Viewing entries tagged
Firecrest

Spring has Sprung

With more and more spring migrants turning up each day, spring has truly sprung and the last two days it’s really felt like it. Saw my first Wheatear in Blaenavon and lots more reports along with Sand Martin, Blackcap and Chiffchaff, though I wonder how many of those actually wintered this year as this winter saw Swallows wintering in double figures, which is a true indication of how global warming is affecting our migratory patterns. For Crossbill though, spring is pretty much over already! which is insane! Proof of this is found in the below recording, which is the sound of a fledged Crossbill, begging their parents for food. Crossbill can breed as early as August and throughout the winter, depending on the availability of cones. This is why It gets particularly frustrating when I see woodland clearance throughout the winter that lines up with bumper cone crops as they are most likely disturbing breeding Crossbill. This happened at Wentwood earlier in the year and if we’re to continue producing wood in this manner, we need to be more aware of these cycles in our trees that span 3-4 years, and in some tree species even longer.

As the sun continues to rise above 10c our hardy reptiles species become more active and despite a lack of Adder found, I did have a intimate connection with this Common Lizard, who came out from the shadows whilst I was photographing candle-snuff fungi. I was on the phone at the time too making quite a bit of noise but clearly sunning itself was more important and it didn’t see me as a threat. This was evident as it allowed me to get within centimetres without moving an inch.

You’ll notice that I’m including landscape images for the first time. Don’t get used to it as I’m only borrowing this lens lol. It’s a 16-35mm which is quite a handy focal length for those wider perspectives which I just simply haven’t been able todo before. The lens is going back this week so I’ll have to start saving the pennies to purchase my own as I’ve quite enjoyed using it.

Stopped off along the canal on the way to Abergavenny where I found an isolated population of Violet Oil-beetles. There won’t be a year that I don’t set aside time to observe these spectacular species of beetle. They are so delicate it makes you wonder how on earth they survive at all and their life cycle is so dependant on the success of solitary bee’s that it makes they a really good indicator species. I won’t tell the story again, I seem to blog about this every year but if you don’t know, check this PDF out from Buglife.

Amongst the emerging insects are plenty more singing birds, so here’s a few recordings from various places, including the song of a Firecrest which is another new territory to the south of Gwent. These birds really are doing well in Gwent and are on the right road to increasing their numbers.

You’ll notice in the background if you listen carefully that there are a few Brambling calls nearby. We later spotted a small flock feeding on the ground but I doubt they’ll be around much longer.

This song has got to be a favourite of many, as our uplands are nothing without this cascading sound in the sky. A difficult species to record as it’s always windy up on the hills and any song in flight is hard to keep track of without creating handling noise. That and the fact that they just get so high that you can barely see them, you just have to watch the signal getting weaker and weaker as they rise but keep at it as they’ll soon come back down, and with it, interject more cascading notes as a cue.

I’ll end with a memorable wildlife photography moment, where over 50 Rats were making the most of this bin which has been chained to a fence instead of it being concreted into the ground. As a result they have learned to climb the vertical fence poles, grab the chain and jump in lol. It’s quite entertaining watching the young Rats also try get in there, as they don’t always get it right and I watched multiple miss the lip of the bin and somersault back to the ground. Uninjured of course as these guys are hardy and this sort of stuff comes natural to them. I know they get bad press, but they are just cleaning up after our mess. Nothing gets wasted in nature, and I’m sure there will be some local Foxes and Owls that’ll be hunting them.

Breeding Season

What a month so far! No idea how I’m managing to fit all this in but it’s been such a special spring and despite a delay in the breeding season, things have burst into life, warm temps, lots of emerging insects, moths, dragonflies and just in time for our breeding birds to feed their chicks. I was beginning to worry about my Nightjar this year as Moth counts have been super low, which has resulted in them delaying their egg laying. Some have only just paired up which is crazy and overall I’m seeing less than half the pairs compared to the previous year. The bracken has come up quite fast as always though, so their habitat is looking perfect for egg laying. This month I’ve lead a few walks, one for In Our Nature CIC which was an introduction to Bird Song, with a perfect sized group. We aim todo another by the end of June to continue our progress. It’s great to see people show an interest in learning more about the natural world, as it really does help us find our place in the world. The other walk was my annual Nightjar walk for Gwent Ornithological Society, which was well attended with 20 people, but so many more people expressed their interest in another Nightjar walk as they weren’t able to attend the first, so we’ve arranged todo another on June 18th. Details of which to be found on the GOS website.

