Tagged with: Birds
Posts (126)
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Healthy benefits of bird song
Martin Aaron
On Sunday 17 April the Shared Earth Trust at Denmark Farm near Lampeter is holding a Dawn Chorus Walk. This April weekend also marks the start of the summer season for the Eco Campsite at Denmark Farm. Visitors are invited to put up their tents, immerse themselves in nature and join the gui...
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I'm talking about good murmurations...
Martin Aaron
Okay, so it hasn't quite got the same ring to it as the classic Beach Boys track 'Good Vibrations' but it's just as spectacular to watch and listen to! As thousands of starlings take to the skies each night prior to roosting. Nobody knows why they do it, which makes it all the more fascinatin...
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A golden moment
Martin Aaron
Golden eagle spotted in Mid Wales. The RSPB said the rare bird, spotted in the skies above Pontrhydygroes, near Aberystwyth, could have escaped from captivity or might have just lost its way. It's not the first time we've had golden eagles circling over Wales and in the past sightings have been reported over Cardiff, Bridgend and Cwmllinau but most are thought to be escapees. See more birds of prey on 成人论坛 Wales Nature & Outdoors.
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RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
Martin Aaron
Yes, it's that time of year again when the RPSB Big Garden Birdwatch returns to a garden near you, over the weekend of 29-30 January. I mentioned this last year and we had a huge response, so hopefully this year will be just as successful if not better and with all this cold weather, I'm sure the birds will be out in force. Greenfinch and a goldfinch on a bird feeder. Image by Brian Mottershead. How to take part: All you need is a pen, some paper (or a print out of the RSPB bird ID sheet and an hour to spend watching the birds in your garden on either Saturday 29, or Sunday 30 January 2011. Then simply record the highest number of each bird species seen in your garden, or local park (not flying over) at any one time, and let the RSPB know what you saw. How to submit your results: From Sunday 29 January - 18 February you can, visit the RSPB website to submit your sightings. This survey is vital in helping the RSPB to understand what is happening to our feathered friends and in particular our more at risk bird species. In recent times we have lost more than half of our house sparrow population and three quarters of our starlings. If you want to attract more birds to your garden, have a go at making these simple garden feeders from your old kitchen waste: How to make a garden bird feeder: What you'll need: plastic drink bottles, scissors, string, bird seed, yoghurt pots and milk cartons (make sure they're clean) Cut a hole in the side large enough to allow a free flow of seeds, but in such a way that it won't all fall out on the ground in the slightest puff of wind, and won't get wet if it rains. Make a few small holes in the bottom of your feeder to allow any rainwater to drain away. Hang it with wire, or even strong string from a tree or your washing line. If your feeder starts to wear out or the food in it goes mouldy, recycle it and make another one. Remember to keep your feeders well stocked, especially over winter as birds come to rely on them and will go hungry if you forget to top them up. We've also got some great feeding tips videos on our website. Feeling peckish? Try making this speedy bird cake. What you'll need: Good quality bird seed, raisins, peanuts, grated cheese, suet or lard, yoghurt pot, string, mixing bowl, scissors. Carefully make a small hole in the bottom of a yoghurt pot. Thread string through the hole and tie a knot on the inside. Leave enough string so that you can tie the pot to a tree, bird table or washing line. Allow the lard to warm up to room temperature, but don't melt it. Then simply cut it up into small pieces and put it in the mixing bowl. Add the other ingredients to the bowl and mix them together with your finger tips. Keep adding the seed/raisin/cheese mixture and mixing it in until the fat holds it all together. Fill your yoghurt pots with bird cake mixture and put them in the fridge to set for an hour or so. Hang your speedy bird cakes from trees or your bird table. Keep an eye out for greenfinches, tits and possibly even great spotted woodpeckers. Feel free to let us know how you got on by leaving your comments here in the blog, but don't forget to visit the RSPB website to submit your findings from January 29 onwards. Gull
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Close encounter with a ghost
Martin Aaron
Ros Bayliss submitted this remarkable video clip to our 成人论坛 Wales Nature Flickr group. It features a barn owl out hunting but watch how close it flies to the camera!
