Sad news

We've have a wonderful array of wildlife on the river in St Nicholas Park, in the centre of Warwick. We are very lucky.  One of the loveliest things is seeing the swans each day.  

I managed to catch the pair dancing in February...

We all kept an eye on the nest, then the hatchlings, when we strolled round Kingfisher Pools, a two minute walk away from the park...

Then we met the kids properly when they all took to the water...

There were eight to begin with, soon reducing to seven.

They grew up fast...

It was wonderful to watch them mature.  As they glided past only a couple of weeks ago I thought how amazing it was that all seven had made it.  In the past months, they have all stuck together as a family, even in recent weeks as the cygnets neared adulthood.

But recently, avian flu has been reported locally, and registered by Defra - affecting the water birds in Stratford and now also confirmed at Ryton Pools near Coventry.  

It is always upsetting to hear when wildlife succumbs to disease, but it is all the more heart-breaking if it's nearby and especially wildlife that you feel you've built a relationship with.  

Devastatingly, during the two weeks, all seven cygnets have been found dead on the river banks, we can only assume taken down by bird flu. One of our little birdwatching team sadly witnessed the last one in distress, turning round and round in circles on the water a few days ago.  Only the adults now remain - thankfully they seem to be ok at the moment.

We are all devastated.  It's tempting to humanise animals and assume they feel emotions as we do.  I wonder if they feel loss, if they are missing their cygnets, if they know they didn't fly away to find new territories, like they should.  

Even if they do feel a bit lost at the moment, nature does have a way of recovering and hopefully, before long, this pair will be dancing again.

Hopefully, soon we'll get to see another clutch of babies on the river.

🤞

Cattle egret and more!

Some days are rubbish, some are a bit meh, some are quite pleasant.  And then, every once in a while, there's a day that smacks you right in the face with its awesomeness.  Today was one of those days.

Strolling to the Saxon Mill, we started our morning along a private stretch of river we are lucky to have access to.  Enjoying all the usuals as we walked, it wasn't long before we reached an open floodplain.  We had been on the lookout for marsh tit and treecreeper, which we still don't have on the Warwick 100 list this year, but hadn't had any joy.  

In the distance, on the other side of the river, we spotted a couple of egrets in the horse fields.  There have been up to four little egrets in these fields over the last few weeks and a great white egret was recorded there in December, so we weren't surprised, but they're always nice to see, and we went for a closer look.  

"That one's beak looks a bit yellow..."  "Nah, it can't be..."  "Hang on, let me take a pic..."  "I'm sending this to the 100 team for their thoughts..."

cattle egret (credit Alec Cuthbertson)

One of the many benefits of being part of the Warwick 100 is that we use each other for ID confirmation, asking questions without feeling stupid and we all celebrate our successes as a team.  Today was the perfect example of this.  Confirmed as our first ever cattle egret and our 73rd bird of the year, there were cheers all round and three of the team went straight to the area, viewing the bird from the other side of the horse field.

After watching for a while, Jack and I continued birding around the Saxon Mill, picking up a pair of peregrines perfectly perched on a pylon (!) for number 74, along with all the regular birds.  We took a look at Flash Gordon, not really hoping for anything, but surprisingly three smart shovellers took us to 75.  Sometimes the birding Gods just smile on you.

Symmetrical peregrines

Shovellers on Flash Gordon

On to Avon Wood.  This is a wonderful thirty-two acre site of privately owned young woodland, managed traditionally, and quite brilliantly.   It has been great to watch the area grow over the last few years and it is becoming quite the spot for wildlife.  I love to go at dawn to watch the barn owl hunt and there's been records of woodcock, water rail and otters too.  

Today there was an enormous finch flock moving from tree to tree, making a cacophony of noise.  The group was made up of siskin, goldfinch, linnet and over twenty lesser redpoll.  I've never seen so many at once, it was a feast for the eyes and the ears, and took the Warwick 100 team to number 76 for the year.  