I’m not a twitcher, but it’s always nice to see or hear things I’ve never seen before, so every year I try to add a few more to the list of experiences. One big one has been hearing a Nightingale, as we don’t get them here in Wales and the closest know location is Highnam Woods in Gloucester. Two attempts, one in April (too early) and one in June (too late), so next year I must make more of an effort in May. It’s just difficult to enjoy spring as breeding bird survey season is the busiest time of year for me.

As you’ll see in the pics below I’ve still been quite busy. My nightjar have seen some drama, with one of my males injuring his nose. Still don’t even know if he’s survived his injury but he was paired up so I hope he does.

Recordings

For the minority sound recorders reading this, I’ve been beta testing a microphone configuration, using two Schoeps CCM 2’s (Loan from Schoeps) and my own Schoeps CCM 4 inside a Telinga/Rycote dish system. I’m always striving to improve the sound quality of my gear and with this setup, I really feel like I’ve hit the limits of what’s actually possible. The CCM 4 is the most accurate sounding microphone I’ve ever used, and in combination with two CCM 2’s outside of the dish, it really makes for a powerful setup in the right hands. I say in the right hands, because using the CCM 4 inside the dish, hand held, is quite difficult, as the handling noise compared to many of the more affordable Telinga Setups is no comparison. It just shows that in order to get the most accurate recording as far as sound quality is concerned, it comes at a cost. For me though, this cost is well worth it, as it’s forced me to approach my recordings differently. Most of the recordings below are still hand held, but for static subjects I’ve taken to using a monopod when possible, as it just gives me that extra stability and far less handling noise for longer time periods.

One of my favourite experiences using this new setup was actually at the River Warbler ‘twitch’ at RSPB Ham Wall Nature Reserve over the weekend. It’s a magical reserve that I’ve blogged about many times. It’s potentially my favourite reserve of all time, full of spectacular species, most of which are quite rare breeders anywhere else in the Uk. The River Warbler was the first in the country in almost 11 years I believe, so it’s a super rare bird and a first for me, but I was less eager to see it, and more excited to hear this incredible sound! They are very similar looking to a Grasshopper Warbler in terms of shape and size, but generally quite dark, with most of their more interesting features on the breast and under-tail coverts, but like I said, It’s all about that sound for me! and there’s nothing quite like it. Savi’s Warbler is more electric, Grasshopper Warbler is more like a Grasshopper but this sound is clearly a sound that is designed to carry over fast flowing water and is so much louder than any other bird I’ve he

Nocmig

Birding

My first ‘birding’ trip to Llandegfedd this year proved fruitful with a Kittiwake flying in over our heads on the dam wall, continuing on a NW flight path. Not sure if it’s a migrating bird or if it’s been blown off course during the last storm but I presume it’s the latter. There’s so much we don’t yet know about migratory birds, which is why Nocmig recording is quite an exciting activity to take part in. All that community data could really help paint a bigger picture about bird movements and distribution and all this could be achieved from the comfort of your home. So far I’ve only heard a Swallow, I haven’t actually seen one yet but looking forward to it.

One spring migrant I’ve certainly heard plenty of so far is the Chiffchaff. At first I wasn’t sure if it was just the birds that overwintered here that were singing, but I can confirm now on the Gwent Levels that they’re everywhere already! Here’s a recording from Llandegfedd this week.

I love this time of year, as winter migrants start to properly sing and ‘warm up’ to spring, but at the same time, spring migrants are arriving and starting to reclaim territories, so you get this cross-over of sounds from birds that live in totally different worlds to each other. You would have probably heard this by now but if you haven’t, keep a close eye on the Ivy and Holly bushes, especially around open fields of waterways. As the Redwing flock up, they’ll often sing together, creating a wall of sound that sounds way bigger than it actually is. The scratchy sub-song of the Redwing is quite common in winter but it’s less common to get a single bird sing their spring song, which is exactly what you can hear slightly in the recording below. Just a few fluty notes is all it takes.

