I have never seen so many Goldcrests as I have this winter, I have seen them on almost every photographic trip this last couple of weeks. I went out to try and photograph the Chiffchaffs again in the hope of learning more about Siberian (tristis) birds. I am almost certain that I saw and photographed them today but when I got home it wasn't as easy as I hoped it would be. It's all to do with sunlight and the way that the light strikes the bird. The colour can look so different depending on the strength of the light.
As I waited, a female Goldcrest came through the bushes to feed on the same insects that the Chiffchaffs were feeding on. I say female because the crest on the little bird was yellow and there was no hint of orange which you get in the males. It must have been a really good breeding season for them. I can well imagine that the populations of Goldcrest could rapidly increase because they can have a clutch of more than 10 chicks. At the moment, in very early winter we have yet to have any real cold weather and consequently the tiny Goldcrests are surviving the cold long nights by finding enough prey during the day. I have just read that Goldcrests can lose 20% of their body weight in one night. Obviously that 20% has to be replaced every day if the bird is to survive the next night so you can image that if there is a prolonged cold spell, a tiny Goldcrest is going to find it hard to find enough food, day after day. A Goldcrest weighs around 5.5 grams, which is more than a 10p piece, (which I have just weighed at 6.5 grams). This is just marginally heavier than a Ruby-throated Hummingbird by the way. Never the less, if we realise that a Goldcrest may lose 20% of it's body weight each night, just try and visualise how many tiny midges and green fly the bird will need to find every single day to make up 10 grams. But that's not the whole story of course because during the day, the bird will also lose energy and weight in the very activity of hunting for food. This will explain very simply why Goldcrest seem to be constantly searching for food. I have no way of estimating the weight of one small midge but I would suggest that hundred and hundreds would not add up to much.
I would suggest that the forward looking eyes are very useful when looking for prey and the shape of the beak would indicate that this bird is an insect eater of course.
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