Author Archives: theresagreen

Bird Study: Cormorant

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Birdwatching on North Wales coast, Nature, nature photography

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

Cormorants are breeding residents here and since I arrived in July sightings of the birds flying or swimming in the sea have been consistently frequent, but in recent weeks their numbers have increased manyfold. Numbers of them now joined the ranks of oystercatchers and gulls that line the sea-edge as the tide comes in, and they can be spotted on the rocks of the harbour breakwater and perched on top of available posts. There are almost always a few to be seen on the lower reaches of the Little Orme, but now there are many, their black forms punctuating the pale limestone.

Cormorant – Phalacrocorax carbo

Scientific name from: Greek: phalakros=bald + korax=the raven and Latin:  carbo=charcoal

Common name: definitions of ‘Cormorant’

  1. (n.) A voracious eater; a glutton, or gluttonous servant.
  2. (n.) Any species of Phalacrocorax, a genus of sea birds having a sac under the beak. Cormorants devour fish voraciously, and have become the emblem of gluttony. They are generally black, and hence are also called sea ravens, and coalgeese.

The Cormorant's flight is strong and purposeful

A large and conspicuous waterbird, the cormorant has an almost primitive look about it.Its long neck makes it appear almost reptilian, particularly when swimming with the bulk of its body submerged.

Some of the Cormorants dotted across the base of the Little Orme

Cormorants are coastal rather than oceanic birds, and many have colonised inland waters – in fact the original ancestor of cormorants seems to have been a fresh-water bird, judging from the habitat of the most ancient lineage. They range around the world, except for the central Pacific islands.

All are fish-eaters, feeding mainly on small eels and flat fish. They dive from the surface of the water. All four toes on each foot are webbed which aids them in swimming and in pursuing fish underwater.

Cormorants are supreme fishers which can bring them into conflict with anglers and they have been persecuted in the past, although some enterprising Japanese and Chinese fishermen employ the bird’s expertise to assist them, training one species of the birds to dive and catch fish for them.

A juvenile Cormorant with partial paler underparts still present.

The birds are often seen standing with their wings held out to dry and the reason for that is a bit of a mystery and the focus of study. It seems strange that a bird that spends much of its time in the water should need to dry their plumage and all cormorants have preen gland secretions that are used ostensibly to keep the feathers waterproof. It has been variously stated that cormorants have waterproof feathers; they have water permeable feathers; that the outer plumage absorbs water but does not permit it to penetrate the layer of air next to the skin; that it aids thermoregulation,digestion, balances the bird or indicates presence of fish. However, a detailed study of the Great Cormorant concludes that it is without doubt to dry the plumage. (extracts from article in Wikipaedia)

Male Cormorant in his full breeding plumage, wings outstretched. This is one of my favourite Cormorant photographs, I took it in Sotogrande, Spain earlier this year (Feb).

Click on the link for more photographs of Cormorants in Spain on my blog ‘Nightingale Trails’.

Cormorants in human culture

  • Cormorants feature quite commonly in heraldry and medieval ornamentation, usually in their “wing-drying” pose, which was seen as representing the Christian cross. For example, the Norwegian municipalities of Røst, Loppa and Skjervøyhave cormorants in their coat-of-arms. The species depicted in heraldry is most likely to be the Great Cormorant, the most familiar species in Europe.
  • In 1853, a woman wearing a dress made of cormorant feathers was found on San Nicolas Island, off the southern coast of California. She had sewn the feather dress together using whale sinews. She is known as the Lone Woman of San Nicolas and was later baptized “Juana Maria” (her original name is lost). The woman had lived alone on the island for 18 years before being rescued.
  • The bird has inspired numerous writers, including Amy Clampitt, who wrote a poem called “The Cormorant in its Element”.
  • The cormorant was the disguise used by Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost. The cormorant was significant as a symbol of “true Life/ Thereby regain’d,” and was ironically used by Satan. Satan sat on top of the Tree of Life as a cormorant in his first attempt to deceive and tempt Eve.
  • There is a cormorant portrayed in the first of the fictional paintings by Jane Eyre in Charlotte Bronte’s novel, representing Blanche Ingram.
  • The mythical ‘Liver Bird’ symbol of Liverpool is commonly thought to be a cross between an eagle and a cormorant.

