February 2009
25th
An unexpected Redpoll called overhead as I was running near Carfax this morning.
24th
Sure signs of spring in the form of more nesting activity from the Magpies, and a pair of Collared Doves courting and subsequently mating at St Peter's. A heron flew past, but again I was too slow in getting onto it.
20th
The Magpies are now showing signs of nesting activity at St Peter's. A Sparrowhawk flew over late morning.
At Port Meadow a Redshank, 70+ Golden Plover, 12+ Pintail, a Dunlin and a few Gadwall were of note. A few Common gull were in the gull roost with one candidate Yellow-legged Gull which I could not confirm before the flock flew up.
15th
Several Skylark over St Peter's today, including one in full song.
A late afternoon trip to Port Meadow found it almost completely under water, and consequently very difficult to bird. Wildfowl included large numbers of Wigeon and Teal with several Shovelers at the back, though many birds were too distant for me to identify properly. About 25 Golden Plover flew over, and a Great-crested Grebe was also on the floods. The gull roost was impressive: huge numbers of Black-headed Gulls, amongst many Herring and Lesser-Black-backed. I could only see a proportion of the gulls, but amongst the ones I had a reasonable view of were a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull, a brilliant adult Yellow-legged Gull and, most surprisingly of all, a 1st-winter Iceland Gull! After getting a record shot, I left in the fading light, finding the Ring-necked Duck struggling against the current of the overflowing river!
13th
The birds around college seem fearless. I have noticed it before and I noticed it again today when an extremely loud noise revealed the presence of a Blue Tit in a bush right next to me - it just sat there watching me, little more than a metre away! A consequence of urban lifestlye perhaps?
11th
A Canada Goose flew past St. Peter's, and several Skylarks could be heard calling overhead throughout the morning, presumably a post-freeze related movement.
7th
A trip to Port Meadow found the floods frozen over to a greater extent than I had anticipated, and as a result the gull roost I had come to see never happened. The few patches of unfrozen water held good numbers of Teal, but only 2 Wigeon. 2 Common Gulls were also present - a 1st winter and a much less scruffy 2nd winter. A Buzzard flew over as I was leaving, and a Skylark called briefly.
6th
An afternoon trip to Farmoor reservoir through the slush saw me thoroughly soaked through and covered in dirt. To cap it off, I arrived to find that the reservoir was closed! I was not a happy bunny. I then found out that it is much easier to trespass in Norfolk, when I was spotted and thrown off after only a few minutes. Resigned to watching from a ludicrous distance, I nonetheless managed to pick out the two Great-northern Divers, several Goldeneye and a probable Yellow-legged Gull. The Scaup were presumably on F1 since I couldn't find them. I didn't stay very long because the distance made gull-watching extremely difficult, especially considering my lack of experience, so I missed out on the Iceland Gull as well. However, flocks of winter thrushes were a bonus, and I had nice views of Bullfinch, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer and a flyover Sparrowhawk. The sunset over snow-covered fields was something of a consolation on the way back.
5th
Unsurprisingly, not many birds about today!
4th
The male Sparrowhawk was seen again briefly from St Peter's, perched on a nearby roof.
3rd
A couple of Goldcrests were calling as I left St Peter's this morning, despite the freezing temperatures.
We have finally started on birds in our lectures on organisms, though sadly a very brief section of the course. Today I learnt that that the tip of the bill can actually be articulated independently of the whole structure (a phenomenon known as rhynchokinesis) - extremely useful for deep-probing waders such as godwits.
