Wild Bird Wednesday 673 - Great Crested Grebe.

The Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is large grebe that is found all over Europe and east across the Palearctic.  It is also found in Southern Africa and Australia.   The birds in these three areas are assigned to different subspecies.  One of the more noticeable differences between these populations of birds is that the Australian birds - Podiceps cristatus australis - retain there breeding plumage through the year, where as birds from the other two areas lose their characteristic breeding plumage in the colder months of the year.

These birds - which are doing their famous breeding 'dance' - were at Ham Wall  RSPB reserve in Somerset, UK.  Although they gave great views through the scope, they were rather distant and as a result these images have been rather heavily cropped.  Nonetheless, the pictures do show some of the complex 'dance moves' involved in this ritual.  Unfortunately neither of the birds picked up any water plants in their beaks, which is often also part of the ritual.

This species was hunted almost to extinction in the United Kingdom in the 19th century for its head plumes, which were used to decorate ladies' hats and garments. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was set up to help protect this species, which is again a reasonably common sight.  This is very good news!

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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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