Clifftop to seashore

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in birds of the seashore, Nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

I will be following the migrating birds soon, leaving the cooling shores of North Wales for the warmer ones of southern Spain, but I have a few things left that I want to include in the blog before I leave, including this last walk up to the Little Orme and back along the seashore to Rhos-on-Sea.

This was a very sunny day following a week or so of cooler rainy days. Arriving at the headland there was a strong breeze blowing in from the sea, so although it felt very warm in sheltered spots,it was considerably cooler out in the open.

Kestrel hovering over the cliff slope

As I walked towards the bay I was surprised by the sight of a Kestrel hovering low down over the cliff edge. Views of Kestrels have been scarce during the time I’ve been here, so although the photograph I took is not good I’ve used it as testament to having seen one at all. I love these little raptors and never cease to be amazed at their ability to hang almost motionless in the air for minutes at a time. This one was utilising the wind and air currents and remained suspended in this position for quite some time, perhaps having spotted potential prey, before being disturbed by people walking along the path close by.

There were very few insects about ; this Common Blue butterfly sheltered from the wind down in the long grass

I reached the cliff edge above the bay and sat for a while looking out over the sea. I had half-hoped I might see a seal or two here as they do breed in the locality, but all I saw was a lone Guillemot swimming and diving in the choppy water. The sighting was another first for me here, so I was pleased to see it, if only briefly. By far the commonest and most numerous birds here currently are cormorants, with a great number of them being dotted around the lower slope of the cliff and more flying back and forth. They are such a feature of the area that I think they merit a post of their own, so they will probably be the subject of my next one.

There is a published list of the ‘special’ plants found growing within the Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve on the Little Orme. Many had finished flowering by the time I arrived here in July, but I have discovered a few of them during the course of my walks. I was pleased to add one more today, the Wild Cabbage. It doesn’t sound too glamorous I know, but it is not a common plant, so its continued presence here is quite important.

Brassica oleracea, or wild cabbage, is a species of Brassica that is mainly native to coastal southern and western Europe. Its tolerance of salt and lime and its intolerance of competition from other plants typically restrict its natural occurrence to limestone sea cliffs.

Wild Cabbage-Brassica oleracea

Wild B. oleracea is a tall biennial plant. In the first year of growth the plant forms a stout rosette of large leaves. The leaves are fleshier and thicker than those of other species of Brassica, which are adaptations made by the plant to store water and nutrients in its difficult growing environment. In its second year, the stored nutrients are used to produce a flower spike 1 to 2 metres (3–7 ft) tall bearing numerous yellow flowers.

The dry, spent flower spikes of a wild cabbage plant. I like the effect of the tracery of bone dry silvery stems against the clear blue sky.

These cliffs are the haunt of corvids; I heard the characteristic deep ‘bark’ calls of Ravens and looked up to see a pair circling the rocky peak. There were one or two Carrion Crows about and quite a few Jackdaws foraging around on the ground.

A glossy black Jackdaw, beak agape

There wasn’t a great deal else to see here today that I have not already mentioned in previous posts, which perversely I was quite glad about: I would hate to think I might be leaving having missed something.

I had walked along the promenade and around the residential streets to get here, so I decided to walk back along the seashore as far as I could, accessing the beach via the steps at the end of a walkway between the houses. This far end of the beach of Penrhyn Bay, sheltered by the cliffs of the Little Orme has a different character to the open stretches leading to Rhos-on-Sea. Some vegetation has become established, nothing wildly exciting, but clumps of flowering Sea Mayweed were attracting quite a few insects.

Drone fly on a flower of Sea Mayweed

The seashore of Rhos-on-Sea consists of rocks in various sizes and first impressions may be of a harsh, barren environment predominantly coloured in shades of brown. It is not the traditional people-friendly playground that most holidaymakers seek; even walking across the uneven rocky surface is a feat of endurance requiring concentration and a good sense of balance lest you stumble and twist an ankle or worse. But the rocks form an essential part of the protective barrier between land and sea, dissipating some of the force of wild winter seas and creating a rich and reasonably undisturbed environment for wildlife.

A view to the Little Orme and Penrhyn Bay across the rocky seashore

The view in the opposite directions to Rhos-on-Sea and beyond

Some of the birds I photographed on my walk today:

A Redshank wading on the sea edge

Curlew investigating his reflection in a rockpool

Turnstone

A Herring Gull preparing to take off from a rock

Lift off. The gull has beautiful wings and they need strength too to be able to lift up that bulky body from a standing start. I think this one may have something wrong with its foot.

