Lovely Leybourne

Walked slowly around the first part of the country park with Nain.

1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Blackbirds, 1 Redwing, Magpies, Black-headed Gulls, Coot, Common Gulls, Herring Gulls, Tufted Duck, 1 Robin, 

A very still but chilly Reculver

Half a dozen mute Swan, about 600 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 2 little Grebe, 1 little Egret, about 50 Common (?) Gulls, a dozen Herring Gulls, a score of Black-headed Gulls, one Great Black-backed Gull, about 30 Cormorant, 6 Grey Plover, 2 Ringed Plover, 30+ Redshank, 2 Curlew, half a dozen Turnstone, a score of Oystercatchers, a score of Carrion Crows, a Magpie, a pair of Stonechat, 3 Blackbirds.

It was so nice the see the pair of Stonechat, with good views, I do always like to see "monogamous" birds. The male is perhaps the same one as I saw here on the 27th, 3 days ago, in a howling gale along the seawall but quite a bit further to the West. Plumage features for this male were all OK for hibernans, with a deep russet and widely-spread chest patch, not too extensive a white collar, and a fairly buffy rump. I could see white wing bars when either bird flew, but more obviously in the male. The pair were on the grassy islands and seaward borders of the Coldharbour Lagoon, and I saw the male first, mainly perching, occasionally descending to the ground and back again. The female was generally quite close, once only a few metres away. It was possibly using lower perches on average than the male, and I couldn't keep track of it as well as the male.

Then a few minutes later either the same pair or a new one were on the beach between the Coldharbour Lagoon and the Outfall, causing me some considerable confusion! I think the male was on a seaweedy breakwater first, then on the beach with the female, then on a line of boulders. 

Icy Leybourne

Coot, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Shoveller, Greylag Geese, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Larus canus, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Starling, Wren, Redwing, Blackbird, Robin, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Long-tailed Tit.

Cracking Cliffe with a great Stonechat!

A really great walk around Cliffe with great birds including Green Woodpecker, Stonechat, a dozen (+) Goldfinch, a dozen Fieldfares, Blackbirds, 3 Chaffinch, Pochard, Pintail, Wigeon, Mallard, Shoveller, Teal, Shelduck, Coot, Moorhen, Greylag Geese, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Herring Gull, 2(+) Grey Heron, 2 Little Egret,

Stonechats are rounder, dumpier birds with shorter wings than the quite similar but migratory Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra. The Stonechat that I saw, Saxicola torquata hibernans, or perhaps more modernly, Saxicola rubicola hibernans, was a beautiful male bird, with gorgeous colours in the sun. The face was very dark, just visibly darker in fact than the cap which was more a darker continuation of the brown streaky back. The throat was very dark, contrasting well with the half collar, which seemed narrower than the book pictures, but didn't seem to extend noticeably further back towards the rear of the neck, so being fairly typical of the normal western forms of this polytypic Eurasian (or bitypic European) species. The white wing-bar was there on the dark wing, but not noticeably wider or more obvious than predicted. The front warm pink was well-spread, again fairly characteristic of the western form. I didn't see the rump, but didn't mark it as very different from the back colours, definitely no obvious large white patch there! All I could see on the tail was the flicking, but it seemed dark to me, again as expected.

European [continental] Stonechats S. torquata rubicola, or S. rubicola rubicola are virtually indistinguishable from the British/Atlantic race S. torquata hibernans or S. rubicola hibernans. The two subspecies are almost a cline with the intergrades at the boundary being indistinguishable, although the extreme British birds are particularly dark with reduced white patches, while the more Eastern birds of the European subspecies are very pale with obvious white patches, close to the Siberian type. Siberian-type or Eastern Stonechats, Saxicola [torquata/maurus?] maurus/stejnegera are occasionally seen in the autumn on the coast of Kent, but are apparently rare. (N.B. maurus is used here in preference to maura as listed in BWP).

There have been quite a few reports of the British/Atlantic forms of Stonechats on the Kent coast this year, as in previous winters. The wintering numbers have increased somewhat in Kent since the 70's, sometimes inland along the Stour as well as around the coast, with occasional counts of 15 at favoured sites such as Cliffe being recorded, according to "Birds of Kent". However counts I see on the KOS website seem generally to be in the [smaller] single figures, typically at Cliffe, Elmley, Swale, Samphire Hoe and Dungeness, and the KBR 2012 suggests a county-wide over-wintering total in the mid-30's. A handful of pairs (averaging about 4) also nest in favoured habitats along the coast such as at Dover.

Kent records indicate that some degree of autumn migration of "hibernans" Stonechats is usually obvious, but spring migration is rarely noticeable - perhaps the birds migrate back along a different flyway? Breeding is occasionally proved around the Kentish coast, in very small numbers. I get the impression that winter numbers are higher than summer numbers in this county.

The UK population probably declined after Victorian times due to habitat loss, but seems to fluctuate strongly. In 1961 Magee wrote a well researched report investigating the overall decline in populations over the century to that date. He showed how cold winters, particularly those involving long periods of snow or hard frost caused intermittent but great losses, particularly in inland areas, but populations generally recovered given milder conditions, recolonising coastal locations and then spreading inland. Ironic that the winter of 62/3 was to follow immediately after publication of this paper. The reliance on coastal areas for the survival of the core population is also suggested that in the more "Atlantic" conditions of Ireland, there is a greater tendency to regularly breed inland, so that territories are more evenly spread across the landmass as a whole. However Magee also showed an overall downward trend in numbers over the longer term, due to agricultural intensification, forestry planting and maturity, as well as [I imagine] human population growth and resulting disturbance. Populations recovered again after 62/3 and then rose significantly again between the 1990s and 2010, changing the species' status from amber to green, only for numbers to be halved between 2009 and 2010 from its peak, presumably by the harsh winter weather that winter. However although it is classified as a resident, surely there are more birds seen generally in the summer than in the winter? Might this imply some degree of migration? Perhaps Stonechats try to "spread the risk". Kent may be an exception, where Stonechats are easier to find in winter than in summer.

Food is of insects and other invertebrates throughout the year, with some seed and blackberries taken at times, and occasionally even small fish or lizards. The birds may often dart down from perches, often roughly a metre high, catching prey immediately or after a bit of hopping, but will also take insects in flight (note genetic link to flycatchers), off leaf-surfaces, off the surface of water, picked off surfaces while hovering, or picked up after a "hover-chase". May return to the same perch or a different one. adults seem to like caterpillars and shield-bugs!

From BTO records, Stonechats can breed from a year old onwards, with the record for longevity being a bird nearly five years old.  They can produce several broods a year, from April onwards, with 5 - 6 eggs per batch. The eggs take about a fortnight to hatch and the young take about another fortnight to fledge. Stonechats are generally monogamous and both parents do take care of the chicks, feeding and protecting.

