Mimicking Continues

Last week I introduced a Firecrest mimicking a Goldcrest song and this week I wanted to show you another example of a classic mimicking species, the Sedge Warbler! Now the recording isn’t very good with high winds and noisy planes that have been filtered out, that and the fact that the bird was only singing at quarter volume which is often called ‘sub-song’ but you can still make out the pitch perfect attempt at a Blue Tit song, eventually weaving back into it’s typical chattery mixture of notes. It also attempted to fit in a few phrases of Blackcap and Wren but the Blue Tit was by far the best I’ve heard for a while.

This Sedge Warbler was spotted at a new location along the Gwent Levels.

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

I also spotted a Water Vole in a rhyne. Testament to the hard work of the Wildlife Trust at Magor Marsh and NRW. It’s great that they’ve spread this far across the levels. Unfortunately this spot is directly threatened by the proposed M4 ‘Black Route’ so all this hard work could be lost. If you haven’t already, check out ‘CALM’ https://savethelevels.org.uk/ to learn more about what you can do to help protect the Gwent Levels from development.

Water Vole

Water Vole

Mimicking Birds

By now you’ll realise that I’m quite interested in mimicking birds, having done talks to the Welsh Ornithological Society and studied them during my sound degree in University.  Mimicking species aren’t always easy to find however,  because sometimes they mimic so well, that you assume they are the species they are mimicking and don’t care to look twice. This was evident in my recent discovery, where a friend of mine found a new Firecrest territory, just a mile from one that I found last year. Upon visiting the territory myself, I noticed something a bit odd about the Male Firecrests song.. It didn’t sound like the long-drawn out-monotone notes that I expect to hear in their typical song.. and if that wasn’t enough to raise suspicion, it then let out 3-4 phrases of GOLDCREST song! :O

The bird didn’t appear to show signs of hybridisation, with all the standard Firecrest features intact, so I instantly contact around to see if anybody else had heard or read about mimicking Firecrest before. Nobody had heard of this behaviour and after some research on the web and thru books, I couldn’t find any documentation on this. That was until I contacted Chris Hatch, who said that he would look into it for me. Chris later rang me after finding some information in one of his volumes of the ‘birds of the western palearctic’ which did note that Firecrest was able to produce both Firecrest and Goldcrest vocalisations but this was only on rare occasions. I mean it makes sense, especially in Gwent where the population is so high for Goldcrest. Despite them being able to live alongside each-other, they do still compete for the same food so it is within the best interest of the Firecrest to keep Goldcrests out of its territory. This could be the reason why it’s mimicking, but being such a similar species, who knows. There is a documented case in 1974 where a Male Firecrest was seen tending to a Female Goldcrests nest, from which fledged at-least 5 chicks. Document Link.

There are a couple scenarios that I can think of that would result in this Identity Crisis, especially in species that are so similar, but more research is needed. Luckily I have good friends, and providing everything goes well on NRW’s end, I’ll be able to study this subject bird under license this season. Below is a video showing a distant pic of the subject bird and a recording of the longest bout of Goldcrest song it produced. Hearing the recording alone, I think most people would struggle to pic out any differences. Looking closely at the spectogram, there are some minor differences but I’ll study that in more detail once the license comes thru.

Below is my first recording of the subject mimicking bird, starting off half singing / calling and changing to the goldcrest song at 1:30 seconds.

If you’re unsure of the differences between a Firecrest and Goldcrest song, below is a recording I did 2 years ago of both species singing in the same tree. I’ve noted in the comments where the Firecrest phrases are.

I only managed a couple of distant pics of the subject bird but as you can see in the photo below, the features are pretty concrete. The white supercilium is strong, with a clear black line thru the eye and a bright vibrant green back that appears more vibrant in the sun. The only feature that I have a question mark on is the apparent short legs. I’m not sure if it’s a documented feature difference between the two species, but through my own observations, I’ve always found Firecrest to hold themselves a little higher from the perch, giving the appearance of longer legs. I didn’t see that in this subject, but that could be nothing.

