The most festive British Bird

Better views were yet to come...

First off I hope that everyone reading has had a fantastic Christmas and I wish you all the best for a bird filled year ahead.

Secondly, if I was asked to name the bird I thought was the most festive of all then it may surprise some of you.

It would not be the Robin, the poster bird of Christmas, but the Redpoll. With their rosy red colour and dainty little figure, I'm officially starting a campaign for the Redpoll to be recognised on Christmas cards across the country next year! Not only their colour, but they are more easier to see in the winter (like the Robin) and their charming little chirrups light up cold winter days.

Redpoll are fresh on my mind due to having a couple visiting my niger seed feeder over the past week and a half. This follows up the first Redpoll I ever had last year and hopefully these birds will become a regular winter visitor now.

Even the visit of the local Sparrowhawk who spent a good few minutes trying to chase House Sparrows through the hedge didn't put them off and they kept coming back for a few days after.


I got back to ringing this weekend too, going out on a cold but sunny morning. We caught about 20 birds (only 2 of which didn't already have rings on) but the highlight has to be the Redpoll that was caught. His colours and patterns looked splendid in the rising morning sun with a yellow peak and spots of red and pink. It was one of the birds already ringed but not with a ring number of our local group so fingers crossed he's a nice control!


Redpolls on Christmas cards. You heard it here first.

Parrot Crossbills on Budby Common

Having heard about the flock of Parrot Crossbills seen for a couple of weeks on Budby Common, I decided to head out this morning to search for them myself now I've returned from university.

#ParrotCrossbillSelfie

It was my first visit to Budby Common and after a long time rambling around I stumbled across a group of birders with there eyes fixed on the top of a bare tree (not a pine where I expected to see them). I counted about 12 in the tree as they rested and gave cracking views. One flew overhead and you could see its large Hawfinch-like size and hear its call. After a while of watching them in the tree they came down to the puddles on the track to drink. They then moved into a small group of pines where they began to feed on the cones, characteristically pulling them from the tree and holding them whilst removing the seeds.

They were far from scared of people and the group of around 10 birders that were there got absolutely stunning close up views, in some cases of no more than a few metres, as they fed on the pine cones and came down to drink from more puddles.

Instructions of anybody who want to find the Parrot Crossbills are as follows: Park in Budby village and take the trail at the top of the village that brings you out onto the common. From there you will be overlooking the site and should be able to see a "dip" in the land in front of you. It is that area where the birds have been sited.

The best information on the site that I have found are on Lound Bird Club's website: www.loundbirdclub.com/localbirdsightings.htm

I managed to digiscope a few pictures on my phone - enjoy!

Female feeding on a broken off cone

This male sat singing quietly for a long time

Another female feeding

Male sat on top of the pine copse the flock fed on

Pied Wagtail roost and a vocally talented Blackbird

Today's post comes with even less pictures of birds than usual (I am trying to change this by exploring digi-scoping so fingers crossed!) as my phone has broken over this week, or rather I dropped it while trying to juggle it with a sausage roll. However it was due to the fact that I had to go and pick up a replacement phone that I saw what I'm going to write about.

So silver linings and all that.

I had been down to Leeds city centre to pick up my new phone and it was about quarter to 4 as I started making way back. Remembering last year that I saw a roost of Pied Wagtails in January in the trees by the Christmas market, I took a slight detour to go and check. Sure enough, as the hospital across the road came in sight, I saw tiny little dots sitting along the railings of its roof overlooking the town square with the market. As I walked closer it became apparent that there were many more gathering as they flitted between rooftops. Above the noise of traffic and chatter from the Christmas market, they could be heard calling to one another as small groups descended onto closer buildings. There target was a line of 4 small evergreen trees sandwiched between the market and the road, only a about a metre or so above the heads of people walking by.
 Then at about 4 o clock they began to flit down in small groups, some having last minute changes of heart and flying back to the nearest rooftop. Most of them settled in the tree where they instantly became invisible. Like literally invisible. I went and stood as underneath the trees as I could get and had real trouble trying to pick any of them out. You could only see them as they moved or another one plummeted through the leaves, wings whirring furiously and tail hanging down making them look like giant humbug coloured crane flies. Luckily the tree on the end was only half covered with foliage and already had a decent gathering of wagtails in it meaning that I could get a good look at these ones that had to settle for second quality real estate.

