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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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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