For the wildlife enthusiast, winter can be a dull affair. Many insects will be hibernating, migrant birds such as warblers, Swifts and Swallows will have left our shores and I could count on one hand the numbers of wildflower species which are brave enough to bloom during these cold, short days!
For many, attention is drawn naturally to the animals which remain conspicuous at this time of year, especially birds. I am no different. Whilst dreaming of warmer days ahead filled with colourful flowers and a wealth of insects, I content myself during the interim with the birds that are attracted to the bird feeders in my garden and occasionally, further afield.
This winter, I decided to experiment a bit with the bird food I put out. Usually, peanut feeders and breadcrumbs on the ground would attract Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Robins, Chaffinches and Dunnocks, with Song Thrushes, Long-tailed Tits, Jays and Goldfinches visiting occasionally.
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- Great Tit
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- Coal Tit
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- Blue Tit
I decided to add some sunflower hearts and it wasn’t long before the variety increased substantially. Within the last month, Siskins have become regular visitors. These are typically found less frequently in gardens and tend to live in wooded areas with Alder and coniferous trees. Redpolls often inhabit similar areas and they too have been seen in the garden recently. The other new regular visitor is a lone female Greenfinch, which despite only appearing on her own is a nice observation to make as this species has fallen dramatically in numbers due to Trichomonosis, a disease which first appeared here in 2006.
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- Siskin
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- Robin
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- Blackbird
The Song Thrush appears to have become a more frequent visitor, as have the Long-tailed Tits and Pied Wagtails (although this could be down to food availability in the wider area, rather than the greater variety of foodstuffs in my garden). Goldfinches too are more abundant than ever, with counts into double figures not uncommon. It is interesting to watch the bird hierarchy at the feeders, as Goldfinches tend to rule the roost and feed first, followed by Great Tits, Blue Tits then Coal Tits. The Siskins and Redpolls seem to be on the same level as the Goldfinches, but when the Greenfinch appears, all the aforementioned birds quickly make way! Blackbirds and Song Thrushes seem to ignore this, whilst Robins, Dunnocks and Chaffinches seem willing to tolerate other species but display a complex hierarchy amongst their own.
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- Song Thrush
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- Pied Wagtail
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- Long-tailed Tit
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- Goldfinch
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- Dunnock
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- Mistle Thrush
There are several other species which have appeared once or twice this winter, one of them being the Mistle Thrush. This robust thrush is paler and stockier than the Song Thrush and during the winter will associate with other thrushes in large flocks. It seldom visits gardens, preferring to feed in fields, along hedgerows or on the edges of woodlands, so to see a few individuals gorging on the Privet berries beside my house was a nice surprise!
The Collared Dove and Jay are two larger birds which only visit periodically. The former is a recent colonist in Ireland although can be found commonly in farmland and urban areas across the country. The Jay is a reclusive woodland-dwelling crow, which sometimes nests in the copse close to my house. They visit the garden searching for bread or peanuts periodically throughout the year and when they do, there is often little left by the time they have finished!
The Yellowhammer too has been seen for the first time in the garden this winter, as has the rare Brambling. Yellowhammers have undergone a rather stark decline in recent decades, likely as a result of hedgerow removal and and the increasingly common practice of ploughing and sowing fields in autumn, which removes the stubble which sustains them during the winter. They can be heard singing in my local area in spring, but to see a female in the garden was special! The Brambling on the other hand is a rare winter visitor from Scandinavia. It often wanders from its breeding range looking for food and during this time it will often associate with its close relative the Chaffinch. Unfortunately my new longer range lens did not arrive in time to photograph either species well, so my rather poor shots will have to suffice until next winter when I will (hopefully) get some better shots.
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- Yellowhammer
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- Brambling
Moving on, some recent mild weather towards the end of February has tempted to early spring flowers to bloom. Colt’s Foot has appeared over the past few days. This flower looks similar to a Dandelion but blooms earlier and interestingly, it produces flowers before its leaves, the opposite of most other flowering plants. Hazel catkins have also appeared and a few shy Lesser Celandines are tentatively opening their petals in response to the mild sunshine. I’ve also seen a few early insects on the wing, notably several Honey Bee workers foraging on Gorse and winter Heather and a few Droneflies (Eristalis tenax).
I couldn’t finish without mentioning the humble Common Frog. During a visit to Breen Wood in Co. Antrim recently, I came across many croaking adults in some of the shallow pools along the main trail. One of these was buff-coloured with a greenish tinge, which I have been told is a rare colour variation. Frogspawn was abundant here, indeed I don’t think I have ever seen so much in all my life! There is also a smaller amount of fresh spawn in some patches of shallow water close to my house, which I will monitor over the coming weeks to check on the progress of the next generation!
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- Common Frog
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- Honey Bee
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- Hazel Catkins
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- Frogspawn
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- Colt’s Foot
Spring is just around the corner and after a winter under lockdown, I can scarcely remember a time when I have been looking forward to it so much. Bees and butterflies will soon be on the wing and hopefully I will be able to write about some new sightings in my next post!
