The song is the famous `little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese`, a sound which is heard from late winter into spring. It is repeated monotonously during the breeding season.

The Yellowhammer breeds in areas of grassland and arable fields with hedges and banks, as well as railway embankments, commons and heaths. Outside the breeding season it relies on visiting stubble fields and fields with winter feed crops. It is mainly a seed eater, eating seeds from grasses, nettles, docks and chickweed, but also feeds on insects and other invertebrates such as grasshoppers, sawfly larvae and caterpillars in the summer.

This bird is still relatively common in Britain with over 1 million territories. This figure is falling at a drastic rate though, with the population having fallen by over 50% since 1970. This mirrors the decline of other farmland birds with the same reasons given for the drop in numbers, such as loss of stubble fields in winter, an increase in insecticide and herbicide use and the destruction of hedges.

The photo`s below were taken on a windy day at a place called Northorpe Fen where I found a flock of approximately 150 feeding on spilt grain and taking shelter from the buffeting wind.

All photo`s digiscoped using Lumix FS15 and Kowa TSN-883 x30

Mediterranean Gull

Below are couple of ropey `record` shots of an adult Mediterranean Gull that was at Ferry Meadows Country Park on Thursday and Friday. It was present with Common Gulls and the more familiar Black-headed Gulls and was showing signs of moulting into its summer plumage.

The Mediterranean Gull is slightly larger and more robust than the Black-headed Gull, with a larger head and a thicker blood-red bill. In spring adults appear white with a black hood (the Black-headed Gull has a chocolate brown hood), as the back and wings are pale grey and wing-tips are white. Adults have a complete moult between June and September and then have a partial moult to acquire their black hood between February and April.

In Britain this gull often mixes with Black-headed Gulls and sometimes breeds with that species. There are over 60 pairs that breed in this country at over 27 locations, mostly in the south and is specially protected. In world terms this is a rare gull with a very restricted distribution, with 99% of the world population being found in the former USSR.

Digiscoped using Lumix FS15 and Kowa TSN-883 x30

Sunny garden birds

What a difference a bit of sun makes! For the past few days, if not weeks, the sun has been quite `shy` to say the least, but over the past few days the sun has been shining and the world has seemed a slightly better place.

The photo`s below were taken in my little back garden in Peterborough and whilst the number of species isn`t great, I think the detail shown in the photo`s is pretty pleasing. Ofcourse, the fact that the sun is shining helps with the light!

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

It is hard to believe that 25 years ago the Goldfinch was a rare visitor to gardens in Britain, but now, with the availability of feeders aimed at them (the nyjer seed feeders), they are quite a common sight across the country. This is a gorgeous looking bird that is also known locally as the `Redcap`, for obvious reasons.

Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

All photo`s digiscoped using Lumix FS15 and Kowa TSN-883 x30

Maxey birds

Maxey gravel pits is a small site just to the north of Peterborough which used to be a gravel extraction works. It is home to a number of birds and is extremely good for breeding waders.

The area is made up of a mix of water, shallow muddy edges, gravel islands, reedbeds and rough grassland and it is this variety that proves irresistible to many breeding birds.

The photographs below were taken a couple of weeks ago and are just a selection of the birds that this site attracts. In a few weeks Maxey will be home to a few more species, hopefully most of which I will get to see and perhaps photograph!

Dunlin

Redshank

Ringed Plover

Oystercatcher

Drake Teal

Shelduck
All photo`s digiscoped using Lumix FS15 and Kowa TSN-883 x30

Not all of these birds breed on the site, they are just `passing` through or stay during the winter and disperse to their breeding grounds in the Spring. These are the Dunlin and the Teal, all the others have bred successfully in the past and will hopefully do so again this year.

Bunting

Digiscoped using Lumix FS15 and Kowa TSN-883 x30

Quite pleased with this shot of a Corn Bunting on one of the few sunny days we have had here in the past week. Spring is still a way off!