Winter.
Cold frosty mornings. Sleet, snow, ice. Well, this year perhaps not!
We are currently in the middle of experiencing the warmest winter on
record and by mid-january we are seeing quite a few signs of spring.
Such is the pleasure of living in the Britain, our weather can be
extremely variable! It can be cold and icy one day and warm and wet
the next. This does mean that Britain is in an extremely significant
position for attracting wildlife in the winter. However, we do need
to be aware that the continued increase in temperature, both local
and globally, does indicate that climate change is a very real thing
that needs to be addressed fast!!
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| The Flooded River Severn |
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| A kingfisher Enjoying the Feeding Opportunities |
As
far as our climate is concerned, we are a massive attraction to
migrant birds whose breeding areas are covered in snow and ice this
time of year. The warm(ish!), wet winters we all complain about are
ideal hunting grounds to a massive range of birdlife. This is clearly
seen if you take a walk in the country side during the winter months.
The trees, fields and hedgerows are full of winter migrants. Birds
that have travelled to Britain to avoid the ice and snow in their
breeding country. There are species like Redwings, Fieldfairs,
Bramblings and Redpolls. In addition to this there are the Geese,
Ducks and various Waders. We also get an increase in the numbers of
more common species such as Blackbird, Robin and Wood pigeon.
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| The Malvern in The Rain |
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| A Robin |
One
of my favourite activities in winter is watching the large numbers
of winter duck in the lakes and ponds. Some of the numbers can be
quite significant. However, this year there has been a migrant that
has taken top spot for me. On the 3rd of January I spotted
a tweet from @Worcsbirding that just south of Kempsey there were 3
Short-eared Owls. I was excited. On the Saturday, despite the cold
showers, I set off to take a look. I stood for just under two hours
looking and waiting. In that time there was no Owls, I gave up! The
frustrating thing is that when I arrived home I learned that someone
arrived about 10 minutes after I left and had some excellent
sightings of the Birds. I returned the following day and had the
pleasure of watching 3 of them. The experience was quite
breathtaking.
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| The Flooded Severn at Kempsey |
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| A Kestrel |
In
Britain we do have some breeding pairs of Short-eared Owl's. However,
they are found in northern England and Scotland. These Kempsey birds
will have probably come from further north, i.e Scandinavia. They
feed off small mammals, in fact they have a bit of a liking for
voles. This means that when it snows in northern Europe their prey
are more difficult to hunt. This does prove a bit of a problem. The
only answer is to migrate. Here in Britain they do not have such a
problem due to our lack of snow. It is not unusual for there to be
sightings all over Britain. The best behavioural characteristic of
the Short-eared Owls is the fact that they are diurnal. This means
they hunt during the day. Due to having a taste for voles they have
to hunt when voles are about, which is during the day.
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| The Best Shot of a Short-eared Owl |
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| A Banded Snail |
The
flooding of the river severn had created lots of small islands across
the flood planes. This would have resulted in small areas that are
filled with prey for the owls to hunt. Ideal for both the Owls and us
as it has given such great views. The peak numbers seen at any one
point has been 6 individual Owls.
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| Short-eared Owl Taken by Gert Corfield |
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| Sunset Behind the Malverns |
Whilst
I was at Kempsey I reflected on the flooded fields that stretched out
before me. There has been a lot of publicity about the negative
aspects of flooding for both home owners and farmers. However, I
could not help but be amazed by the benefit that it was having for
wildlife. It is clear that the floods bring with them huge amounts of
food for the birds. In my time at Kempsey I managed a total of 35
species of bird. Some of the other highlights were 3 pink-footed
geese, 12 goosanders, and a small flock of wigeon, some teal, a
kingfisher and 1000's of gulls.
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| Flocks of Gulls |
Really sorry not to have any better photos of the Owl's. Thank you Gert Corfield for your shot.
