Bird News

It was a top up day at Rawcliffe today, filling the Niger feeders which swayed about in the stiff breeze, the level of seed down a little and with just a couple of Goldfinch and a single Redpoll again, probably not worth netting just yet. There's a large flock of approximately 140 Chaffinch and 10/15 Yellowhammers knocking about the farm, some of which visit the shooter’s feed bins and my feeders in an irregular manner when they are disturbed by passing vehicles from the maize stubble. A walk...Read Full Story

When about midday the warming sun cleared the car windscreen and the roads of the overnight frost and ice, I took a trip Out Rawcliffe way. Last week I put a couple of Niger feeders out in readiness for any spring passage of finches so wanted to see how the feeders were performing. I say “any” spring passage because this winter has been totally different from the previous one. In the early part of 2011 and into March we were busy catching lots of Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin and Lesser...Read Full Story

Pigeons display spectacular variations in their feathers, feet, beaks and other physical traits, but a new University of Utah study shows that visible traits don't always coincide with genetics: A bird from one breed may have huge foot feathers, while a closely related breed does not; yet two unrelated pigeon breeds both may have large foot feathers. "Most people think of pigeons as rats of the sky, but in fact they're really incredibly diverse," says Michael Shapiro, an assistant professor...Read Full Story

It was still breezy this morning but bright with it, perhaps the nicest morning we’ve had for some weeks; let’s hope it’s an omen for the New Year. I decided a tramp across Rawcliffe Moss would be both beneficial to me and productive for finding birds, an idea which proved to be fairly accurate although I didn’t need the calculator of Wednesday’s swan day, just the fingers of one hand this morning. My thanks go to Grace in Maine for that last piece of advice; over in Maine the folks are whizz...Read Full Story

At last, a long-awaited ringing session when the BBC promised a drop in wind speed with a tiny window of dry weather, the first time Will and I had managed to get to Lee Farm since 20 November, when we caught 49 birds. In the meantime Will kept up the food drops for the local Tree Sparrows and for the Chaffinches which roost half a mile away. The morning wasn’t nearly as good as promised, with heavy cloud from the off and little bouts of drizzle which turned to rain and then aborted the...Read Full Story

It was a half decent day at last, even a touch of sun and less wind, with the result that all the raptors came out to play on Rawcliffe Moss. I’d gone for a wander about and bumped into Seumus dropping seed for the sparrows, and then afterwards found myself watching mainly birds of prey. For the record and in rough order of appearance the raptor count stood at 1 Hen Harrier, 1 Merlin, 1 Short-eared Owl, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel and 1 Peregrine, with a total of 8 Buzzards appearing as four...Read Full Story

A lady from Knott End rang me to ask why there was more than one bird watcher near the jetty. I had to explain about the Black Redstart there. That’s the most exciting thing to happen at Knott End for many years. The cafe should sell a few more bacon butties this weekend. Black Redstart It’s still too breezy for ringing at winter sites, and stuck in the box for almost two weeks my pliers complained about feeling unloved and redundant. After several weeks of nothing much, a few Chaffinch...Read Full Story

A grey old morning saw strong winds, rain and then bouts of hail. Not the best conditions for birding or photography when a baseball cap is for keeping rain off specs, bins are tucked inside a jacket and the camera pre-set on ISO800 and then hidden in a dry shoulder bag. But no excuses, I had to drive to the Myerscough ringing site and drop food for hungry but un-ringed Chaffinch and Tree Sparrows. Firstly I made a detour to Knott End where 14 Twite flew around the area of the jetty, but...Read Full Story

There was no Rawcliffe today for Will and me; instead we decided to try our luck at the winter feeding spot at Myerscough where in the last few weeks Will did the hard preparatory work by snipping overgrown hawthorn branches adjacent to net rides, regularly dropping a little bird seed, and on his visits making sure that birds had found the free grub. The targets of our efforts are set to be Chaffinches and thrushes, with perhaps a few wary Tree Sparrows, but the latter may not oblige after...Read Full Story

The first snow fell today, so heavy at times that the large flakes settled, but by mid-afternoon it had more or less thawed when the clouds headed in a south-easterly direction. It took an hour or more for the Blackbirds to pile into the garden, 16 at one time attracted in by the windfall apples deliberately left for such an occasion. Last week there was a single Fieldfare amongst them but not today. I hadn’t seen a Fieldfare for weeks and I don’t know anyone who has, even though their...Read Full Story