Lesser redpoll

And to top it off, just as we were enjoying them, Jack heard a familiar flight call and looked up to see a yellowhammer flying over - number 77.

What an amazing morning we had.  With a call of red kite coming from another team member as we made our way home, the Warwick 100 ended the day on 78 for the year, 138 for all time and enormous smiles on our faces.

Lizzy

When the bets are off, the birding's on!

Warwick Racecourse.  Possibly the second most famous landmark in Warwick (I suppose the castle has to take top spot..!)  But also an important landmark on the Warwick 100's map, too.

Warwick Racecourse at dawn

Hurdle racing, in particular the exciting annual Kingmaker Chase, brings excited race-goers and television crews from miles around. However, it is the centre of the track that keeps us visiting, our adrenalin surging, consistently providing us with new birds toward our target each year.  

For there is wildlife on our racecourse.  Lots of it.  We are so lucky to have diverse habitats and sympathetic support, aiming to balance the range of uses provided for the residents of Warwick.  In addition to the centre of the course, St Mary's Lands encompases the local football club, historic gardens, motorcycle track and several other buildings.   A rather grand-sounding 'Master Plan' for St Mary's Lands, ensures that any managment, enhancement and promotion of the landscape maintains the character of St Mary’s Land and its increasing biodiversity.  'The master plan represents a balanced response to the opportunities and threats posed at St. Mary’s Lands. It recognises there may be a need to invest in developments that support the wider economy, such as a hotel and expansion of the caravan park, but where any such need exists, it cannot be at the detriment to the greenspace.'  Music to our ears! 

So, what does the racecourse have that attracts so much wildlife?  

The central area contains a golf course and driving range, meaning lots of green space, trees and shrubs.  Redstarts have been recorded here as well as little owl and even a barn owl on occasion.  Next, there is a large area of meadow land where skylarks and meadow pipits breed each year.  A breeding programme is now in place, with protective fences erected during the breeding season.  The success of this project is being monitored closely and seems to have been a real success.  A further small, fenced wetland area boasts reed bunting, reed and sedge warblers.  Whinchat, stonechat and wheater pass through each year and it is a fantastic area to spot snipe (and even jack snipe) at roosting times.  Recently, a large area has been left for sunflowers, teasels and grasses to go to seed, with a finch flock building each year.  Lastly, a small resevoir always looks as though it has potential, but never seems to produce! We have named it 'the toxic pool' and the best we've seen is a green sandpiper and a couple of little grebe. Oh well, you can't win 'em all! 

 

one of this year's skylarks

this has all got me to wondering how Warwick compares to other racecourses around the country in terms of nature habitats, so had a bit of a Google.  It turns out that there's very few records of horse tracks and wildlife going hand-in-hand.  

I found Ripon City Wetlands, in Yorkshire, but that's cheating as the nature reserve is next to and not part of the racecourse.  

I found Bitts Park, in Carlisle, but that's also cheating as it is no longer a racecourse.  It is now a fantastic nature reserve in its own right.

Pontefract, in Yorkshire, apears to be the only other racecourse I could fine that promotes nature, with a lake and walk around the centre of their track.  Birdguides shows a number of recent sightings including reed and sedge warbler and tufted duck. 

And that seems to be it, so I think we're pretty lucky here in Warwick.  It may feel like a bit of a balancing act at times - nature against other users of the racecourse like model aircraft flyers, dog walkers, oh yes and of course there's the horse racing!  But we are lucky to have such diverse habitats and an acknowledged breeding site for ground-nesting birds.  

Now, I'm off to the 'Toxic Pool' to see if there's any sign of life...

Lizzy

Smelly birding

Countless, cloud-like swarms of martins and swallows swoop, turn and dive and over dark waters.  The local sparrow hawk glides silently overhead, checking out her chances amongst the dancing flock.  corvids squabble and scuffle over the best perches, while pied and grey wagtails march at ground level, in a seemingly never-ending hunt for insects.  What an idyllic spot for a spot of bird watching...

