Starlings.

The Autumnal displays of starlings are one of the worlds most wonderful natural displays. At this time of year they put in an amazing display as they come together to roost. Watching their thriving numbers, it looks like we have a thriving British population. But a lot of these birds are migrants that find food over here during winter. These displays are hiding a worrying truth, the fact that British starlings are actually disappearing. Back in the 80`s the British population of starling was around twenty million, they were even considered a pest by some people, but they thrived in our cities and villages. Surveys have shown that our starling population has actually dropped by 80%. So what is causing this alarming decline in one of our most iconic of birds? Researchers are trying whats going on, like most animals the starling first year is quite a hard one. When they fledge they have to survive without the help of the parent birds, this happens after about four weeks. They join flocks of other starlings, this provides protection for them from other predators. They mainly feed on grass lands, they probe the soil for invertebrates with their strong beaks. But its surprisingly difficult for these young birds, taking time to learn how to get their food from the ground and to learn the correct technique. Its also thought the way me manage our grasslands could be a problem. Improved drainage means their is less moisture in the top soil, soil compaction also means that the surface is harder for them when they are probing. Turning from permanent pasture to quick growing grass species means less exposed grass areas. One of these or also a combination of all means that the starlings are finding it harder to find, probe and eat the food. When Autumn descends the pressure is really on as the migrants start to arrive, coming in from mainland Europe. Our young starlings will then have to compete with all of the migrants, which are more experienced at finding the food than our fledgelings.  So its likely that some of this will explain why there is a fifty% reduction in their survival rates in young starlings in the last forty years. The r.s.p.b are starting to research the starlings and their complex food and lifestyle issues, which is good news. Farmers are more efficent in taking away straw etc from their fields and removing some of the leather jackets(young crane fly). Let me know if you see any starlings in your garden,

Conservation.

Bring back the birds.

A garden bustling with bird life will be brought alive by song and flapping wings, and also give us a chance to see wild creatures at close hand. But many of our most familiar visitors are suffering serious decline.

What to look out for.

As well as house sparrows, whose numbers have dropped dramatically, other birds in decline include starlings, dunnocks,song thrushes, mistle thrushes, swifts, house martins, spotted flycatchers, willow warblers, bullfinches, tree sparrows and linnets.

Reasons for their decline.

Cats and non native grey squirrels are to take some  blame for falling populations of these birds, but the main reasons are man made. Patios, decking, drives and the general tidiness of our modern gardens eliminate the seed and insect food of many species. Birds like house sparrows, swifts, house martins and swallows are finding it harder to find nest sites because we are much better at maintaining our houses nowadays, whereas in the past they`d have nested under the eaves. We have also taken out a lot of hedgerows in our inner cities and filled in all of the nooks and crannies on the outside of our houses with p.v.c. Also some modern farming practices, pesticides, the lack of weed seeds and a change to planting times all play their part.

Tips to help.

Leave parts of your garden to go wild.

You don`t have let your garden get hopelessly overgrown, but areas of long grass are a great habitat for insects and nearly all small birds need insects during the breeding season to provide protein for their young.

Plant plenty of native species.

As they will provide seed foods for birds and attract insects. Annual plants that produce seeds in late summer are a good source of food in the autumn and delaying cutting back your perennials until the spring means the seed heads provide winter food. Berry-bearing trees are always good for attracting birds. Varieties of cotoneasters, pyracantha and rowans are popular for redwings, fieldfares and waxwings.

Give the birds a banquet.

With lots of feeders and a variety of food including seeds and energy rich foods like fat balls. Various birds will always come back to your garden so if you put feeders out you must always make sure you keep them topped up. Great tits, blue tits,long tailed tits, chaffinches, goldfinches, robins, blackbirds and starlings. Theses species doing well largely because of their success adopting  to garden feeders.

Provide a home to nest.

Many garden birds share a willingness to use nest boxes. But you can buy boxes that fit under your eaves to attract house- nesting species. Boxes with metal reinforcement around the opening can stop woodpeckers and squirrels from getting in to them as well.

Things to look out for in November.

The weather is now becoming much more Autumnal, The winds are becoming stronger, with all of the leaves that all have fallen to the ground blowing around. Most of the leaves from the deciduous trees have now fallen. Red wings and fieldfares have now made the long journey from Scandinavia to winter in Britain. They will be seen amongst hawthorn and apple trees, Finding the remaining hawthorn berries and apples. Their have been quite a few mentions of waxwings around Worcestershire. This bird is also a migrant that Winters in Britain. The fallow,sika and red deer will be finishing their rut by now. After the ruts the males, who don`t eat during the rut will feed well getting ready for the onset of winter. The females will also stay together during winter. The females will give birth during may or June of the following year. Chaffiinches and pied wagtails,linnets,bramblings and greenfinches may be seen in mixed flock species( i will be talking about this in a later blog). They are searching for food, which could be any leftover seeds that are still  in the hedgerow or even any late surviving nuts that may still be on the ground. Blue,coal and great tits will be seen on the feeders as they themselves are eating well,getting ready for the cold months ahead as well.  Seven spotted ladybirds will be attempting to enter our houses as they seek somewhere to hibernate over winter. Late migrant red admirals  and comma`s may still be seen amongst the ivy along with queen bumble bees, as long as we havn`t really had a cold snap yet. Wood mice,yellow-necked mice, bank and field voles will still be searching for hazel nuts to eat amongst the leaf litter. Protein rich hazel nuts are important food for a variety of creatures. You can tell what animals have been around by examining the empty shells. A woodmouse will leave a round hole on the side of the hazelnut, with marks of their upper teeth evident. A bank vole will leave a round hole on the top of the hazelnut, with a clearly delineated gnawed edge. A hazel dormouse will leave a round hole on the side of the hazelnut, unlike the woodmouse the edges will be smooth. Hedgehogs will be getting ready to hibernate during November. They use a process called gluco neogenisis to enable them to hibernate, I will be talking about this as well during a later blog. The hedgehogs along with the common dormice and our seventeen species of bats are the only British mammals that hibernate. With the onset of winter food can run short for certain species, so they face the simple choice to move with the food or hibernate and these three species choose to hibernate. Starlings may be seen in large roosts during November, We are not quite sure why they roost in such large numbers, possibilities include safety in numbers, increasing their foraging efficiency or simply for warmth. Its a wonderful sight as they fly around, moving all the time like a shoal of fish in the air then suddenly all descending onto the ground.