It is generally held that Stonechats are generally found to be more coastal and lowland, 9 out of 10 Stonechat nests being below 125 m asl, while Whinchats are rather more upland in distribution. According to the Welsh Chat Survey of 2012 - 2013, both Stonechat and Whinchat were associated with extensively managed, non-intensive, unimproved, habitats, and not with linear features such as hedges. Both Stonechats and Whinchats forage from prominent features and were associated with scrub or bracken but Stonechats were also associated with coarser herbaceous cover and Whinchats with semi-natural grassland and damp areas. Whinchats, which are migratory, have had a population collapse over the years - and natural while not too heavily grazed grassland is increasingly rare. Stonechats did seem to be doing quite well, until the terrible losses over the winter of 2009 - 2010 mentioned earlier.

The calls are interesting, particularly of the parents. Breeding Stonechats (Saxicola torquata) made mixed sequences of two calls when a human intruder entered territories. ‘whits’ are modulated notes with a small frequency range, and in laboratory tests caused nestlings to stop begging. ‘chacks’ cover a wide range of frequencies, and in the field were combined with flights made so as to distract an intruder from the nest. On average male and female call-rates were similar, but varied greatly according to the intruder's distance from the nest, and at different stages of the nesting cycle. Rates increased rapidly after hatching, and this correlated most closely with the cumulative total of parents' visits to feed nestlings. This suggests that the level of defence may be adjusted to the value of the offspring to their parents. Call-rates declined about one week after fledging. A smaller peak by some pairs at the start of incubation was apparently related to probable poor condition after a previous breeding attempt, and after laying large clutches. Rates of 'whits' were higher at nests with larger broods, up to an asymptote, but rates of 'chacks' were independent of brood size. Birds suffering nest-predation showed lower call-rates before the event than equivalent successful birds, suggesting that the calls do reduce the risk of predation. Parental investment in nest defence by Stonechats (Saxicola torquata). Animal Behaviour, Volume 28, Issue 2, May 1980, Pages 604-619 P.W. Greig-Smith.

The birds tend to be seen as either singles, or more commonly as pairs, in the winter, not generally as groups. The pairs may not be the breeding pairs for the next summer, subject to change particularly when migrant birds arrive in the spring. Males tend to be more noticed as singles than the females. Pairs which do not disperse after breeding may defend the same [albeit often larger in the UK, maybe smaller in Spain] territories over the winter.

Breeding territories vary between 0.5 and 4 ha in size. Males may sing and display from higher than normal perches. The white wing coverts tend to be displayed, while the male stands erect, with the head held up, and there are also intermittent singing display flights at 10 - 25 m. lasting for up to 15 s, slow and jerky, with shallow wing-beats and perhaps brief hovering. The bird may rise and fall while hovering. The tail and legs are held down and the white on the neck, wing coverts and rump is very obvious. There may be a lot of tail flicking when a male lands after a display flight. Males may fly back and forward over the female, hover over her, chase her violently, fan his tail or bow to her. The last two are part of the male pre-copulation display, with the female reciprocating by crouching and shivering, with quiet calls. Displays and singing of paired males may continue over the breeding season. Unpaired males may sing frequently near to females for the first half of the season, but then tend to depart.

Nests of grass and lining are placed at bases of bushes, in different positions for successive broods. Year to year fidelity of territories apparently low, perhaps due to mortality. Generally monogamous, although mates may be interchanged between seasons [on spring stopovers for migratory birds??], or even between individual broods. In Jersey, existing pairs broke down over a short period as the migrant birds arrived. In the breeding season other species of small birds may congregate around the individual watchful Stonechats.

The female along broods the eggs for about a fortnight, with the male visiting her with food. After the eggs hatch, the female continues to brood the blind fairly helpless nestlings for about five days until their eyes open, both parents feeding the young. In large broods the nestlings compete for the rear of the nest where they can lie on top of the ones at the front, to get priority for food. The young then may move to hiding places about 5 m. away from the nest for a few days and then start to follow parents, finally fledging after about 12 - 13 days after hatching. Broods follow in quick succession, 2 broods for migrants, perhaps 3 for residents. The high potential productivity of the early season starts perhaps explains the terrible risks the birds take by overwintering, and the occasional and irregular but ultimately inevitable very heavy winter losses.

Once juveniles fledge, they may leave voluntarily or at the insistence of the male parent when the next brood hatches, and then may may move around the parental and neighbouring breeding territories in groups of 4 - 5. They chase and supplant each other, about 2 m. or more apart.

A cracking male bird, for sure! I wonder if there was a female there as well, that I just didn't spot?

Reculver in a howling gale - my first Stonechat there!

Very difficult to see anything in the high winds and driving spray off the sea.

One Kestrel hunting along the beach, half a dozen Turnstone off the waters edge, one Stonechat on the sea wall, half a dozen Redshank on the Oyster Farm pools and ditches, about a hundred Dark-bellied Brent Geese overhead, landing on the field just to the west of the Coldharbour Lagoon. Many Herring and Black-headed Gulls, several Common Gulls, Larus canus, one Great Black-backed Gull, four Shelduck on the sea.

Very muddy down at Whetsted Gravel Pits

Dozens of Tufted Duck, a few Gadwall, half a dozen Pochard, 2 Little Grebe, at least 2 Great Crested Grebes, at least one Cormorant, many Black-headed Gulls, and many Common Gulls, Larus canus.

One possible Reed Bunting on the thin hedge.

Luscious Leybourne

I was at Leybourne by about 11:30 and did the usual circuit in very pleasant rather sunny conditions. It was really warm today, considering the time of year, not dropping below 10 degrees C all day according the Tonbridge weather site. Although the wind was quite a strong breeze at times, it was also possible to simultaneously feel the warmth of the sun, quite remarkable for the 23rd December, the second day after the winter solstice.

There was a slow start to the walk as far as birds went, but there were good numbers of Black-headed Gulls, Tufted Duck, Greylag Geese and Coots on The Ocean. A Green Woodpecker undulated over the hump of grass from the Pond-dipping Pond towards The Ocean, where a Blue Tit showed well. As I walked towards the northern end of Roaden Island Lake there was the sudden metallic blue flash of a Kingfisher flying rapidly along the ditch away from me, straight as a die as usual. In the near corner of Roaden Island Lake the small group of Canada Geese were there again.

Then as I got towards the southern end of the Railway Lake, there were Blackbirds and Redwings in the scrub to the East towards the Railway Line.  I got a very good view of one of the Redwings, seeing the cream and tan face stripes and the rich ochre underwing very clearly.