...at our local sewage works!

prime spot!

Here in Warwick, there are very few sites for quality birding and even fewer with contained, still water to attract wildlife.  So, the water treatment plant on the Stratford Road has become one of the team's regular locations to visit, to attempt to spot potential additions to our list.  It appears we are not the only ones to hold our noses in hope. 

Bird species seen across UK sewage works make for impressive reading over the years - dipper, glossy ibis, breeding green sandpipers and Siberian chiffchaff to name a few.  Beckton Sewage treatment works, East London, has clocked up 148 species including curlew, dunlin and Caspian gull, along with records of grass snakes and bank voles.  Northumbrian Water have planted reed beds at Birtley water treatment plant, attracting bittern, gadwall and jack snipe.  A 'Waste to Warblers' tour of the site was even offered back in 2016.  Swindon, Salford and Bicester have all also turned their sites into mini nature reserves to balance human need with protecting biodiversity.  Brilliant!

So, why do these manmade and rather smelly locations draw so many birds?  Well, the percolating filter beds in sewage treatment works have high macroinvertebrate densities, don't you know... (in other words, the water is full of oxygen and nutrients, so has lots of bugs in it that are big enough to see with the naked eye).  Fly larvae hatches, providing aerial food for birds (and bats, according to other studies) and providing plenty of opportunity for a healthy food chain.  As Tom Stephenson, US birder and author, puts it so concisely,  'Water, heat and fertilizer...what more could you ask for?'

Breakfast for hirundines...? 

So, we will continue to visit our little sewage treatment works; holding our noses, enjoying the regulars, hoping for rarities.  You never know what might turn up...

Lizzy

Dancing in the Sky

During the dark months of the year in the UK, when the excitement of Christmas is done and everything is cold and grey, there is something that can lighten up any dull mood and brighten the end of the day...

A starling murmuration.

Thousands of sternus vulgaris collecting in groups, sometimes over the most unlikely of locations, then joining together as one for a spectacular aerial display of turning, twisting and dancing.  Works of art in the sky, the birds make amazing shapes as they ball and fold, sometimes for a few moments, sometimes for up to an hour.

Suddenly, the starlings descend in black funnels, into a seemingly TARDIS-like space, to roost in reeds or trees.  The sky may have emptied, but the air is still full of chattering as families squabble, swap places and find their spot for the night.

To witness this performance, often silhouetted against a backdrop of a sunset or the moon, is an ethereal and humbling experience.

We've come a long way from the likes of Aristotle and Morton, with their beliefs that birds hibernate in the bottom of lakes or migrate to the moon, but we still don't really know for sure why starlings murmur.

The ancient Romans thought they were messages from the Gods.  An oracle would be sent to stand on the top of Avantine Hill, to watch and interpret how the Gods were feeling that day.  It's incredible to think that vital political decisions in Rome might have been made this way!  The city still sees spectacular murmurations of up to 10 million birds each winter, although I think the residents are more worried about seven tonnes of bird splat than the moods of the Gods these days...

Recent scientific research proposes more down-to-earth theories, such as the birds protecting themselves from predators, keeping warm, socialising and organising hierarchies for the roost.  Whatever the reason is, these magical, mesmerising murmurations will certainly keep me smiling until Spring.  

And maybe booking a trip to Rome next year...

Sillhouette in Tewkesbury - Lizzy

Murmuration in Rome - Soren Solkaer

Poo in Rome - Chris Helgren

Green birding in its purest form...

Since Boxing Day, my 'patch' has shrunk from around 2 miles to about 20 metres...and not through choice!

I've been floored, like many of the population, with a nasty bacterial infection and virus that has kept me housebound for the last two weeks.  The Warwick 100 team have totally stepped up, bagging over half of our annual target in the first week of 2023 - with greylag goose being our 50th bird.  A brilliant team effort, it's been great to watch our WhatsApp feed buzzing with everyone's sightings while they are out and about.

