70-odd snow geese at Farmoor today -- a similar number appeared the same time last year. Apologies for distant
shot. I didn't want to get too close & spook them..
shot. I didn't want to get too close & spook them..
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Great shot, M.
For those ignorant of these things (i.e. me!) can you explain a little more about snow geese, their movements and about Farmoor, including its location?
Thanks.
(Of course I've read The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico.)Comment
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Well I'm certainly no expert, but there's plenty of info online. They're very numerous in the North American Arctic, where their summer breeding grounds are, then they overwinter further south in places such as New Mexico. There's what the birding guides describe as a feral population in the Inner Hebrides, but most sightings further south in the UK are of vagrant individuals. I can only assume that the hundred-odd who've turned up here are most likely a party from Greenland. Farmoor is our local reservoir serving Oxford, in normal times popular with anglers, walkers, sailors, windsurfers, but now of course closed to all except those who live within 5 miles on pain of an instant £200 fine...Originally posted by ardcarp View Post
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/snow-goose/
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The cold continues to grip here, thin clouds, frosted blue sky and icy. Flocks of Goldfinches and Chaffinches twittering away in the shrubs and hedgerows.
But those Winter Thrushes! Even higher numbers today, flocks of them, in 30s and 40s, across the fields and in the Treetops, around equal numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare (more than I've ever seen of the latter here, a real invasion). Very mobile and volatile again, moving on quickly. 20 Minutes later on the way back, not a single bird in sight.
Deeper into open country, 4 Buzzards brushing the treetops and soaring quite close over the fields... always wonderful to watch.... but no, no further Kite sightings......
Plenty of Pinkfeet in scattered groups from the mosses further inland, but mainly on the wing.... it is many years since a solitary vagrant Snow Goose picked itself out among them here. The Farmoor flock is certainly notable.Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 17-01-21, 02:17.Comment
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Probably a bit off piste for this thread, but this morning's Tweet of the Day (BBC R4) was supplied courtesy of The Melodious Warbler. It is abundant in Southern Europe and winters in sub-Saharan Africa. Looking at its picture online, it looks as difficult to identify as many of the warblers...for a rank amateur like me anyway. It has been seen once or twice in the UK....a twitcher's thing I suppose. Lovely song though.Comment
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Don't read on if you are a bit squeamish.
(Pause)
On those mornings when moisture glistens on spiders' webs, Mrs A has been puzzled by long thin straight strands with little bobbles along them...rather like mini pearl necklaces opened out....on one of our apple trees. We assumed they were the work of some unknown spider. However a couple of nights ago, all was revealed on Winterwatch. Apparently thrushes will feast on mistletoe berries (which this apple tree has in abundance) and after a while will...er... defecate. The result of this bowel movement is a long thin string with blobs along it. Winterwatch showed this happening in real time. So all is solved.
As I think I mentioned somewhere upthread, most of our berries seem to be taken by a busy blackcap. But he (it probably is a 'he') always flies off to do his digesting (and whatever else) in a nearby ivy-covered tree.Comment
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Can you not view the crown clearly? Black for male Blackcaps, lovely chestnut brown for females....Originally posted by ardcarp View Post
The Melodious Warbler is notably larger than our familiar Willow/Chiffs, but even with a good view difficult to distinguish from its equally vagrant-migrant visiting Hippolais relative, the Icterine Warbler. They tend to be seen only at coastal locations, in reserves or where the migration paths pass in Spring/Autumn. I saw one once, probably a Melodious, close to the Freshfields Reserve near Formby, passing quickly through after a heavy shower - followed quickly by a Wryneck! Quite a day on the west coast....
Many years ago I hung out with some Bird Ringing Groups, and on one famous occasion an Icterine was caught in one of the heligoland traps. I was allowed the inexperienced-teenage privilege of holding it once all the weighing and measuring was finished, and releasing it into nearby bushes.... it stayed close for a while, a treat for the owners of Pentaxes and Practicas....Last edited by jayne lee wilson; 21-01-21, 17:29.Comment
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Mucus is a wonderful thing... I suppose this is to ensure the seed sticks to a twig, where it stands some chance of germinating, rather than falling to the ground. I imagine birds will be having a good time with the mistletoe in the orchard at work. Deliberate seeding on the apple trees a good few years ago proved rather too successful in several cases and wasn't doing the trees any good - they were too young to be carrying the great bushes that developed - so now there is (selective) pruning to provide material for the Christmas events that are put on most years. Obviously that didn't happen this year so all the berries would have still been there.Originally posted by ardcarp View PostComment
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OK it was a 'he'.Black for male Blackcaps, lovely chestnut brown for females....
I'm afraid this particular apple tree, which was always rather small, suffers as odders suggests:
We tried for years to get mistletoe growing on it without success. But it 'took' about 10 years ago and now it has one huge 'ball' of mistletoe which is not doing the tree any favours. But it is a good talking point, as our part of Devon is not in a mistletoe area...unlike parts of Somerset not far away. We now pick off any other signs of mistletoe on that tree, but can't quite bring ourselves to sacrifice the main growth.Deliberate seeding on the apple trees a good few years ago proved rather too successful in several cases and wasn't doing the trees any good - they were too young to be carrying the great bushes that developed
I gather the huge mistletoe market at Tenbury Wells was cancelled this year.Comment
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No need to "sacrifice the main growth", just take some pieces off for seasonal decoration, it'll grow back again by the time the tree leaves fall off and display it next season.Originally posted by ardcarp View PostComment
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Just now Grey Wagtail wandering in our garden.Comment
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Our 'mistletoe tree' has been gradually denuded of its berries by a male blackcap that seems to be wintering somewhere in our garden.
On closer inspection, it looks as if it hasn't found a way to nick the very bottom ones. Something to do with the way it perches perhaps?Comment
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Sudden springlike warmth this morning (12℃) & the arrival of a group of 4 redpolls on the silver birch in our garden, one female in particular an accomplished aerialist clinging to the slenderest of trailing branches -- a splendidly-crowned male companion more inclined to forage on the earth beneath. Last weekend, in frozen fields large flocks of redwings and fieldfares.Comment
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Saw a couple of Magpies making out on the path on my walk. The birds seem more vocal today, possibly due to the fine weather.Comment
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