Autumn's arrival

There are many signs of Autumn arriving, some more obvious than others, and for me the most significant is a change in the birds and their behaviour. Often around September, after an exhausting breeding season and a subsequent moult into nice new feathers, some species which may have been largely absent in gardens during the summer will return in search of food. Large mixed tit flocks, often interspersed with goldcrests, treecreepers and chiffchaffs, descend on gardens as their natural food supply dwindles. Long-tailed tits will come in search of suet, while the coal and marsh tits favour black sunflowers or sunflower hearts to cache away for the winter. Nuthatches will do the same, and you may notice more regular visits than at other times of year, as they busily collect seeds to cram in to any nook or cranny they can find.

Long-tailed tit

Chiffchaff

Goldcrest

Coal tit

Nuthatch

Marsh tit

Squirrels and jays are both famous for their 'caching' behaviour, with the latter believed to be the reason for the wide distribution of oak trees in the UK.

October is normally the time when large charms of goldfinches appear in gardens, particularly in the south east, frantically feeding before some head further south to spend the winter. At Feathers we've had a charm of about 20-30 birds regularly visiting the feeders for the sunflower hearts.

Of course, Autumn is also the time for summer migrants departing and winter migrants arriving. We're still seeing the odd one or two house martins and swallows even now, while the first redwings and fieldfares we first spotted a couple of weeks ago.

Redwing showing how it got its name

Summer sightings

It's been a fairly average summer, both weather wise and bird wise. There has been very little of note, but it does seem to have been a successful breeding season for many garden birds. Once again blue tits have been the most abundant, but we've been hearing reports of house sparrows, goldfinches and great spotted woodpeckers aplenty too.

Juv great spotted woodpecker 07/06/19

A pair of kestrels nesting in the church again this year, raising 3 or 4 young. Occasionally a hobby caused a stir, harassing the youngsters but soon seen off by the adults.

Hobby 04/07/19

The swifts, which also nest in the church, seemed to have another successful year, with a highest count of 16.

Swift 12/07/19

Green woodpeckers have been busy this summer, the farmhouse lawn the most common place to find them but one juvenile took a liking to sitting on the old wall.

Juv green woodpecker 13/07/19

Both male and female sparrowhawks have been swooping through, with an unfortunate sparrow falling victim to the male on one occasion.

Male sparrowhawk 19/07/19

Male sparrowhawk with sparrow prey 19/07/19

Buzzards had been oddly quiet early in the summer, but with the arrival of some finer weather later in August, sightings became more regular.

Buzzard 23/08/19

August was dominated by blue tits on the feeders, with species such as blackbird and great spotted woodpecker becoming notably absent as they found more natural food. By later in the month the long-tailed tits arrived back after a summer hiatus, and a few chiffchaffs starting appearing, feeding up before their long migration south.

Long-tailed tit 30/08/19

Chiffchaff 29/08/19

We are still waiting for our 100th species, having been on 99 now since spring last year. Bring it on!

A dearth of unusual visitors

I haven't 'blogged' for months, the reason being there hasn't been much to share. So far this winter, apart from a very brief cold snap at the end of Jan/start of Feb, it has been pretty mild. The feeders have still been busy but only with the regular visitors; we haven't seen siskins, redpolls or bramblings, while the redwings and fieldfares occasionally fly over but are finding plenty of food around. Lots of customers are also reporting a dearth of unusual visitors.

Now the birds are thinking ahead to spring; the great spotted woodpeckers have started drumming, the blackbirds have started singing, and great tits in particular have become very vocal.

The rarest visitor was a female black redstart in late November.

A recent poll on our Feathers facebook group asked 'Which is your favourite bird?'. A tricky question, with lots of suggestions posted, but the clear winner was the long-tailed tit. These gorgeous birds are popular for their character as well as their sweet looks, as they stick together in family groups. While they are around all year, the winter is the best time to spot them in your gardens, and good quality suet and peanuts are their preferred foods. During this past month we have had a group visit our feeders outside the shop regularly. Here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure :)

First of the winter frosts

We've had a few cold starts and maybe a touch of frost earlier this month, but this morning's hard frost was the first of the winter. Generally it's been warmer than average over the past few weeks but with a cold front moving in now, I'd expect the birds to really start picking up on the feeders. Numbers of goldfinches have dropped since last month's blog post as expected, with many heading further south for the winter. Coal tits are still plentiful however, more so than great tits but not as many as blue tits. The marsh tit is popping in regularly and long-tailed tits are beginning to visit more frequently.

At the start of the month we had a surprise in the form of a little owl roosting in the oak tree in the car park. It stayed for a couple of days and is probably still in the area, having heard it occasionally since around the church. When roosting, they are very difficult to locate unless they move or call. Fortunately it was doing both as it was getting some grief from the smaller birds, but once it had settled down it was very difficult to find once you took your eyes off it!

Where to watch birds in Sussex: Feathers Nature Area

Our Hide / Nature Area is perfect for watching and photographing garden birds in East Sussex. In the last couple of weeks we have spent a bit of time tidying and reshuffling the plants, feeders and perches, making for better photographic opportunities. The Siskins are very regular now and are one bird in particular which use the perches a lot. Here are a selection of recent photographs:

Other highlights since the last post have been a female Brambling, back very briefly in the Nature Area on the 27th Feb and a Firecrest (or possibly 2) spotted and photographed yesterday (9th March) by a customer in the yew tree just over the road.

Feathers Optics: www.shop.featherswildbirdcare.co.uk
Feathers Bird Food: www.featherswildbirdcare.co.uk

Early winter roundup

So it looks, although we've had a few cold days and a once very brief dusting of snow, to go down on record as another wet, warm winter. The wet weather doesn't seemed to have dampened (see what I did there?) the feeding activity, as the Siskins turned up in January and have been regular ever since. Goldfinches are visiting in good numbers, more Coal Tits this winter than any previous, a regular Chiffchaff (or two), more Goldcrests than you can shake a stick at and a Firecrest back again today. Just one Brambling sighting this winter again. With all this activity, it's no wonder the Sparrowhawks have been visiting regularly too, once or twice stopping for photos and I'm sure a Blue Tit or two falling prey to these magnificent birds. Since David, our previous ringer, moved on, it had been a while since any had taken place here, but Chris has filled in his spot now and she is looking to undertake sessions more frequently, so it will nice to get some info back on birds ringed in previous years. Here are a few photos from the last month or so:

Sussex snow - 17/01/16

Male Brambling - 28/01/16

Blue Tit with beak deformity

Still managing to feed by bending sideways

Firecrest (17/02/16)