2021-02-01 Bird Watching

DON’T DELAY TOM BAILEY JOIN OUR 2021 My200BirdYear We hope we have inspired you to sign up for our #My200BirdYear challenge. Don’t forget, we’ll be with you all the way, offering expert help, so you can see more species than ever before! Join today at: birdwatching.co.uk/my200

We round up all the YEAR OF THE LAMMERGEIER bestraritiesof2020 DEVON Discover everything from estuaries to moorland SEE 200 FEBRUARY 2021 £4.70 SPECIES IN 2021! 16-PAGE PULLOUT GUIDE INCLUDING: GO BIRDING G 10 winter wonders to kickstart your year 10 site guides, G Track your progress with our ticklist from Dumfries to G Month-by-month expert advice Dungeness A SPLASH OF WINTER COLOUR Catch up with the incomparable Kingfisher MIGHTY MIDGETS How the Little Owl went from invader to favourite



SIGN UP TODAY FOR 2021 #My200BirdYear challenge birdwatching.co.uk/my200 BIRDING QUESTION A male Stonechat We ask this month’s contributors: What’s your favourite winter bird? DAVID OSBORN/ALAMY* Ruth Miller: Snow Bunting – a few show up on our North Wales coastline each winter. They are always a delight to see FLPA/ALAMY* Welcome DP WILDLIFE VERTEBRATES/ALAMY DAVID TIPLING/ALAMY* Ian Parsons: T he start of the new year ...and the Bird Watching NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY* My favourite winter bird has to set me thinking about team’s answers be a Merlin dashing across the how birdwatching is all ARTERRA PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY* COVER: KINGFISHER: MIKE LANE/ALAMY; LAMMERGEIER: WILL BOWELL; LITTLE OWL: IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY estuary marshes, the perfect about constant change – Matt Merritt: A Goosander is FLPA/ALAMY* mini-hunting machine it’s what makes it always a delight – they’re not a endlessly fascinating, and it’s what I bird I see in summer Dominic Couzens: It’s an talk about on page 26. Where have all unusual one – Water Pipit. I love the Pochards gone? Why do Mike Weedon: Lesser the fact that it migrates the Stonechats come and go? Spotted Woodpecker: so much ‘wrong’ way in autumn easier to see and enjoy in winter Your best chance of finding the David Lindo: It’s got to be answers to questions like that, and to coming up with Mike Roberts: The Jay – the Iceland Gull! I barely ever new questions, of course, is to take part in our seeing such a colourful bird can see them down south but they #My200BirdYear challenge. Our special 16-page centre brighten up any winter walk! are gorgeous! section has everything you need to get you started, and as always, it’s all about getting out there and watching birds, in the way that suits you. It’s a challenge, yes, but it’s fun and informative, and we want to hear how you’ve gone about tackling it. Wherever you are, and whatever birding you’re doing, I hope 2021 is a healthy and happy year for you all. Matt Merritt, editor SUBSCRIBE ITSIK MAROM/ALAMY FROM ONLY £2.80* A MONTH SEE PAGE 6 *DIGITAL ONLY GET IN TOUCH: @ [email protected] twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag Bird Watching, Media House, instagram/birdwatchingmag Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag birdwatching.co.uk 3

ContentsFEBRUARY 20 26 16-page My200BirdYear FEATURES 34 Special inside 20 A splash of winter colour 20 Colourful Kingfisher INSIDE: 16-PAGE 53 Go Birding #MY200BIRDYEAR 84 Delightful Devon The flash of electric blue on a SPECIAL! 72 Mighty midgets riverside walk is a marvellous 102 2020 rarities roundup sight for any birder SIGN UP 26 A decade of birds NOW! Facts and figures on how bird CO.UK/MY200 populations have changed over the past decade 4 February 2021 34 Preventing extinctions How conservation organisation BirdLife International is saving globally-threatened birds 40 Newcastle’s Kittiwakes BW art editor Mark Cureton heads to Newcastle to see how the city’s avian residents are faring 68 The big question What exactly is a bird? It’s a question pondered by Ruth Miller following the delivery of a new book 72 Little Owl Dominic Couzens gives good reason why we should be concerned for this bird’s future

8 NEWS & VIEWS 16 Weedon’s World Mike remembers all the great wildlife that has visited his garden 18 NewsWire How Greater Manchester is going green for conservation 19 Grumpy Old Birder There is beauty among all the 80 mayhem, says Bo Beolens IN THE FIELD BIRD THE WORLD 67 Your Letters 8 Your Birding Month One woman’s encounter with the ‘shooting fraternity’ Why Lapwing is our Bird of the Month, plus birds to look for now 76 Somerset’s Starlings 69 Q&As include Waxwing and Goldcrest Your chance to enjoy mesmerising Our experts identify a mystery 14 Beyond Birdwatching Starling murmurations up close bird of prey and others and personal! Even deep in winter there are 114 Back Chat unexpected natural treats, says 79 Scottish delights James Lowen Mya Bambrick, wildlife Fabulous birding with the photographer, on her birding life 47 ID Challenge Heatherlea team in Scotland Test your knowledge of birds you’ll 80 Birds of Japan BIRD SIGHTINGS see in your garden during winter Dominic Couzens visits Japan to 102 Bird rarities of the year 53 Go Birding enjoy the many great birds this country has to offer A roundup of rare birds seen in the 10 great birding destinations to UK during the past year head to for brilliant birding 84 Delightful Devon GEAR & REVIEWS SUBSCRIBE FOR There’s so much to discover here, from estuaries to moorland £2.80 88 The Urban Birder 94 Gear PER MONTH* David Lindo ‘looks up’ in the We test Kite’s APC Stabilized SEE OVER THE PAGE coastal city of Aqaba, Jordan 12x42 binoculars *DIGITAL ONLY WHEN YOU PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT BIRDS ON THE BRINK 96 WishList Goodies to consider include knitted birds and a monopod 92 Curlew This month, the BPOTY team look 97 Books at the plight of a beleaguered genus Latest releases including of iconic waders All The Birds of The World birdwatching.co.uk 5

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YOUR BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY* BIRDING MONTH FEBRUARY BIRD OF THE MONTH LAPWING With 650,000 wintering individuals, the Lapwing is one of our most abundant waders. ‘Individuals’ is a curious word to use, though, as Lapwings are very much flocking birds. Perhaps because of their general familiarity, we tend to overlook the fact these are truly marvellous-looking (and great-sounding) birds. Any bird with a crest is a good bird, of course, but this one is also cloaked in exquisite iridescent greens and purples, and has the most ridiculously broad wings, quite unlike any other wader ever likely to appear in a British field. Fields and pit margins are the place for these birds, rather than wading out in deeper water. They will stand in water when bathing and resting, though. But feeding is done plover-style, using those big eyes to seek out wormy (or other invertebrate) morsels in the damp mud. Look for them in the lowlands, wetlands and agricultural fields (often, classically, with Golden Plovers), or shimmering black and white in a distant flying flock. Whatever distance you see them at, though, don’t ignore them, admire them! 8 February 2021