I’ve recorded quite a lot so I won’t post everything, but here’s a comparison between the song of a Goldcrest and a Firecrest. Other than the fact that they’re both high pitch, they’re quite different when you know what you’re listening out for, so here’s a comparison. That dainty, bouncy rhythm of the Goldcrest is quite distinctive compared to the Firecrests loud-sharp-monotone song, that speeds up towards the end.

I have plenty more new recordings to listen to. I’m really starting to become more proud of the work that I do, and the benefits that it has, not just for my own mental health, but for others than are stuck in isolation, not just because of covid lockdowns but because they’re confined to the house, care home or hospital bed.
Below, probably one of my favourite, as it’s my very own Garden Blackbird that is now gracing me every morning and evening. I’ve commented on the track where mimicry is used.

My local Yellowhammer’s are back on territory and it’s so nice to hear this iconic song again. I can’t imagine the countryside without it. We need more gorse! Hedgerows aren’t enough, we need to protect our gorse patches and not allow farming culture to cut it all down. Even the brecon beacons national park have a lot to answer for, for needlessly cutting down gorse. Cattle can graze around it, and it doesn’t spoilt the view, it enhances it, as a mountain side covered in flowering gorse is a site to behold.

If you haven’t managed to get to your local mountains yet, the moorland soundtrack is in full swing again. Plenty of Skylark and Meadow Pipit displaying. The only sad the about that trip was seeing the amount of destruction done to our protected peat bogs. 4X4 and off-road vehicles have a lot to answer for, not only do they pose a threat to ground nesting birds but the damage they’ve have caused to our nationally important peat bogs is almost irreversible. They think it’s just grass, and that the grass will grow back, but that is not our moorlands work! they aren’t in many ways like ancient woodland, formed over hundreds of years, and once damaged like this, take a very long time to recover. The exposed peat makes the moorland less affective at storing water, which can cause flooding, as that water is no longer being stored and released slowly. It also contributes to global warming, as it makes the peat less affective at storing carbon. I hate seeing this happen on our doorstep but truth is, it’s happening everywhere. It’s good to see the police are starting to tackle this but I do think that off-roaders need somewhere where they can practise their hobby and enjoy themselves without causing damage. Simply educating people isn’t going to be enough.

Some other cool moments for sound were these Carrion Crows, that were in full territorial dispute. At first I thought they were dive bombing a predator, but they were actually dive bombing each other. |f you listen to the start of the recording, you can hear two birds forming a bond with each other by rubbing their bills together.

I’ll hopefully get more opportunities to record Siskin, as I know they can be excellent at mimicking other birds. In this recording you can hear Swallow and Green Woodpecker, but I’ve heard some that are quite elaborate with it.

This Robin actually did a pretty good job at mimicking other birds. I’ve commented a few of the more obvious species on the actual track, check them out.

Nocmig

Right! Now onto the good stuff, as migration is well and truly underway! And like last spring, I have high hopes for something special flying over the house. So far it’s been mixed bags, but last night, despite the northerly winds, I had quite a variety of cool birds.

I won’t upload every recording, but I’ve also had Wigeon, Snipe and good numbers of Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Redwing and small numbers of Song Thrush too. As we approach April, things should really pick up, as so much starts moving, it’s quite exciting as you never know what you might have flying over your house at night. I’m expecting Common Scoter any day now as they have started moving all across the country but I’m also looking forward to Terns arriving, Spotted Flycatchers and Tree Pipits, which seemed to be a popular one for me last year.

I’ll end with some sleep material and a celebration of my local streams.


Goldcrest Poll Results

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you may have spotted a little quiz where you got to decide which of the spectrograms below is a real Goldcrest.