I spotted some small birds fly over the sea wall and land on the rocks of the breakwater that I imagine defines the boundary between Penrhyn Bay and Rhos-on-Sea. It was a little party of Linnets that were here to feast on the seeds of the wild plants that manage to grow here.

A little flock of Linnets gathered at the base of the sea wall to feed on flower seeds

Linnet-Carduelis cannabina, in winter plumage with a beak full of seeds

The tide was on its way out, leaving behind freshly exposed rocks covered with gleaming seaweed and a myriad of shallow rock pools. This is such an important habitat for wading birds I felt it would be remiss of me not to include a very brief look at some of the predominant features of this part of the seashore.

Bladder Wrack-Fucus vesiculosus

Brown seaweeds are the most common type of seaweed found on rocky beaches. They normally have a method to strongly attach themselves to rock surfaces.The brown colour of the seaweed is due to the brown pigment fucoxanthin overriding the green pigment chlorophyll. Both pigments are used in the photosynthesis of light, fucoxanthin improving the process when the algae is covered by water.

Toothed Wrack-Fucus serratus, underwater

Small dry clumps of seaweed are a common sight blowing around on many beaches. Also in this pool is some bright green Sea Lettuce-Ulva lactulva

The Limpet's conical shape means there is a large surface area in contact with the rockface. This allows for a large foot, providing limpets with a phenomenal grip, to such an extent that they cannot easily be prised off by hand.Limpets have an important affect on their environment, they keep it clear of algae. If you look in rock pools, often the only algae seen growing is on the ungrazed backs of limpets.

Periwinkles abound here, I think they are the edible variety. Brown leathery straps of seaweed are Oarweed-Laminaria digitata.

Of course, being me, once I started paying proper attention I kept noticing more and more, but I have to leave my self more to discover next time I am here, so that’s it from this seashore for now.


Birds and the art of fly catching

20 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by in Birds, birds of the seashore, Nature, nature photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

As I continued my walk behind the rocky sea-break, it occurred to me that if I was finding it hard going walking against the strong wind,then the small birds I was hoping to see may be finding it even harder and may not be there today. Fortunately I was underestimating the powerful draw that an abundant supply of food is to hungry intelligent and opportunistic birds.The reason the Rock Pipits and the Pied Wagtails, (both species members of the motacillidae family) gather in this small area, more-or-less at the spot where Rhos-on-Sea becomes Penrhyn Bay is not pretty. A sewer outlet, that I was informed serves the village of Mochdre, runs beneath the sea wall and out into the sea here, and for some reason I do not really want to ponder too much, large numbers of flies swarm around the sea wall here. The flies are quite sizeable and it was quite unpleasant walking through the midst of a crowd of them, but the opportunity they presented to watch some beautiful birds in action was well worth a bit discomfort.

Rock Pipit-Anthus petrosus

I sat down close to where the main fly-catching action was taking place hoping the birds would not feel too threatened by the presence of me and my long camera lens. At first both Pipits, of which there were 2,  and the more numerous Wagtails did fly off, but only to a very short distance away and they returned to resume their feasting very quickly, elegantly pursuing their prey along the top of the sea wall then darting across to the rocks and back again. Their speed and acrobatic turns were impressive and highly entertaining, mostly too quick for my manually-focused lens, but wonderful to observe.

Rock pipit – Anthus petrosus

Family: Motacillidae

Scientific name from: Gr.: anthos=a small grassland bird described by Aristotle and Gr.: petros=a rock

Rock Pipit-Anthus petrosus

A coastal bird with a preference for rugged coastlines, Rock Pipits are easy to miss as their inconspicuous plumage shaded in greys, olives and buffs blends readily with the seaweed as they search for food amongst the boulders. It is larger and darker than its close relative, the meadow pipits and has a more heavily-streaked breast and dark olive-brown upper parts. In flight the dark-coloured legs and orange soles of the feet may be seen.

The Rock Pipit can be identified by grey outer tail feathers (white in Meadow Pipit) and by its alarm call - a thin 'phist'

The Rock Pipit is very strongly linked to rocky shores and usually nests in rather inaccessible sites on cliffs and among boulders of sheltered coves and gullies. During the winter months however, it sometimes deserts the high cliffs and may be seen on flat sandy coastlines and inland at sewage farms, floodlands and the borders of reservoirs.

Rock Pipit chasing flies across seaweed covered rocks

Their food includes a large proportion of marine animals, such as sandhoppers, small worms and marine molluscs.