DID YOU DAVID OSBORN/ALAMY KNOW? The Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus is also known as the Peewit (after the call), or even the Green Plover, for the colour birdwatching.co.uk 9

FIVE TO FIND IN FEBRUARY The shortest month is the 1 WAXWING PAUL R STERRY, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS LTD/ALAMY last really wintery month, PAUL R STERRY, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS LTD/ALAMY and a chance to catch up Even if it isn’t a classic ‘Waxwing winter’, there will always be some of these gorgeous with some birds you may northern visitors somewhere during the month. Most likely, they will be in the north or the not see again until next east (being birds which have come over from Scandinavia and Russia etc). Everyone knows winter. Here are five great that supermarket car-parks are hotspots, with abundant berry-rich trees and hedges! birds to get your binoculars Wherever they are, these fluffy shape-shifters are pure magic and a treat for the eyes and the on this month. ears (with a beautiful ‘tinkling bell’ trill of a call). twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag RARITY RATINGS Common, widely distributed Localised – always a treat Very scarce or rare DID YOU KNOW? Black-tailed Godwits of the nominate ‘European’ subspecies have a last UK breeding refuge on the Nene Washes, Cambs 2 BLACK-TAILED GODWIT There are two subspecies of Black-tailed Godwit which occur in the UK – the nominate European race, which nests in tiny numbers, and the Icelandic subspecies, which forms the largest wintering flocks. There may be nearly 50,000 of the latter in the country, and at some sites flocks a few thousand strong often form. In February into March, these numbers swell as the Icelandic godwits prepare to return to their breeding grounds far to the north. The black-and-white tail end, combined with the obvious white wing-bars and the long legs protruding well beyond the tail in flight, make these large waders easy to identify, especially in flight. Unlike Bar-tailed Godwits (which are more closely tied to the shore), flocks are often found well inland on suitable wetlands. 10 February 2021

YOUR BIRDING MONTH ERLEND HAARBERG, NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY RARITY PREDICTOR It is still a bit early in the year to say whether it will be as rarity-packed as 2020. But, we will have our customary guess that some outlandish rarities will turn up this month, including these three, perhaps. 3 LONG-TAILED DUCK JÜRGEN & CHRISTINE SOHNS, IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY The tiddly Long-tailed Duck is one of our prettiest ducks (and there is some pretty stiff TENGMALM’S OWL competition!). At this time of winter, all our drakes of any species are looking at their finest (with the grubby ‘eclipse’ plumage of summer a distant memory), but Long-tailed Ducks are unusual in having The people of Mainland Shetland are probably a distinct winter plumage (see bird featured above). And it just so happens that this frosty white getting sick of Tengmalm’s Owls by now (only non-breeding plumage is more pleasing on the eye than the browner breeding plumage. Though kidding!) with different individuals appearing small, they are truly striking, not least because of the narrow tail which gives them their name, and in the last couple of winters before this one. extends for several inches beyond the rest of the bird. Females are, needless to say, less pleasing on Will there be another of these gorgeous little the human eye, but still distinctively marked little birds. (not Little) owls this year? Long-tailed Ducks are largely birds of the sea, seen around much of the coast (particularly off northern Scotland) though strays do turn up inland. 4 SHORT-EARED OWL VINCENT LEGRAND, AGAMI PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY All owls have charisma. But Short-eared Owls have it more than most. It helps that they often ADRIAN PLUMB/ALAMY KELP GULL fly in the day, buoyant and long-winged like an owly harrier. And it helps that those yellow eyes can mesmerise at 200 paces. Although essentially northern and western in their ‘upland’ One of the black-backed gulls, these are M WOIKE, BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY breeding grounds, Short-eared Owls spread downhill, south and east in the winter, often southern hemisphere birds. But, with records being found in little concentrations of several birds at suitable sites. Numbers are boosted by BRIAN POLLARD/ALAMY as close as northern France in February to continental birds, and like other birds which feed on voles, vary somewhat cyclically according March 2018, surely the first confirmed UK to the voles’ boom and bust life cycle. Kelp Gull is coming soon (there was a possible juvenile in February 2018, in Lancashire)… 5 GOLDCREST PIED-BILLED GREBE The tiny Goldcrest is a tough cookie. Despite being smaller than any other UK bird, it can It feels a tiny bit like cheating to predict a survive our (admittedly relatively and increasingly Pied-billed Grebe, when there have been at mild) winters. Of course, part of the mechanism least three in the country near the end of 2020. for survival is to seek our pockets of relative But, who knows, perhaps another will pop up, warmth, in Ivy or among dense pine needles, or or the individual which appeared at Chelmarsh down in the brambles where warm air can linger. Reservoir, Shropshire, late in the year, will They are much commoner and more widespread reappear somewhere else. than many people assume, with more than 600,000 breeding pairs and easily more than a birdwatching.co.uk 11 million birds in woodlands across nearly the whole country (apart from high mountains and some of the more extreme islands). Part of the reason for them being regarded as uncommon is that the call is so high-pitched that many of us can no longer hear them!

WHAT’S IN A NAME? FERNANDO SANCHEZ DE CASTRO/ALAMY CIRL BUNTING A localised bird with a weird name, the Cirl Bunting (the C is soft) is, in the UK, restricted to Devon and more recently Cornwall. The ‘Bunting’ bit is because it is related to Corn Buntings, which are stocky and plump, like ‘Baby Bunting’. The ‘Cirl’ bit, though, is said to from the 18th Century, derived from the local Italian word cirlo, which in turn is derived from zirlare, meaning to whistle like a thrush or to chirp. The call is somewhat like the piercing ‘tick’ of a Song Thrush, but the song is more of a Lesser Whitethroat-like rattle… TRACKS & SIGNS LISA GEOGHEGAN/ALAMY* CORVIDS IN NUMBERS MIKE LANE/ALAMY* RAVEN NESTS 5,000 Ravens are among our Number of acorns stored by a earliest nesting birds, often single Jay in one season sitting from the first week of February. The nest is a 600,000 massive pile of sticks, like a giant version of a Carrion UK population (in pairs) of the Magpie Crow nest. They usually nest on high places, such as 150 Maximum cliffs, crags on wingspan in cm of mountainsides, or a large a Raven tree, or more recently on pylons and radio masts! 260,000 Number of UK breeding FIELDCRAFT pairs of Hooded Crow EARLY MORNING WOODLANDS PAUL R STERRY/ALAMY* February is a great month to go birdwatching in woodland, JAMES OSMOND PHOTOGRAPHY particularly deciduous woodland. There is little in the way of foliage between you and the birds. So, birds such as Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatches and Treecreepers are more visible. But, birds are also starting the courtship rituals (hence National Nestbox week being centred around St Valentine’s Day). Early morning is the time of peak activity. Get out there for first light and enjoy the wonders of the skeletal forest and its frisky birds. 12 February 2021