A good number of Pochard were seen together with the Tufted Duck and Coot on Abbey Meads. I also saw a Cormorant and a Great Crested Grebe on Brooklands, but no Common Gulls. There were no Goldfinches in the Alders and Willows by the factory today, and I certainly missed them. There was little along the path but there were good numbers of Herring Gulls on Larkfield Lake joining the Black-headed Gulls, Tufties and Coot.

Approaching the carpark there were probable Redwings and Great Tits in the tall dense scrub by the Rangers building.

A really rushed Leybourne

The highlight of today were the 50 or so Goldfinches in the alders next to the willows by the new Paper Mill waste factory. I really saw almost nothing else as I rushed along to try to achieve target before collecting the Christmas flowers.

RSPB Conwy, then Pintails at Malltraeth

It was quite late in the afternoon when I parked up on the bridge at Malltraeth and set up the scope to look out over the estuary mouth. Plenty of Redshank and Eurasian Wigeon.  The whistles of the Wigeon are one of the most delightful sounds of winter imagineable. I remember so clearly hearing the sound for the first time at Aldenham Reservoir, when I would have been about 13 or 14. And in the backgrougnd this afternoon there was also the bubbling soundtrack of Curlews, and the piping of Redshanks.

I put the telescope back in the car and got Monty ready for a walk along towards Newborough Forest. As I walked along the path on top of The Cob, I was absolutely entranced to see the Pintails roosting on the Malltraeth Cob pool, just as when C.F. Tunnicliffe painted them. There were Little Grebes and Teal as well. More detail below the photo!

By the time I got back to the car, the sun had set, leaving this wonderful sunset to view on my mobile phone.

I got right along the path as far as the first Forestry Commission car-park at Newborough Forest, and then on to the second on the other side of the road and the wildlife pond mapped there. On the way back to the road I got to target, and still over a mile to go, so definitely a better effort than yesterday!

I am in two minds about Newborough Forest. Firstly it really was a criminal act to plant over such a fantastic sand dune system. On the other hand it has really benefited the red squirrels and the ravens. At least I saw the ravens, at least four, "kronking" as they fly over! In the woods there were Blackbirds, and on the wildlife pond there were Mallards and/or Wigeon, Coots and Teal.

Pintails, Anas acuta, are beautifully graceful ducks, particularly the males with their "Audrey Hepburn" necks and poised heads, accentuated by the chocolate and white neck patterns. How anyone could shoot them I do not know!

I wonder why dabbling ducks are such different shapes? Morphological differences, notably bill lamellar density and body length, may allow sympatric species to partition food and hence coexist. Pintails would seem to fit in between Mallards and Teal, and the size of food they eat parallels this (Brochet et al, 2011)!

Leybourne at the trot

I didn't have time to look at any of the lakes, and therefore today's main sighting was of about 50 Goldcrest at the top of a couple of willows next to the alders by the factory currently being demolished.

When I left the College there was a Robin still singing at 5:20.

Reculver on another lovely day, with Brent Geese

Black-headed and Herring Gulls, and one Oystercatcher with the Geese, with Cormorants out to sea. A Pied Wagtail and a Blackbird by St Mary's. I thought there was a Pipit along the wall by the Oyster Farm. At least a score of Linnets by Coldharbour, feeding on the bank by the bunded pools, together with half a dozen Redshank, both seen and heard, and two Black-headed Gulls.

I was moving fairly quickly, but thought I might also have seen a Stonechat behind Coldharbour, just from an impression of a shape, coupled with a perch high on a bush - weak evidence I know!

About 540 Dark-bellied Brent Geese on the fields and commuting to and from a gravel bank on the beach, lovely to see, and hear! Their almost grunting (the BBC suggests "gobbling") calls are surprisingly attractive and restful. BWP has them characteristically noisier on water, and indeed it was while they were on the sea, or flying from the sea that I heard them calling (BWP = hronk, hronk)! I also thought I saw one Pale-bellied Brent Goose, as regularly reported here, but it was difficult to be really sure. The birds were quite mobile, first disturbed from the field, and then moving in smaller groups backwards and forwards from the shingle bank by the Coldharbour outfall into the fields, including the one by the Green Bank. It was noteworthy that they flew quite low and in loose "brunches" or long "lines" rather than V-shaped skeins.

They lead lives that are so close to the edge. Average annual winter mortality in the UK is estimated to be about 15%, although a typical life span may be as long as 11 years, and the current BTO record being over 28 years old. On their long migration it is essential that they arrive on the breeding grounds in as good a condition as possible. On the breeding grounds they may first eat mosses and lichens, then turning to grass as it becomes more available. They need to have nutritional reserves to see them through problems such as any remaining snow and ice. It seems that individual birds that have better access to food within the flock, and therefore build up heavier body masses on the spring staging areas show better reproductive success. The females seem to get about half their energy for incubation from stored endogenous sources, the other half from intensive feeding episodes the length of which depend on the threat from weather, etc (Inger et al, 2008). It is suggested that an increase of body mass of one sixth on migration may lead to raising breeding success from 8% to 65%. However I think birds should not be too heavy before long distance flights, or they will have potential problems migrating.

Marine habitats seem to be greatly preferred by Brent Geese over terrestrial food sources for quality. Best food sources are Zostera spp., Eelgrass, Ulva sp, Sea Lettuce and Enteromorpha spp, The rationale is that these algae are easier to digest than the fibre-rich grass, particularly important in geese, which have rather inefficient digestive systems.

Increasingly as the migratory populations have grown over the years from the nadir of the '30s, (10 fold perhaps?), Brents are apparently being forced onto (or are turning to) farmland rather than the Zostera or Enteromorpha rich intertidal zone. This may in the longer run have impacts on the average reproductive success of the populations. I wasn't paying proper attention today or I would have been surer of their detailed behaviour. The little I did see suggested that the Brents at Reculver were perhaps feeding a bit while they were on the autumn sown cereal (wheat?) and definitely often interacting aggressively. While they were on the seashore, they didn't seem to be feeding, or indeed showing too much aggression to each other, but I should have been actively checking. The flock was fairly densely packed on the sea and I wouldn't have thought there was anything for them to eat where they were anyway, perhaps a little Enteromorpha. They seemed more to be having a bit of a "little seaside break".

Normal food sources start off with Zostera, Eel Grass. In early winter the Zostera spp. beds are relatively intact and the rhizome, in particular, provides an important food resource (Mathers et al. 1998). In late winter, however, the availability of Zostera spp. declines, as a result of foraging and senescence, and it is more patchily distributed. Presumably there is Zostera, Ulva or Enteromorpha somewhere around off Reculver or Minnis Bay?? Perhaps they spend most of their feeding time on the fields?