I, on the other hand, have been staring absently through my lounge window from under a blanket (think old lady in nursing home).  

I am lucky to have a good garden.  built on three levels on a steep bank, our top level is given over to a little wild woodland area with ferns, trees, shrubs, a tiny wildlife pond and a huge old sycamore right at the back (it sounds way posher than it is).  This brings in a fair bit of wildlife considering we live in the middle of a housing estate in Warwick.  Hanging seed dispensers, ivy left to roam and and ignored apples entice the winter birds to feed.  My absent staring for the last couple of weeks has produced a list of 20 species so far, without stepping foot outside!  None of these species are rare, or even of note really, compared to some of the garden lists I see on social media.  One of my Twitter friends has recently moved to a new house, with views of a mill pond and the potential for some amazing sightings.  Another, relocated to a remote island in Scotland, will have garden list entries I can only dream of!  But, I'm happy with my little urban collection of wildlife to keep me company while I rest up.

So, what about the rules of garden listing?  I keep mine like Patchwork Challenge.  Any sighting of a wild bird counts - whether it lands in my garden, on my neighbours' land, in the sycamore or simply flying over.

The RSPB's infamous Big Garden Birdwatch has more stringent rules, only wanting birds that land to be counted, I guess so the word 'garden' birdwatch is kept true, along with creating an easy process for families and occasional birdwatchers to follow.   The BTO has also been running garden birdwatches since 1995 and have a similar rule.  They state they are 'interested in birds that are using the resources that your garden provides', which seems fair enough, so high flyovers are not of interest.   They do give an example of a low-flying swift or swallow taking advantage of insects within gardens, however, so these should be counted, providing valuable information for research.  

However we decide to run our own lists, it is amazing what taking the time to watch one tiny area can produce (even if it isn't through choice).  I've learned that maybe, when I do finally end up in that nursing home, I can still keep a little birdwatching list!

Jenny wren

GSW in the sycamore

  

grumpy greenfinch

A wreath I made being put to good use!

Ring Ouzel Fabulousness

Sometimes the stars just align...

I was in a coffee shop a few days ago, when I spotted a friend I hadn't seen for over a year.  Popping over to her table, we had a lovely natter.  Then she commented that it was very odd - she had only thought of me this morning when a strange bird had turned up in her garden.  I asked her about the bird...

"It was the size of a blackbird, just like a blackbird really, but had a big white patch on its chest.  I had a look in the bird books and I think it's a ringed ouzlett." She said.

Of course, up my heart-rate went, but I tried to keep calm and consider that it could just be one of our local leucistic blackbirds. "I have a dodgy picture that I can send to you, I took it on my phone."  She continued.  Heart rate a little higher.  The picture arrived an hour later.  Heart rate through the roof!

taken by my friend with her phone

She gave me her address and I hastily checked the boundary of the 100 area to see if it was tickable for the Warwick 100 list.  Ack!  about 100 yards outside.  Frustrating not to be able to get it on our list, but still a great record for Warwickshire (only the fifth ever winter rouzel, apparently).

I couldn't get away from work/life for a couple of days but, yesterday, I received a message to say he was in the garden again.  Having broken up from school for a mere ten minutes, I hotfooted it to the address and hid, shivering, in my kind friend's garden for an hour.   I'd only ever seen one ring ouzel before; on a birding trip to Dungeness some years ago, with Jack.  That one was flighty and a long distance away.  But here this one was, right above me in a rowan tree, an absolute beauty of a bird. He'd eat for a couple of minutes, fly off and return almost exactly eight minutes later.  

Hmmmm, I thought.  I wonder which direction he's flying in... 

A bit of following the flight path and peering down the road and my mood lifted even more - he was flying straight into the Warwick 100 area as part of his circuit!  Bird number 112 for the year and an amazing, if chilly hour spent.