Twitter Results

Twitter Results

Facebook Result

Facebook Result

Test ID Sepctogram.jpg

Well, the results were pretty unanimous on both Twitter and Facebook. The majority of people thought that B was the real Goldcrest. Well I’m quite happy with that result, as the answer was in fact A !!!

So far I’m yet to find a Firecrest that’s been able to produce the Goldcrest song with 4 notes per phrase. It’s the last note of each phrase that appears to be the most challenging for the Firecrest.

Firecrest Mimic

I’ll leave you with a picture of a lovely Froglet, one of many covering the woodland flower at the moment that’s plastered with Bluebells. It’s going to be a good season by the looks.

Common Frog Bluebells 28th April.jpg

Research

Steve Williams took this photo.. I’ve clearly been eating too much chocolate this easter haha.

It was great to meet up with Liam Olds, Steve Williams and Mike Kilner over easter. I aimed to show them my Violet Oil Beetle location and we weren’t disappointed with over 40+ individuals found. I’ve since found them a few miles away also on a road side verge. Proof that this valley has to be one of the largest strongholds for this species. We recorded 10 Species of Bee thanks to Liam Olds’ vast knowledge, including a Chocolate Mining Bee which was a first for me. It really is great to be surrounded by such knowledgeable naturalists, there’s so much knowledge to obtain about the natural world, I wish I could soak it all up faster! Everything I know, I’ve learned from other people, or by myself through personal discovery and research. It goes to show that if you’re passionate about something, you learn much faster. This is why most people struggle with their current Jobs as you really need passion to drive you forward. I know I’m currently struggle with Jobs, being out of work since October, but I do believe I’m heading in the right direction, to obtain a Job that will give me a sense of purpose, which is after-all what we all want in life.

Here are a few pics from easter. I’ve spent more time out with the recording gear really so haven’t got too many images but I did have some good moments - My first Wood Warbler of the year, a showy Sedge Warbler and my favourites were actually the bugs, Black-spotted Longhorn Beetle and those cute glaring eyes of the Jumping Spider (evarcha falcata). I did go down to see Blair Jones’ Red-necked Phalarope at Goldcliff which has been proving to be a great birding spot this spring, with Black Kite, Spotted Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Grey Plover and all the usual supporting cast. While it does tick a few boxes for me, I’m not sure ticking boxes is really my thing. I’ve never made a year list, local list or life list of any kind, I just want to experience nature and take whatever opportunity nature decides to throw at me.

Firecrest Update

If you haven’t been following, I’m studying mimicking behaviour in Firecrest this year and so far, 3 out of 3 males on territory have been able to produce a goldcrest mimic to varying degrees.
The original bird discovered is still by far the best at mimicking goldcrest which is probably why it stood out to me so well to begin with, but the others have used mimicry in a more subtle way.

Not only was the original Firecrest better at the mimic, but it also used it way more often. This could be because there aren’t any other Firecrests in its territory, so why waste time singing Firecrest? Note in the spectagram that it’s producing 3 notes per peak and with the iconic ‘trill’ at the end. Over-all producing 29 notes including trill.

Firecrest No.1 Mimic

Firecrest No.2 only used the odd mimic within a single song and while it still produced 3 notes per beat, the end ‘trill’ is reduced to only 2 notes, notes of which are more typically expected at the end of the Firecrest song. On average the bird produced 16 notes including the trill at the end. It’s worth saying that the amount of beats doesn’t matter too much as even a real goldcrest song this can vary, however so far the birds who sing less notes and also singing a less perfect rendition of the goldcrest song which is why I’m documenting them.

Firecrest No.2

Firecrest No.3 is by far the most interesting bird, largely because of the circumstances in which it used the mimic, doing so directly after hearing a distant goldcrest singing inside its territory, this can be picked up on during the recording. It only lets out one burst of mimic, which is so simplified it hardly meets the requirements of mimicking but it does have the overall structure. Rather than 3 beats, it has just 2 and this bird neglected the trill at the end entirely. Again, this isn’t going to be a completely controlled study as even goldcrest vary, but it’s interesting to hear these mimics used naturally at a time of year where territories are being established and a birds song is never more imperative than in early spring.