Mimicking Firecrest | March 2019

Mimicking Firecrest | March 2019

Should everything go to plan with NRW, I’ll keep you informed throughout the breeding season.

Beetles and Butterflies

I set out today with the intent to find Oil Beetles. A specialist species that are in major decline across the country. There are a few different species, all of which are pretty rare but the most commonly found is the Violet Oil-beetle, which is the only species I’ve managed to find myself so far. A quick walk around the site and I didn’t spot any, but upon getting back to the car I’d realised I must have dropped my sunglasses…. AGAIN! so I retraced my steps and this time, it turned out to be a good thing, as not only did I re-locate my glasses but I stumbled upon 3 adult female Oil-beetles AND thousands of larvae on their food plant, lesser celandine. These Oil Beetles must have been laying eggs really early this year for there to be so many larvae hatching already. That warm weather in February must have made them come out early as I wouldn’t usually find them out till April in this location. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but the lifestyle of these beetles is incredible. They are what we like to call a ‘symbiotic’ or a more accurate discription would be a parasitic species, which means their life is dependant upon another species. In this beetles case, they are dependant upon the life cycle of solitary mining bee’s, which, as their names suggests, burrow into the ground to make their nest. It’s then the female Oil-beetles job to find those nests and to burrow into them to lay her own eggs inside. When the eggs hatch, her larvae then eat the eggs of the Bee’s and the pollen supplies collected by the bees and once that supply is gone, they latch onto the bee’s like a parasite, for the bee’s to drop them off to the flowers from which the larvae use the bee’s to fly them to new flowers once they’ve exhausted the pollen supplies. This process can happen a few times too, as the bees could take the larvae back to a different nest.
Just incredible! If you’d like to learn more about the other species of Oil Beetle, check out this PDF put together by Buglife.

Other species noted were Gorse Shieldbug, Bronze Shieldbug, Spotted Sedge Caddisfly ( Likely Polycentropus flavomaculatus), Brimstone, Orange-tip, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies.

I didn’t take any pictures of birds on this trip despite lugging the big lens around but Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Mistle Thrush were the dominant songsters in the woodland. No Pied Flycatchers back in the wood just yet but lots of Badger activity. 

Jewells of the Forest

I could quite easily make a home in the Forest of Dean. It’s such a magical place, home to elusive species like Hawfinch, Firecrest, Nightjar, Willow Tit, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and the only population of Wild Boar in Wales. Today’s trip was forced after two weeks of ill health, of which I still haven’t fully recovered, but I refused to be stuck indoors any longer with this beautiful weather we’ve been having. I’ve planned to scan a spot that showed a lot of Boar activity two months ago, in the hope that I would find some new born piglets. Their stripes on a piglet (also called humbugs) are perfect camouflage in the forest and their preferred nesting spot in thick bracken makes them pretty invisible. If it wasn’t for the large Mother making a racket to warn me off, I wouldn’t have even spotted the piglets. It all happened so fast and this was after 4-5 hours of walking but I think I made the most of the opportunity as best as I could with the gear I had available.

Moving on to the Adder! As if the Boar wasn’t enough to make my day, if you’ve read previous blogs you’ll know how much time I’ve spent yomping around local heathland looking for Adder, that and I lost a very expensive pair of sunglasses while searching for said Adder. I gave in though, and travelled to a known ‘hotspot’ pun intended, in the Forest of Dean, only to find not 1, but 3! basking in the midday sun. They all appear to be males and were much smaller than I was expecting.. probably why I’ve never seen one before.

Climate Change

While Britain stalls the upcoming shit-show that is Brexit, the EU continue to move on their path towards a greener future. Without the influence of EU Law, how long do you think it will take for the Uk to catch up onto the increasing threat of climate change? You’d think 20 degrees in February would be enough to silence the critics? Don’t get me wrong, it felt amazing to bath in this weeks sunshine and it did break me out of a little winter depression, but for our migratory birds, butterflies, moths and early emerging plants, if this weather takes a turn back to the depths of winter (which it could very well do), it could spell disaster for this years spring breeding season.