YOUR BIRDING MONTH Winter thrushes UK TIDES FEBRUARY There are five thrush species which are regular in the UK. All are widespread and common. Can you see them all in a day? Of course you can. Here is a quick ID guide. The times below are for high tide, when waders and wildfowl will be pushed closer to dry land... FLPA/ALAMY* Find the location closest to TMO BIRDS/ALAMY* your destination and add or subtract the hours and minutes Blackbird Redwing from the high tide timeat London Bridge, below. One of our commonest and most familiar birds, the medium- Our smallest thrush, there are as many as 8.6 million of these large males are black all over with yellow bills and eye-rings. lovely birds in the UK each winter. Note the fancy facial Date Time m Time m Females are usually dark brown. Much tamer than other pattern, with bold pale supercilium (‘eyebrow’), plus the rusty thrushes (hence very common in gardens) red flank patches and underwing. 1M 04:07 6.91 16:29 7.12 2Tu 04:44 6.88 17:10 6.96 3W 05:22 6.78 17:54 6.72 4Th 06:04 6.65 18:41 6.45 5F 06:52 6.48 19:38 6.20 6Sa 07:54 6.28 20:46 6.01 7Su 09:14 6.13 22:00 5.92 8M 10:33 6.14 23:19 6.01 9Tu 11:48 6.32 10W 00:29 6.27 12:54 6.60 11Th 01:24 6.52 13:47 6.83 12F 02:11 6.70 14:33 6.97 13Sa 02:52 6.81 15:15 7.01 14Su 03:29 6.87 15:52 6.96 15M 04:03 6.86 16:25 6.82 16Tu 04:33 6.78 16:55 6.63 17W 05:01 6.65 17:23 6.42 18Th 05:30 6.47 17:53 6.20 19F 06:03 6.25 18:28 5.96 20Sa 06:43 5.97 19:14 5.69 21Su 07:37 5.67 20:19 5.46 22M 09:00 5.50 21:47 5.47 23Tu 10:27 5.67 23:09 5.76 24W 11:37 6.05 25Th 00:15 6.18 12:35 6.46 26F 01:05 6.52 13:24 6.79 27Sa 01:50 6.76 14:08 7.03 28Su 02:31 6.95 14:50 7.21 SOUTH WEST Weston-Super-Mare NORTH WEST (+5:05) Whitehaven (-2:30) Barnstaple (+4:30) Douglas (-2:44) Newquay (+3:32) Morecambe (-2:33) SANDRA STANDBRIDGE/ALAMY* Falmouth (+3:30) Blackpool (-2:50) Plymouth (+4:05) Torquay (+4:40) NORTH EAST Bournemouth Skegness (+4:29) STEVE YOUNG/ALAMY* (-5:09)* Grimsby (+4:13) Portland (+4:57) Bridlington (+2:58) St Peter Port Whitby (+2:20) (+4:53) Hartlepool (+1:59) Swanage (-5:19)* Blyth (+1:46) Portsmouth (-2:29) Berwick (+0:54) Southampton (-2:53) Song Thrush Mistle Thrush SCOTLAND Slightly larger than a Redwing, the Song Thrush is the classic Our largest thrush, the Storm Cock is a whopper. A paler, SOUTH EAST Leith (+0:58) speckled thrush of popular imagination. The underwing is sandier, yet greyer-brown bird than the somewhat similar Song yellow. These are the only thrushes that habitually bash the Thrush, Mistles are even shyer. Look for white in the outer tail Ryde (-2:29) Dundee (+1:12) living daylights out of snails. corners and white on the underwing. Brighton (-2:51) Aberdeen (-0:18) Eastbourne (-2:48) Fraserburgh (-1:28) Dungeness (-3:05) Lossiemouth (-2:00) Dover (-2:53) Wick (-2:29) Margate (-1:52) Lerwick (-2:50) Herne Bay (-1:24) Stromness (-4:29) Southend-on-sea(-1:22) Scrabster (-5:09) Clacton-on-sea (-2:00) Stornoway (+5:30) Ullapool (+5:36) EAST ANGLIA Gairloch (+5:16) Felixstowe Pier (-2:23) Oban (+4:12) Fieldfare Aldeburgh (-2:53) Greenock (-1:19) The Redwing’s companion, flocking Lowestoft (-4:23) Ayr (-1:44) in fields and on berry-rich hedges each winter. The Fieldfare is large Cromer (+4:56) Campbeltown (nearly as big as Mistle Thrush), and handsome, with a pale grey-blue Hunstanton (+4:44) (-1:12) head, a similar coloured rump and a dark brown back and black tail. Girvan (-1:51) The spotted breast is liberally painted in yellow ochre and the WALES Kirkcudbright Bay underwing is white. Colwyn Bay (-2:47) (-2:25) Holyhead (-3:28) Barmouth (-5:45) IRELAND Aberystwyth (-6:11) Londonderry (-5:32) Fishguard (+5:44) Belfast (-2:47) Swansea (+4:42) Donegal(+4:20) GARY K SMITH/ALAMY* Milford Haven (+4:37) Cardiff (+5:15) *Approximate times due to large variance between the month’s neap and spring tides. All times are GMT. birdwatching.co.uk 13

YOUR BIRDING MONTH Beyond MAMMAL Birdwatching Rabbit hunter Even deep in winter, James Lowen says, there are unexpected natural treats Spend enough time at a Rabbit colony and, sooner or later, a hungry Stoat will probably appear. Perhaps you will be observant SMELLY BEAUTY enough to watch this mustelid as it lies in wait, largely hidden by low-lying vegetation. More likely you will sense panic and see the In shady woodlands and hedgerows, blur of legs as hunter pursues its prey. mainly on lime-based soils, the subtly sumptuous B R YO P H Y T E Bog moss blooms of Stinking Hellebore are a visual Mosses in the genus Sphagnum treat during this largely love damp places – from bogs plant-bereft month. The and marshes to damp woodland. drooping, bell-shaped The 30-odd species in the UK flowers are are tricky to differentiate, but peppermint-green their qualities are well-known and usually delicately and traditionally have been put rimmed burgundy. to good use. The absorbent Although native from nature of Sphagnum led to its deployment as nappy Kent to North Wales, you may see this substitutes, and its antiseptic plant elsewhere, as garden escapes have properties prompted its service to dress wounds. become widely naturalised PLANT LICHEN Crimson star Natural compass It is easy to overlook the tiny, delicate red Hazel flower – your eyes perhaps distracted by the pendulous catkins on the Lichens are successful partnerships same tree. Actually, both are flowers: the first being female, the second male. Being hermaphrodite (‘monoecious’ in botanical structure) and an algae (which parlance) may seem a cunning ruse to enable self-pollination. In photosynthesises, thereby fact, each Hazel tree needs to be pollinated by pollen from others. providing the power source, sugars). Lichens often have very MAMMAL PICTURES: JAMES LOWEN particular environmental Secret lives species such as this Leafy Xanthoria ( If you are lucky enough to wake up to a snowy morning, why not take can use lichen as a navigational aid! advantage by searching for 14 February 2021 pawprints that indicate the clandestine passage of mammals, such as Brown Hare.



