Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

Pipits on Dartmoor

Meadow Pipit 

I spent a few hours today looking to take photographs of Tree Pipits at a spot near Mortonhampstead close to Dartmoor. Checking my galleries I can see that I have been there in this calendar week over the last few years. The Tree Pipits can be hard to separate from the Meadow Pipits but once you see them in their very distinctive parachuting display flights, they are unmistakeable. If you compare pictures of known Tree Pipits with Meadows one or two things become obvious. The hind claw on the Meadow Pipit is noticeably longer, in fact it usually looks almost too long. The hind claw of a Tree Pipit is a more balanced length. Then , look at the flank markings, this of a Tree Pipit are much finer unlike the Meadow which are usually very much bigger. Then, but I think this is less obvious, the beak of the Tree Pipit is heavier. But even after looking at all of those diagnostic features you may still get it wrong. However like I have already alluded to, the song and display of the Tree Pipit will always clinch it.

Meadow Pipit 

The bird above and below is a Meadow Pipit, note the flanks heavily barred right down to the legs. I have also noticed that the legs of Tree Pipits are more flesh coloured.  I was quite sure that the bird below was a Tree pipit but on closer inspection, the claws are far too long and indicate that this is a Meadow Pipit.

Meadow Pipit 

Now here's a couple of photo's of a Tree Pipit (below).  It does show the difference on the flanks but I didn't mange to get the great shot that I wanted but I am going back tomorrow and I may be more successful then.

Tree Pipit

Great - spotted Woodpecker

Breeding Kestrels

At the site where I am licensed to photograph Peregrines I have, this last two weeks or so been joined by a pair of Kestrels.  Yesterday their breeding activities were really ramped up with both birds on the their chosen nest ledge - an old discussed Raven's nest.  I watched the female shaping a scrape with her body, in much the same way as the peregrines do and then I observed the male displaying to his mate on the ledge. Then both birds were in an adjacent tree and I was hoping that they would copulate. I have been informed that there will be no conflict between the resident Peregrines but this will be an interesting liaison.  The male Kestrel is a feisty bird and I have seen him on several occasions mobbing, or flying at the female Peregrine. He may have a death wish!  It will be fascinating if both nests are successful, can you imagine if there are juvenile Kestrels and juvenile Peregrines in the territory together?  Well, in fact I am informed by raptor experts that this will not be unusual and there are records of Peregrin adults actually feeding juvenile Kestrels in confusion. Instinct is a great thing and I doubt that the Peregrines can resist the begging calls of the closely related falcon species. Unfortunately the distance from my hide to the nest ledge is quite a big one so the photos are the best I can do.  This is the female Kestrel flying from the ledge

Then we have the male and female on the ledge, male in the front he is a young bird and still has a barred tail.

In this one they are displaying to each other, when they do this they call loudly and also continue calling in flight.

In this one the female is on the left.  The male has a very peculiar display dance where he bends his knees and bobs up and down. 

Peregrine falcon - the female!

I am a Schedule 1 licence holder for the territory of this bird.

It would be hard for me to convey in to words how utterly rewarding and exhilarating this  photograph is for me.  I am very obsessive when it comes to bird photography and I like to make a plan and see it through to get the photo that I have seen in my mind's eye, sometimes for months in advance.  This photo was taken from a hide that I built last year overlooking an old oak tree that I  know the Peregrines like to visit from time to time. By no means is this a daily occurrence but I reasoned that if I put enough time in then eventually I would get lucky.  I have photographed the Tercel from this hide last year and also newly fledged juveniles but I hadn't been lucky enough to photograph the falcon posing nicely.... until today that is. But it has been a very patient  9 hours this last two days!  When the opportunity presented itself I had one chance and one chance only.  I  had been in the hide for a couple of hours and had seen the falcon briefly flying around just now and again and beneath me. I was sat very quietly with my head resting comfortably against the cam netting, I was almost "nodding off" when without any warning or noise, I saw her appear. The camera was already focused right on the branch and almost perfectly in the right place. I immediately pressed the shutter, the bird heard the shutter noise and in the time it's taken for you to read this sentence, she had come and gone.  The body and talons are in focus but a slight move of the head just as the shutter was fired makes that part of the photograph slightly soft.  If I had been able to take two or three shots I may have had one or two to choose from but never the less it was brilliant to see the falcon so close and to get the photograph.  I was really relieved when I saw it because with my 500 lens I managed to get the entire bird in the frame.  I guess thats wht you call a frame filling shot!

