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

Plastic Fantastic!

There was great excitement in the Warwick 100 team a couple of days ago, when a report of a white stork flying North of the Saxon Mill came in.   Confirming that the source of the sighting was a respected one, it went on our list with smiles all round.

Unfortunately, the source of the bird itself was not so positive - in all likelihood being the presumed escapee seen at Otmoor RSPB on the same day, or possibly from the White Stork Project, in SE England.  It was kicked off the list as quickly as it went on, with only a couple of singing willow warblers keeping the smiles going in the team.

It got me wondering about 'plastic' birds around the UK; questioning when they should or shouldn't be added to a list.

• What actually is a 'wild' bird?
• What are the differences in tickability between escaped, released or introduced birds?
• When or where does a plastic bird become wild?  How many generations does it take before they class as resident, if ever?
• Does it really matter, when everyone's list is their own anyway?

What a minefield!  Here's what I learned from a very basic bit of research, which I hope I've understood correctly...

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, a wild bird is 'any bird of a species which is resident in or is a visitor to the European Territory of any member state in a wild state.'  Helpful for animal welfare and protection, but not so much for our birding list.

Melissa Mayntz states that the bird 'should be observed in the wild (so the peacocks at Warwick Castle are out) and behaving as a wild bird would be expected.  Domesticated birds, escaped pets or birds that are deliberately imported, such as for a zoo, are not acceptable.' (so the peacock we found in our garden last year is also out!) 

She also talks of pure lists only containing 'established birds that have had viable breeding populations for at least several generations.'  Nicely put, but still a little vague.  

Thankfully, I have just discovered the BOU official British List (late to the game, I know), which really clears things up in my mind.  Birds are categorised from A-F, depending on length of naturalisation and establishment, along with self-sustainability of feral, introduced and re-introduced populations.  Those in A,B and C appear to count, whereas birds in D, E and F do not. Nice and clear.

So I guess this means that red kites, Egyptian geese and ring-necked parakeets are in, but white tailed eagles, wood ducks and, indeed, our white stork, are out.  It remains plastic...for now.

Species categories - British Ornithologists' Union (bou.org.uk)

News — White Stork Project

Seeing things in white...

Our majestic mute swans, of Kingfisher Pools, have made their decision on where to nest this week and settled into their breeding season.  It's always fascinating to watch them as they decide on a spot, build, sit, protect, feed and nurture their brood each year.

photo by Rick

The family have certainly had their ups and downs...big broods, no broods, kidnapping, poisoning...it's quite the soap opera here in Warwick!

The survival of cygnets to adulthood is naturally fraught with danger.  22% of baby swans die in their second week (swanlife) through bad weather, starvation, accident or predation.  In a large brood, the slowest and weakest can be judged as jeopardising the family, so may be chased away or even killed by the cob.  While sad, this is nature working as it should; keeping the mute swan population strong and self-regulated.  

Where I struggle is when human intervention effects wildlife...

Poisoning - 2014

The whole family was rescued from the pools and looked after at a sanctuary in Droitwich, while the cob was treated for lead poisoning.  Thankfully, he recovered and the pair, with their eight cygnets, were returned and had a successful year.  

Theft - 2019

This was a tragic year, when a local resident witnessed the sitting pen being lifted from her nest by a gang.  While it is possible for a male to take over and rear cygnets alone, this year the whole brood failed and the cob looked totally lost.  The local angling shop were quick to state that they haven't sold lead weights for years, it was never discovered where the poison came from.

Success - 2020

Possibly helped by Lockdown and fair weather, 2020 produced 9 cygnets - all surviving.  I'm not sure whether the old cob had found a replacement partner or whether this was a new pair, but it was heart-warming to see such a huge family after the sad year before.  

Uncertainty - 2021

This was very interesting.  On the 16th March, 8 eggs were spotted and all was well.  On the 28th March it was reported that all the eggs had disappeared.   Theories came thick and fast - predation from fox or mink?  Theft by humans?  'Bad' eggs being thrown out of the nest by the adults?  It was soon discovered, to our relief, that the eggs were absolutely fine and had just been buried under the reeds!  A clever trick by the parents, while away from their nest.  Once hatched, however, it was not such a happy story, with only two surviving cygnets by mid May, from the eight hatched.

So, what will 2022 bring in our local soap opera?  Kingfisher Pool is now busy again with anglers, joggers, dog-walkers and our little Warwick 100 team.   The swans don't seem to mind and we look forward to seeing how their family fares this year.