PATCH DIARY Over the years, Mike has been lucky enough to enjoy some great wildlife in his own garden Regular readers of this column will be well aware that I live in Peterborough. To be more precise (though, no stalkers, please), I live in a part of the city called West Town, which is pretty central, but west of the main railway (the East Coast Main Line). Our house is about a mile from the cathedral and less than a mile from the River Nene and Peterborough’s rowing lake (the latter two substantial bits of water having a bit of an influence on what is possible, bird-wise, in our neck of the city). And, don’t tell my dear wife Jo, but one of the reasons I wanted to move to our house (back in late 2000) was because it was 300m away from nesting Black Redstarts (which I thought might come and pay us a visit, but never have). MIKE WEEDON Of course, Peterborough is a small city, and having moved from London, it felt almost village-like when we first came here. It is very easy and quick to get into countryside from anywhere in the city. Hence, Red Kite is the most frequently seen raptor. Once, I even Above Juvenile Long-tailed in homage to David Lindo, I like to (occasionally) call looked out of our bedroom window to see a juvenile Tit, visiting the ‘drinking pond’ in myself The Suburban Birder (I don’t really, though, Goshawk flying over the garden! Mike’s garden, Peterborough, except to gently tease David). We (or more precisely, I) have had Crossbill and Tree June 2020 The real reason we chose our first house (20 years Pipit over, in summer, and on foggy mornings have Mike Weedon is a lover of all ago, when houses were almost affordable), was the heard the calls of Curlew and Greenshank; and at night, wildlife, a local bird ‘year lister’, and a garden. I do love a bit of garden birding. For odd I have heard and even seen (once) a Tawny Owl flying keen photographer, around his home city historical reasons, involving the selling of allotments to straight down the garden. of Peterborough, where he lives with adjoining residents in the 1950s, our house has a larger We have tried to make the garden as good as possible his wife, Jo, and children, Jasmine than expected garden, with two extra bits tagged onto for wildlife, with the planting of lots of native bushes/ and Eddie. You can see his photos at the original plot, making a curious L-shape. It is not trees and the digging of a couple of ponds being our weedworld. blogspot.com huge, but larger than you may guess from the street. best ‘gardening’ contributions. There are Frogs and And the nearby allotments were also a great asset Toads and Smooth Newts galore, and I have seen when we moved in, bringing birds such as Linnets and 21 species of butterfly and 15 species of dragonfly; and Whitethroats to our yard, in the summer, and Reed the garden is often visited by Hedgehogs, Foxes and Buntings and the occasional Pheasant in the winter. even a Muntjac, for a spell. Sadly, the self-styled ‘UK’s greenest city’ decided to sell Lockdown, particularly the first one in spring 2020, off the allotments for housing; and instead of having a gave me a new appreciation of our garden, when the local ‘lung’(and source of birds), we have one of those quiet nights (remember when people didn’t go out in tightly-packed garden-less cars, much?) brought even estates of hundreds of houses WE HAVE SEEN Water Rails calling, as they just a few gardens to the west. 21 SPECIES OF flew around our party of the BUTTERFLY & 15 SPECIES city, on three nights! And, as I So, we don’t quite get the was more frequently in the birds we used to, visiting our back yard; but I mustn’t OF DRAGONFLY garden (now I was working grumble, as our garden has from home), I got to enjoy the done alright over the last visiting warblers (including couple of decades (for a ‘city garden’). Highlights of the Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat in the 89 species I’ve recorded, have included eight species of summer); and best of all, a crazy family party of more warbler; Spotted Flycatcher on a few occasions than 20 Long-tailed Tits swarming over the garden. (including a very late one in October 2010); a flushed Although their nesting site has long since been Woodcock flying past my knees and winter Waxwings flattened and there is now a park by the city’s prison, on a couple of years. Other flyby birds have included I hope to have a visit from a much anticipated Black fenland specialities such as Golden Plover, Wigeon, and Redstart one day, perhaps appearing on our roof or Whooper and Bewick’s Swans. Hobbies and Peregrines fence. Who knows, perhaps this will be the lucky year have been regular in various years, though these days, for The Suburban Birder? 16 February 2021

MORE BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II SWAROVSKI OPTIK SUPPLIER OF BINOCULARS NL PURE ONE WITH NATURE SEE THE UNSEEN

NEWS ALL THE BIGGEST BIRD NEWS & EVENTS CONSERVATION Green birding initiatives Greater Manchester The Manchester skyline region birders adopt new initiatives to Network, Wigan National help save the planet Nature Reserve bid committee, the Friends of Carrington New Year’s Day saw projects to bring focus to the would in a ‘normal’ year. We Moss, Save The Greenbelt, the the start of the city’s environment, including also renewed our pledge and Greater Manchester Green City official United The Perfect Ten, 10 bird species are looking to build on all the Region staff, the office of the Nations Decade on selected to represent its Greater Manchester Metro Ecosystem boroughs, and the eco-birding since the start of the GMBCR Mayor and all the borough Restoration, and The Greater cycling initiative, The Big Year Project in March 2018, in councils, towards the aim Manchester Birding City in Greater Manchester. particular the Birding of Greater Manchester Region Project (GMBCR) has Cycling Initiative. becoming a “world-leading become officially affiliated to Perfect Ten Green City Region”. the project. “Birding and cycling G Further information is James Walsh, also known as It staged the Greater Manchester addresses two of the biggest available at: the Mancunian Birder, said: Natural Capital Conference at issues of our time, the decadeonrestoration.org or to “The next decade is vitally the Chamber of Commerce back biodiversity crisis and the watch the Greater Manchester important to the future of the in February 2020, the online climate emergency. We are Birding City Region Launch earth’s ecosystems. We have premiere of ‘The Perfect Ten’ calling for both birding and Film visit: youtu.be/ had the scientific reports and film at the virtual Manchester cycling to be given a higher ataRCr1lcEw the warnings and now it really Festival of Nature 2020, the profile and increased is time to ‘save the planet’. virtual Greater Manchester investment in the Greater Ecosystem restoration is key to Green Summit 2020, Manchester city region.” finding solutions to some of worked with Friends of the biggest environmental Carrington Moss on ‘Plan Bee’, James Walsh added: “We are problems on the planet, such looking forward to the United as climate change and the Shaun Hargreaves, of Nations Decade on Ecosystem destruction of the Amazon Restoration, and to using the Rainforest. 2021 to 2030 is communicate better this skills we have in book writing, certainly the decade to ‘act year with organisations ecology, journalism and local, think global’.” on Zoom, Webex and promotion to inform, educate He said that as the birthplace Webinars than we and inspire people about the of the Industrial Revolution, environment.” Manchester has a big part to play in the UN Decade on The GMBCR Project will be Ecosystem Restoration. working with Lancashire The GMBCR Project used Wildlife Trust, Manchester 2020 as a springboard to the 18 February 2021

