Viewing entries tagged
Goldcrest

Autumn Summary

Well, what a spectacular autumn that was! We haven’t had a proper autumn like that for a long time. For around 5-6 years in a row now we’ve either had strong winds at peak autumn colours or well before the autumn colours even kick in. We can’t complain this year though as it was perfect and for a good few weeks too. Along with the colours it’s been a fantastic year for Fungi too, so I’ve spent some time picking out some of my favourites in the woods at various local locations. My last blog I spoke about a new camera, and no I’ve haven’t won the lottery, but this time around I’ve also replaced my lens too, with a slightly longer ‘400mm’ instead of a 300mm. Despite the fact that it’s a longer focal length, this lens is slightly shorter in length and much lighter in weight, making it overall easier to hand hold, especially given that the built in image stabilisation offers two-three more stops of stabilisation than my older heavier 300mm. Canon has been able todo this thanks to a technique called ‘Diffractive Optic Technology’ which in theory sounds quite simple, as they have split an element in half in such a way that it retains it’s magnification. It’s actually an ingenious idea that’s quite difficult to achieve and even Canon took two attempts to get it performing on the same level as their other super telephoto prime lenses. I won’t bore you with all the details. For me it’s the ultimate trade-off between performance and weight, which has become quite important to me lately as I’ve been suffering with back issues. This design however does come at a cost, not just to the bank account, but also to the ‘bokeh’. Bokeh is a term used to describe everything outside the main focus plane, whether that be the foreground or the background. Where this design compromises a little is when you have certain light conditions in the image where ‘bokeh’ has to render bright objections. It’s most noticeable if there are pure lights or reflections in the background, and instead of getting pure circular ‘bokeh balls’ you will have bokeh balls with other smaller circles inside. If you look at the diagram below, you can see why this happens, as the image to the left is essentially what the light has to pass thru, leaving you with circles in the image. You won’t see this on anything other than those rare circumstances where bokeh balls are pure and honestly, when are they ever pure in nature! Almost never, so it really doesn’t bother me in the slightest. In the diagram below it also shows you two different versions of DO options, the middle one was Canon’s first design, which meant it had an air gap between the lenses. This resulted in loss of contrast, especially noticeable when used with extenders. The third right image is their most recent design which is even more ingenious as it affectively does the same job, but without an official air gap. Clever Canon. So, fingers crossed this lens will serve me well, for now I’m happy.

Here’s a mixture of images taken locally with both the 400 and my 100mm macro, in various places. What amazes me looking back on these images is not that they’re great images, I’m just shocked I managed to get any of them.. as 90% were taken in horrific lighting conditions. So bad that I doubt I would have been able to get any usable shots with my previous setup, so for that I am happy.

Sound Recording

Just to give you an idea of how mild it has been this autumn / winter. I recorded Roesel’s Bush-cricket’s actively moving around and singing, on the 17th of November! Absolutely crazy! I consider Roesel’s to be a true summer species, only really singing on those piping hot summer days. Granted it wasn’t giving it the full effort but I still can’t believe it had enough energy for this amount in November. #Globalwarming

The same day I managed to catch up with what’s most likely to be the same Willow Tit I recorded last year. Sadly this time it was on its own. If you listen towards the end it does some pretty epic alarm call which I have heard them do before but it’s quite a difficult one to hear in the field as it’s not that loud.

I’ll end on a high note as I’ve been meaning to set aside some time to record a Dipper singing for years but given that my local population along the Afon Llwyd is quite an urban river, I always put it off for fear of recording too much human activity. That and the fact that the Afon Llwyd is one of the fastest flowing rivers in Wales, so it’s quite loud. That said, I recorded this guy singing quite close to a waterfall and a busy school, so was surprised I managed as well as this given the circumstances. That morning I lead a walk with In Our Nature CIC and we managed to listen to two Dipper deep in a song battle, which ended up with a chase. It was great for the group to witness this and it was just the kick up the butt I needed to get down there myself with my recording gear. Lesson of the day, don’t let people put you off.


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.


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.

Forest Farm

So the time has come, my time at Aden Productions working on a Iolo Williams Tv Series for BBC has come to an end. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hope I get more work with them in the future. At-least until I get another Job, my time is my own again, and I what better way to spend it than at Forest Farm Nature Reserve. It really is a wonderful sub-urban nature reserve and as a result, the wildlife there is so used to people. Snipe are regularly feeding out in the open, Goldcrest flitting about the hedgerows and to my surprise, a Male Brambling briefly flew in to join a drinking party alongside the stream. Kingfishers were busy, though I didn’t spend much time with those today. The Snipe really did put on a show, I hope to get them at a better hour and perhaps with some more direct light but still my best shots of Snipe thus far. A Sabre Wasp and Common Carder were the only insects spotted on the wing at Goytre Wharf yesterday. I must admit it was a bit of a shock to see most of the conifer plantation cut down, though the Sabre Wasp was making most of the dead wood to lay her eggs in. I was hoping to see a Wood Wasp, as this is the only site I’ve ever seen them, but I’ll take whatever I can get.

Patching

Spent a lot of time close to home this weekend. Even walked around Cwmbran Boating Lake which is especially busy on the weekends which I generally try to avoid. Glad I visited though as I did record a Marsh Tit on arrival and had a great time watching early spring behaviour coming from the waterfowl / Great Spotted Woodpeckers that have already lined up a few nesting holes ready for spring. 

Last night I gave my second ever talk, this time at Gwent Ornithological Society' AGM meeting. Still not a massive fan of talking in front of people but it was received well with some very good questions at the end which proved they were listening lol. On a serious note, my talk was on Mimicry in birds, something that is a difficult topic to talk about considering how much mimicry happens day-to-day. 

Today also saw a small flock of Waxwing at Morrisons Carpark in Cwmbran! Finally starting to get some local sightings. They weren't showing very well though due to the activity there, they seemed a bit shy compared to the urban sightings I've had so far. 

Goldcrest

Finally got out with the camera for an hour today, visited Llandegfedd with the intension of photographing some Redwing / Fieldfare and all I really got in the camera was this obliging Goldcrest. Bird numbers are really low at Llandegfedd... Water level is the lowest I've ever seen with old buildings showing at the waters edge! This has made it near impossible to get close to the water and it has drawn all the waterfowl to the middle which are then being flushed off by the water sports activity which are for some reason still going on. I had the impression that the water sports (sailing) were meant to stay on the south side of the lake but they were not sticking to those boundaries today with one venturing near the Osprey Pole at the north end. Rant over, I hope you like the photo. 

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.

 

Cosmeston Lakes

Seen a lot of lovely photographs come out of Cosmeston Lakes in Cardiff lately so arranged a short trip with the other half today and it is a lovely little spot. Another classic example of a public place that is also good for wildlife. I feel they've struck the right balance there with 1 lake for public and the other set back for nature. It's a balance that many other locations (like Llandegfedd) are yet to achieve. Here are some of my favourite pictures. 

Patching

Didn't commit to anything particular today. Just wanted to explore my local patch for whatever I found. I just so happened to find some really promising signs of species that I'm yet to even see although photograph. I won't give away the species just yet but it's all very exciting finding something new locally. Just when you think you've seen it all, my patch has delivered yet again. 

Llandegfedd was so busy today! All levels of the car park were full including the north car park. The water level is almost back to full level now which has brought our special Great Crested Grebes back into their breeding grounds. They haven't really had much chance to breed on Llandegfedd yet this year because of this factor. There simply hasn't been any sights for them to build a nest as the tree line has been set back far from the water line. I'm predicting that will change in the next week or so and we'll start to see typical behaviour from them.