Rock Pipits live partly on insects living in rotting seaweed, such as kelp flies. It also eats seashore plant food. This one was on the beach around Rhos harbour.

 Pied Wagtail – Motacilla alba yarrellii

Scientific name from:  Greek: muttex a bird described by Hesychius and Latin: albus=white

Family: Motacillidae

Once regarded as a species in its own right, the pied wagtail is now regarded by ornithologists as a race of the white wagtail of mainland Europe and Asia. The white wagtail may be seen on migration; it has paler grey upper parts and there is no join between the black cap and bib.

Increased numbers of Pied Wagtails have been a regular sight across the area for some weeks now. Small parties of them, which as they are mixed adults and juveniles could be families, can often be spotted foraging on the seashore amongst the vegetation and dry seaweed.

Pied Wagtail on the beach - black cap and bib merge together

Pied Wagtails really live up to their name, with black upper parts, throat and breast contrasts sharply with a white forehead, face and chest and long black tails that are in constant motion. Females show a lesser degree of contrast and have less black on their heads and a slate-grey back.

Juveniles are brownish-grey above, dusty below, with black crescent-shaped breast-band

Probably a more-developed juvenile, this bird still lacks the black throat of the adult

Overhead the Pied Wagtail’s call is as distinctive as their undulating, looping flight – a few flaps followed by a descending glide that is accompanied constantly by the ‘tschizzuck’ flight call.

In the early evenings I have seen them gathering on the lawns lining the streets that back onto the Little Orme. Pied Wagtails roost communally during the winter, often in great numbers, meeting up in the same place every evening before taking off together to roost for the night. Roosts may be in a reedbed, a copse or even in a built-up area.

Between the rocks and the sea wall

19 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by in Nature, nature photography

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

On days when the wind blows in strongly from the north-east, blustering across the Irish Sea and whipping up the waves into foamy ‘sea-horses’, strolling along the promenade can be challenging and I have to admit, not that pleasant. On such a day I was heading towards Penrhyn Bay hoping to catch sight of Rock Pipits and to photograph Pied Wagtails, both of which I had seen recently on and around the sea wall there. The strength of the wind took me by surprise and if I had gone out with the sole purpose of taking an enjoyable walk I may well have reviewed my plans and set off elsewhere, but as I’d never seen Rock Pipits elsewhere, I was keen to see some.

Fortunately there is an alternative walk-way that was created when the original sea wall was constructed: a ledge, about 3′ (1m) wide was created on the wall’s seaward side placed about half-way up its height. In the 1980’s further protection from the wild winter seas was required and the breakwater, consisting of an immense pile of enormous rocks was piled in front of the wall. The rock pile rises higher than the walkway ledge, thus creating a sheltered passageway between the two structures. There is no view from there, the dark seawall encloses one side and the length of the summit of the rock pile the other, so other than for shelter from the wind I would not normally choose to walk this way.

A length of the rock breakwater running from Rhos-on-Sea to Penrhyn Bay in front of the sea wall

The piling of large rocks, also known as riprap, at the base of vertical Edwardian and Victorian sea walls is frequently used as a secondary defence mechanism to prevent them being undermined. Riprap works by absorbing and deflecting the impact of waves before they reach the defended structure. The size and mass of the riprap material absorbs the impact energy of waves, while the gaps between the rocks trap and slow the flow of water, lessening its ability to erode soil or structures on the coast. 

As I walked along, wondering where the vast amount of rock had been taken from, I began to see this confined, shaded and slightly claustrophobic space in a different way. I was drawn to individual rocks that had interesting surface patterns, crystals or layers of other types of rock or minerals and wished I knew what they were. I recognised too that a micro-climate exists here that is helping to create a habitat for an interesting number of plant species from vascular plants to mosses and lichens.

Limestone rock with a tracery of worm-like squiggles and touches of pink colouration. The pink stuff may be a lichen.

The rocks themselves are predominantly locally-occurring limestone and it is humbling to reflect on the fact that eons ago they would have been forming the sea-bed and now carry evidence to ancient life forms.

The beautiful crystals in this picture may be dolomite or perhaps quartz and the purple may be fluorite.

An interesting crystal-like deposit

A ribbon of mineral(s) marks this rock

A macro view of a patch of a Xanthoria sp of algae

A yellow-coloured species of algae

Cushions of moss

Plants have begun to colonise some of the spaces between the rocks and somehow manage to grow at the base of the rocks where they make contact with the sea wall.