At this time of year the flocks may consist of mixed ages, including the yearlings, if any are present - again I didn't really look at the time! The first winter birds are similar to the adults, although the white neck markings are less conspicuous, the white tipped coverts of the juveniles are largely retained and there is rather less white edging to the flanks. In retrospect I think I did see the white-tipped coverts indicating first winter birds in a number of cases.

The social inequities will mean that the higher-ranked individuals get the better resources in a feeding flock. It seems that in the winter period at least, families with any number of juveniles dominate pairs, pairs dominate singletons, and males dominate females. Several of these characters correlate with breeding success, and may be difficult to disentangle. Another paper suggested that large families do control more feeding resources than small ones, leading to less cost to the increased parental investment, so that things balance out. However by springtime arrival on the breeding grounds, the yearlings will apparently have been excluded from the family and the more mature birds will have settled into their pairbonds again. The pairings give advantages to the females of the pair, as the males protect them from aggressive behaviour from the other birds, allowing the females longer to feed up. BWP also notes that the birds are monogamous and pair for life!

The behaviour of the birds on the Arctic breeding grounds is extremely interesting. Laying is quite synchronous over a wide area - but do young birds lay later than experienced ones? The sites chosen will generally be on the drier hummocks to avoid melt flooding, perhaps on islands. The nests shaped like shallow bowls are about 30 cm. across, the internal bowl about 6 cm deep, of about 20 cm. diameter. They may be roughly 25 m. apart. Both sexes build the nest, using nearby materials, lining the nest with moss and grass, and covering with a fair amount of down. Incubation starts when the last egg is laid, leading to synchronous hatching. The nests may be re-used from year to year. Breeding success ranges are the most variable of all Arctic Geese, as calculated by the numbers of yearlings in winter flocks in the UK ranging from 1% to 45%. Up to 4 eggs are laid, generally only in one batch.

Like most, but not all, Arctic geese, the females have to eat as well as incubate. They cover the eggs with down and then move off the nest to feed, pecking virtually continuously and quite close to the nest, thus maximising food intake. The males do not incubate, but take on a protective role, against predators and conspecifics, being relatively more alert while the female is feeding, and feeding relatively more while the female is incubating. Once the chicks are hatched, both parents remain protective, although they do not need to feed the young as the chicks are precocial, nidifugous and self-feeding.

They tend to have two brood attempts, and then moult all in a narrow time window, before migrating, quite a challenge!?

The recorded numbers of these geese at Reculver do seem to fluctuate considerably. Chris Hindle's blog suggests that numbers in November 2014 were up to a thousand or so, but they seem to be down to 400 - 500 now in December 2014. They may disperse quite widely, moving onto other areas according to the weather, or food resources. They may perhaps move to Chichester or Harbour on the South Coast, or the French coast at Morbihan for example.

Boorman and Ranwell (1977) summarised much of information held about Brent Geese at that time, in their ITE paper scoping the possible environmental impact of the construction of Maplin Airport on the East Coast, never implemented in the end thank goodness. They showed that at least 20% of the world's population of Brent Geese (40% of the UK population) used the area over at least part of the winter, normally the first part.

In the 1930s the Eelgrass Zostera species had been hit by a disease that greatly lowered their populations, particularly Z. marina. Anecdotal accounts suggested that the Brent Geese had been hit as well, but the reduction cannot now be quantified. Between the 1950s and 1970s populations increased to about 25,000 - 30,000, contemporaneously with the introduction of shooting bans in the 1950s in the main European countries used as migration routes. It was thought that the population increases were being, or would be, limited by land reclamations in various European countries, particularly the Netherlands. However between 1968 and 1973 the world population more than doubled, shooting up to about 68,000 birds, while at the same time they started using farmland sources of winter food!

In the Maplin study, in the first half of winter, September to January, over half the Essex population fed on the Zostera beds of Foulness and Leigh, then moving on to the Enteromorpha beds of the other estuaries. In January/February '72-3, with peak counts double the previous year, about 30% of the birds turned to farmland, a behaviour only previously noted in the freezing winter of '62-3. In 1973-74, at very high populations, weight losses in birds averaging about 9% were noted. These losses could significantly impact upon reproductive success. By contrast in '62-63 in Denmark, with about a third of the 73-74 populations, despite the terrible weather, no weight losses were found.

ITE then organised some ground-breaking netting and ringing to try to understand the movements of the geese. Cannon netting had to be used on the open flats, based on siting the cannon nets in advance, hoping to guess where the geese might be. Only about 16 individual Brent Geese had ever been ringed before, so little was known of their winter distribution changes. In this exercise one family was noted to move North to the Blackwater, then South to Chichester Harbour, and then finally on to the Waddensee within 24 hours of leaving Chichester - interesting to see how they stuck together. Of course such familial cohesion is essential. Juveniles feed for up to 95% of their time presumably being partly watched over by their parents, who feed for about 75% of their time early in the winter, although this trends to 95% later in the year, as food quantity and quality decreases.  The ringing demonstrated that at least some birds remained relatively faithful to their sites on particular estuaries at least for some time.

Brent geese have very variable breeding results according to the weather and predation. In the year 1977 it was estimated that successful breeding had occurred in only 8 of the previous 15 years. No other goose species has such a variable breeding success leading to unbalanced age class structures
in the population from year to year, likely to affect social behaviour. In years with success, the family groups migrate together, adults with that year's juveniles. In unsuccessful years the (non)breeding adults migrated before the two year old birds.

The approximate age composition of the British population of Dark-bellied Brent geese was calculated for 1973-74 by the ITE. The total population was estimated then at roughly 41,000, with about 15,400 first-winter birds, 7,600 breeding adults and 18,000 full grown birds without young (from the estimated mean brood size of 4.0 and the estimated percentage of first winter birds as 37.5). The full grown birds without young were probably mostly in their second winter, for Brent geese do not usually breed until their third or fourth summer.

It is worth noting that the latest BTO population estimate is in the region of 95,000 Dark-bellied birds wintering in the UK! There are also about 27,000 Canadian Light-bellied Brent Geese and 3,400 Svalbard Light-bellied Brent Geese. The main concentrations of Dark-bellied birds are in the Wash, the North Norfolk coastal marshes, Essex estuaries, the Thames Estuary and Chichester and Langstone Harbours.

The ITE trials demonstrated that disturbance by humans or light aircraft caused the geese to stop feeding or fly, reducing their feeding success by 3 - 4 percent, which might seem low, although any reduction may be very significant. Using a nightscope it was established that the Brent Geese did feed at night throughout the winter, sometimes in cloudy weather, as well as during the day, and in some cases on quite sparse Enteromorpha. However, Brent geese appeared not to feed so intensely at night as during the day, and were almost exclusively confined to the tide edge.