Peregrines and Kestrels

This is the female Peregrine known as a "falcon".

This last few days have been interesting at my Peregrine Falcon Site - I am licensed by Natural England to photograph there - but what has been disappointing is the apparent failure of the peregrine nest, however the presence of a breeding pair of Kestrels has been brilliant to watch.  Yesterday I watched both male and female interacting and taking part in courtship, both in the air and on the rock face.  I have to confess that I haven't really taken enough notice of Kestrels before, or rather I should say that I haven't had the opportunity to study them before.  Therefore, if they do go on to breed here and I am almost certain that they will, it is going to be very interesting.  The other day I had witnessed displaying by one of the pair with a lizard and I had assumed this to be the male bird and when I first saw this bird yesterday I thought it was the female again.  But as soon as I saw both birds together it was obvious which was which. Oddly the male has a heavily barred tail, he must be a second year bird and still retaining some of the juvenile feathering as both male and female juveniles have barred tails. So that was something that I have learned about this species already.  When they were courting, the male literally flew in at the female, in a play attack and she turned upside down and showed her talons to him to defend herself. I have read about this "play fighting" during courtship. Then they took to the air and very acrobatically swooped around like fighter planes in a dog fight.

This is the male and you can clearly see that it has a barred tail and not solid grey, a sure indication of it's age. In the picture below, the female has a totally different tail and is more evenly brown all over.

The photos are from a distance and its hard to get a good image from the distances involved. Below is the male perched on the rock face and its good to be able to compare the plumage of the two birds.

Kestrel displaying with a lizard prey.

(A difficult shot from quite a distance.)

I witnessed something really interesting today. I had sat in the hide for an hour or so, hoping to see the Peregrines continuing their breeding activity but at the moment that seems to be a little bit uncertain - to say the least. Then I heard the excited calling of a Kestrel, these last few visits I have seen them on an old Ravens nest and I am sure they are going to breed, or attempt to breed there. I immediately managed to get my camera on to the ledge there. I was pretty sure that it was going to be the male - I have seen both sexes there recently - but no, it was the female. It was carrying a lizard in its beak and it was bobbing up and down, calling loudly. Odd that it had flown to the nest ledge with prey because I would have expected the male to be displaying and delivering prey. It's always massively difficult to anticipate behaviour as usual. What was just as interesting was that prior to the noisy excitement from the Kestrels, I hadn't seen a Peregrine but it seemed that the presence of the smaller falcon had attracted it's attention and it then flew in to the nest ledge. It stood there motionless and the word forlorn crossed my mind. There is still no sign of the tercel and I haven't seen him since last Wednesday which is probably why there seems to be a halt in breeding activity. A big disappointment frankly.

 

 

In this part of the world Marsh Tits are one of the rarer species of tit, therefore it's always good when I see one. At my peregrine falcon nestsite I have been putting out a feeder in front of the hide just to make it a bit more interesting when there's not a lot going on. So far I've had some nice birds come to the feeder. There has been blue tits, great tits, great - spotted woodpeckers of both sexes, but so far no nuthatch which is a surprise. But yesterday I was really pleased when a pair of Marsh Tits came to the feeder. As well as being one of the less common tit species in the UK it's also one of the least colourful but nevertheless still very attractive. There are thought to be only around 40,000 breeding pairs of marsh tits in the country and an estimated 3 to 4,000,000 breeding pairs of blue tits. So you can see that your chances of seeing a Marsh Tit is quite slim compared to the much more common blue and great tits, in fact for every 100 blue tits there is a marsh tit! This picture was taken with my 300 lens and is not cropped, the bird being just 3 feet in front of me from inside the hide.

 

Kingfishers

I have a Schedule 1 Licence to Photograph Kingfishers at the nest.

