A Bird's Eye View

Hello all, First off are the House Martins. When I visited a friend's house recently, we discovered that one of the nests was still in use on the side of his house. This provided us with some excellent photo opportunities; some of the results were better than others. With many of the photos, I found myself thinking "this would be fantastic if the House Martins weren't flying past the nest at 40mph!" Not all were meaningless blurs, however... It's fantastic to see these Summer visitors back after having made such remarkable journeys. George Rabin

A shortened version of the project write-up can be read here! Abstract This was a field-based experiment to attempt to answer a question: Do birds have a favourite colour? Four coloured feeders (dark blue, green, yellow and red) and a clear control were used. The number of visits and the mass change in the feeders were recorded so preferences could be gauged. The results show a clear trend for blue being the preferred colour; red and yellow were unpopular. We suggest that this is because high energy colours (blue and UV) are used by birds in short distance communication and that the blue feeder may have been the most detectable for the birds. We also suggest that red and yellow were unpopular because they are employed for aposematic colouration (toxins) in insects. Applications of this research could include influencing the design of turbines or aeroplanes, to deter birds.  Over 3000 feeder visits later... Mean average percentage of visits to each feeder. Error bars

Hello all, For Bank Holiday Monday, I visited Ham Wall RSPB on the Somerset Levels. There were some great birds there, including some new birds for me. Bittern seemed to be booming constantly, and one great moment saw two Bitterns being harassed by two Marsh Harriers! A Water Rail was also seen, in fast low flight, and Reed Bunting were obvious in the place that gives them their name. Two Cetti's Warbler also made themselves obvious - but sadly not visually. A long staying Glossy Ibis was also seen, along with a female Garganey. A Great Spotted Woodpecker nest gave good views, with the young almost fully grown! Reed Warbler, Lapwing, Buzzard, Great White Egret and Little Egret were also seen, and with other birds, the total for the day was 43! Below are some of the photos of the day... George Rabin

At the end of my Easter Holidays, I visited Cornwall for a short break. We were staying near Penzance, and the coast offered for some great wildlife watching. Fulmar in Flight Friday 15th April After travelling down from Somerset, we decided to go straight to Land's End. Here, there were some incredible Fulmars, a Gannet, a Chough, a Black Redstart, huge numbers of Sand martin, House Nartin and Swallow, Shag, Cormorant, Manx Shearwater, Stonechat and Whinchat. Phew. The view was picture-perfect, and the sea, too, looked like someone had edited it, with a huge mix of green, blues and greys. Fulmars must take the award for the best fliers in the bird world. Travelling at great speeds, they manipulate the wind, allowing themselves to freefall, yet somehow always in perfect control! I noticed the Gannet out at sea from its large body, black wingtips contrasting the all-white body, and flight. The Manx Shearwater were far out, but there have been as many as 40,000 close in off

Hello all, The best today was a male and female Siskin on the sunflower seed feeders, the first of the year in the garden! 2 Great Tit   showed well, along with 4 Goldfinch.  A Wren  came close in, along with 2 Dunnock. Three Woodpigeon were on the seed feeder for much of the day, with the quantity going down by about two inches in twenty minutes! A male Blackbird  sheltered in a Yew tree, and 2 Starling   were on the suet ball feeder, fighting off the smaller birds before perforating the lawn like small sewing machines. However, 2  Blue Tit were also using the feeder, as well as two Long-Tailed tit. A Chiffchaff braved the elements, and showed well nearby, as the photo shows. Many flyover gulls were also welcome, and 8 House Sparrow were in the yew for much of the day. All of these photos were taken through a rain-splattered window, but were "messed about with" on Windows 10 photos programme. Just my changing the contrast, cropping, and occasionally using the "Sel

 Hello all, The best was a male Blackcap (first male of the year) at about 1:10, as shown to the left. The suetball feeder had constant activity on it, mostly 4 male and 4 female House Sparrow. Two Goldfinches will hopefully remember the Sunflower heart feeder, as they landed on it as soon as I had hung it up!  Two Blue Tit were intermittently on the seed feeder, and a drop- in Greenfinch was the first of April. A Chiffchaff on the lawn, albeit briefly, was excellent, as well as 3 Collared Dove , not often seen around here. Blackbirds , Dunnock, Robin and Woodpigeon appeared many times, as well as one Great Tit. Flyovers included all the commoner gull species, corvids (except jay and raven), and a continuous stream of small passerines.  A shortened walk around my local patch had to show for it 1 Coal Tit and 1 Long Tailed tit of note, and a singing male Chaffinch ! Also, badger digging marks and a badger latrine were good finds. More soon, George

Hello all, I've just had a fantastic bird land in my garden: a male Sparrowhawk. Although these are relatively common, you only ever "see them leaving." Sadly, by the time my brain had registered my surprise, the Sparrowhawk departed, and back came the House Sparrows. Of course, having predators is a fantastic sign of bird populations in the area: a predator won't be where there isn't food! Hopefully, this beautiful bird will become a frequent visitor to the garden. Bird round up of the week As far as garden birds go, good numbers of House Sparrow, who are using both the fat ball feeder and seed feeder, with 4 males and 4 females in the garden constantly! Goldfinches also turned up, with 3 or 4 in the garden for most days of the week, but with only brief visits. A Chiffchaff/ Willow Warbler graced my garden yesterday, followed by the call of another Chiffchaff. Robins were regulars throughout the week, with 2 usually present, and 3 woodpigeons all week were we

Hello All, For STEM (Science Technology Engineering Maths) day, I visited Bristol Zoo with the school. We went to Bristol zoo because it is a fun, different and exciting way to learn, and it has so many experiences that can’t be gained from the classroom. A highlight of the day was a talk from a zookeeper. The purpose of this talk was to inform us of what the zoo does and to raise awareness of conservation worldwide and why conservation takes place. It provided an opportunity to meet some of the animals with whom he works (Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches, a Brown Rat called Bob and Egyptian Tortoises). The cockroach was surprisingly still when held in the hand, and had feet that gripped your palm. The sleek and cold feeling of its back on your finger is something that can’t be gained from just looking, and the experience of this helped us connect with animals. Bristol Zoological Gardens is one of the leading zoos in the UK, with hundreds of species resident.   It was f