A fern squeezing out from between two rocks

Ivy-leaved Toadflax - Cymbalaria muralis

An enlarged view of the delightful little flower and leaves of the Ivy-leaved toadflax

A tiny flower, enlarged, that I think may be English stonecrop-Sedum anglicum. The spiky leaves in the background are of a separate plant, quite possibly Thrift.

Red Valerian is an intrepid and highly successful uninvited coloniser that originates from the Mediterranean region

Red valerian has very pretty flowers that here were attracting several small moth-like insects that I think may have been Owl Midges.

Growing up between the rocks and the sea wall, I have yet to identify this plant

As they frequently do, my walk turned out to be unexpectedly interesting and I did get to see my Rock Pipits, which will be featured in my next post that will be following very shortly.

Bird study – Curlew

10 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in Nature, nature photography, wading birds

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

An aura of wildness surrounds the curlew perhaps more than any other wading bird. Its onomatopeoic, haunting cries ringing out across the lonely marshes and the tideways it inhabits embody the atmosphere of these often lonely and desolate places.

The curlew is the largest European wading bird, instantly recognisable on winter estuaries or summer moors by its long, downcurved bill, brown upperparts, long legs and evocative call.

Increasing numbers of Curlews have been present on the seashore at Rhos-on-Sea for a few weeks now, but I’ve been waiting to get some reasonable photographs before I wrote about them in more detail. There were several obstacles along the path to obtaining some clear images, not least of which was the fact that they are almost perfectly camouflaged within this rocky landscape, where brown is the predominant colour.

Despite their size, curlews blend perfectly into this landscape

BTO BIRDFACTS:

Curlew Numenius arquata   [Linnaeus, 1758]

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae
 Number in Britain: 105 thousand pairs (Summer)
 Conservation Status:
UK: AMBER
European: 2 Concern, most in Europe; Declining
Global: Near Threatened ( Details )

Curlews fly fast and low along the sea edge-in flight the white rump is very noticeable

Curlews glide smoothly and quietly through pools of water hunting for small invertebrates

The long curved beak enables the curlew to probe well under rocks

A curlew foraging peacefully alongside an oystercatcher

Breeding

In Great Britain the greatest numbers of breeding curlews are found here in North Wales, but a glance at a field guide will indicate the vast area occupied by the birds. Their range extends from this country east to the Urals and from Scandinavia and Russia in the north. This wide extent of habitats includes upland moors, grassy or boggy open areas in forests and damp grasslands and traditionally managed hayfields particularly in river valleys.

Autumn and winter

Directly after the nesting season the birds shift to marine coastal areas especially favouring mudflats and sands extensively exposed at low tide. Like most waders, at high water curlew form large roosts on either the highest saltings or on fields and marshes behind the sea walls. In some localities the birds move to nocturnal roosting spots at dusk, leaving again at dawn.

The curlew flock numbers several hundred. They roost in this field at the foot of Bryn Euryn, close to houses and a main road. They return at high tide too when they may be seen foraging in the field or standing quietly with their bills tucked under their wings.

When they are not foraging along the seashore here in Rhos-on-Sea the curlew flock surprisingly shares a field with cows, sheep and a couple of horses. Their choice of roost took me by surprise as the field is very close to a busy road, in total contrast to the deserted open spaces they are usually identified with.

When roosting the more dominant curlew tend to occupy the better sheltered areas within the assembly; birds at the front of flocks form closely packed ‘walls’ in high winds.

Coastal numbers build up from July and reach a peak in January and February. The resident UK population is boosted by incoming migrants to some 99,500–125-000 pairs. 

Curlew from Scotland spend autumn and winter on the British west coast and in Ireland. Populations from Scandinavia, the former Baltic States and north-west Russia head south-westwards towards this country: each of international importance for wintering curlew, the four localities holding largest numbers are Morecombe Bay, the Solway, the Wash and the Dee. Others, remarkably, winter in Iceland and the Faroes. And yet others penetrate to the West African coast. Curlew are capable of migrating at remarkable altitudes, even crossing the Himalayas at a height of 20,000 feet.

Curlews foraging at sea edge

The Curlew in folklore

The curlew features strongly in folklore, often not too favourably.

To hear a curlew call is not good. If you hear it at night, it means that bad luck is coming, but if heard during the day it signifies the arrival of bad weather.