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/uk-weather-heatwave-climate-change-global-warming-february-met-office-a8797136.html?fbclid=IwAR3EV4ML80Y0iiFKaxboe43LgRlo-cinfdEabrc9sNut7tKfn2YBYxbkNz4

The EU just voted to completely ban single use plastics such as straws, cutlery and tea stirrers. It’s something I’ve been hoping we would do also, but now… Brexit, the ‘power’ is back in our own hands, this includes our own environmental laws. Do you think we’ll set an example to the world and forge our own green path? So long as the Tory Government stay in power, I think we’ll do quite the opposite. I predict that we’ll be in such a financial mess post-brexit, that the government will consider further exploitation of our natural resources in order to make fast money.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/single-use-plastics-ban-eu?fbclid=IwAR3LsYYpJo1PzRDPpC202la88WN6K4xLIiCoqDwgWbXPWY7e3ru7wXDm9gk

Please be warned about the videos below, they may disturb some people, but I wanted you to see an example of the damage that Straws and Cutlery can do to our wildlife. The world of power needs to wake up.

Below is a pic I took a couple months ago at a fishing lake in Ebbwvale. Having spent many ours at Llandegfedd Reservoir, this is becoming an all-too common sight. Fishing nets, line, hooks, lures, all recipes for environmental disaster. I used to fish when I was young and I know from experience how easy it is to get your line caught on something, or hook snagging something in the water, and there’s nothing you can do, other than cut the line and let metres of environmental death traps go in the water. This happens all over the world, and I don’t want to directly blame the fishing industry but it’s because nets, line and rope that snag floating plastics that then turn into islands that attract marine life. Turtles, Fish, Crabs, they’re all attracted to these death traps for food and security. Before it’s too late, Law needs to change. I just hope whatever happens, the Uk will have strong leaders that fight for our future.

Blackbird Fishingline

Gwent Uplands

Another unbelievable sunny day today, perfect for Reptiles and it would seem Butterflies too with Brimstone, Peacock, Red-Admiral, Large White and Small Tortoiseshell all on the wing. I spent most of my time today in search for an Adder but still can’t find one. I think I need to change the method, try and approach it a little differently. Either that, or focus on a new sight instead, maybe somewhere that’s a little less vast.

I only got the camera out once after spotting what I first thought to be a Cuckoo, but luckily it landed on a post and it turned out to be a beautiful Male Merlin! My first adult Male bird and my first on my local moorland. I’ve only seen Merlin a hand full of times, but they’ve all been distant, hunting on the wing or perched a mile off, so it was nice to get one full frame in the scope in beautiful sunshine. A single Peregrine was hunting low to the moors too, flushing all the Skylarks but no catch this time.

In other news, I may have secured a deal with a new distributer for my photography prints. This company offers much better prices than my current dealer which means I can bring down my sale price to something a little more competitive. It also allows me to sell a lot more stuff, like Pillows, T-Shirts, Mugs, Hats, Beanbags, Prints, Canvas’, phone cases and much more. There is a catch however and I’m not sure whether I’ll get around it but the dealer is based in the US / EU. This wouldn’t be an issue but with Brexit coming up, this option may not work out for me as there’s no telling yet if we’ll continue to have free import charges from the EU to the UK. I very much doubt that will be the case, so this might all be a complete waste of time.

Either way the company offer great free mockups and I’ve updated my canvas’ in my store so you can see the difference. Check it out

Also, if you missed Sundays blog, I’m now offering some design services for new local businesses. Read more about it via my new Design Page

Hidden Heath

Todays forecast of 15+ degrees seemed a perfect excuse to go looking for my local Adder population on the blorenge. I’m still yet to see an Adder (Alive), and feel like 2019 will be my year as I’m more determined. Yomping thru the heather, checking all the rocks and sneaking up quietly to dry-stone-walls clearly wasn’t enough to spot one. My plan went straight out the window though when I flushed my first Red Grouse, 1 of 6 that day. It was then that I realised I had lost my expensive pair of sunglasses!! Nooooooo!! The day was getting worse! Trying to retrace your steps when you’ve been following a few grouse around in deep heather and bracken was an impossible task, but I tried twice today, yomping back thru the heather like it was going out of fashion. Got some nice blisters from the wellies that were by then, filled with heather seeds. So I don’t have any decent pics to share with you from today beautiful sunshine. Other than this distant Male Red Grouse, who’s to blame for the loss of my Sunglasses. If you look him in the eye you can see he’s actually laughing at me. #blamethegrouse #revengeisnear

Finally Found Frogs!