Firecrest No.3

It’s worth noting also that the tempo for each bird also varies;

  1. 154bpm (Sang 12 or more times)

  2. 182bpm (Sang 2 times)

  3. 184bpm (Sang 1 time)

This could be nothing but the bird with the most accurate mimic does sing the phrase the slowest and the bird with the less accurate depiction sings the phrases the fastest. More recordings over the breeding season should reveal whether any of these observations are a coincidence or not but it’s all being documented included frequency of notes.

The reason I’m doing this is because I’d like to know just how accurate these mimics are and I’ll compare all my recordings this year side by side with real Goldcrest songs so that by the end of the study, we’ll hopefully be able to trust our ears again when listening out for Firecrest in the field.

So far I’m noticing that the Goldcrests sound is a little ‘thinner’ with less overall weight to it but that might not be enough to go by, on its own.

Mimicking Birds

By now you’ll realise that I’m quite interested in mimicking birds, having done talks to the Welsh Ornithological Society and studied them during my sound degree in University.  Mimicking species aren’t always easy to find however,  because sometimes they mimic so well, that you assume they are the species they are mimicking and don’t care to look twice. This was evident in my recent discovery, where a friend of mine found a new Firecrest territory, just a mile from one that I found last year. Upon visiting the territory myself, I noticed something a bit odd about the Male Firecrests song.. It didn’t sound like the long-drawn out-monotone notes that I expect to hear in their typical song.. and if that wasn’t enough to raise suspicion, it then let out 3-4 phrases of GOLDCREST song! :O

The bird didn’t appear to show signs of hybridisation, with all the standard Firecrest features intact, so I instantly contact around to see if anybody else had heard or read about mimicking Firecrest before. Nobody had heard of this behaviour and after some research on the web and thru books, I couldn’t find any documentation on this. That was until I contacted Chris Hatch, who said that he would look into it for me. Chris later rang me after finding some information in one of his volumes of the ‘birds of the western palearctic’ which did note that Firecrest was able to produce both Firecrest and Goldcrest vocalisations but this was only on rare occasions. I mean it makes sense, especially in Gwent where the population is so high for Goldcrest. Despite them being able to live alongside each-other, they do still compete for the same food so it is within the best interest of the Firecrest to keep Goldcrests out of its territory. This could be the reason why it’s mimicking, but being such a similar species, who knows. There is a documented case in 1974 where a Male Firecrest was seen tending to a Female Goldcrests nest, from which fledged at-least 5 chicks. Document Link.

There are a couple scenarios that I can think of that would result in this Identity Crisis, especially in species that are so similar, but more research is needed. Luckily I have good friends, and providing everything goes well on NRW’s end, I’ll be able to study this subject bird under license this season. Below is a video showing a distant pic of the subject bird and a recording of the longest bout of Goldcrest song it produced. Hearing the recording alone, I think most people would struggle to pic out any differences. Looking closely at the spectogram, there are some minor differences but I’ll study that in more detail once the license comes thru.

Below is my first recording of the subject mimicking bird, starting off half singing / calling and changing to the goldcrest song at 1:30 seconds.

If you’re unsure of the differences between a Firecrest and Goldcrest song, below is a recording I did 2 years ago of both species singing in the same tree. I’ve noted in the comments where the Firecrest phrases are.

I only managed a couple of distant pics of the subject bird but as you can see in the photo below, the features are pretty concrete. The white supercilium is strong, with a clear black line thru the eye and a bright vibrant green back that appears more vibrant in the sun. The only feature that I have a question mark on is the apparent short legs. I’m not sure if it’s a documented feature difference between the two species, but through my own observations, I’ve always found Firecrest to hold themselves a little higher from the perch, giving the appearance of longer legs. I didn’t see that in this subject, but that could be nothing.

Mimicking Firecrest | March 2019

Mimicking Firecrest | March 2019

Should everything go to plan with NRW, I’ll keep you informed throughout the breeding season.

