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

Fledglings at Feathers

Sparrows, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Siskins, Starlings and Nuthatches all seen with young up to now. The Robins and Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been taking food away in bulk so should be out very soon. The timing seems to be about average this year, having had a fairly mild winter but a chilly April, pushing a potentially early season back to normal.

A few photos of youngsters so far:

Top of the agenda at the minute is suet - our premium fat balls are a hit with all the birds and are a great source of easily digestible protein, especially beneficial to garden birds when this past week has been only 15° with plenty of rain making natural food in short supply.

Binocular sales have been very good, notably in the shop as more people are trying before they buy, always advisable if you ask us. Vortex, the latest addition to our range, has been our best seller in the last month. If you are looking for a new pair of bins or know someone who is, please consider us!

Vortex binoculars in East Sussex
Swarovski binoculars in East Sussex
Opticron binoculars in East Sussex
Hawke binoculars in East Sussex
Vanguard binoculars in East Sussex
Viking binoculars in East Sussex

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)

June Birding

June is normally one of our busiest months of the year, both in the shop and for birds on the feeders, as all the fledglings arrive in gardens. It seems this year is significantly quieter, very few Blue Tits or Great Tits, the Sparrows are busy but not a whole load of youngsters, the Starling youngsters were out in May and have slowed down too. The Great Spotted Woodpeckers have brought one juvenile in though, which is always nice to watch, and the Nuthatches are certainly regular at the minute too.

Adult Male (left) and juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

A brief but nice surprise in the Nature Area was a male Blackcap, just staying long enough for Allan to get a nice photo.

Unfortunately the Spotted Flycatcher's attempt to breed was unsuccessful, the nest was built but then destroyed, presumably by a corvid or rat. A big disappointment for us as they now haven't bred here for the past 3 years.

The Pied Wagtails didn't breed in the same place as last year and so far we have seen no young, though they are seemingly now gathering nesting material so we're keeping watch on that.

The Kestrels, however, did breed in the same place again as the Church tower evidently provides a safe home. Though we haven't kept up with their progress as well this year, they are certainly very active now and it seems the young are out flying now, though not venturing too far from the safety of the Church, particularly as the Jackdaws give them a lot of grief!

Allan had an unusual event in his garden recently as an adult Great Tit was feeding a couple of baby Blue Tits. This is known as cross-species feeding and according to the linked BTO article can be down to a number of factors, including mixed clutches and nest failure.

Cross-species feeding: Adult Great Tit feeding fledgling Blue Tit