Where are all the hirundines?

This year there seems to be a real shortage of swallows, house martins and swifts across the county (and maybe Country?). Here at Feathers we used to have dozens of pairs of house martins nesting between the old vicarage and the farm house, whereas now we are lucky if we see any at all. Swallows have bred on the farm in years gone by, but again we now only see them occasionally. Fortunately, the swifts that call the church home still seem to be stable, with about 8 birds back again this year. Other birders in the area and plenty of customers have noted the lack of hirundines this year and it would be interesting to know whether this has been a trend for the whole of the UK.

Swift at Feathers, 25/05/19

On a more positive note, we have had a firecrest present for at least a month now. Throughout the day I can hear it singing somewhere just over the road. For the most part, owing to their protected status (Schedule 1 species), we haven't been even trying to look for it, but just knowing it is here and potentially breeding is great news for us. However, we were afforded wonderful, albeit very brief, views of it earlier in the month.

Firecrest at Feathers, 02/05/19

It seems to have been favourable weather for the breeding season, if anything perhaps a bit too dry! Hopefully it will mean great success for many species. So far we have seen young starlings (although the boxes weren't used this year), sparrows, great tits and blue tits. No doubt the blackbirds, robins and dunnocks have fledged but we haven't been introduced by the parents yet. The great spotted woodpecker parents have almost been a fixture for the last couple of weeks, taking food away but back within minutes. Perhaps there is more than one pair. No sign of the juveniles yet but I hope it won't be long.

Male great spotted woodpecker

Juvenile and adult starling

Adult and juvenile blue tit

First Spring Arrival Dates 2018

2018 Spring Migrant first arrival dates at Feathers, Salehurst, East Sussex

Swallow: 7th April (2017: 7th April)

House Martin: 20th April (2017: 19th April)

Swift: 8th May (2017: 26th April)

Chiffchaff: 3rd April (2017: 17th March)

Blackcap: 8th April (2017: 7th April)

Whitethroat: 20th April (2017: 20th April)

Cuckoo: 14th April (2017: 7th April)

Swallow - 07/04/18

Quiet feeders and spring arrivals

We've been rather blessed with the weather in recent weeks, so much so there is very little activity on the feeders as there seems to be plenty of natural food. Though this isn't good for business, it proves our point that the birds aren't lazy and will always prefer the food that mother nature provides when it is available. It is of course important to keep feeding all year round, however, as any sudden change in the weather can make things very difficult for our garden birds. Last year, for example, was a very poor breeding season for Blue Tits in particular. As they will almost exclusively only have one brood, the timing of the fledging coincided with a couple of weeks of rain, causing a steep decline in the survival rate of young birds. Recent ringing sessions here have highlighted the problem, with roughly 30% of new Blue Tits first year birds, whereas typically this percentage should be around 80%. Hopefully this year will be more successful.

This week has seen a change in the wind direction, bringing in even warmer weather from the south and possibly assisting summer migrants. Our first Swallow sighting of the season came yesterday, with up to 3 birds spotted on numerous occasions through the day. This is just over 2 weeks earlier than last year. I was also told the Cuckoo was heard down on the farm, so a quick stop off after work down Redlands Lane rewarded me with the welcome song of a male bird back for the summer. While down by the river there were plenty of Chiffchaffs singing too, plus our first Blackcap of the year, although I had heard the latter on the 31st March by Johns Cross.

Chiffchaff - 7th April

Outside the shop a pair of Robins have been nest building in the outhouse, the Pied Wagtails are prospecting under the ridge tiles down by the kitchen and the Jackdaws are building in the barn. The Starlings have been inspecting our recently relocated nest box on the side of the shop, though it's perhaps a bit too busy for their liking.

Starling

Pied Wagtail

Robin

Jackdaw

News from the shop front: we have recently taken delivery of the long anticipated Opticron Traveller BGA ED binoculars. You can also read my Opticron Traveller BGA ED review.

First Spring Arrival Dates 2016

2016 Spring Migrant first arrival dates at Feathers, Salehurst, East Sussex

Swallow: 23rd April (2015: 7th April)

House Martin: 4th May (2015: 16th April)

Swift: 28th April (2015: 8th May)

Chiffchaff: 1st April (2015: 10th April)

Blackcap: N/A (2015: 12th April)

Whitethroat: 14th April (2015: 23rd April)

Cuckoo: 13th April (2015: 23rd April)

Spotted Flycatcher: N/A (2015: 27th May)

Swallow - Poppinghole Lane - 31/03/16

Cuckoo - 14/04/16

Swift - 04/05/16

First Swallow of the year

One of the main reasons for starting this blog was to record first dates of Summer/Winter migrants so we can look back at our records in years to come.

This morning (7th April) we recorded our first Swallow, the first of any summer migrants this year for us. I have heard Chiffchaffs in numerous local woodlands while out walking the dog but none heard/seen at Feathers yet. Hopefully over the coming weeks we will see our first House Martins & Blackcaps and hear the distant call of the Cuckoo.

We have had some interest in a few nest boxes from Blue Tits, though we're not sure for sure whether any will be used. The Kestrels seem set in the Church which is great news, the House Sparrows and Starlings are using the multiple barns and buildings to nest, particularly the old Oast House next to our Nature Area, and there are a pair of Dunnocks nesting somewhere nearby the hide too!

Male Kestrel with prey

Male House Sparrow on the Oast House

Nest building Dunnock

The weather was fairly fine throughout March and has warmed up in to April, with temperatures set to reach as high as 17° on Friday, up from 14° today (which still feels warm!). A few butterflies have been about, mostly Small Tortoiseshells here emerging from their winter hibernation. The Bees are buzzing too, joined on the "viburnum bodnantense" by a Large Bee-Fly last week.

Large Bee-Fly

Large Bee-Fly

Finally a few Goldcrest pictures from lunch time today:

First post, last departures!

It's time we started keeping better records of our sightings here, which in turn will help us look back each year and compare when the first summer/winter arrivals turned up, which birds are most frequent at what time of year and of course to share all our sightings/photos with you all.

On Saturday 22nd October we saw a young Swallow hawking in the blue skies, unless we post otherwise this would be our last sighting this year for a Hirundine - the House Martins were in good numbers up until a couple of weeks ago but still up to 10 around earlier this week.

The 22nd also saw our first confirmed Redwing sighting - with other probables earlier in the week. Fieldfares are still absent, though we have Mistle Thrushes most days and an unfortunate Song Thrush fell victim to this female Sparrowhawk.

Temperatures are still above average for October, around 15 degrees during the day. This means the feeders are still relatively quiet, though we have noticed an increase in Goldfinches and Greenfinches feeding on the sunflower hearts in the Nature Area. Long-tailed Tits seem to be appearing more regularly too, a sure sign the winter is drawing near. A sedge/siege of Grey Herons passed over on the 24th.


We expect to be stocking Nikon binoculars soon on top of our current selection of Opticron, Hawke, Viking and RSPB. Check our website regularly for new models and perhaps, if you're lucky, sale prices: www.shop.featherswildbirdcare.co.uk