Bird of the week - Long-tailed tit

A pair of long-tailed tits has become a constant presence in my garden over the couple of weeks.  They seem devoted to each other and are rarely seen apart.  The larger family tribes will have broken up by now as the birds pair off and seek nesting sites.  These two are on the feeders very regularly, mostly on peanuts but also on the fat/seed mix.

Long-tailed tits are widespread in lowland Britain.

They are increasing in places where they are commonest but declining in the South West and North West and in Wales and Scotland.

Long-tailed tits are common in gardens at this time of year.  The latest BTO Garden BirdWatch data suggest that there are more this year than usual.

The long-term trend is an increase.

Read more about long-tailed tits here and here.  Listen to the BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day on long-tailed tit here. 

Hedge sparrow?

Night-time trail camera - Roe deer

At this time of year the roe deer in the park turn up to eat the ivy growing on the fence just outside my gate, probably because there isn't much else to eat.  Over the past few nights I have been trying to catch them on the trail cameras.

The video camera doesn't have a very wide field of view and there isn't much room so the difficulty is getting the deer to stand in the right place.  This doe had roughly the right idea.

This doe is very close.  She does seem to be aware of the camera.

The group is made up of a buck and two or three does.  Here the buck is keeping an eye on the camera.

As he walks away you can see the velvet is peeling off his antlers.

In this clip he is so close it is a surprise he doesn't tip the tripod over.  We can see he has scars on his back - probably from fighting in the rut.  Then he wonders whether the camera might be good to eat.

Snowdrops

The snowdrops in my tiny patch of woodland have been out for at least a couple of weeks but I have yet to see a bee visiting them.  A few bees have ventured out and returned to the hives with pollen but most are staying inside in the warm.  I hope the weather improves soon otherwise the bees may miss out on the snowdrops altogether this year.

 (Click for a larger image)

Bird of the week - Wood pigeon

Often seen and often heard, the wood pigeon is a familiar bird in gardens and in the countryside.  Its name is sometimes written as woodpigeon (BTO, RSPB, BBC, etc) and otherwise wood pigeon (International Ornithological Committee, Wikipedia, Collins' Bird Guide, BBC, etc).  It doesn't appear to be the brightest of birds and is very wary.

The wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) is a bird that has thrived in recent years, perhaps because of the widespread planting of oil seed rape.

The numbers recorded by BTO Garden BirdWatch are also increasing.  The numbers in my garden peak in the autumn with sometimes 30 birds looking for acorns.  Otherwise they are a constant  presence under the feeders.

Wood pigeons are found in most of lowland Britain, being more common in  the south and east.

Read more about wood pigeons here.  Watch a BTO video on pigeon ID here.  Listen to the BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day on wood pigeon here.  Read BBC Food recipes for wood pigeon here.

Stonechat sunrise

Wallington squirrels

I paid a quick visit to Wallington, hoping to see a brambling but there was none.  I did see a couple of red squirrels looking handsome in the sunshine.