Clearly the farm cereals and grasses are not going to be anywhere near as nutritional as Zostera, and the balance between energy expanded, and energy gained while feeding may be greatly narrowed. It is also worth remembering that extended periods of frost may mean that the farmland resources become completely unavailable for a period! I wonder how the Reculver Geese did over the severe winters of 2011/2012 and 2012/13. The impact of switching to farm resources on individual fitness is certainly of some potential concern.

The amount of Zostera, or Enteromorpha, likely to be available in future years is not necessarily predictable. Particular species appear to have very finely attuned requirements for drainage/drying out of the substrate, and the balance between accretion and erosion. These factors may be affected by other changes along the coast, and climate. Zostera noltii of the intertidal zone appears to be the currently preferred species for Brent Geese, with the role of the subtidal Z. marina var. angustifolia now less well understood. Coastal squeeze and shore steepening may impact on Zostera beds as well as salt marsh availability.

These are monthly peak counts for Brents at Reculver. 2008/09 was a relatively poor year across North Kent, but  not too bad at Reculver. Interestingly the winter of 2011/12 gave high numbers, but the significantly colder winter of 2012/13 (at least in the East and Southeast) gave only the "normal" moderate numbers.

Bibliography:

Boorman, L.A. and Ranwell, D.S. (1977) The ecology of  Maplin Sands and the coastal zones of
Suffolk, Essex and North Kent. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Cambridge.

Birds of the Western Palaearctic (BWP).

Leybourne in the morning with Redwings showing well on the Hawthorns

A really nice day in the sunshine, and quite surprisingly warm and still.

Wonderful views of Redwings, Turdus iliacus (very probably the nominate race from Europe, iliacus), in the woods close to the Visitors' Centre. On the way back I got my best views, especially of the highly streaked face and auburn-ochre underwing stripe. They were feeding off the haws together with some noisy blackbirds. I could hear the Redwings doing their single note calling very musically. like a very tuneful "chack". The winter numbers rise to something like over two thirds of a million birds, but however numerous, I am always delighted to see them! That isn't just because there are only less than half a dozen breeding pairs in the UK, around Tomich by all accounts, but because they are such very nice birds, reminding me of the best winter times, including teenage birdwatching in the garden at 84, Bury Street, Ruislip.

They have a tendency to migrate at night, with a higher pitched flight call of a gentle whistle. Most of the birds that winter in England probably come from the Northern Palaearctic areas of Finland Eastwards into Russia and Siberia. There may be about 30 - 40 million birds in the Northern Palearctic overall, fluctuating according to the severity of winters and the temperature and rainfall in the breeding system, spread over about 10 million square kilometres. They breed in mixed coniferous (they avoid continuous conifer stands) or birch woodland or tundra, nesting in shrubs or on the ground. They generally have two broods, probably to reduce risk, and moult early to get away on migration as soon as possible, a possible  adaptation to the Northern latitude of their breeding grounds. They are said to be more flexible about the siting of their relatively large nests (up to 0.5 kg) than most other thrush species, both as a species and as individuals, often changing their parameters of choice significantly for their second nests of the year  (Khokhlova and Yakovleva, 2008).

Some of the birds from Fennoscandia that arrive in the UK are on their way through, and may end up in the Mediterranean or even North Africa. Some may migrate as much as 7,000 kilometres! It often seems strange to me that birds from north temperate Asia move largely Westward and only then South to over-winter, rather than directly South to Southern and Southeast Asia, as in this Birdlife map, but this may because of significant obstacles to a more direct route. birds appear to be very variable in their migrations, with ringing results seeming to indicate individuals often turning up in very different parts of Europe in different winters.

The Icelandic race, coburnii, overwinters in Scotland, Ireland (in particular), and the West coasts of France and Spain.

They are quite weather dependent, and often make "hard weather" movements to stay alive. They are more likely than Fieldfares to move out of open farmland into woods or gardens, splitting up rather more as they do so. They feed off berries such as haws, but also invertebrates, turning over leaves under trees for invertebrates and worms, rather like blackbirds. Holly berries may be taken later in the winter when they are easier to pick, and these are particularly available in Iberia, where over-wintering Redwings may rely on them in some particular areas. Good shrubs in gardens are Sorbus, Crataegus of course, Cotoneaster and Pyracantha. Leaving apples or other fruit out may also be tried, although this isn't mentioned by the BGW (Bird Garden Watch) article on Redwings (Birdtable 64, BTO).

Good numbers of Black-headed Gulls and Coot on the water by the feeding area. Blue Tits and Goldfinches along the Crack Willows by the side of the Ocean, see the Mid Kent Fisheries map.

Not much along by Roaden Lake, except a Green Woodpecker, and a number of Blackbirds. Over the other side of the railway line, there was a Robin singing lustily by the Abbey Meads reservoir bank. On Abbey Meads itself the nicest looking ducks were over two dozen Pochard, together with many Tufted Duck, Coot and half a dozen Great Crested Grebes. There were Black-headed Gulls and Herring Gulls.

On the way back there was a great Blue Tit in the bush by the start of the return track, and the pair of moorhen by the Dome. There were also 5 Canada Geese and two Tufted Duck in the channel. 

Leybourne

Magpies, Robin, Blackbirds, possible Redwings, Long-Tailed Tits.

Greylags, Mute Swans, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, overflying Cormorants.

On Abbey Meads there were also Pochard. Long-tailed Tits and a Great Tit by the path.

On the river there were a pair of Teal and a Redshank, with a couple of Cormorant flying upriver.

Moorhen by the dome, an interesting sounding quiet plop, Carrion Crows, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls

Reculver

An inspirational afternoon trip out to Reculver by the Wantsum Channel, on a cold but beautifully sunny day.

About half a dozen Turnstones, a dozen Redshanks, and a score of dark-bellied Brent Geese, Branta bernicla bernicla, over. Several Reed Buntings, one Little Grebe, a dozen Black Headed Gulls with at least one Common Gull, Larus canus. A score of Linnets (one might have had a white flash on its wings), half a dozen Cormorants, one Great Crested Grebe, four Shelduck, one Great Black-backed Gull, half a dozen Herring Gulls.

This is the view across the reclaimed marshland of the Wantsum Channel towards the railway line, and the glasshouses. One of the birders said that he saw a Marsh Marrier in the distance there:

Monty picked up a fish on the path back, and made fairly short work of it, including the head and tail. No ill effects so far.

Wrotham village

Several Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris, my first of the year in The Bull car park, and then again by The Rectory. Blue tits in the trees down St Mary's Road. Blackbirds there and also particularly at dusk along Kemsing Road.

Some lovely houses such as for example Wrotham Place by the East of St Mary's Road, and the old oasthouses at the start of Kemsing Road, Wealden Hall.