The curlew has always been a bird of bad omen to sailors who have seen them flying overhead and if you hearing their call means that a storm is brewing and its inadvisable to set sail for the open sea.

St Beuno and the Curlew

It is hard to find the nest of the curlew; this story from the folklore of North Wales, attributed to St Beuno offers an explanation for that.

When he lived at Clynnog St Beuno used to go regularly on Sundays to preach at Llanddwyn, off the coast of Anglesey, walking on the sea with the book of sermons, which he used to carry about with him. One Sunday, as he was coming back from Llanddwyn to Clynnog, treading the surface of the sea as if it had been dry land, he dropped his precious writings into the water, and failed to recover them. The saint was much worried, because even for saints the task of writing sermons is a troublesome one.

When he reached dry land he was much relieved to find his book on a stone out of the reach of the tide,with a curlew mounting guard over it. The pious bird had picked it up, and brought it to safety. Thereupon the holy man knelt down and prayed for the protection and favour of the Creator for the curlew. His
prayer was heard, and ever since it has been extremely difficult to discover where the long-beaked bird lays its eggs.


Berry bounty for birds

26 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by in Birds, Nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

This year seems to be an exceptionally bountiful one for berries, which is very good news for birds, insects and other animals that can stock up before winter’s chill descends. Dormice, squirrels, foxes and badgers are very fond of autumn fruit and nuts, as are migratory birds fattening up for winter, and insects such as the hawthorn picture wing fly and micro-moths which feed on spindle berries.

Way back in July I photographed Rowan trees laden with berries that were being eaten by Bullfinches, and the first of  the blackberries were already ripe. The rowan berries are all gone now, but other trees and hedgerows are bursting with hawthorn berries (haws), holly berries, wild rose hips, blackberries, elderberries, spindle berries and more.

13/7/11-Rowan berries

Gardens are contributing to the berry bounty too, the pyracantha hedge in our garden has been attractively garlanded with orange berries for a few weeks now and although birds have been picking at them, this past week they have been positively feasting. The House Sparrows in particular have flocked in, quite literally, arriving all together and tucking in to feed while chirping and chattering noisily to one another. Their mass visits have given me the opportunity to asses the Sparrow numbers; the most birds I’ve counted at one visit so far has been 22, but there may have been even more on the other side of the hedge where there are more berries.

House Sparrows tucking into pyracantha berries

Blackbirds have also sampled a few of the berries; they have a great liking for most berries and seem to have inbuilt radar that unerringly detects the exact moment they are ready to eat.

Blackbirds are very partial to berries

The RSPB website has an interesting page on the subject of birds and berries, from which I’ve picked out the following bits of information:

Birds and berries

The intricate relationship between birds and berries has developed into a mutual dependence for survival.Some plants use berries as a clever way to entice birds and other animals to distribute their seeds. A plant that produces berries surrounds its seed in juicy, fleshy pith, rewarding the birds that eat them with vitamins and energy.

24/9/11-Holly berries

Berries are an important food source for many birds during the winter, especially when the ground is too frozen to hunt worms or snails, and there are few insects about.

Some birds, like song and mistle thrushes, blackbirds, redwings and fieldfares, find most of their winter food from berries.

Most berries are either red or black. This makes the berries easier for birds to find them. Evergreens, and plants that produce berries when their leaves are still green generally produce red berries, which show up well against a green background. Black coloured berries are thought to show up better against leaves that have turned yellow or brown.

Blackberries

Blackberries are not true berries. They are aggregate fruits, which are fruits grouped together that contain seeds from different ovaries of a single flower.

Birds in a bush

Thrushes and waxwings prefer berries with smaller seeds, like rowan, as they are really only interested in the flesh, whereas other birds, like hawfinches, can make use of the seed itself, and so are attracted to berries with large seeds, such as hawthorn, blackthorn, cherries, and bullace (wild plum).

18/9/11-Blackthorn fruit, or sloes

Prunus spinosa (blackthorn or sloe) is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America.

The fruits, or sloes are blue-black n colour, small and sour. They are traditionally used to make sloe gin, jam and jelly, and are usually picked after the first frosts in late October/early November.

Fruits such as sloes that have a single stone are also not true berries, botanically they are known as ‘drupes‘. Drupes are fleshy fruits produced from a (usually) single-seeded ovary with a hard stony layer (called the endocarp) surrounding the seed. Other drupes are plums, peaches,apricots and cherries.