Lizzy

 

photo by Alan Anscomb

Seeing things in black and white

We have a celebrity here in Warwick...a handsome devil who turns heads.  A common topic of conversation around St Nicholas' Park, even the least birdy of passers-by will stop in their tracks and wonder what kind of exotic wildlife they might be witnessing.

It is, in fact, our 'pied' blackbird, who has been a regular around Kingfisher Pools for over 5 years now.  

Pic by Lizzy 

He has a genetic condition called leucism, where some of the melanin pigment is missing from his cells.  This produces his unusual mottled plumage - white feathers growing among the usual blacks.  Different to albinism, his eyes and beak remain dark...more attractive in my mind than red-eyed, somewhat cold-looking albino wildlife.  

Leucism has been found to affect one in 30,000 birds (Avianreport.com) so is pretty rare, but interestingly, a recent study by the BTO has found that blackbirds accounted for 40% of all reports of leucism.  This might have more to do with blackbirds being a) more commonly seen and b) black, so easier to spot contrasting white feathers, but that is quite the large proportion! 

A few of the Warwick 100 team have been birding in St Nicholas' Park for many years now, having seen different blackbirds with white markings in the past.  Surely that can't be coincidence? Is there a hereditary line of leucistic blackbirds going back generations?

pic by Alec

Indeed, just last year a new partially leucistic blackbird was recorded nearby.  This, along with spotting our friend earlier in the year with a beak full of worms, would suggest that his fancy plumage is certainly not holding him back from success with the ladies!

Pic by Alec

As we wait for migration to begin, and in the current absence of new additions to the 100 list, at least we can continue to enjoy our very own 'rarity'.

Lizzy

Small patches don't necessarily mean small rewards

A nationwide birding initiative started this year to spot as many birds as possible, within a 10km radius.  As a group, myself and The Bradburys had already come up with a similar initiative, way back in 2017!  The Bradburys used to birdwatch on the Racecourse and I loved having them there, but they decided to find somewhere closer to home and subsequently moved across to Saxon Mill fields - although they soon found winter birding there quite dull.  At that time I was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Racecourse challenges and, with some weird issues beginning to manifest themselves with a patch further afield, I was starting to make connections with local land owners to explore new options

Meadow Pipit by @1stbirdoftheday

. We all really needed to find something to keep ourselves motivated and decided to set ourselves a challenge - to try and see 100 bird species per year on our existing patches within Warwick.  We created a radius limit to just over 2kms from the centre of old Warwick Town.  We are now in our fifth year, have collected a few more local birders along the way to help us with the challenge, and Lizzy has now embraced low carbon birding by walking everywhere.

The issue I had with the Racecourse was that it was heavily disturbed taking a full morning to cover every single part of it and the other patch was no longer a pleasure to share with others and their attitudes.   So, in 2019, I started to concentrate on a new area.  This new patch was small, so could be done thoroughly within an hour and better still, I was the only who birded the area and it isn’t that disturbed.  Small, however, does not necessarily mean less birds and I had soon amassed a total of 110 bird species on there. Besides the birds I have also enjoyed sharing the area with otters, foxes, roe deer, muntjac, bank voles and grass snakes, all within a stone's throw from the centre of town.

Whinchat by @1stbirdoftheday

Even recently, during a yellow warning of wind from the Met office, a visit gave me chiffchaff, marsh tit and a green sandpiper.

Birding such a small patch has given me the joy of seeing a surfacing otter only 4 feet away, a muntjac so intent on feeding that it didn’t  notice me, three kingfishers buzzing one another, a green sandpiper bobbing away at the water’s edge and countless other experiences from the exciting to the more mundane.   Don’t get me wrong, I will have days that yield nothing at all but, most of the time, there is something that may spark my interest.   While small has not brought me a huge site list, social media likes or recognition in whatever birding scene there is in Warwickshire (with my name in black and white on county reports or slaps on the back for finding something rare - not that I care about either anyway), it has given rewards far greater and more important to me...  

It has given me the incentive to get up and out early, it has helped with my mental health, it has given me new “true” lifelong friends (instead of superficial social media acquaintances), it has given me the joy of sharing my enthusiasm with others and seeing their faces light up as they see something new.  It has also given me fond memories often shared with others from jokes about Chaffinches to comments that a particular bird call reminds a friend of me, because I taught them to identify it.  Anyway, I need to finish this now as I have to be out the door to meet that good friend to go walk on that small patch of wildness in Warwick.