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This is a photograph from 2013.

jI've ust been out looking for kingfishers or should I say trying to find their nest and its been a disappointment.  I was there for about two hours without any success which is a bit of a frustration really.  I searched the bank for a likely looking hole but I couldn't find one even though  I was checking very carefully where they had nested successfully last year.  There are a few other areas where I suspect they  may be nesting and I'm hoping to go and check that out later on today.  It's always very frustrating at this time of the year, trying to find a kingfishers nest is hard but well worth it because when you find one it's extremely interesting and the photo opportunities are great. Of course I have a schedule one license to photograph kingfishers at the nest and I am fully conversant with the law and how it applies to photography and kingfishers at their nest territory. The best way  to discover a nest is to look for adult birds carrying fish back to their nest.  When they are feeding their young they will carry their prey tail first and this is a sure sign that they are feeding youngsters somewhere, then it is just a matter of following them and hopefully pinning down where their nest hole is. But do not do this if you are not licensed for you will be breaking the law. I would not consider myself an expert on the kingfisher but in previous years I have learnt so much about this beautiful species. For example the other evening I was sat by the river looking at a likely  nesting site when a couple stopped and spoke to me. They asked what I was looking for, as I had binoculars and  was wearing a camouflage jacket. I told them that I was looking for kingfishers but I explained about the law and how this affects people who want to photograph at a nestsite. They then told me that they hadn't  even seen a kingfisher previously when suddenly one flew right passed in front of us: they would not have seen it if I hadn't been aware of the call.  It flew away down river strongly,  they are very fast flyers and they have a large territory this is one of the reasons that is difficult to find their nest. Then after 10 minutes or so it came back in the other direction so I quickly followed it and then I had a really really close up encounter with it as it perched on a branch above the bank right  where they had nested in previous years. It seems though that this was just coincidental as I am pretty certain they are not a nesting in that vicinity this year.  Kingfishers will have two or three rounds of nests and my records indicate that I found some newly fledged youngsters on May 1 a couple of years ago.  I would imagine, using that as an example,  that there are Kingfisher nests with  quite large chicks at the moment so this is a good time for me to be looking for adults carrying fish prey.

Where is the Tercel?

It seems as though the tercel has gone AWOL now and he has’t been seen since the 8th April - 4 days ago.  I saw the falcon almost constantly today - I was there for  6 hours - and she spent the majority of time calling and apparently searching for her mate.  It is not unusual for the tercel to keep a low profile and I would expect him to put in an appearance very soon.  I am confident that the falcon will produce another clutch of eggs but it will be dependent on the tercel’s part in proceedings.  I witnessed some very surprising behavior however.  The Kestrels were there again and at one point, with the falcon in the adjoining oak, the male Kestrel came in to mob her. It then landed next to the falcon and they both remained in the tree, next to each other for 20 minutes. Eventually the Kestrel flew off and the falcon flew back down on to her nest ledge. Later, the Kestrel flew on to the Raven’s nest and noisily displayed before gliding off.

 

Update from the Peregrine nest site.

Please note: I have a Schedule 1Licence to photograph at this Peregrine nest site.

The latest development is not a good one but it's nature in the raw.  Having been away for the Easter weekend, I returned to the nest territory at the first opportunity, full of anticipation and without any doubt that the falcon would be sitting her clutch of eggs.  It was a shock when I peered on to the ledge to see it vacant with no sign of a Peregrine.  I studied the nest scrape and could see no sign of eggs either.   I waited and waited but still no bird came to the ledge but after a while I did see both birds who flew from  beneath me.   At this point it became obvious that there was something seriously wrong and the eggs had probably been predated, the only conclusion that I could come to.  I remained in the hide for more than 3 hours though, needing to study the behaviour of the adults.  Eventually the falcon came in  but avoided the nest ledge.  She flew from a spot where she had just been feeding, her crop was bulging with the meal and I watched her wipe her beak on the branch that she was perched on. Having noticed last week that she was really quiet, almost secretive, now she was noisy, again and calling for her mate and also using the breeding call.  My one and only hope is that she will go on to produce another clutch of eggs but if she does, will these also be predated?  I can only guess as to the culprit but my money would be on the Ravens that I have seen and heard constantly this year.  The falcon made no attempt to fly to the nest ledge but instead flew from her tree perch on to a favourite rock on the quarry face where I have photographed her before.  Both were perched regularly there at the beginning of March. 