NEWS & OPINION NEWS IN BRIEF GRU M P Y O LD BI RDER Statue honour This month, Bo finds beauty among all the mayhem Emily Williamson, who founded the all-female Society for the You will not be surprised to see me Glancing from my bedroom window, I was Protection of Birds in 1889 (it called a grumpy old birder. Indeed, I surprised by the absence of avian distraction and later became the RSPB), is to have been called a miserable old git was about to open the window to peer down at my be honoured with a statue at her ever since I was a miserable young tiny pond to see if any Frogs were in evidence, when former home in Fletcher Moss one. The way the world is, it seems movement stayed my hand. There is a large Park in Didsbury, Manchester. appropriate to rail and grouse against agri-business, red-leafed bush between the pond and the feeders. In partnership with the Emily unhampered mega corporations and governments Being in the soft south-east, it usually keeps its Williamson Statue Campaign, who form committees to think about what inaction leaves all year and blossoms at least twice. the RSPB is inviting sculptors to they can spread over the longest possible period. submit designs to commemorate When local councils appoint a tree warden (and will However, this year we have had more than our its founder. The short-listed soon be obliged to come up with a tree-planting usual two frosts and a succession of storms that maquettes will be unveiled in July programme) I am not even slightly dumbfounded blew the leaves into The Channel, or the next 2021, marking the centenary of when they happily chop down mature native trees county. Nevertheless, its twigs are dense enough to the Plumage Act. The public will wholesale and plant a few non-native saplings. hide a Long-eared Owl (not that it ever has) so it’s then vote for their favourite. Local politics seems founded on dumb! still much loved by House Sparrows, Dunnocks and Blue Tits. As I gazed at it, an odd thing happened. As good as income I am too scared of litigation to ever accuse a local Suddenly a dozen sparrows swooped to the top of council of taking kickbacks when they build houses the bush… nothing new there. Then, as one, they all High biological diversity in our that locals can’t afford; too far to commute from, dropped two feet deeper into the bush. It was like immediate vicinity is as important on a floodplain. They have rooms so small even a watching a highspeed lift descend! for life satisfaction as income, say two-piece suite is impossible to house; beds have to scientists from Senckenberg, the be built in situ, as the stairs are too narrow to carry The reason followed – with deadly grace, German Centre for Integrative up anything bigger than your mortgage bill and the a Sparrowhawk swept below me clipping the top Biodiversity Research (iDiv), and only good thing is there isn’t room to swing a cat. twigs where the sparrows had been, then flying a the University of Kiel. The foot off the garage roof, over the road and down researchers showed that all across I cannot offer you the comfort this month of my into the local park 300 yards away, almost without a Europe, the individual enjoyment normal irascibility. Of course, plenty drew steam wing-beat. An immature male or female, the view of life is correlated to the number from my ears as Palm Oil Armageddon came ever from above was of that warm, plain olive brown of bird species in one’s closer and the edge of the rain forest ever further back almost the colour of a song thrush. surroundings. An additional 10% away. I could bemoan the lack of brain that of bird species in the vicinity champions a new rail track for the sake of the It wasn’t a garden ‘first’, but it typified for me the increases the life satisfaction of environment and pushes it through Parliament with magic of birds and birding. Birds that predate Europeans at least as much as a the same ease that it will be pushed through other birds can be marvellous and majestic, while comparable increase in income. numerous ancient woodlands! This month I won’t being cold-blooded killers. Nature equipped them Nature conservation thus raise your blood pressure attacking pet owners, to be red in beak and claw, but has wrapped their constitutes an investment in plastic purveyors or pesticide sprayers. steel in beauty. human well-being, they say. Instead, let me share a little warmth and wonder. Bo Beolens runs fatbirder.com and other Breeding success Enjoy it while it lasts, as I did, safe in the knowledge websites. He has written a number of books. that normal service will shortly be resumed. Blakeney Point in Norfolk enjoyed its most successful breeding year GET IN for Little Terns since 1994, with TOUCH Common and Sandwich Terns also doing well at the National Do you agree – or Trust site in 2020. Although disagree – with Bo’s there was bad weather in June, comments? Email us at a lack of human disturbance and few predators seem to have birdwatching@ been the reasons. Nesting Little bauermedia.co.uk Terns fledged over 200 chicks, a welcome boost to the seabird, TOMSPHOTOS/ALAMY* Left Magical which has been in serious decline Sparrowhawk nationally since the 1980s. The National Trust is asking birdwatching.co.uk 19 for donations to the Everyone Needs Nature campaign via:  nationaltrust.org.uk/appeal/ everyone-needs-nature-appeal

WINTER COLOUR Anyone on a riverside walk who has caught the flash of electric blue from a Kingfisher will appreciate what a marvellous sight it is... WORDS IAN PARSONS Ilowered my binoculars and quickly followed by a searing bolt of electric blue, then dives into the brackish water below, placed my hands back into the warm zipping arrow-like over the grey mud – a remerging with a small fish clamped tight depths of my fleece-lined pockets. Kingfisher, the exotic gem of winter in its bill. The straight flight resumes, this Winter birding on an estuary can be estuary birding. time over the main channel of water, rewarding, but it can also be very heading away from me towards the far cold. It can also be a bit colourless. Grey Kingfishers are tiny birds, about the size side of the estuary. skies above the grey water, and the of a House Sparrow, and in the wide open cloud-filtered sunlight that does get space of an estuary they look even smaller. My hands are still cold, but the sudden through is still bright enough to reflect off Any other bird would be lost in the splash of colour has certainly warmed up the exposed, grey-brown expanses of wet landscape, but not this one. The colours my enthusiasm once again! mud, bleaching out any colour in the are beautiful and that blue on their back is hundreds of waders that are probing the so vibrant that it just can’t be dulled. Within continental Europe, many mud in front of me. But not even the Kingfishers migrate during the winter general greyness can mute the colours of My hands are quickly out of my pockets months, the cold and the ice forcing them the next bird I see. and on to my binoculars, and I follow the to move from their breeding grounds. A short, sharp, high-pitched call bullet-like flight of the bird before it Some of these travel long distances, with smoothly arcs around and over a shallow southern Spain being a popular area of water, it hovers momentarily and destination. But others travel relatively 20 February 2021

SPECIES KINGFISHER In life, Kingfishers are surprisingly small (smaller than, say, a Starling) @HERTSKINGFISHER/ALAMY

