Category: Biology

Ask anyone how long they imagine wild birds live, and the answer might be a 2-3 years, perhaps, or maybe a bit longer, certainly not as long as a cat or a dog. Well, the truth might surprise you. While it is true that some of the common garden species we know and love have quite short lifespans, there is evidence (from scientific ringing) that wading birds, like Oystercatchers and Woodcocks, can live for several decades.

One Oystercatcher, well known to birders, was first ringed by by Adrian Blackburn in on the Lincolnshire  coast (Eastern England) and was last logged just over 40 years later in 2010 in roughly the same part of the world. It might well still be alive today, we don’t know.

The website Wader Tales mentions that Oystercatcher and also points out that one Manx Shearwater was ringed and logged at the age of almost 51 years. A Pink-footed Goose of more than 38.5 years is on record and a Rook of almost 23. A Black-tailed Godwit was hatched in Iceland in 1977 and ringed in the October of that in Butley, Suffolk. It was caught and logged in 1993 on The Wash and again in 1996. Last time it was seen was 2001.

LIFE ON THE FEN EDGE – WITH SIR DAVID ATTENBRADLEY

EPISODE 1: I HEARD A MURMUR

from the BBC, the Bradley Broadcasting Corporation

Sunset is still a long way off. But, there’s a peace settling over the reed bed at the Broad Lane balancing pond in Cottenham. Nevertheless, it seems an unlikely place to spend the night. But, that’s exactly what several hundred local residents are planning to do. They’re just waiting for the sun to go down and in they’ll come to make their bed.

The time is drawing near, a few birds have come home to roost and are calling from the trees. Almost as soon as the sun dips below the horizon, the first of the overnighters arrive, winging their way in from the local fields and making a flap about who gets to sleep where. And, then the crowds begin to arrive, everyone jostling for pole position in the race to find the most comfortable and safest spot to bed down for the night.

The arrivals are, of course, starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), and this is murmuration time. We do not see quite the magnificent flocks of millions that appear over the African savannah nor even the multitude that murmurates along Brighton Pier. But, this is Cottenham on the edge of the Cambridgeshire Fens and we have to make do with a mere two or three thousand of these birds settling down each winter night. Wave after wave arrives to find a roosting place among the reeds.

And then, the stragglers, the less prompt late back from the fields. Thankfully, there’s always a snug bed among the reeds. And, there’s no panic about who gets the top or the bottom bunk. Every roost is the same and every roost is as safe as the next from night-hunting predators with a taste for our feathered friends. They just have to hope there are no pike in that balancing pond.

LIFE ON THE FEN EDGE – WITH SIR DAVID ATTENBRADLEY

EPISODE 1: I Heard a Murmur
EPISODE 2: Goldfinch Dynasty
EPISODE 3: Young People’s Beat Combo
EPISODE 4: The Cumulus Dynasty

Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) at St Mary’s Island, Whitley Bay, Northumberland, turn of the high tide 15th November 2018.

St Mary’s Island, near Whitley Bay, is a great place to see a variety of bird species. Here are some of the species that you might see on a visit:

Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) – These large sea ducks are a common sight around St Mary’s Island. The males have striking black and white plumage with a lovely green patch on the back of their heads, while the females are speckled brown.

Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) – These black and white wading birds are commonly seen along the shore, probing the sand and mud for their favourite food – bivalves such as mussels and cockles with their large orange bill.

Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) – These small, plump wading birds are easy to spot with their distinctive black and white plumage and mottled brown plumage. They get their name from their habit of turning over stones and pebbles to find food.

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) – These small, sandy-coloured wading birds are often seen running along the shoreline, looking for insects and other small invertebrates. Look out for another similar species Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius), distinguished by yellow ring around the eyes.

European Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) – These large, noisy gulls are a common sight around St Mary’s Island. They are opportunistic feeders and will eat a variety of food, including fish, insects, and even rubbish.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) – These are the largest gulls in the world, and are often seen patrolling the coastline. They are powerful predators and will take a wide range of prey, including fish, seabirds, and even small mammals.

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) – These graceful birds are summer visitors to the coast, arriving in April and leaving in September. They are often seen hovering over the water, looking for fish to dive down and catch.

Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) – These grey and white seabirds resemble gulls but have a distinctive tube-like nostril on their beaks, they’re often referred to as tubenoses. They are often seen soaring along the cliffs and offshore islands, and are known for their ability to produce an oily substance which they spit at predators in defence. Their flight pattern is with stiff-winged flapping.

Common Guillemot (Uria aalge) – These black and white seabirds are part of the auk family and are often seen in large colonies on offshore islands.  Also known as the Common Murre. They have a distinctive high-pitched call and can often be seen diving underwater to catch fish.

Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) – These small gulls are easily recognizable by their black-tipped wings and bright yellow beaks. They are also known for their loud and distinctive “kitti-wake” call. Like other gulls, they are opportunistic feeders and will eat a variety of food including fish, invertebrates, and scraps of human food. They are known as Black-legged Kittiwakes outside the UK.

We’ve also seen Cormorant, Red Shank, Grey Heron, Dunlin, Sandpiper, Avocet, and several other species on the island. There is less chance of seeing Puffin, Shag, Gannet, but you never know…

The Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) is a typical owl, which means it is a member of the Strigidae family. On a flying visit to RSPB Saltolme on Teesside (a dry and winter sunny trip this second trip there for us), we headed over to the known roosting sites of the birds on the reserve. The noticeboards had said they were not “showing”. However, a warden was watching a tree intently and so we followed suit, but nothing came to sight.

Heading up the path, the warden spotted one in a dense woody thicket, it was only just visible with binoculars at about 15 metres distance and certainly you couldn’t see it without optical aids. He directed our sight to it, but Mrs Sciencebase spotted a second to its right and even more fiercely obscured by branches and foliage. I got a record shot of the first zoomed to 600 mm, f/6.7, t 1/2000s, ISO 12800.

It was dusky by now and very little light in the thicket. We needed to get back on the road, so couldn’t wait the hour or two before they took flight to begin hunting and had to leave before any significant Starling murmurations, although we did see a wonderful sunset of the chemical works! More of those in the next blog post.

Photographed at RSPB Saltholme

The Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is the UK’s joint smallest bird (alongside the Firecrest, R. ignicapillus. They’re both usually about 90 millimetres long and weighing approximately 9 grams.

Both species favour pine trees, but you see them in other wooded areas and occasionally in gardens. I say “you see them”. But, they’re so small and flighty that it is quite hard to spot them and even harder to get decent photographs of them in their natural habitat.

They dart about in the darkest recesses of the woods, apparent only through their high-pitched whistling tweets and occasional flash of gold. So, I was quite pleased to catch one Goldcrest in the sunlight in one of our nearby woodlands, Rampton Spinney, about eight kilometres north of Cambridge.

The sunlight meant I could have a short shutter speed with the intention of freezing movement without the ISO being too high and the pictures noisy. These three shots were taken with a Canon 6D, with a Sigma 150-600mm zoom lens at full stretch, f/5.6, ISO 2500 and a shutter speed of 1/1500 second.