The sound of Spring to me is the `little bit of bread and no cheese` song of the Yellowhammer.
A bird that is found on farmland, which is possibly one of the reasons for its fall in numbers. The changes in farming practices over the past few years have led to a decimation in all farmland bird species. The Linnet has fallen by 55%, the Skylark by over 50%, the Lapwing by 49%, the Grey Partridge by a staggering 84%, the Twite by over 50%, the Reed Bunting by 50%, the Corn Bunting by 85%, the Cirl Bunting is now only found in the south-west of England with a population thought to be of around 450 pairs and finally the Yellowhammer has fallen by over 50%. These numbers are quite staggering and can make quite depressing reading were it not for the fact that in some areas of the country these birds are still fairly common. The Yellowhammer, for example is found in over 1,200,000 territories, imagine what it would be like were it not for the population crash!?
Farmland birds have had it tough in the past and they still have a fight on their feathers to remain a sight in our countryside. Hopefully we will learn our lessons from the past, but am I being over-optimistic?
Lovely Yellowhammer shots, great lighting showing the bird off well.
ReplyDeleteHi Marc,
DeleteThank you for your kind words.
J
Excellent shots John.
ReplyDeleteVery sad reading the numbers there.
Hi Keith,
DeleteThank you. Yes, the numbers are depressing, will we ever learn from them though?
J
What a beautiful bird! What is it that is unique to farmlands? Is it hedgerows? Could they not survive from gardens and parks?
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Hi Bazza,
DeleteThey are stunning birds. The farmland birds have tended to be hit by the farmers practice of removing hedgerows and their fondness for pesticides which leads to little or no food for the young birds to be fed. Every bird species has its niche and there are already plenty of species living in gardens and parks that will out-compete new arrivals.
J
A wonderful little bird song to hear John.. a real favourite of mine.
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew,
DeleteYes, a real sound of Spring (to me anyway!)
J
Yes and a beautiful set of images John.
ReplyDeleteHi Roy,
DeleteThank you, too kind.
J
Beautiful series of shots. What a gorgeous bird.
ReplyDeleteHi Gillian,
DeleteThank you, yes the male is a real stunner!
J
Beautiful pictures John. A lovey bird.
ReplyDeleteMay I ask? I heard a bird in my garden through the winter that sounded like it was saying 'What-cha-doing. Any ideas what it could be? It was so loud and clear every morning but I could never see where it was coming from.
Hi Diane,
DeleteThank you, they are lovely looking birds.
The only birds that tend to sing in the winter are the Thrushes, which include Robins and Blackbirds (as well as the 2 native Thrushes). The Song Thrush can be very loud and does sing in the early mornings, it may have been that.
If you look on the RSPB website they have various bird song on there, have a listen.
J
Nice set of images John. We seem to have good numbers here. On Monday there was over 20 + males in a small area in a sheep field, presumably there was grain on the ground a great sight.
ReplyDeleteI have for the first time also seen Grey Partridge close to home and guess what there seems to be a good few. Not sure if the gaming fraternity have had a hand in this?
Hi Mike,
DeleteThank you. Yes, we have a fairly healthy population here too, but that would have been a great sight to have seen 20+.
I think the Grey Partridge are sometimes bred for the shooting brigade, but I think they tend to specialise in the Red-legged variety. Maybe the Greys are benefiting from food being put out for the Red-legs?
J
Smashing shots John,one of my favourites.
ReplyDeleteJohn.
Fabulous captures, John.
ReplyDeleteThanks John,
DeleteYes, one of my all-time favourite birds. Who says all British birds are dull and brown?! ;)
J
Beautiful bird! And great shots too! I'm following.
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Thank you Amy and Thank you for the `Follow`.
DeleteJ
A beautiful set of photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks John, too kind.
DeleteJ