Bleak short term outlook for barn owls
January 22, 2011 by wosuser
With December’s cold weather still uppermost in our minds, it’s easy to forget that in January and February 2010 much of Wiltshire was also blanketed with snow. Yet the impact of those harsh conditions on our barn owl population is only now coming to light, according to the Trust.
“We surveyed barn owl nest boxes in the Braydon Forest area of north Wiltshire and found that only half were used for rearing chicks last summer compared to recent years. Unfortunately these beautiful birds are likely to have been given yet another hard knock by the frosts and snowfall of December,” says Paul Darby of the Trust’s Landscapes for Wildlife Project. Of the 20 or so boxes in the Braydon Forest project area that were checked and cleaned out, only four showed signs that the owls had bred, compared with eight in 2008.”
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22nd January 2011
January 22, 2011 by wosuser
2 Blackcap – Salisbury – Stephen Hackett
Blackcap – Devizes – Bruno Clements
150 Fieldfare, 200 Redwing, Barn Owl, 4 Tawny Owl, 40 Goldinch, 50 Chaffinch, 20 Siskin, 20 Yellowhammer - Nightingale Wood, South Marston – Phil & Graham Deacon
30 WAXWING - Yates Close, Swindon – Neil Cowley
2 PEREGRINE - Grittleton – Carole Barber
Little Egret – Longbridge Deverill - Rowena & Bill Quantrill
170 Fieldfare, 170 Redwing – Sedgehill – Rowena & Bill Quantrill
4 Goosander, 2 Kingfisher, 18 Wigeon, 9 Shoveler – Langford Lakes – Mike Trew
Kingfisher - Mike Trew
Barn Owl – Stokes Hill – Wes Parfitt
2 MANDARIN, 6 Jay, 25 Goldfinch – Coate Water – Steve Davies
3 Marsh Tit – Hodson Woods – Steve Davies
21st January 2011
January 21, 2011 by wosuser
100,000 Starling – roosting SPTA west – Andrew Bray
67 Goosander, 11 Wigeon, 23 Pochard, 36 Gadwall, 270 Teal, Pintail, 15 Cormorant – Coate Water – Malcolm Royal
Blackcap – Devizes – Bruno Clements
Brambling – Chippenham - Dave Kilbey
Brambling - Dave Kilbey
Blackcap – Salisbury – Stephen Hackett
20th January 2011
January 20, 2011 by wosuser
Blackcap – Swindon – Ken Cypher
Marsh Tit – Stanton Park, Swindon – Ken Cypher
Little Egret – Coleview, Swindon – Ed Smith
19th January 2011
January 19, 2011 by wosuser
30 Pied Wagtail, 400 Fieldfare, 200 Redwing, Brambling, 10 Yellowhammer – Nightingale Wood, South Marston – Phil & Graham Deacon
Pied Wagtail - Phil Deacon
130 Lapwing – Bulkington – Paul Fox
2 Raven – Erlestoke – Paul Fox
2 Snipe, 100 Fieldfare, 25 Redwing, 40 Linnet – Blakehill – Robin Griffiths
Marsh Tit – Leigh – Robin Griffiths
2 Blackcap, Brambling – Hilperton Marsh – Pete Truscott
2 Blackcap – Swindon – Trevor Clayson
3 Red Kite, 34 Lapwing, 130 Redwing, 70 Fieldfare – Wilton Water – Mike Trew
Red Kite – Burgage – Mike Trew
13 Goosander, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Kingfisher, Shoveler, Wigeon – Langford Lakes – Bob Blamey
Shoveler - Bob Blamey
18th January 2011
January 19, 2011 by wosuser
WHOOPER SWAN - Little Wishford – Mike Hamzij, Paul Fox, Rob Turner
6 MANDARIN, Pintail, 2 Raven – Fonthill Lake – Mike Hamzij, Paul Fox, Rob Turner
PEREGRINE, 4 Raven, 2 Corn Buting – Win Green – John Osborne
53 Goosander, 2 Pintail – Coate Water - Ken Cypher
17th January 2011
January 17, 2011 by wosuser
Goosander – Corsham Lake – Mike Trew
Red Kite – Enford – Andrew Bray
2 Blackcap – Devizes – Anthony Mitchell
10 Goosander, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Kingfisher, Shoveler – Langford Lakes – Shayne Ford
4 Little Egret – Little Langford – Shayne Ford
100 Lapwing – Old Sarum pig farm – Shayne Ford
400 Lapwing, Little Egret – Whaddon, Trowbridge – Mike Hamzij
2 Blackcap, Brambling – Hilperton Marsh – Pete Truscott
2 Blackcap – Laverstock – Lorraine Blakey
16th January 2011
January 16, 2011 by wosuser
20 WAXWING - Victoria Road, Warminster – Nick Stephens
Little Egret, Raven, 2 Barn Owl, Red Kite – Stoford – Daniel Kronenberg
2 Goldeneye, 7 Goosander, 59 Gadwall, 12 Shoveler, 2 Kingfisher, 100 Lapwing – Langford Lakes - John Osborne
WHOOPER SWAN – Little Wishford – John Osborne
105 Golden Plover, 25 Corn Bunting – Roundway Hill – Anthony Mitchell
Robins rush into gardens
January 16, 2011 by wosuser
Robins are territorial throughout the year and can often be seen posturing to each other and even fighting to the death. However, severe winter weather pacifies their mood with individuals becoming much more congenial.
In Cheshire, Clwyd Roberts photographed six Robins feeding together on his bird table (see right), which prompted a media campaign through the Sunday Express to establish a collective noun for such rare congregations.
Behind this initiative is quality Citizen Science. Data collected by householders who participate in the year-round BTO Garden BirdWatch show that during the recent freezing conditions, the average number of Robins in gardens soared – increasing by two thirds between the start of November and Christmas 2010 (see graph below). Numbers have remained relatively high in gardens since as inclement weather persists in some parts of the country and food in the wider countryside is depleted. However, there are some signs that numbers could be coming down again.
http://www.bto.org/news-events/e-newsletter/e-newsletter-library/robins-rush-gardens
White-tailed eagle enthralls Hampshire birders
January 16, 2011 by wosuser
IT is every bird-watcher’s dream to catch a glimpse of the meat cleaver beak and barn door wings.
And for scores of delighted twitchers it was the rare sight that greeted them as they gathered in a Hampshire lane hoping to see one of the world’s largest eagles. The white-tailed eagle, also known as the sea eagle, was nearing extinction until a conservation effort helped increase their numbers which is thought to stand at about 10,000 pairs worldwide. This is only the second time the apex predator, that eats small mammals, fish and other birds, has been sighted in the county
