Some Birding "craft" to boost your bird count

Sorry about the delay in posting the news from last week, but the traffic was awful on the M1. (??!)

Sunday 14^th Feb.  Not a major setback, but you should know that for a bird to count it has to be seen. Some people record an “H” for heard, but not me. So when I am in Putney, and hear a Ringnecked Parakeet fly over, and don’t see it, it don’t count. My time will come.

Not much on the birding front this week mainly due to a lot of rain, although I did pop over to Church Broughton, a small village west of Derby, to get excellent sightings of a Black Redstart actively feeding on a pile of steaming chicken “poo”. The extremes we birders go to..remember the rubbish tip in Aviemore for the Iceland gull.

So, some tips about how to improve your bird sighting results.

David Lindo, an urban ornithological journalist always advocates constantly looking up and watching the skies. How right he is as downward looking can easily miss Swifts, Kestrels, Buzzards, Martins and Gulls to name but a few.

On my beginners walks, I also advise people new to birding, to give a flock of birds a good scan. A flock of Canada Geese can easily include a Greylag, or a Pink Foot or even something special like a Red-fronted Goose. On my most recent such walk, I mentioned that Lapwings flying high may include Golden Plovers (when we saw a flock, it didn’t), and if flying fairly low, especially when panicking up from the ground, a flock could include Starlings...it did!!!

Strange the way some species stay well apart, and some mix. I recall the time the Sanctuary nature reserve in Derby had a very rare (for Derby) Dartford Warbler on 17^th June 2004 which (in the words of Rod Key of the DOS), co-habited with a Stonechat and each time the Dartford appeared so did the Chat.

But just watching what birds are doing can pay dividends. I remember seeing a Mallard in Markeaton Park, appearing to act like a blackbird homing in on a worm with one eye peering at the grass. In fact, that Mallard was more concerned about what the other eye could see, as it was watching a buzzard drifting round overhead. If I’d not watched the Mallard, I’d have missed the Buzzard!!

I have written articles about what I call the “wow” experiences, so let me recount one of the favourite stories I was told. I’ll call it No.1), because others will follow in due course!

A couple of guys out birding one day, were standing still in a wooded area just waiting for some bird life, when a Woodpigeon flew straight between them at chest height. As they looked at each other and about to say “did you see that” a sparrowhawk did exactly the same thing, just a second behind. See what I mean about “Wow”.. you would have to have been there to fully appreciate the moment.

My next blog will be after trying a new experience, a 2 hour birding trip round Christchurch harbour in Hants. Weather permitting of course!!!!!