SPECIES FACTFILE BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY* KINGFISHER Scientific name: Alcedo atthis Length: 16-17cm UK numbers: 3,800-6,400 breeding pairs Habitat: Lakes, canals and rivers in lowland areas Diet: Fish and acquatic insects short distances, often wintering on the been created by the receding tide, I PJRNATURE/ALAMY coast. In Britain, where the winters are watched it for several minutes, surprised much milder than in continental Europe, to find a Kingfisher indulging in a bit of and the water is churned up, you are most of our birds are resident, but there rock pooling, and in that time the bird unlikely to see them by the sea. But if it is are some that do move, heading to the didn’t move once. one of those ‘halcyon days’, look out for coast and to the estuaries, where the risk the ‘halcyon bird’ on anywhere that gives of the water icing up is almost nonexistent. Halcyon days, halcyon bird it a perch overlooking the water. We don’t tend to think of the Kingfisher I was soon distracted by some Gannets Groynes, jetties, the structure of piers as being a coastal bird in Britain, but now, plunge-diving far out to sea and, as is and even boats moored in a harbor can all in the winter, there are a few that are, and typical of these things, the Kingfisher had be used by these small fishers, so they are with a bit of luck you can find one. I can vanished when I returned my gaze to always worth checking out if you are remember the first time I noticed one at where it had been sitting. Despite being partaking in some seaside birding. the seaside – it was a still day and the tide disappointed that it had gone, it did make was almost fully out. Jutting out from the me think how often you get to switch from Estuaries are a better bet for finding sand, and into the sea were several watching a Kingfisher to watching Kingfishers in the winter, especially in concrete groynes; and sitting out on one of Gannets. Since then, I have found places where the actions of the tide create these Bladderwrack-covered structures Kingfisher a few times at the seaside, areas of shallow water. It is here that you was a Kingfisher. It was sat there gazing always on calm days though, when the sea are likely to find the Kingfisher practising down at a large open rock pool that had is flat and glass-like. If there are waves its hovering technique. The lack of perches means that for the bird to see what is ESTUARIES ARE A BETTER BET FOR FINDING going on in the water below, it has to hang KINGFISHERS IN THE WINTER, ESPECIALLY IN in the air, beating its wings to keep itself PLACES WHERE THE ACTIONS OF THE TIDE steady, in a manner very much like the CREATE AREAS OF SHALLOW WATER... 22 February 2021

SPECIES KINGFISHER The ‘blue’ colours vary greatly depending on the angle of the light Two fish at once! Fish catching takes an instant ALANTOOKTHIS/ALAMY* birdwatching.co.uk 23JOSH HARRISON/ALAMY

SPECIES KINGFISHER GARY COOK/ALAMY* In general, males have all black bills and females have some orange on the lower mandible Target located, dive initiated Kestrel employs over grassland. sustain themselves, particularly in ARTERRA PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY* A hovering Kingfisher is a beautiful sight and a real burst of colour, guaranteed bodyweight daily to survive. have a Kingfisher in residence. This is to brighten up any winter’s day birding, If there is a cold snap and on an estuary or not. when they can start to turn up on our temperatures plunge, then they Winter hazards also face the other problem of the estuaries and coasts. The birds can, of course, still be found to fish in still or slow-moving The winter, then, can be a challenging inland during the winter; rivers, streams, large ponds and gravel pits are all great the best visibility conditions. But it time for Kingfishers, and many succumb places to see them, and most of our is these waters that are most likely Kingfishers will remain in these habitats to freeze up if the thermometer to the cold and lack of food during this throughout the year. Wherever they are, drops below zero. though, they are birds that are very vulnerable to cold weather. Being small, impenetrable barrier for the Kingfisher. they have a larger body surface area to If the water in their home area freezes up, body volume ratio, and this means that then they have to move, but Kingfishers they lose body heat much more rapidly are highly territorial at all times of the than larger birds do. This in turn means year, so if they do move they have to do so that they have to proportionally eat more to an area of water that doesn’t already food than larger birds do to be able to period. For us, at this time of the year, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT A KINGFISHER MUST a Kingfisher fishing on an estuary or CONSUME 60% OF ITS BODYWEIGHT DAILY TO SUSTAIN ITSELF... perching over a rock pool is a welcome splash of colour, but for the bird, it is all about survival. BW 24 February 2021

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Pochard Little Egret DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY* All change A t the start of March, it will be 35 years THE IDEAL TIME TO REFLECT since Bird Watching first appeared on the Here, we look at how UK bird news-stands. Not for populations and distributions have the first time, it set me thinking changed over the past decade... about what has changed, in terms of UK bird populations and distributions, WORDS MATT MERRITT since then. But then my thoughts turned to what’s happened far more recently – in the last 10 years. Things are constantly changing. But are they changing as much, as fast, or in exactly the way that we sometimes think? Let me give you an example. I talked to a fellow birder recently, as we looked out across a wide expanse of wintry wetland. We each started checking off all the expected duck species – Mallard, Bewick’s Swans Great White Egret (and Pochards) DAVID TIPLING PHOTO LIBRARY/ALAMY* 26 February 2021

ALL CHANGE A DECADE OF BIRDS Black-headed Gull DAVID ROBERTSON/ALAMY* PAUL MIGUEL/ALAMY* Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck, There are no firm figures to suggest that Success story Shoveler, and a few Goldeneye – and at decline has sped up in the last decade; the same time both started to bemoan but the general trend backs up what lots Egrets and herons, on the other hand, are the absence of Pochards. of birders have observed. the undoubted avian success story of the last decade, and the one before that, and Even 10 years ago, I could be confident The reasons for the decline are several the one before that... of seeing a good scattering of them on – food shortages caused by algae and my inland patch in winter. Now, seeing plants on water bodies, because of Not much longer than 10 years ago, even one is a red-letter day. So what’s nutrients washing off farmland; a I can remember seeing a Great White Egret happened? And should we be worried? decline in Black-headed Gull numbers at Cossington Meadows, one of the (Pochards like to build their nests among Leicestershire sites that I regularly The first thing to point out is that them); and predation, largely by watched at the time. It was a big deal. Pochards are rare breeding birds in American Mink. A really big deal. Lots of stars next to the the UK, with maybe around 650 pairs, sighting in my notebook, and a totally mainly in eastern England and In addition, it’s possible that global unexpected county year tick. Scotland, and in Northern Ireland. warming means that the birds aren’t This number has actually increased having to travel so far west in winter – Revisiting the same site recently, and slightly in recent years. that’s certainly the case with some of our the nearby reservoirs of Charnwood other winter wildfowl, such as Bewick’s Forest, and there were Great Whites But most of the Pochards we see in Swans. So, yes, in this case we should be everywhere, in ones and twos. And a winter are migrants arriving from worried – one way or another Pochards couple of years ago, in a hide at Rutland eastern Europe and Russia, and numbers are having a hard time of it. Water (maybe 20 miles away), I sat with are down by 60 per cent since the 1980s. half a dozen birders watching a Glossy Shoveler MARK BRETHERTON/ALAMY* NICK UPTON/ALAMY* birdwatching.co.uk 27