Last of the summer nectar

23 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in Insects, Nature, nature photography, wildflowers

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

18/9/11-A hoverfly on wild clematis flower

18/9/11-Carder bumblebee on Knapweed

18/9/11-Red-tailed bumblebee on thistles

18/9/11-A hoverfly on Common Rockrose

Baby seal update

23 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in Nature, nature of woodlands, Seals

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

An account of the baby seal rescue was reported in the local paper yesterday, with a picture of a baby Grey seal, (not sure if it was actually him) on the front page, and one of my photos of the actual rescue accompanying the article.

Hopefully the article will help to raise awareness of the proximity to us of these lovely animals and of our responsibility to their welfare. The breeding season for Grey seals is underway now and will mostly go smoothly and escape our notice, but there will be times when intervention is necessary.

Help may at times be called for when it is not necessary, so the RSPCA have published guidelines on their website on how to tell if a baby seal is really in trouble and what to do in that event:

Meanwhile, happily all seems to be going well for the rescued seal pup; now relocated to the safety of the Seal Unit at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, he has been given the name ‘Jakey’ and I have no doubt at all that he is being very well cared for there.

Raising a baby seal is a huge undertaking and I imagine, very labour intensive. In a natural situation, pups would drink about 3 litres a day of their mother’s milk, which is about 60% fat, and their weight increases rapidly, they put on about 35 to 40kg in their first 3 weeks. At the Zoo, rescued pups are fed a special fish-paste diet to begin with, then will be taught to eat whole fish in around a month’s time. He will need to be carefully monitored and the aim is to release him back into the sea sometime in the New Year.

Irresistible ivy

22 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in butterflies, Nature, nature photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

Ivy plants are flowering locally and are drawing in crowds of insects, particularly hoverflies but also bumblebees and butterflies. The flowers are not completely out yet, so I’m sure that there will be more to see shortly, if we have some sunshine, but the following are what I’ve spotted so far.

15/9/11-Red Admiral

Ivy flowers are produced from late summer until late autumn, the individual flowers are small and clustered in 3–5 cm diameter umbels. They are greenish-yellow in colour and very rich in nectar  and an important late autumn food source for many insects.

A bright shiny bluebottle fly

The most numerous insects drawn to the flowers were from various species of hoverfly.

Tapered Drone Fly-Eristalis pertinax

15/9/11-A larger yellow and black hoverfly, not yet identified

15/9/11-Hoverfly-syrphus ribesii

Marmalade Hoverfly-Episyrphus balteatus

Hungry Herring Gulls

21 Wednesday Sep 2011

Posted by in birds of the seashore, Birdwatching on North Wales coast, Nature, Nature of Wales, Rhos-on-Sea

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Walking along the sea shore the other day I came across a Herring Gull in the process of eating a fish. I have no idea what species of fish it was, all I can say is that it was a flat fish and either whole or almost-whole, either way, large enough for me to be amazed that a bird could even attempt swallow it.

17/9/11-The gull with most of the fish in its gullet

17/9/11- It was not going down easily, so it had to come back up again

17/9/11-A second attempt -and this time the fish disappeared

17/9/11- All that remained was a lump in the gull's crop - it should keep him going till at least lunchtime

Herring Gulls are  omnivores and opportunists like most Larus gulls, and will scavenge from rubbish dumps, landfill sites, and sewage outflows; food obtained this way may comprise up to half of the bird’s diet. Despite their name, they have no special preference for herrings — in fact, examinations have shown that echinoderms and crustaceans comprised a greater portion of these gulls’ stomach contents than fish.

On Colwyn Bay seashore I witnessed more gull feeding behaviour, this time two juveniles were begging an adult, presumably a parent, to feed them.

Young Herring gulls persuading a parent to feed them

Juveniles use their beaks to “knock” on the red spot on the beaks of adults to indicate hunger. Parents typically disgorge food for their offspring when they are “knocked”.

Parent gulls will feed their offspring for up to 6months if they continue to beg

Chicks are generally fed by their parents until they are 11–12 weeks old but the feeding may continue up to six months of age, if the young gull continues to beg. The male feeds the chick more often than the female before fledging, the female more often post-fledging.

The adult was persuaded to disgorge what it had eaten onto the sand

The young birds begging did the trick and the adult disgorged whatever it had eaten onto the beach, which did not look at all appetising from where I was standing, but the three birds seemed to be happy with it.