Thanks so much to my non-birding friend for taking an interest and telling me about the 'strange' bird.  She doesn't want her address given out, so apologies to people who I know would want to have seen him.  But it just shows that some brilliant birds can turn up in the most unlikely of places!

  

taken by Lizzy

West Midlands All Dayer

Having been birding for some years now, I've learned that it can be a bit of an isolated hobby at times.  

For many birders (myself included) this is usually no bad thing, as we are a strange bunch - perhaps not as social as some, generally happy in our own company and pretty understanding of the fact that our passion is really rather boring to most.  But everyone needs some sort of social interaction and to feel part of a group/pack/clan at times.  The Warwick 100 team provides this for me on a local level.  While I still mostly bird alone, I know the team is there, only a WhatsApp message away.  Other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter allow me to keep in touch with birding friends across Warwickshire, the West Midlands and the whole of the UK - giving me a wider sense of belonging.  

The West Midlands All Dayer is a twice-yearly event, organised by the brilliant Phil Andrews, where some 27 birding sites across the region come together to record all birds seen in one day.  It is a competition, with the big guns like Branston GPs, Belvide and Ladywalk recording numbers that we in Warwick can only dream of.   But taking part is lots of fun and it's great to have a day where even a blackbird or robin can be exciting!

I set my alarm for 5am on Saturday, hoping to get barn and little owl before sunrise.  Nothing doing, sadly, but there were lots of the usuals, with the beautiful skies over the golf course making the early start worthwhile.

Once the sun had risen and I'd collected as many new entries as I could around the golf course, I went to photograph the starlings on the wires before moving to the Saxon Mill fields.  Suddenly, a noise I hadn't heard since my last trip to Bardsey Island came out of nowhere.  I knew immediately what I thought it was so, starlings forgotten, I started to look up and around.  There it was, in the distance, but definitely heading toward me.  I grabbed the camera to get the record shot, then straight to the binoculars to enjoy my first ever whimbrel on the patch.  My day was made before 7am!

Onwards to the Saxon Mill and a stroll up to the sheep fields to see if I could bag wheatear or yellow wagtail.  More of the usuals added to the list, I arrived at the fields to find several marquees and a crowd of villagers setting up a horticultural show.  Ah well, never mind!  A very late swift was a surprise overhead as I walked back to the river.

At this stage, others in the Warwick 100 were starting to contribute from their respective patches - bullfinch, peregrine, collared dove, jay, blackcap and greenfinch all added to the list from various members of the team.  

I stopped for lunch (and to watch a very entertaining Everton v Liverpool match) while sparrowhawk and grey wagtail joined our growing list.  

Back out late afternoon, with just a couple more birds added along the river, including gadwall and Cetti's, there were still some major omissions; no sign of Canada or Greylag goose (and no chance whatsoever of a Tundra Bean!) Ravens are usually a daily sight over my house, but not today, and others like treecreeper and mistle thrush were staying firmly hidden.  As I started to flag and think about going home, a message came out over the WhatsApp from Chris...whinchat on the racecourse...

This I had to see for myself - I hadn't seen one for years.  I hotfooted over to the racecourse to see this little beauty and have a natter with Chris, who pointed it out to me.  Another super bird on the list for the day and I think a great one to finish on. 

It was so nice to have been involved in the event, with the Warwick 100 now having a total (59) we can try to beat at the next All Dayer.  We are also very pleased to be the only site to record whimbrel in the region - Warwick ain't so bad after all!

Well done to all the sites that took part and a huge thank you to Phil for keeping all the records.

See you in Spring!

Lizzy

  

Birdsong in the Ballroom

One of our team members, Rick, has published a book all about urban birding; diarising a year of the birds and wildlife spotted in our local park.  It is a beautifully written book and well worth a read.