Lovely sunset from the hill first of all and later from the eastern side of the playing fields.

Hadlow village

Lovely sound of a Great Tit in song in the birch behind number 7 Maltings Close.

A sunny Leybourne

A nice view of a Goldcrest and a possible Chiff-chaff. A slightly tatty Jay, but good close-up views.

Fungi in the garden

I found three fruiting bodies of White Saddle, Helvella crispa, where there was a lot of leaf litter near the Norway Maple and the corner of the Beech hedge on the front lawn. This is I understand the commonest species of the saddles.

I was glad to see some very clear diagnostic features. The stem thickened upwards, a rather odd feature, and was creamy and stout with deep strong furrows running up the surface. The saddle was a deeper creamy brown, darker on the underside, with undulating lobes. as this fungus can be very common I have no reason to doubt its ID, although it is described in the Collins book as found in broadleaved and mixed woodlands.

A murky morning at Elmley - or five go mad on the marsh!

There was a very nice trip out to Elmley with the excellent Landscape Management group. Here are some photos from Stephen Langford, including this Northern Lapwing, Peewit or Green Plover, Vanellus vanellus. The lapwing names perhaps comes either from its erratic mode of flying, or from its tendency to drag a wing as it distracts predators from its nest.



These birds, like many others in their family, prefer to feed at night by moonlight, eating mainly insects.

Four students and I visited Elmley Marshes this morning. The themes included habitat creation, funding of nature conservation visitor facilities through visitor income, estuaries (internationally important numbers of winter duck), grazing marsh (rare breeding birds, important numbers of wintering ducks and waders), sea walls, brackish ditches (rare plants and associated insects), wader breeding requirements, impact of worming treatments, microhabitat creation by grazing activity.

We saw Wigeon, Teal, Greylags, Mallard, Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwits, Kestrel, Reed Buntings and a lovely male Stonechat. Also Starlings, Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Crows.

It would be very tempting to go and stay in one of the Shepherd's Huts - but I wouldn't want to leave Monty for a night! I'll just have to get up early and make my own way there whenever I want to go, perhaps joining the Friends of Elmley" for a cheaper annual fee (I'll be generous with the donations though!

I was particularly interested in the predator gate - does the investment in this sort of protection a major factor in ensuring the breeding success this reserve is famous for? Its part of the new 8km fencing system installed 2012? to keep fox predation down, a system which this year seems to have resulted in excellent breeding results from birds like lapwings!

The monthly updates have been very informative, and helped to bring the picture to fruition.

Waterborne tree surgery at Leybourne Lakes

On the way out I came across what looked to me like half a dozen brackets of the Blushing Bracket, Daedolopsis confragosa, on a fallen Goat Willow log by the bank of the lake at TQ7058260442. Growing on willow certainly fits, it is supposed to be mainly saprophytic and to cause a white rot on willows in particular, and there was a good maze gill pattern on the underside, rather more developed than the descriptions suggested. Other trees it reputedly infects include birch, alder and beech.

The bracket is tough (I had great difficulty removing one from the trunk) and is described either as kidney-shaped or semi-circular. Other features included the rough surface in the middle of the upper side, the light brown zoning towards the outer parts of the upper side, with a thin contrasting whitish rim, at the relatively sharp edge. I didn't notice any purpling on the top surface when collected, but it was very much there.

Apparently the fruiting body has occasionally been used in ornamental paper making.

On the return towards the car park by the Ham Hill works, it seems that the tree surgeons (?) must have taken to the water to do their coppicing!

A little further along, there were two clumps of plants that could have been Japanese Knotweed, Fallopia japonica.

The Battle of Bossenden Wood

Bossenden Wood is a woodland area on the Western side of the Blean Woods complex around Canterbury. It is infamous as the site of the last pitched battles fought on English soil (albeit by small numbers of men on both sides).

In the battle Tom Courtenay (aka Sir William Courtenay) was killed with 8 or 9 others of his activists, together with two government soldiers (1 by "friendly" fire). Tom Courtenay had set himself up as a leader of a local revolt, attracting local fairly desperate malcontents deeply affected by the withdrawal of charitable payments, and the loss of farm-work due to the rapidly increasing mechanisation of farms, and the consequent threat of the workhouse for them and their families. There was no local charitable giving to support them, as the area was extra-parochial, with no church and no school for the children to go to. The judges were relatively lenient with the survivors, expressing a degree of sympathy for their grievous situation.

This is the Crooked Oak, a local landmark at Bossenden Wood. David Shire said that the name probably represents the summit of the hill where a succession of one or several oaks have got wind-damaged over many years. It seemed to be more like Quercus petraea than Quercus robur, purely from the apparently petiolate leaves.

In the picture above you can see the point where the large branch pictured below has been ripped from, apparently quite some considerable time ago.

The general vegetation around appears to be at least in part Sweet Chestnut, Castanea sativa, an Archeaophyte species, commonly  managed as coppice or "spring" (spring is sprung??), known in the Domesday book as "silvia minutia". Coppice may also be written coppy, coppis, coppse, copse, copy.

Along the old woodbank, this tree was considered to be a "stub" or "stubb" perhaps acting as a "cant" or "panel" marker according to David Shire, which it may well be, cut at about waist height. Alternative terms for the "panel" are "sale", "fell" or "barrow". However as far as I can see, with my very limited experience, from reading Rackham, it is just as likely to simply be a boundary marker. This tree is a Hornbeam, a very useful marker species, I could only take a wild guess as to how old it was:

This the same stub, from a different angle, noting some failure of regrowth, perhaps of an older coppice stool, perhaps indicating that the creation of the stub form of the tree came rather later:

The asexual stage of an Ascocoryne sp on a birch stump, possibly Ascocoryne sarcoides.

And here is some Candle-snuff fungus, Xylaria hypoxylon. in general it seems to be very variably branched. These individuals are quite dumpily rounded, but you also get stag's horn shapes or quite narrowly rounded tips. The bodies should release either white conidia (when you tap them?) or black ascospores:

There were very good numbers of fungi across the site, including these pretty dark flesh coloured mushrooms growing amongst the moss on this tree stump (pictures uncropped and cropped):

We also found these, which I think are Sulphur Tuft, Hypholoma fasciculare, or one of its relatives: 

Osiers at Leybourne Lakes

Leybourne really is a magical place, despite the pipeline they are putting in across the site by the "Ocean" lake at the near end, and the new paper recycling mill being constructed at the far end of the lakes by the river.