Hen Harrier Montagu’s Harrier GARY K SMITH/ALAMY* Ibis, intently. All of us, I’m ashamed to IT’S CERTAINLY TRUE THAT RAPTOR say, were positively blasé about the eight PERSECUTION IS A MAJOR PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY Great White Egrets on the same lagoon, ON GROUSE-SHOOTING ESTATES... and barely gave them a second glance. But, as always, it can take a while for the victim of most of that persecution, Little Egrets have continued to increase published stats to catch up with reality. although the likes of Buzzard and Golden in number and spread in range, Cattle The RSPB’s website for example, says there Eagle (and pretty much any raptor on Egrets are starting to add the UK to their are about 35 Great White Egrets in the UK occasion) also suffer. bid for world domination; and the likes of each winter, but the real number must be Purple Heron, Night Heron and Little well in excess of that. So bear that in mind But the populations of most British birds Bittern have all bred here. with all birds – don’t discount a possible of prey are at levels that probably haven’t sighting purely because a field guide or been seen since the late medieval period. We can give ourselves a small pat on the website suggests it’s very unlikely. Not that that’s a bad thing at all, of course back – conservation of good wetland – left to themselves, populations will find habitat, and creation of new swathes of Prey confusion a natural level, depending on availability such habitat, have undoubtedly helped of food and nest sites. these species to find homes here. Glossy There are examples, too, of where the Ibis, incidentally, is another bird now situation is a great deal more confused. So, Red Kites have continued their being seen in the UK much more regularly. Take birds of prey. It’s certainly true that inexorable spread over the last decade, In part it, too, has benefited from all that raptor persecution is a major problem, with the populations from the various wetland habitat, and a warming climate; especially on grouse-shooting estates. One reintroduction schemes starting to join up. and the success of populations elsewhere species in particular – the Hen Harrier – is in France, Spain and Portugal is probably White-tailed Eagles are thriving in creating an overflow effect. Scotland, and even before the Isle of Wight Cetti’s Warbler Marsh Harrier BILL COSTER/ALAMY* BUITEN-BEELD/ALAMY* 28 February 2021

ALL CHANGE A DECADE OF BIRDS Red Kite DAVE WATTS/ALAMY* VICTOR TYAKHT/ALAMY* reintroduction scheme, more and more bust. So, only Montagu’s Harrier, which Correct habitat young birds were starting to be seen failed to breed in the UK at all in 2020, wandering south of the border. totally bucks the trend, although breeding Habitats can change quicker than you numbers have never got much beyond think, and will do, if left to themselves, Ospreys, likewise, are spreading 10 pairs. Lack of suitable habitat is which is one of the reasons that we throughout England and Wales, thanks presumably to blame, as the warming regularly revisit Go Birding sites. in no small part to the success of the climate should suit them. Rutland Osprey Project. Wetlands will silt up and start to turn Milder winters into scrub, and then forest, for example. Peregrines continue to spread And those changes can mean changes in throughout our towns and cities, as well Where small birds are concerned, the last bird populations. They’re not as more generally. Hobbies are seen 10 years have seen numbers of wintering necessarily bad news, as long as further and further north, and in greater Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps continue to alternative habitat is created to replace numbers (presumably due to the warming increase, with confirmation that the latter any that disappears. climate). Marsh Harriers are increasing in are generally central European birds range and numbers; and Buzzards are still enjoying our milder winters, and taking When it isn’t, a problem occurs. on the up and up. advantage of garden feeders. Nightingales, for example, need a very particular kind of woodland, with a Even where species such as Kestrel have Cetti’s Warblers, meanwhile, have certain density of understorey. At sites suffered relatively recent declines, these continued to increase in range and where this is managed, such as our local can be very short-term, and temporary – number – again while 10 years ago I’d Castor Hanglands NNR, that means a in common with a number of other have been surprised and thrilled to hear stable and even slightly increasing species, such as Short-eared Owls, its one on my Midlands patch, these days I Nightingale population. But in other numbers can be tied to vole numbers, pretty much expect to be shouted at by at places, the habitat can be ephemeral, which themselves see a cycle of boom and and so can the birds. Chiffchaff In spring 2019, our photographer Tom Bailey found three Nightingales ALAN WILLIAMS/ALAMY* singing at an East Midlands site. They were just off a well-used public footpath, next to a busy sailing lake, but the habitat was just right. What are the chances they’ll still be there this year (we couldn’t check in 2020, for obvious reasons)? Probably quite low. If, as I suspect, the site is left untouched, natural progression may have turned that ‘just right’ copse into a too-dense tangle of scrub. If the local council have done work, I suspect they’ll have taken away too much of the understorey. The next step, then, is to look for similar sites nearby. You never know when you might get lucky. birdwatching.co.uk 29

ALL CHANGE A DECADE OF BIRDS Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Stonechat ARTERRA PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY* GIEDRIUS STAKAUSKAS/ALAMY* least one at every local wetland site. It’s WILLOW TITS ARE HARDER AND HARDER TO still thrilling, though. FIND, ALTHOUGH THEY DO HANG ON AT A COUPLE OF SITES NEAR ME... That’s a general trend. When we have a cold winter, or just a really cold blast, distribution can fluctuate in the short term never see one. The same’s true of Lesser such as the ‘Beast From The East’ a few because of one-off events such as a bad Spotted Woodpeckers. In 2020, I didn’t see years ago, it can have a big impact on storm or weather system. one, in part because we spent most of the a small, insectivorous bird like this. The year out of the office. Beast killed many of them along the Distant memory East Anglian coast, for example, Willow Tits are harder and harder to although those further inland (where Something much more worrying is find, although they do hang on at a couple temperatures are usually colder) had behind the continuing decline of certain of sites near me, but the overall outlook is a much better survival rate. smaller birds, though. thoroughly gloomy. Stonechats have started to pop up Ten years ago, a Turtle Dove was Lack of quality habitat seems to be the locally again, after a few years away. difficult to get on my patch list, but it main reason – in habitat shared with other Presumably a string of mild winters is the could be seen with a bit of effort. These tits, they seem to lose out to the more reason, just as 10 years ago numbers were days, it’s just a memory. If it wasn’t for adaptable and generalist Blue and Great hit by a couple of cold winters. a regular site near the Bird Watching Tits. For the same reason, when Blue office, or the occasional visit to Tits have a bad breeding year, as they The lesson? That distribution is not Frampton Marsh RSPB, Lincolnshire, I’d seem to have done in 2020, it’s not necessarily as even as a field guide might suggest, and that both range and Willow Tit Turtle Dove DAWN MONROSE/ALAMY* MATS JANSON/ALAMY* 30 February 2021

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Birding from home? Download every issue to your phone or tablet instead! NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! Here at Bird Watching we fully appreciate what a difficult time we are living in. While we can’t wave a magic wand and return life to normal, we can keep you entertained with your favourite birdwatching magazine. For a single digital issue simply download the Bird Watching Magazine app from the Apple App Store or Google Play or from the Amazon Newsstand. If you enjoy a single digital issue you can purchase a digital subscription from: greatmagazines.co.uk/bw 46 February 2021