I visited again yesterday and it was probably one of the most interesting of the season so far.  It wasn’t all about Peregrines though.  When I arrived I was pleased to see the falcon standing on the nest ledge, this is  a sure indication that she is going to try again and lay another clutch of eggs.  However after just a few minutes she flew out of the quarry and out of sight.  Then a bird arrived and without me getting a proper view, landed on an old Raven’s nest to the left, but not far from the normal breeding ledge.  I trained my optics there and  I was surprised to see, not a Peregrine but a female Kestrel.  She was clucking in breeding display and bobbing up and down excitedly, surely a sure sign that she is interested in breeding here. Kestrels are known to not only choose a rock ledge as a nest site but they also like to use disused corvids nest so this would normally constitute a perfect nest site.  But so close to the Peregrines nest ledge, surely there is bound to be conflict.  After flying from the ledge it perched in the nearby oak tree and remained there for an hour or so, even having the audacity to use the Peregrine’s favourite perch.  Later, after well over an hour, I heard the clucking call of a Peregrine and the female flew in.  The Kestrel, even though well aware of the much larger bird of prey, hardly reacted. With the Peregrine now on the nest ledge, I had the pleasure of having two magnificent falcon species in front of me.  The Peregrine worked on her nest and the Kestrel then flew on to her chosen ledge and began to display  and call in a very animated way. This is all very interesting and I look forward with a lot of anticipation to discovering the outcome of this alliance. Will they tolerate each other?

The Peregrines's lay their first egg.

There was some excitement when I got to the Peregrine territory yesterday morning but first there was massive deflation because, as I opened the flap of the hide and peered on to the nest ledge, hoping beyond hope that there was going to be a sitting peregrine - there was nothing. I think we are getting to the stage when eggs need to be produced very soon if breeding is going to take place this year and with this falcon being  only in her second spring I am beginning to accept that she is too young.  Then suddenly, there was a bird of prey, but brown - it was a female Kestrel and it was just above the nest ledge!  Perhaps looking for a nest site itself?  Would the peregrines accept that, I doubt it?  Then as if to confirm my opinion, there was a peregrine, it was the falcon.  She had flown in to protect her territory.  I fully expected conflict of some sort but she just went on to her nest scrape, did a bit of scratching around, sat still for a minute or two on the nest and then left. Meanwhile, the Kestrel flew back  in front of the ledge as if to mob the Peregrine.  All very interesting. Then the nest ledge was vacant again? Then the real excitement - there is an egg!   With the nest vacant,  I used all my optics stacked one on toop of the other.  This gives me massive magnification, hardly good enough to publish as a photo but, then using the zoom on the live view of the camera, I  could  just make out a portion of colour where a tiny fraction of an egg was visible.  This is great news and within the space of just a few minutes I went from deflation to elation!  But now, as if to make observations really worthwhile, the falcon is away from the ledge and not guarding the precious object at all. If I hadn't  seen the egg I would have almost certainly given up the idea of success this year.  As was proved when the Kestrel turned up, I can only assume that she is watching carefully from afar.

Breeding activity continues at the Peregrine nest site.

It was a massive surprise when I got to the hide yesterday, there was no falcon on the ledge and I was sure there was going to be. Trying to work out what was going on  is becoming a big frustration, a quandary and a real test of  patience. It was at least a week ago that I suspected that there could be eggs in the nest, then as the week has gone on I have been forced into changing my opinion. All I can say is that there is breeding activity on the nest ledge  and the falcon wouldn't be there - almost constantly - if she isn’t interested in breeding but quite what the state of play is now, well I am mystified.  Two weeks ago the birds were very vociferous with much calling back and forth but now, apart from some clucking calls when the falcon arrives at the nest, they are almost silent.  

 

As well as this, the tiercel's  part in proceedings has been reduced to a bit part and he is seen and heard  nowhere near as often as he was two weeks - or even a week ago.  When  the falcon was incubating last year,  the tiercel also behaved in this way so I am interpreting his behaviour as positive. The falcon did come to the nest ledge after I had been there 20 minutes though and then she left 35 minutes later, probably to go off to hunt I thought.  During her time on the ledge she sat  loosely in the nest scrape for a while and then stood  next to it for the remainder and like I have said, no tiercel to be seen.  As I wrote this yesterday, the falcon - who had returned after a short while - stood motionless by the nest scrape, which is what she did for 9 hours the day before, I guess there must be a reason she is standing there!