Wild Bird Wednesday 672 - Willow Warbler

The Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) is a common summer visitor to the UK with approximately 2 million pairs being arriving as part of the spring influx of warblers.  They start to arrive in the April and depart during October, with almost all of the population wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.

They are a member of the 'Leaf Warbler' group and look very similar to the closely related Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita).  In fact the best way to differentiate these two birds is by their call - which of course is a little difficult if you just rely on photographs! 

The Willow Warbler's song is a simple repetitive descending whistle, while the Chiffchaff has a simple distinctive song, a repetitive 'chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff'.

This bird calling from a prominent position in a Willow tree on the Ham Wall RSPB reserve in Somerset, UK.  Given the shape of the catkins I think the willow is a Goat Willow (Salix caprea) and these are the male catkins.  (The male and female catkins this species occur on separate trees.)

The Willow Warbler is a typical leaf warbler in appearance - meaning its greenish brown - and is quite small weighing between 7–15 g and being 11–12.5 cm long. 

These images just shout 'spring' and it was really rather lovely to experience this time of year again in the UK.

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West Stoke Woods

While Bluebells are not restricted to the UK, it's been estimated that as many as 50% of world's total population of this species are found within the UK and Ireland.  The distribution of this species ranges from the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles.  

But I think it's reasonable to say that the British Isles are Bluebell central.  I also think - although I'm having difficulty tracking down conformation of this - that 'Bluebell Woods', where the species almost  dominates the spring flush of flowers, are almost completely restricted to the British Isle.  Over other parts of its range this species shares the forest floor with a range of other spring flowers.

I'm pretty sure one of us had never seen a bluebell wood before!

These pictures were taken in West Stoke Wood, which is well known as a 'Bluebell Wood'.  West Stoke Wood is located within the South Downs National Park, less than a 15 drive from central Chichester.

Cheers  SM

Wild Bird Wednesday 671 - Great White Egret

The Great White Egret (Ardea alba) is another bird that is expanding its range and becoming more frequently seen in the UK.  In fact, the numbers of breeding pairs, winter birds and sites where it can be seen, are increasing rapidly.  This change in distribution has been very noticeable since the species first bred in the UK in 2012. 

This bird was hunting in the reed beds at Ham Wall RSBP reserve on the Somerset Levels.  It was in this part of the world where this species first bred in the UK.  So, maybe Somerset is a bit of a peak location for this species!

As its name suggests,  the Great White Egret is a large bird being of a similar size - but with radically different plumage - to the much more common Grey Heron. The Great White Egret is about 1m long (tall?) with a wingspan of about 1.5m.  It is estimated the around 150 of these birds now winter in the UK.

This bird shows a combination of summer and winter plumage - the yellow bill with the green base is typical of a winter bird, but you can also see that some of 'wispy plumes' which are part of the breeding plumage.  You can also see the birds two-tone legs.

Unfortunately for me as a photographer and the bird as a hunter it never managed to catch anything in the time I watched it, and after about 10 minutes it wandered off back into the reed bed and out of sight.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 670 - Wood Pigeon

The Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus), also known the Common Wood Pigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family that is native to the western Palearctic. It closely related to the (Columba livia) which is the ancestor of most (maybe all?) of the feral pigeons that we see in many urban areas today.

The wood pigeon large pigeon size at 38 – 44.5 cm with a weight of between 300 – 615 g. It is basically grey bird, with a pinkish breast with white on its neck and wing. The wingspan can range from 68 to 80 cm. 

This species is often regarded as an agricultural pest, and is hunted, in most European countries. It is wary in rural areas, but often quite tame where it is not persecuted. These birds seem to fall into the 'quite tame ' category!

The bird on the ground is at the RSPB reserve at Ham Wall in Somerset, and the perched birds are at the WWT Reserve at Slimbridge.

The final pictures show a Wood Pigeon perched on a large Lego owl at Slimbridge.  

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WBW 669 - Eurasian Spoonbill

The Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) is a bird that has become re-established in the UK in the years since I migrated the Australia (this is not cause and effect I hope!)

Spoonbills were a familiar sight in the UK until16th century. Since that time the now well understood impact of the drainage of wetland habitats and hunting resulted their extinction as a breeding bird in the UK.   

Spoonbills first attempted to breed again in the UK in the late 1990s, but it wasn’t until 2010 that the first regular colony of breeding Spoonbills established at Holkham National Nature Reserve in Norfolk (the largest and oldest UK colony).   Previously, the last recorded nesting Spoonbill was in Suffolk in 1668.

This bird is a juvenile bird, and does not yet have the black bill of an adult.  This bird had been seen regularly at the Slimbridge WWF trust for at a number of weeks before I saw it in mid April.  There is more than a decent possibility that this bird is from the colony breeding in Norfolk.

I rather like the yoga moves that this bird is practicing!

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WBW 668 - Rook

The Rook (Corvus frugilegus) is a member of the crow family, the Corvidae and can be found from Scandinavia and Western Europe to Eastern Siberia.  This bird was photographed in the South West of England at Slimbridge, a Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve.

The Rook is a large, gregarious bird with the black plumage the is common to many, but not all, Corvids.  In the UK this species can be distinguished from other similar, all black Corvids, by the boney looking whitish featherless area on the face.  This species also has wears black feather 'trousers' that extend at least partially down its legs.

Rooks nest in groups in the tops of tall trees, often close to farms or villages; the groups of nests are called rookeries.  Rooks are one of the first birds to start breeding - or at least nest building / repair - in the UK.  It's a sure sign that the winter weather is at least thinking about moving into spring when the rooks return to their rookeries.

Rooks are a fairly large bird, with an adult weight between 280 to 340 g, and a wingspan of between 81 to 99 cm.

As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below.  Cheers SM

(Public Service Announcement: for the last five weeks I have been travelling in Europe (hence the Rook) and I made the decision that I would avoid my computer / phone for as much of that time as possible.  As a result I have not been visiting any blogs or responding to comment.  Normal service will be restored in the next few days when the jet lag disappears!  SM)

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WBW 667 - Bullers Albatross

The Buller's Albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) is a medium size, but clearly very attractive albatross breeds on islands around New Zealand, and feeds in the seas off Australia and the South Pacific.

As with almost all of my seabird /pelagic posts this bird was photographed off the coast of Tasmania, on a pelagic trip that departed from nr. Eaglehawk Neck.

It is described in my field guide as a 'small to medium sized black and white albatross with pearl-grey hood and contrasting white cap' - which is a pretty good description as far as I can tell!

While being far from abundant around the boat we use for pelagic trips I think we have always seen at least one of these birds on the Tasmanian trips I have been involved in.  I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again- but if you get a chance to go on a pelagic trip,  take it!

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Wild Bird Wednesday 666 - Little Corella

The arrival of flocks of Little Corella (Cacatua sanguinea) in our suburb is a clear sign that we have left summer and entered autumn.

They are noisy, comical and apparently very hungry.  Many of our local street trees bear large seed rich fruits - and these are ripped to shreds by flock of these birds.  When a flock lands in such a tree - or a group of such trees - the ground below is soon littered with 'green snow' created by the destruction of the seed pods.  The whole process is very messy!

The birds are mostly white, with an erectile crest and a pale yellow wash on the underwings. 

These birds were part of a large flock, so of which were feeding in the trees, while others were feeding on the ground. There was also a good deal of shouting and wrestling going on!

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