I was trying to look at the willows more carefully, separating the White and Crack Willow trees, but as I looked, it was becoming much more obvious how much Common Osier, Salix viminalis (L.), there is around the site. These are generally multi-stemmed shrubs or small trees rising to about 3 or 4 times my height, much smaller than the taller other trees of the genus here. There are reasonable numbers at the far end of the Ocean Lake, still with plenty of their long narrow leaves on at the moment, and they seem to be well held very late into the winter. The shrubs all seemed to fit straight Salix viminalis, which is common throughout most of lowland Britain, but it is quite possible that I missed some hybrids, which may be either planted as SRC or rarely found in far-away pockets of the country. Equally, some of the trees near the waters edge had good long leaves over 15 cm long, while other (smaller) trees upslope and amongst grass showed with leaves nearer 8 cm long - just due to competition or what?

The remaining leaves are long and narrow, tapering both at the tip and at the base from a thin stalk, arising from a boat-shaped insertion on the stem over the catkin-bud, linear-lanceolate (to 20 cm long) slightly wavy and almost entirely (untoothed) or completely entire, with an obviously silky hairy covering on the underside, a very obvious soft silver even from a distance, especially when the leaves were dry. The petioles are narrow, very pubescent and often partly or even wholly canaliculate on the upper side. It is difficult to see how this can be distinguished from the matted tomentose nature of Salix elaeagnos without having seen those leaves, but the so-called appressed nature of the hairs may imply they are shorter and smoother as well as being presumably laid flat in their complete coverage over the lower surface.

I couldn't see any hairs on the top of the leaves, there are reputed to be a few scattered there, but it is actually very late in the season. The stipules, when present, were linear, (reputedly often falcate) about 10 mm long. They were not however regularly (or uniformly) caducous, a feature which may just apply to the weaker shoots..

The margins of the leaves were very clearly turned down or revolute along the majority of the length, and this was particularly notable as the leaves dried over the day or two in the house before I got to look at them in detail. The margins were wavy, going up and down in the vertical plane regularly along the edge of the leaves. Some sections of the leaf margins appeared to show slight crimping as though they were showing the early stages of the gall midge attack, Dasineura marginemtorquens. There were wingless aphids commonly, evidence of leafhopper feeding, and willow rust everywhere on the undersides of the leaves.

The most amazing thing about them is that many of the leaves appeared to be twisted around so that they were almost upside down! Following the channel of the leaf base as it emerges from the boat-shaped structure branching out from the stem and almost fully covering the very gorgeously silky catkin-buds, the channel of the proximal side twists over until it is on the positionally "lower" or "outer" side of the leaf, forming a groove over the now "outer" surface of the leaf, which is morphologically the glossier top. The ridge on the distal side away from the stem equally appears on the "upper" silky-white under surface of the leaf which now appears to be held upwards or on the top or "inner" side in relation to the stem!!  This must be about being linear leaves near the stem, and needs to be checked out in the field, in case they have twisted as it dried. After checking it looked as though this was all due to the way the shoots were being held.

The stems are extremely interesting, remaining rather grey-silky until you get far enough back along the stem that the leaves have been lost, and then turning into a rather attractive glabrous and shiny greeny-olive young "multiple epidermis" as the silky hairs are lost. Lower down in the denser parts of the bush I thought this epidermis turned more towards the yellowish-brown hue. In addition you can see the first-formed buds at the base of the shoot appear now to be much more widely separated than the later formed ones near the tip, as well as being much smaller and quite dormant in appearance. Is this due to rapid shoot extension early in the season? The pith inside the shoot is filled with a quite tightly packed fibrous material, the structure of which appears to be pre-adapted to the flexible but still tough nature of the osier wands!

The silky part of the stem is pierced occasionally by beautiful low-lying (i.e. below the level of the surrounding epidermis) chestnut-red lenticels, with a central channel. As the stem matures, the corky cells in the lenticel develop and grow further, pushing the lenticel up above the level of the stem surface now covered in the developing glossy young "multiple epidermis", so that you get a tiny chestnut-red raised welt on the new surface, on which the channel is less obvious. I'd rather not call the glossy surface bark as yet!

I haven't looked at the main branches and trunks as yet. Photos hopefully to follow. The general outline of the shrubs/trees may be narrow, truncate or rounded. Growing osiers for basket making is a very interesting industry! http://www.harpenden-history.org.uk/page_id__125.aspx

It may have been widely planted in the UK, especially in N and E, and may also be an Archaeophyte, despite its widespread distribution, possibly having originated in the river systems of Russia and having been spread westward with man. It may be quite genetically uniform, fitting in with this, but may have several varieties, including one known as var. linearifolia, although this can also be created by neglect or a difficult growing environment.

The calm after the storm at Cliffe

Between about 12 and 4 pm, say 2 hours birdwatching and 2 hours walking.

Found, with help, a female or perhaps more likely an immature Scaup in amongst the many Tufted Duck on Elf Pool. Lots of other duck, with Pintail rather less obvious, and many more Pochard. Over 1200 Teal I was told, and very good numbers of Wigeon. Others included upending Shoveller, Mallard, one definite Gadwall, three Goldeneye, Clangula bucephala. Coot, a couple of Moorhen, perhaps a dozen Snipe seen temporarily flushed, about a dozen Black-tailed Godwit. Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe. Cormorant.

Many more Grey Plover today and I thought many more Dunlin as well - went off as I approached Flamingo. Avocets, Lapwings, a few Redshank, a couple of Curlew. I had seen quite a few Ringed Plover earlier. Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls. One Grey Heron and Little Egrets.

Possible Redwing, certainly Blackbirds, Long-tailed Tits.

Marsh Harrier, Barn Owl hunting. Possible Sparrowhawk.

Storm force Cliffe

Very blowy with the wind carrying a bite warning of winter to come! Between about 12 noon and 3:30, very occasional raindrops.

On Radar, a lot of Coot, Great Crested and Little Grebes, Mallard, Shoveller, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew.

Behind Flamingo, a pair of Marsh Harriers (well, one male, one female) the female being mobbed by a small hawk, a merlin maybe.

On Flamingo 1200 or so Dunlin, 2 Little Stint, 50+ Ringed Plover, 40+ Grey Plover, 1 Golden Plover, 6 Curlew, 2 Knot possibly, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, more Coot, Grebes and a few Black-headed Gulls.

I might have seen half a dozen Redshank over Elf, I couldn't be sure. I missed a Raven over Flamingo, while I was concentrating on the BTO curlew/whimbrel video.

Quick whizz down by Bourneside

Not much about but very nice skies as the sun set. More blackbirds about at Bourneside as well as in the garden.