Llandegfedd & Local News

News

Firstly some good news! After much hard work from local supporters and our local ecologist Steve Williams, Torfaen Council Refused the proposal for the development at Tirpentwys Quarry. I'm so happy about this decision and I hope that it doesn't get appealed in the future. I'm not sure on what basis the plans were refused yet, but I assume it was based around the proposed access route which would have required a corridor of between 25 and 30 metres of vegetation to be removed and resulted in a loss of approximately three hectares of ancient woodland. Personally, the sites biodiversity alone should have held its own. Read more about it

Birds

Local patches have really been producing the goods this week with the cold northernly winds holding migration up. We've had thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Swallows and Sand / House Martins feeding at Llandegfedd, along with 2 Wheatear,  2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Firecrest and a lingering Egyptian Goose. Short trip to the Wetlands resulting in similar activities with Common Whitethroat & Lesser Whitethroat aplenty. Bearded Reedlings were whizzing around with Sedge & Reed Warbler filling the reeds with their scratchy songs.   

Insects

The first Hairy Dragonflies of the year are emerging, picked up on the board walk alongside the visitors centre in the tops of the hedgerows. Apologies for the terrible record shot. Green-veined and Orange-tip Butterflies were also feeding / hiding away from the cold along the tall hedgerows. I hope you like my Green Tiger Beetle shot, I was particularly happy with it but still wish I had a macro lens. 

What you really come here for ;) The Photos

A Rare Day

Today was meant to be my start day at my new Job at Llandegfedd but for unforeseen reasons it has been delayed. This did however give me the opportunity to catch up on a bit of birding on my local patch and it really did deliver today. Beautiful weather and some pretty rare birds. The day started with a Sparrowhawk hunting through peoples gardens on my street, followed by a displaying Goshawk, Peregrine Falcon and then stumbling onto a Firecrest that had been ringed! It's always nice finding a rare bird with a ring on its leg, hopefully I can find out where it came from. To top it off, I get two Garganey at Llandeg Reservoir and upon trying to relocate them with birding friend Craig Constance, he spots a stunning male summer plumage Black-necked Grebe! Other notables, two Female Oil Beetles, plenty of Green Tiger Beetles along with some more Spring migrants - Swallows, Sand Martins, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs. If I get the time this week I'll try get some sound recordings also, just need more hands! Difficult to do it all at the same time.. 

Have you seen a Swallow yet? If not, keep looking out for them. For some reason, every one I've seen so far has been flying south.. It would appear that some have overshot their mark and are having to make their way back down the Uk to more southern tempratures. 

Gold-Firecrest

This year (2016) I've been lucky enough to be a part of a few Firecrest Surveys with Gwent Ornithological Society to establish how many breeding pairs are in Gwent. This location is pretty well protected but despite that, it still remains disclosed. As you can hear in the recording, it starts off with a Goldcrest which was the intended subject for the sound recording. The Goldcrest was then joined by a Firecrest which not only added a new location to the survey map, but actually gave me a great opportunity to directly compare the two-very similar species-side by side.

Firecrests are Schedule 1 birds, and should not be disturbed in any way shape or form, especially during the breeding season. This however was one of those special moments that I couldn't take back even if I wanted to.

Firecrests have a less rhythmic and melodic song, only very slightly change pitch from start to finish (monotone). They have no fancy flick at the end of their song either and can sometimes be hard to pick out simply because they fade in and out seamlessly from silence.

Goldcrests are bold, rhythmic, complex and quite often end with a fancy flick. This flick is not always present but when it is, it's a fast trill, easily missed, but a key feature none-the-less.

 

Smallest Bird in the UK

Many people believe that the smallest bird in the Uk is a Wren, but it's common knowledge in the birding community that the Goldcrest is the smallest bird. There is however another species of similar size in the Uk and that is the rarer Firecrest, which in some cases have been known to be even smaller than the Goldcrest. Truth is though, they are both pretty much the same size and any particular individual bird has the potential of being smaller or bigger than the other. You may not see these birds that often but that doesn't reflect on their distribution as they are very common in the Uk and can be found on a variety of habitats, including your Garden. You just have to keep a keen eye out for them as they are very small and often flitter around in thick coniferous trees.