ID CHALLENGE IDChallenge This month’s challenge is all about the birds you see in winter gardens ILLUSTRATIONS: LAUREN NICHOLSON We have, of course, a good grounding in birds! covered birds in As a rule, most garden birds are gardens a few times woodland species, seeing our back before in the monthly yards as something resembling their ID Challenge series. But we make no ‘natural’ habitat. But that is not apologies for returning to the garden always so, particularly in winter. once again, to look at birds which may appear there on a day in the gardens in winter. Then turn the bleak midwinter. Gardens are, after all, where many (if not most) of us cut our birdwatching teeth. If you can get to know the birds on your doorstep (or very near it), you have CAN YOU NAME THESE Bird 5: Bird 2: Bird 6: TURN THE PAGE To see how many you got right! Birdwatching.co.uk 47

Answers & solutions ID TIP! Check your answers against our explanations. Remember, as ever, Garden birds are there are no ‘trick’ birds or extreme rarities among those here usually woodland birds, but remember that in winter, anything can turn up Rusty flank Bold and diagnostic BIRD 1 patch just face pattern showing Let’s get things started with a bird perched in a bare winter tree, (particularly broad perhaps about to visit a bird table or come down onto the lawn pale supercilium) in search of food. The shape is the first clue. This bird is shaped like a thrush (because it is a thrush): plump with a strong but Thrush-shaped essentially narrow bill (though nowhere near as thin as, say, a (it is a thrush!) pipit or Robin). And it is patterned like a thrush, with lots of spots arranged in rows along the white breast, belly sides and flanks. DEREK PHILLIPS/ALAMY The biggest pointer as to what kind of thrush comes from the face pattern, with a very strong supercilium (the pale ‘eyebrow’) and equally strong pale submoustachial stripe. This pattern is very pro-Redwing, backed up by the hint of rusty-red showing on the flanks. This bird is a Redwing. Key features Q Thrush shape Q Thrush-like spotting/streaking on breast/flanks Q Striking face pattern Q Hint of rusty red on flanks Toned down colours Black cap and face of back and underparts Woodpecker bill Black-and-white and red all over Black wings and tail GAREY LENNOX/ALAMY Red on undertail ENVOGUE_PHOTO/ALAMY contrast with coverts white rump BIRD 3 BIRD 2 This one is perhaps too easy for most of you, and I am sure you named it Bird 2 is another bird perched in a bare tree, perhaps also waiting to instantly. However, others may have had a slight hesitation. The shape, come down to feed in a garden. But this bird is no thrush; not with that and pattern strongly suggest that it is a woodpecker and furthermore, the very short, stumpy, almost parrot-like bill. That is more the bill of a finch black and white overall pattern indicates that it is one of the ‘spotted’ or bunting, and this thought is backed up by the rounded, almost dumpy woodpeckers. In the UK we only have two spotted woodpeckers: Great shape, including the rounded head and thick neck. It lacks the streakiness Spotted and Lesser Spotted. And given anything like a decent view (like of a British bunting, though, so this is a finch. Plumagewise, it is notable here), they are not hard to tell apart. Fundamental to this is that Lesser for having a black crown (extending slightly over the eye), and black Spotted Woodpeckers lack any red in the underparts, while Great wings and tail, contrasting with the grey-brown back and more noticeably Spotteds always have a slash of bright red (or pink in younger birds) on the with the pure white rump. There is also a bit of a white transverse undertail coverts. This is a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Give yourself an wing-bar and pinkish grey underparts that we can see. This stocky finch extra half mark if the red on the back of the head told you it was a male. can only be a Bullfinch, an adult female (hence the dull underparts). Key features Key features Q Classic woodpecker shape, with pointed bill and spiky tail QThick-set rounded bird Q Generally black-and-white plumage Q Short, stumpy bill Q Bright red on undertail coverts diagnostic Q Distinctive black cap, wings and tail Q Red on back of head indicates male (black in female) Q Pure white rump 48 February 2021

ID CHALLENGE Red spot on bill Pale grey back Black head and throat, white cheeks Green back, blue-black wings and tail Pink legs ANDY ROUSE, NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY /ALAMY PAUL CUMBERLAND/ALAMY Bright yellow underparts BIRD 4 BIRD 5 What is going on here? That is surely not a garden bird! Your question and Caught in a bit of a snowstorm, this colourful character can also slightly rude statement have some validity, in that this is not most people’s probably be classified as too easy, being a very familiar sight in idea of a typical garden bird (which, as has already been emphasised, are most gardens in the country. But let’s go through the key features usually woodland birds); this is a gull! Well, gulls do come into gardens in anyhow. It has a black head, a broad black bib and pure white search of food, and this one is presumably looking for a relatively easy triangles for ‘cheeks’. The back is bright green and the wings meal in the snowy conditions. The neat plumage and ‘well patterned’ bill blue-black, with the longer feathers lined with yellow, and a suggest this is an adult bird, and one of the large, white-headed gulls whitish transverse wingbar. The tail is blue-grey with a hint of (Common Gulls lack the red spot on the bill). The pale grey mantle and white outer feathering showing. The underparts are strikingly wings, and those pink legs strongly suggest that this particular gull is a yellow, except for that black bib, which appears to point down the Herring Gull. Most people’s gardens are visited by Black-headed Gulls breast (there would be a black stripe there). This little bird is of more commonly, but why not a Herring (especially near the seaside)? course, the familiar Great Tit, usually seen in pairs. Key features Key features Q A ‘large, white-headed gull’ Q Black head and ‘big’ with white cheeks QPale grey back and wings Q Green mantle and forewing Q Red spot on yellow bill Q Bluish-black wings and tail Q Pink legs Q Bright yellow underparts Looks like a Brown flank BIRD 6 ‘Robin in streaks and sparrow’s cheeks contrast We finish this month’s ID Challenge with an old favourite, and a clothing’ with grey breast/ bird which continues to dominate our Q&A postbag. Another bird perched on a bare branch on a snowy, winter’s day, this bird Fine, pink legs belly is slighter in build than the thrush featured as Bird 1, with a finer and feet bill and very fine pink legs. That fine black bill is more like that of a Robin, and typical of an insect-eater like a warbler. But the CHRIS RABE/ALAMY plumage is grey and streaky brown, more like a female House Sparrow. A closer look shows it is predominantly grey, with a broad grey supercilium (‘eyebrow’) contrasting with brown cheeks (ear coverts). This ‘Robin in sparrow’s clothing’ appearance is typical of the impression given by this very common garden bird: the Dunnock, aka Hedgesparrow. Key features Q Grey and brown, drab colouring Q Fine pink legs; fine black bill Q Grey plumage with brown cheeks Q Streaked brown flanks MY FAVOURITE SITE “OF COURSE, MY FAVOURITE GARDEN IS MY OWN (WHERE I HAVE SEEN/HEARD SOME 89 SPECIES, SO FAR” MIKE WEEDON, ASSISTANT EDITOR Birdwatching.co.uk 49