Down to the Mill

The footpath passes through a woodland which has been greatly opened up, leaving about 15 small to medium sized trees in the middle. Quite a few trees appear to have been felled earlier this year including some very large timber indeed, although the trees around the edge are much better off, having been left alone. There is nothing to stop a landowner felling trees although a Forestry Commission license may be needed. However why TMBC allowed the householder permission to build a large shed by the woodland to store simply huge amounts of equipment supposedly to "manage this woodland for the benefit of the ecology" is quite simply beyond me. What on earth could be the very special circumstances allowing TMBC to overturn the presumption against development in the Metropolitan Green Belt? They didn't seem to have had a clue about this preposterous application.

Linnets on the estuary bank, a kingfisher flying from the river up towards Style Place and a female kestrel on the wires by Victoria Road.

Cobtree Manor recce

Great drive down from Ruthin

Fantastic drive down today, only five hours with a ten minutes stop for fuel, and several slow periods on the M40 and by Heathrow. Five or more buzzards around Shrewsbury, and six or more Red Kites near the Cotswolds. Why so many magpies near Heathrow? Only one parakeet overflying the M25.

Male Tawny Owl calling and Grey Squirrels screeching in Dene Park as I managed two quick circuits between 6 and 7 pm. Also something calling kee-wick, kee-wick, kee-wick - young buzzard or a hunting tawny owl?? 

Olive's 90th

Olive had her 90th birthday party in her garden today, with Paula's wonderful flowers on the cake. Her actual birthday is tomorrow, the 21st.

Really nice to see Pascal van Ceunebroeke again, who was a visiting student from Belgium in 1993, and is now a horticultural trainer and a family man of 45! He has come all the way over from Belgium to celebrate with Olive. Other long-distance visitors included Virginie from North France and the Williamsii from the South of France, as well as my mum from North Wales of course! What a very nice chap Pascal is!

Comma chrysalis, Lawyers Wig and Willowherb Downy mildew at Dene Park

I really find it difficult to get satisfactory photos with the mobile - I don't know whether it is focussing or shake that is the main issue.

The Comma chrysalis was absolutely fantastic - and the photos do  not do it any justice at all. I would never have seen it if it wasn't on some sallow whips that had been largely stripped by what I think might be the Willow Sawfly - see below. The chrysalis was just under an inch long I would have said, and here there is a front view and then a side view. The photo just can't capture the wonder of the silvery patches.

I found two or three of the Sawfly larvae as well, maybe the final instar. They may be the Lesser Sawfly, Nematus pavidus, which seems to be the commonest on Goat Willow.

The Tawny Owl was heard for the third evening in a row, and it was heard twice tonight. Nice to think of this male setting up its winter territory for next spring, presumably having successfully moulted over the last couple of months. "Tawny Owls remain within their nesting territory all the year round and pair-bonds last for life. They are generally monogamous but some males are known to be polygamous. The first territorial fights occur as early as October and November, the male determining the territory, the female the nesting hole. The transition from autumn to winter is marked by a final establishment of territories and pre-breeding behaviour. The female and male tend more and more to roost together. Courtship feeding begins in the winter period (December to February), becoming progressively centred on the future nest site.  In Europe the Tawny Owl usually begins breeding in mid-March." from the website: http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Strix&species=aluco.

The area for a territory in good woodland may be as little as 12 Hectares, and the area bounded by the track walk is 26 Hectares, so there is perhaps enough room in this central patch for perhaps two territories, and perhaps more in the wood as a whole. However I have only heard the one male, and it could be the same male as heard for the past few years, and therefore possibly the same pair, as pair-bonds are generally for life (although a few males are thought to form polygamous bonds - that must be hard work!). Any young produced over the years will presumably have dispersed to new vacant territories in the area, if any have been available!

"Tawny Owls lay from two to six eggs, but sometimes only one. The eggs are almost round and pure white and are about 46.7 x 39mm. Normally, they are laid at intervals of 48 hours, and are incubated for 28-29 days by the female alone. When the young have hatched, the male brings more food, either to the nest or to the female waiting nearby. Once the chicks are 6-7 days old the female may leave the nest only to hunt, otherwise remaining near the young. Fledging occurs after 28 to 37 days. Tawny Owls are dependent on their parents for food up to three months after leaving the nest.  As the young owls gradually learn to fend for themselves they also establish territories." (ibid.).

As well as the owls taking up territory, other signs of the developing season are the profusion of different fungi, including these Lawyers' Wigs, or Shaggy Inkcaps, Coprinus comatus, at the start of the track to Ringlet Triangle. This is the best of a bad set of photos. The season is rushing along. Already some have completely deliquesced.

This is a very edible fungus, but other species at least are NOT to be mixed with alcohol within the same week! Eat quite young and very fresh for best results!

A still morning at high tide, Cliffe Pools

In the middle of the banks of yellow crucifer along the track back from Flamingo Pool, I suddenly spotted an Asteraceae with sagitate lobes surrounding the stem. It immediately shouted the sowthistle picture I'd been struggling with in County Down, and when I got it back home it looked very like one, with one of the leaves half way up the stem being superficially exactly like the picture in Francis Rose of the lower leaf of the Marsh Sowthistle.

However you cannot do Asteraceae like this, and the involucre should have been covered with blackish sticky hairs, which they were not. Saved by the hand-lens from making a horrible mistake! So starting again I looked at the other possibilities, and by elimination it started to look like a Hawksbeard, and a Smooth Hawksbeard, Crepis capillaris, at that. And that is was it turned out to be: The leaf I was looking at must have been an intermediate form as it was half way up the stem, and I should have been looking for the basal rosette leaves. As I wasn't, the pictures in Rose are almost entirely misleading, and I need to learn that lesson very carefully.  

Here you can see the whitish outer surfaces on the outer ring of ray florets, which I cannot find mention of in the floras, but is in many of the images on the web. In this plant there is also a distinct and clear tiny orange tip to some of these florets. At the bottom of the picture above you can also see the developing inflorescences, which are held vertically in life (thank goodness for turgor pressure I say!) and also shows the adpressed lower ring of phyllaries. I would have said the stems were ridged and hollow (one of the characteristics that helped me towards my initial and misleading id of Marsh Sowthistle!).

You start off by identifying that all the florets are ray-florets, with no disc florets to be seen. This takes you into Group A, the quite large and diverse group of Dandelion-like Asteraceae. Then you look at them as yellow florets, with at least some stem leaves, so eliminating Dandelion itself, but then you can't get much further if it is without fruit (achenes), so it's back to eliminating the unlikely and impossible, such as the Lettuces (characteristic branching or spike like inflorescense with smaller narrow involucres), Cats-Ear and the other hawkbits (upper stem not leafy), Mouse Ear Hawkweeds (furry leaves) and Nipplewort . Then Crepis, the Hawksbeards starts to be a possibility in amongst all these others. I didn't think it was a Hawkweed as I don't know any Hawkweeds with these backward lobes, all the leaves seem to be fairly simple entire ovate shapes.