After enjoying the wagtails for a good half hour I decided it was time to get home. It was when I was walking through some of the buildings at university that I heard all these Blackbirds kicking off with their alarm calls. Nothing unusual there. But as I walked by one Holly tree I faintly heard the flutey summer sound of a Blackbird's breeding song. I stopped and listened again. There it was again, but this time with a little Magpie "chuk" on the end. Now I was interested. I had never heard of crows mimicking other birds, never mind this well, so I went to take a closer look. Then, from the same tree, I heard a snippet of Robin song, and a burst of Wren followed by a quiet Blackbird trill. I eventually came to be standing underneath the tree and could make out a small black shape in the dying light. It was definitely a Blackbird, and I sat listen to it quietly serenade me with the sound of lazy summer evenings, remixed with a variety of other songs.

All in all not bad just to get a replacement phone. 

Exploring Swillington Ings/St. Aidans

After complaining that I had had no time whilst in Leeds to get out, explore and do some bird watching, I suddenly found myself with a free day last Thursday which I decided to use to explore Swillington Ings. Swillington has a long history and, like so many nature reserves, was a former coal mine. Once the mining had finished it was turned over to nature and the coal company that owned it went into liquidation. The land was then owned by Leeds City Council who have since leased in to the RSPB to develop for wildlife further. They erected a small wooden visitor centre, branded the area "St. Aidans" and restored the car park before the coal company returned to the picture and claimed ownership of the land. The site now finds itself in some sort of limbo where the RSPB continue to do bits of work on the reserve but are not allowed to open the visitor centre or car park. Luckily the area is a public right of way anyway and so access is in no way restricted but fingers crossed it isn't long before it is turned back over to the RSPB.

Swillington Ings

Anyway enough of the history lesson. I had briefly visited Swillington Ings before with my grandparents and had the shortest of walks around it before moving onto Fairburn Ings. However I've since been recommended it by many birders as well as keeping up to date with the regularly updated Swillington Ings bird group site which posts sightings almost daily. So I figured it was time to take a closer look.

I arrived about 11, parking on the road outside the entrance to the now closed off RSPB car park. A walk down into this car park turned up the first nice sighting of the day almost immediately. Underneath a giant piece of old mining machinery was an apple tree with Blackbirds feeding around it that were flushed up as I walked into the deserted car park. One of the flushed thrushes (bit of a tongue twister!) was a Fieldfare as it showed a slate grey rump as it flew away and settled in a nearby tree where I got good views through my scope. A cracking bird, unusually only the one on its one, and another tick off the winter list before I'd even gone past the car park.

Looking out from the elevated car park gives superb views over the entire reserve comprised of grassland/scrub, marsh, scrapes, lakes, reedbeds and a smidgin of woodland. After moving down to the first lake and picking up most of the common ducks and turned to look over the marshy grassland to be greeted with a flock of 9 curlews flying towards me before settling to feed in the sodden soil.
Already happy with my decision to get out and explore this site, it got better when I came across a Stonechat that briefly showed on top of some bullrushes meaning I got to tick off Stonechat as a lifer for me!

On the lookout for Red Breasted Merganser!

I then came to the main lake where 2 Red Breasted Mergansers had been spotted a couple of days before. After spending time scanning all the ducks on the lake, including a nice pair of Pintail and about 4 Goldeneye, I came to the conclusion that my luck had run out. On my way around the lake I came across a group of about 6 Goosander and spent an age deliberating whether one of the females had enough diffuse red on her neck and head to possibly be a Merganser. Had I not heard that there were Mergansers on the lake then I would never have questioned it but I found myself constantly going back to the bird to check. I had brought my Collins bird guide with me though and a check in that convinced me it was a female Goosander - a lesson that taking a field guide is always helpful!

After a couple of hours of my arrival at the reserve I had got to the tiny patch of trees at the far site where I picked up a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Kestrel before moving down to another lake with a couple of Little Egrets on it. A large flock of around 60 Greylag Geese also came onto the lake, causing an absolute racquet as they came over the tree line and descended onto the lake.

After sitting on a bench for lunch it was time to walk around the reed beds before I headed home. I had been reading that birders were regularly seeing and hearing Bearded Tits in the reeds (the first year they had been recorded at the site) as well as Bittern making regular appearances. Both would be lifers for me so thought nothing of having a little wander through the reeds to make my walk longer. I did pick up two Black Tailed Godwit and what I think were three Dunlin and two Redshank (only caught a glimpse as they took off) but alas... no Bittern or Bearded Tit.

All in all I had a fantastic day at the reserve and hope to definitely start visiting it regularly. I thoroughly recommend anyone to visit!

Total number of species for the day: 41 

What's this?! An actual wild bird picture on my blog?! A male Shoveler that was close enough to shore to be photographed on my phone.

Sunset over Swillington Ings