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Posts from the ‘British Birds’ Category

Mar 3

I wish I was special

Treecreeper on tree trunk
Treecreeper, Certhia familiaris © Derek Griffin

During our weekly bird survey, Steve Wilson a fellow member of the Conservation and Wildlife Action Group (CWAG) spotted this lovely Treecreeper Certhia familiaris resting on the trunk of a tree, just a few yards from where we were gathered. It’s not often you get the opportunity to see one this close up, they’re usually much higher up in the canopy.

The somewhat ‘mouse-like’ Treecreeper uses its long stiff tail feathers for added support as it creeps its way up a tree trunk looking for insects. Starting low down on the trunk it works its way to the top in a spiral. It then floats like a feather* to the next tree and starts the process again. We got lucky when we found this one at the start of its climb. Spotting us it froze momentarily, giving photographer Derek Griffin the opportunity to capture this terrific image.

It brings back memories of when I was learning to be a bird-ringer. My ever-patient and aptly-named trainer John Swallow would ask that we check each one thoroughly just in case we’d found a vagrant Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla. It’s tricky to separate the two species as plumage differences are very slight and measurements overlap but there are consistent differences in the pattern of the wing. I believe our native Treeceeper is also warmer and more spotted above, whiter below, has a shorter bill and a whiter stripe above the eye (the supercilium). Of course much of this is subjective and wasn’t much use to a somewhat nervous novice ringer like me. However, the ratio between the hind claw and bill is diagnostic which meant I had to carefully measure the length of these, something I remember the bird strongly objecting to.

* With apologies to the magnificent Radiohead and their fabulous song Creep

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Jun 9

Mystery bird

Icterine warbler, Hippolais icterina

Hippolais icterina

Early on Saturday morning I extracted this little beauty from the mist nets at our constant effort site (CES) near the River Kennet in Berkshire. At first glance, and from the location, you could be forgiven for thinking that this spring migrant that has flown all the way from sub-saharan Africa to southern England looks like a yellow Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus but its wings are far too long at 79mm.

It has the look of a Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus or a Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix but it’s too big to be the former and rather too yellow to be the latter and lacks the prominent eye-stripe (supercilium) of both.

Have you guessed yet? After consulting our copy of Svensson, triple-checking the biometrics; wing length, margination, wing-point, wing-formula etc. Quickly taking reference photos and a quick call to our trainer, we concluded that it’s actually a rather rare (for southern England) Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina.

Feb 25

This one’s for you

Steve carefully checking the wing feathers to see if the Treecreeper, Certhia familiaris is an adult or juvenile

Stephen checking the wing feathers to see if the Treecreeper, Certhia familiaris, is an adult or juvenile

One of my school friends has been on my mind a lot recently. Horribly I found out via Facebook that he passed away last August and of course I regret I haven’t spent more time with him in recent years.

Last week was all early mornings. So it was a challenge to get out of bed again at 6.00am on Saturday to meet up with the aptly named John Swallow of the Berkshire Downs Ringing Group who’d I’d got in touch with via the excellent (BTO) British Trust for Ornithology website. John had very kindly invited me to join him in the Kennet valley for an early morning bird ringing session. Something I’ve wanted to get involved with for ages. I’ve always been interested in birds, in fact they were my first love. I spent many happy hours watching and sketching them when I was a nipper.

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