When is the last time you saw a pond full of Frogs? not just a little bit of Frogspawn in the corner? Well for me, it’s been a long time. Torfaen just doesn’t seem to have as many as we used to. Not sure why. It could be predation, climate, or we’re just going thru a couple bad years in general for amphibians.
Maybe it’s because they’re getting earlier each year and I’m just missing the activity?
The latter certainly would make sense as you could have swore it was spring today in Blaenserchan. 20+ Frogs with a substantial amount of Frogspawn already. I’ve been after a good close up shot of a Frog in the water for a while and it was a bonus to get them with the spawn in-shot. The first pic is now one of my all-time personal favourites, partly because it took a lot of patience to get it. My back is certainly feeling it after being on the floor for so long. The issue with this particular pond is, it’s located in the upper altitude of Blaenserchan, so they just weren’t used to people. All it would take is for me to scratch my nose and they would all disappear in the depths for 20 minutes at a time. Either way it was worth it.

I assume the fungi above is Candle-snuff Fungi that’s gone over but i’m not entirely sure. They didn’t seem rounded enough to be Dead Moll’s Finger’.

It was only the other day that I set out to the Forest of Dean to witness the iconic Goshawk display that happens this time of year. Even with the breath taking view of Symonds Yat that overlooks the forest, you’d be lucky to come across a Goshawk perched up. So you can imagine my excitement to stumbled across one today on my way home from Blaenserchan. A bit distant even at 600mm and I didn’t have my scope with me to enjoy it but I was happy to spot it. I was looking for Great Grey Shrike at this point and the white belly of this Goshawk just stood out to me from a mile.

Goshawk

Signs of Spring

Waking up to the sound of birds singing and a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming away this morning was enough to set me up nicely for the day.
This warm bright weather has really kicked spring off with Birds of Prey displaying, Frogs laying eggs and lots of birds nest building. I get so excited for spring this time of year that I forget that our winter migrants have to endure the long journey home before they can even start to think about breeding. A reminder came in the form of a Redwing in song during this mornings dawn chorus.

Two days ago I drove to Symonds Yat view point as the sun was shining and the warm conditions were perfect to view an early spring spectacle. The Goshawk display is truly awesome to watch and theres no better place to watch it than Symonds Yat Rock. It didn’t take long to spot them in the air along with several Buzzards. A lot of people struggle to spot these Birds at Yat Rock and if you’re one of them, my advice is to look more closely at the larger birds of prey and zone in on their flight pattern. Buzzards will be flying slow, often soaring with their typical V shape wing position. Goshawks also soar, but when they do so, their wings remain flat. Their wings are so broad that they appear short in length compared to the size of the body. The most obvious features though are the wing beats that beat at a much faster rate to a Buzzard and as a result, they cut thru the air like a Jet fighter. Buzzards take a long time to gain a decent altitude where Goshawks just seem to glide thru altitude like it’s nothing. In the pic below shows a Male that was chasing what appears to be a Juvenile Female. Hard to say what was going on in the short time I observed them but it was really great to view them thru the scope. A Single female Peregrine was sat up in a tree above the nesting cliff too. It won’t be long till they get into the full swing of spring either.

Goshawk Displaying Gavin Vella

With spring flowers emerging everywhere, It won’t be long before we start to see insects popping up with them. Red Admirals, Brimstones and Peacocks have already been spotted so far but by far my favourite is when we get the Orange-tips. Now I’m sporting a Macro lens, i’ll likely be photographing a lot more bugs this year so apologies to the Birders who only read my blog for bird news.

Orange-tip Butterfly

I’ve got some other surprises coming up soon, some big stepping stones for me, but it’s early days and don’t want to speak too soon. So you’ll have to wait and see.