RH

Please don't laugh at our rarities...!

We had a few new additions to our list this week including chiffchaff, woodcock and lesser redpoll - birds we would expect each year.  However, some birds that in many places are an every day sighting, really get the pulses racing here in Warwick...

Tufted duck

Spotted by Rick, this little beauty is the first tuftie to be recorded in St Nicholas Park for 6 years! 

photo by Rick Thompson

Apparently, it is the UK's most common diving duck and there's even more of them in the UK in Winter as they travel here from Iceland and Northern Europe.  They just seem to choose not to come to the centre of Warwick!  

It isn't just us, though.  It does make me feel a little better to know that a tufted duck seen on Bardsey Island in May 2019 was only the 35th record since records began back in the 1950s! (George Dunbar, Birdguides)

Red Kite

This was spotted by Chris over Warwick on the 6th Feb, with another sighting (probably the same bird) by James in Leamington, on the 11th. 

Following the first reintroduction of red kites in the Chilterns in 1989, and further introductions in other areas, they have spread far and wide...but not quite reached Warwick yet.  There is a pair in the village of Barford, just down the road, and it may be one of these that we see popping into town on the odd occasion (although Warwick Castle does have a red kite display as part of their falconry show, so I suppose it could have been one of theirs).  

Hopefully we'll start to see the real deal more regularly as the numbers of this majestic bird continue to rise and disperse further.

Egyptian goose

A first for me in Warwick, this pair were canoodling on a temporary flash at the Saxon Mill fields this morning.  An invasive species, it is illegal to keep, breed or release them, but they are common in Norfolk and around Greater London and, while it was an absolute BOOOM moment for me, they are considered a real pest in some places.  I remember talking to someone at Rutland Water in early Spring some years ago.  He didn't love them at all, saying that it was a real race for the Rutland ospreys to return quickly before the Egyptian geese started to nest on their platforms!

photo by Lizzy Bradbury

So, our list now stands at 75 so far for the year.  Only 25 more species to go to reach our target and, with Spring on the way, we have every chance of hitting it 😊.   Whether that will be through spotting everyday species, ones that are scarce for us or maybe...just maybe...a real rarity, is yet to be discovered!

Lizzy

A Change of Scene...

Instead of my usual wander around the Golf Course and Saxon Mill fields, this weekend I thought I would change direction and head for the racecourse instead.  The Saxon Mill is less than two miles from the Racecourse, yet it's amazing how the variety of birds can change in such a short distance. 

 I approached the small reservoir at the back of the circuit just as it was getting light and immediately added little grebe to both my own green year and the Warwick 100 lists.  Known affectionately as 'The Toxic Pool' by the 100 team, for its historic lack of wildlife, it has been well managed in recent years and has started to look a more likely spot for duck, warblers and maybe even the odd wader or two during passage.

A quick peek in the fields to the back of the course didn't produce the partridge I was hoping for, so it was on to the centre, as the morning started to brighten and the birds began to appear - kestrel, buzzard, and great spotted woodpecker the highlights along with the usual residents.

The centre of Warwick Racecourse is definitely worth a visit, armed with a pair of binoculars.  Part of it has a small golf course and driving range, where little owl and redstart have been recorded in past years.  The Caravan Club has a small section and there are football pitches where wheatear have been known to stop while passing through in Spring.  The rest is grassland - an important habitat for breeding skylark and meadow pipits, both of which were new to my green list today.  Work is constant to protect these areas from the threat of development, model aeroplanes and dogs, but it was encouraging to see fencing in place during the breeding season and the numbers of successful pairs rose last year.   

There is an area of wetland at the far end of the grass; home to reed buntings (another year tick for me), water rail, the occasional visiting stonechat and whinchat and the most amazing evening roost of snipe in Winter.  Sometimes up to 30 snipe will come out of the roost at dusk, with jack snipe also spotted last year.

Lastly, part of the wasteland has been turned over to a wildflower meadow, with finch flocks appearing since planting.  A chance to spot goldfinches, linnets and chaffinch and to dream of a brambling amongst them!  Today, though, a brambling wasn't to be.  

A single snipe flew up from the wetland as I left for the walk home, taking the Warwick 100 list to 66 so far and me very happy, having enjoyed the change of scene.

Lizzy

Patch birding as a team

The Warwick 100 is edging upwards, now standing on a mighty 59 birds for the year.  

My own green list is not doing so well, with some gaping holes where birds should be...I am still waiting to bag a great spotted woodpecker (welcome to Midlands birding!)