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Heron eats starling for lunch
Martin Aaron
Nature can be cruel but a bird's got to eat and unfortunately for this heron, starling was on the menu at the WWT National Wetland Centre Wales, Llanelli yesterday. Look away now if you're squeamish... Steve Gunter from our Flickr group (you need to be logged in to view) sent in these remarkable images and had this to say about the deadly encounter: "The heron grabbed the starling whilst it was on the ground in the grass just behind the two. It then proceeded to attack and drown the starling." "This played out over about ten minutes. The heron had several attempts to swallow the starling but just couldn't get it right. He did eventually swallow the poor thing though." It's not uncommon for herons to do this as they're not particularly fussy when it comes to eating but it's rare to capture it on camera. Their normal diet consists of frogs, fish, small mammals, small water birds and fish but they're also partial to the odd starling! Gull
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RSPB celebrates 100 years in Wales
Martin Aaron
This year the RSPB celebrates100 years of working in Wales and has come a long way since its humble beginnings. The charity's work protecting birds, wildlife and habitats in Wales started in 1911 with a Mr and Mrs Jones carrying out a small project to look after roseate terns on the island of Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey in North Wales. Llanddwyn Island on Anglesey. Image courtesy of the RSPB. In 1948 RSPB bought it's first nature reserve - Grassholm Island, to protect the third largest gannet colony in the UK. RSPB Cymru now manages 18 nature reserves, covering nearly 17,000 hectares and has already helped save a number of birds such as the red kite, chough and black grouse here in Wales. In 2004, the magnificent osprey nested in Wales for the first time in recorded history, sparking the beginning of the RSPB Glaslyn Osprey Project near Porthmadog. The Glaslyn osprey pair has now successfully raised 15 chicks and last year the site attracted almost 35,000 visitors. RSPB now employs 150 staff members and has over 800 volunteers; attracting over 300,000 visitors and tourists every year to its nature reserves which also offer environmental education experiences to over 9,000 children every year. Aerial view of the gannetry at the RSPB Grassholm nature reserve. Image by John Archer-Thompson, RSPB Images. RSPB Cymru Director, Katie-Jo Luxton, says: "RSPB Cymru's centenary year is something for us to really celebrate as it marks various milestones in conservation in Wales and shows what a difference we've made." "Through our increasing number of nature reserves, we're helping more and more people to enjoy the wildlife of Wales and giving them first hand experiences." "One of the key species that urgently needs our help and we will be fundraising money towards as part of our centenary celebrations, is the curlew." "An RSPB Cymru survey in 2006 showed a decline of 81% in curlew breeding numbers in Wales. It is believed this large wading bird is suffering because much of its habitat has been degraded." A curlew coming in to land in the River Dee by Ashley Cohen. To help celebrate the centenary, RSPB Cymru has also formed a partnership with Girl Guiding Cymru and as part of this, the girls will help survey birds across Wales by taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch and Volunteer Famer Alliance project. Every Girl Guide in Wales, including Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, leaders and members of the Trefoil Guild, will also spend a day at one of RSPB Cymru's nature reserves, learning about nature and taking part in different activities. To find out more about RSPB Cymru's centenary celebrations please visit www.rspb.org.uk/wales/centenary.
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Saving energy
Martin Aaron
The CCW are asking us all to lend a helping hand to our wildlife and in particular the birds, during this cold snap. Birds use up precious energy flying away from us when spooked, so please bare that in mind next time you want to get a closer look at something. As the ground freezes over, food becomes incredibly scarce and our feathered friends begin to move into areas that we humans also like to frequent such as parks and gardens. Wildfowl (ducks, geese and swans) in particular will be looking for areas of open water on ponds, lakes and reserves. Due to the more severe weather in the north and east of Britain, birds will also be flying west to areas in Wales to try and find places where they can still feed. This little chap flew into a house looking for warmth and shelter and remained on the owners hand for about 4 minutes before flying away. I've seen robins do this before but never blue tits, which are normally very timid birds - so it just goes to show how cold and vulnerable our birds are at the moment. Image by Janjo195 on Flickr. Remember to leave fresh warm water out whenever you can. If you leave cold water out then it freezes over very quickly, so I tend to use luke warm water and place it somewhere the birds will feel safe e.g. on top of a hedge or wall rather than on the lawn. There were some great feeding tips from the RSPB in my last blog on this topic so take a read if you have time. Gull RSPB Wales website
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A gull's eye view
Martin Aaron
It's very icy again today which seems to sum up the weekend weather quite well really. I was surprised at how heavy a frost we had on the coast during Saturday and Sunday but at least it was dry with blue sky and sunshine - in SE Wales anyway. My windscreen wiper fluid is supposed to be go...
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It's snow joke for birds
Martin Aaron
Unless you've had your head buried in snow, you'll have already heard from Derek that a cold snap is on the way! RSPB Cymru is asking people in Wales to remember that birds also need our help to survive the harsh wintry conditions. This year it looks as though wild birds will face an earli...
