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

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!

Summer roundup

June's fine, warm weather seemed to be the best of the summer as it made way to cooler temperatures and plenty of rain throughout the school holidays. Apart from the odd day, the feeders in our new 'nature area' outside the shop have remained busy throughout the season. The bulk of the birds using the feeders have been Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Collared Doves, House Sparrows, Robins, Dunnocks, Chaffinches and Goldfinches. We do see Greenfinches occasionally, although of course their numbers have declined dramatically over the past 12 years thanks to Tricho. The Great Spotted Woodpecker family have mostly disappeared, going back to natural food which is most abundant for them at this time of year, as is also the case for Blackbirds and Starlings. Nuthatches visit fairly regularly but are always in and out in a flash.

Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Great Tit

Non-feeder visitors include daily Goldcrests & Chiffchaffs, with Swallows and House Martins overhead. The Swifts departed some time in August without so much as a goodbye. Our first Spotted Flycatcher sighting of the year came on the last day of August down by the cow sheds where the Chiffchaffs have been so active. Unfortunately the bird didn't stay long!

Spotted Flycatcher, 31/08/17

A week later on the 9th September, in the very same spot, came our 95th addition to our species list. Once again the Chiffchaffs were actively searching for insects when another warbler arrived, sat and had a quick preen before flying off. The visit lasted no more than 10 seconds but fortunately I managed to get a few photographs to confirm its ID as a Reed Warbler.

Reed Warbler, 09/09/17

Last week saw our first sighting of a Treecreeper in a while. I recognised the call immediately and managed to find the bird on the Oak Tree in the car park. My photos aren't particularly good but it was nice to see none-the-less!

Treecreeper, 15/09/17

Most likely the same pair of Grey Wagtails which successfully raised a brood here in May/June have been back recently too, joining the Pied Wagtails.

Pied Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Finally, this afternoon I have seen a pair of Marsh Tits back for the first time since February. I had gone out after hearing the Treecreeper again, and while looking for it in the oak tree I spotted the Marsh Tit at the feeder. They were going for Black Sunflowers, presumably caching them for the winter.

Marsh Tit, 19/09/17

Shop News:

At the start of September we became a Premier Dealer for Zeiss binoculars. This addition to our range furthers our reputation as the best place in the county for trying out optics, and gives customers an opportunity to compare two alpha brands in Swarovski and Zeiss. We now have around 60 pairs of binoculars in stock so the cabinets are looking pretty grand!

Winter Weather

Yesterday's horrendous rain turned to heavy snow at around 6.30pm as the temperature dropped, leaving a fair dusting greeting us this morning. This is the first snow of the winter, which has been mostly above average temperatures with a few short cold snaps. Off the back of a mild autumn and coupled with an abundance of natural food, feeder activity has been a bit short so far this season, with sales of food slightly below winter 2015.

We've had one brief visit from a Brambling so far (11th November) and a few Siskin flyovers but none stopping yet. Good numbers of Fieldfares and Redwings were present late in 2016 feeding on the yew trees, but after the food was gone they mostly moved on, though flocks can be seen most days flying over. A Grey Wagtail was regular from late October through to December, joining the resident Pied Wagtails, and a Red-legged Partridge was an unexpected visitor to the nature area on the 24th November.

After October's Buzzard sighting, our first 'perched' photos from Feathers, I was hugely surprised to find one sitting on the fence post in the Nature Area as I entered the hide one morning in December. The grubby windows seemed to help hide me, enough to at least manage a few photos and a video before it flew down to the ground behind. I managed to stay hidden as I crept around the hide for a few clearer pictures before it took off.

The colder weather which arrived at the turn of the year seems to have increased the activity on the feeders significantly, especially with today's brief flurry of snow and 2°C temperature! A pair of Marsh Tits have turned up, quite a rare visitor for us, and are now taking beakfuls of sunflower hearts to store away. Flocks of Long-tailed Tits regularly pass through and Coal Tits are here most of the time too. Charms of Goldfinches, a few Greenfinches, plenty of Chaffinches, Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, House Sparrows, Nuthatch & Great Spotted Woodpecker sum up the other regulars.