I thought I had one on my way to work yesterday.  Heard it, ticked it and thought I'd look up to see if I could spot it.  And there it was...a magpie making the EXACT noise of a chacking GSW!  Unticked immediately, I will keep looking for my elusive feathered friend.

It did get me thinking how easy it is to mistake one bird for another. Wood pigeons seem able to morph into any birds they choose, depending on light and angle!  Not really an Earth-shattering issue if keeping your own list, not to be published further than a personal Twitter account.  But, when birding as a group, and publishing our findings like this, it becomes a little more important to get it right.

So, to our Warwick 100 guidelines...

Team members only submit a sighting if they are absolutely 100% on the ID (no mistaken magpies for woodpeckers!)  and, if a rarity turns up (we dream of another hoopoe), we will try to get a record shot of it, or get another team member onto it to corroborate the sighting as soon as possible. 

Saying that, a team of friends like this one has to be largely based on trust.  We are not trying to be more than we are - we are just a little group of amateur enthusiasts, looking to hit a birding target in our home town, choosing to bird as a group simply for fun, enjoyment and a sense of togetherness in our hobby.  

Lizzy

Grey wagtail, taken in Chris' garden

Halfway there...

It's only the third day of the year and we have stormed through the 50 mark already!

Rick was lucky to have a garden visit this morning by his local sparrow hawk, our 50th bird, having seen a cracking trio of whooper swans in flight yesterday.  Other highlights include a common gull, seen by Alec at Kingfisher Pools and a busy treecreeper spotted by Lizzy at the Saxon Mill.

List standing at 54.  

This birding lark is easy, half way there...although something tells me the second half may be a little more challenging!

Treecreeper

A good start!

 So out came the Warwick 100 team for their first day of 2022 birding.  

A team effort around the town and surrounding fields produced lots of the regulars, but also we managed to spot a couple of species that have proven tricky in previous years:

• A flock of 20 siskin at the Saxon Mill, along with a super sunbathing cormorant.
• A pair of water rails and a kingfisher (obviously!) at Kingfisher Pools.
• Meadow pipit, skylark and kestrel were the star birds at the Racecourse.

Some of the team's gardens came up trumps also, with grey wagtail, raven and peregrine spotted.

A positive start putting the team on 46 species for our first day - not too shabby!

Cormorant

Siskin

Happy New Year!

 So here we are, the New Year is almost upon us and, for many birders, that also means a new notepad and a new Year List - when spotting blackbirds and robins becomes exciting all over again!

This is certainly the case for the Warwick 100 - a small group of enthusiasts who set an annual target of noting 100 species of birds within a two mile radius of St Mary's Church over a twelve month period.

Last year, we smashed it with 116 different species - a brilliant and memorable year with a visiting hoopoe the star of the show.

But the slate is now wiped clean, we are back to zero again and a new list can begin!  It is likely to be much more of a test this year, as our most prolific bird-finder will only be able to contribute on rare occasions, but we are ready to take on the Warwick 100 challenge once more.

Join us as we log and blog our way through 2022 and...bring on the birds!

End of Year roundup for 2021

This year has been another good year for our little area of Warwick and its 2 mile radius.  As a small group we managed to find 116 different species of birds in total making this our best ever year.   This is another great achievement considering 90% of the species found involved no car travel and the other 10% involved car journeys of less than 3 miles.  

We started the year off well with at least 8 Stonechats over-wintering at 4 different locations within the Warwick area, 1 Woodcock, 1 Brambling, 1 Jack Snipe, 1 Merlin, our returning Whooper Swan and a Russian White Fronted Goose that only stayed for 24 hours.  We also had a record number of 5 Green Sandpipers at one location and our highest count of Common Snipe was a maximum of 25 birds.

Spring was quiet this year with just 2 Wheatear and 1 Common Redstart being the highlights.  Summer was also quiet but the Racecourse area had its best season of breeding Skylarks for several years with a small increase in breeding pairs.  Autumn, after achieving just 1 Whinchat was saved by our star bird of the year, a Hoopoe at IBM.

Hoopoe by Alec Cuthbertson

Winter is always our best season for recording species and this winter has had a promising start with at least 2 Stonechats overwintering as well as a Cetti's Warbler but no sign so far of our Whooper Swan yet.

We reached our target of 100 birds within the first 100 days of 2021 which is the first time we have managed to do that, with the 100th bird being a Yellow Wagtail found by Lizzy.  

The full list of species seen during the year can be found here.