A couple of weeks ago, Rick was invited to speak at an event in Warwick town centre - he's quite the celeb!  Here is the local write-up on the event... 

The Regency ballroom in the Court House – Warwick's Town Hall – echoed to the sound of spring birdsong on April 13^th. The occasion was the monthly tea, talk and quiz staged by 'Unlocking Warwick', the Town Council's volunteer group.

Rick Thompson - a member of the Warwick100 Birding group and the Warwick Natural History Society, gave a fascinating talk about the surprising wildlife to be found in St. Nicholas Park, in the centre of town, as featured in his book 'Park Life – a year in the wildlife of an urban park'.

It was a full house in the ballroom as Rick showed pictures of some of the obvious and easily identified birds that are regulars in the park, such as the pair of mute swans, heron, the unpopular magpies and the noisy blue tits and great tits.   He described the excitement of springtime, when more than 20 million birds arrive in Britain, from more arid climes in Africa and southern Europe, to breed.

All birdwatchers know that identifying small birds is as much about bird-listening as bird-watching.  So, with the aid of the Collins Bird Guide App and a linked loudspeaker, the audience was able to hear some of the vocal residents such as the robin and wren, and also migrant warblers, arriving in the park in mid-April.

The ballroom rang with the sound of the easily identified chiffchaff, and the slightly more difficult songs of the blackcap, sedge warbler, whitethroat and Cetti's warbler - all to be heard now at Kingfisher Pools, near the footbridge in St. Nicholas Park.

Rick reflected on the importance of urban parks and contact with nature for physical and mental wellbeing. Scientists call this 'exposure to greenspace'.  The beneficial effects of regular contact with the natural world can be measured, and became invaluable to many during the pandemic restrictions.  Rick went on to say that observing wildlife closely and gaining some knowledge of the plants, insects and birds, makes his regular walks in the park much more rewarding - uplifting the spirits even in the darkest of times.

After the talk, Rick signed copies of his book ‘Park Life’, and the teatime quiz followed.  Devised by Helen Fellows, it contained 25 questions about British wildlife…do you know what a male and female badger are called? Or the name of an otter’s home?

We are very proud of our Rick and look forward to more books and talks from him in the future.

Park Life: A Year in the Wildlife of an Urban Park: Amazon.co.uk: Thompson, Rick: 9781839751738: Books

WNHS

 

For the love of listing

We birders do love a list.

Life, year, day, green, UK, world, garden, holiday – the lists go on!  Some birders keep one list, others several, with various ways of recording; from handwritten notepads, to complicated excel spreadsheets, to online apps.  Some keep their lists to themselves, some publish to the world.  It really is each to their own. But for all of us as we bird, our lists grow longer and the chances to add to them, particularly life lists, become fewer.

What brought this to mind recently was one of the Warwick 100 team, when I reported our first house and sand martins of the year, commented that he had never seen any martin of any type.  Oh to go back to those days of being new to birdwatching! Back when a house martin was a lifer; that feeling of excitement when a brand new bird went onto my most important of lists.  So I guess this is why birders year list, day list and set themselves never ending challenges – to try to capture that joy again.  Nothing beats a lifer, however, which is why some birders twitch; going against their spouses, employers and their eco-ethics to get that all important, adrenaline pumping moment.  I choose not to twitch, so haven't had a lifer for a long long time, but that's ok.

I keep three personal lists on top of the Warwick 100 challenge – life, green and wild wee.  Yep, you read that right!  That last one currently stands (or squats, as I’m a girl) at 34, with Dartford warbler my best wee list bird.

The Warwick 100 team only exists because of a list – to reach 100 species of bird as quickly as possible each year – and I have to admit, this is the one that I am most invested in.  So for now, I’ll enjoy watching the excitement in our newest team members…and make sure I try to wee in more interesting places!

Lizzy

BUBO Listing - World Bird Listing

Rite in the Rain Official Site | Shop All Weather Products