things to look out for in april.

Swallows nesting in spring.

The beautiful spring mornings are finally here for us all to see,Ive just got back from a weeks holiday in north wales and there was not a drop of rain in sight.Bluebells,ramsons and hawthorn blossom are sights that we should now be able to see during April as the climate starts to get warmer.Bluebells and ramsons will carpet the woodland floor,While the hawthorn blossom should lighten up many a hedgerow in Worcestershire.You should be able to see the first house martins and swallows as they return from their epic trip to south Africa.Badger cubs make their first appearance above ground during April,Dusk is a really good time to go and watch them.Its also a good time to look out for wood mice rustling in the leaf litter as you walk through the wood.The sound of the cuckoo is the day i say spring has arrived,The cuckoo is a migrant from Africa and will use meadow pipits,reed warblers and dunnocks nest for themselves to lay their eggs.When the cuckoo chick hatches it instinctively pushed the other chick or egg out of the nest,So the adoptive parents tend purely for the cuckoo chick.Blackbirds,starlings and song thrushes are also really busy this month.Also look out for the Ariel displays of skylarks and meadow pipits.Orange tip butterfly's start to emerge during April around plants from the crucifer family in particular the Lady's smock,Laying their eggs on the leaves of the plant,They then feed as caterpillars on the mustard oils of their food plants.Its a good time of year to see grass snakes,adders and slow warms basking in the spring sunshine. Newts start mating from now as well so look in the shallows of your pond or someone elses and you may see them.The male woos the female with his tail flicking performance,and his bold marking on his body. You probably wont see the female laying her eggs, She wraps a living leaf around each one of her eggs,The leaves will then be bent over with a single egg inside.Start to look out for vixens with her fox cubs as well

things to look out for in january

Hazel catkins during winter.

Now we are moving through winter,various animals and plants will slowly start to appear.Catkin's on hazel and alder trees start to appear,Hazel has a beautiful lemon yellow male catkins and red female flowers that will emerge from buds in the centre of the shoots.A breeze is all it takes for the pollen to start an amazing journey,a few will land on the female flowers,a few more make the nuts of autumn.Lesser celandine will carpet woodland floors and riverbanks during this month,they have a delightful yellow flower that tells you spring is on the way.Sparrowhawks may start building their nests now,depending on the amount of food that's around,For most of the time the sparrowhawk flies around unseen in dense cover throughout most of the year,but during winter because there are less leaves on the trees they become easier to spot.The sparrowhawk is an avian bird,this means they catch their quarry on the wing.There are around 32,000 sparrowhawks in Britain,this is our second most common bird of prey behind the kestrel.Lapwings feeding on a water logged field in the watery winter sun can be spotted during January.Starlings may be seen as well in large numbers looking for food and then coming down at night to roost,Wrens and tits may come into nest boxes to roost when it gets really cold,look out for them in your garden.Small mammals such as wood mice and bank and field voles may be seen as well,The wood mice will still be out looking for food so keep a look out for them,nibbling on shoots of grass are a give away,as their little bodies feel the squeeze of winter,they get bolder and more adventurous moving farther afield.Bank and field voles operate in runs as they move around looking for food,they will tolerate each other more during winter as they are searching for food,the runs are normally patrolled by one pair of voles.Small pellet-shaped droppings and fresh grass clippings are all giveaways that voles are in residence.Long tailed tits will come to your feeders in your garden during this month,but will most likely be seen off by the two great territory holders,the robin and the blackbird.Barn owls can be spotted,hunting low over fields looking voles and rats.Common frogs may not be spawning yet,the males will certainly be accumulating by their breeding grounds.Common frogs 'purr' and do not go 'rrribitt' as we have all been misled to believe.Damselfly,may and stone fly nymphs are stirring in our rivers waiting to emerge in spring and begin the cycle all over again.Fox's start mating during late December and January so its a good time to see the dog fox and his vixen together.Foxes are getting vociferous as the breeding season comes into full flow.The 'wow-wowing' bark and the blood-curdling scream,produced mainly by the vixen,are their way of getting the lowdown of who`s who and where.