FoxCam II

The badger has been keeping a low profile recently but its place has been taken by the fox, which seems to be more confident with the flash judging by the increased number of photos.  And I'm working out how to get it to stand in the right place so I don't just get half a fox.

Bird of the week - Kingfisher

It has been a kingfishery sort of week so, having posted a couple of photos on Monday, I have decided to make it bird of the week as well.  Judging by photos people have been posting recently, kingfishers are more visible just now as this year's young have become independent and are competing for territories of their own.  This young female has been putting on a good show locally.

While we were watching she was attacked by a sparrowhawk.  She fled across the lake, squeaking loudly and flying very low just above the water.  She wasn't able to outfly the sparrowhawk and had to dive into the water to cause it to overshoot.  It was a near escape but she immediately flew back to the perch by the hide to get her breath back.  Within a few minutes she was back fishing for sticklebacks.

The photos above are all of the same bird on the same day and you can see the variation in colour, particularly of the green/blue on the head and back, depending on the intensity and angle of the light.  The photo below is of a young male taken last month with the sun directly behind me and so full on the bird.

In fact the kingfisher's feathers contain no blue or green pigment.  Their colour is produced by a phenomenon known as semi-iridescence - you can read more about it here and here.

The kingfisher is Alcedo atthis, alcedo from the Greek ἀλκυών meaning halcyon, a bird of ancient legend which was said to nest on the sea in midwinter, thereby calming the waters.

Thomas Bewick, in A History of British Birds (1832), described it as a "splendid little bird of rather clumsy shape, the head being large in proportion to the body, and the legs and feet very small".

The UK population is about 5000 pairs in summer.  Numbers fluctuate depending on the weather and fall significantly after a cold winter.

The kingfisher often announces its arrival with a shrill piping call which you can hear here.  Listen to the BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day on kingfisher here.

Like father, like son

Flying practice

The cygnets have started practising take-off and landing.  Three of them were repeatedly charging across the lake and just about getting airborne.  Then their dad came out and told them to keep the noise down so they crept back into the reeds.  It won't be long before they are flying.

Three-spined stickleback

Bird of the week - Water rail

The water rail is a secretive bird and is much less visible than its cousins the moorhen and the coot.  It it most often heard squealing in the reedbeds or glimpsed at the edges of the reeds but occasionally one wanders into view, as this one did this morning in Gosforth Park.

More commonly the only view is a brief one as it scurries across open ground.

The young birds lack the adults' fine colouring.  I got several pictures of them on the trail cameras a few weeks ago when I was trying to capture a water shrew.

Both the rails and the shrews liked the dried mealworms.

This young rail managed to keep its head perfectly still for the camera while doing the twist.

The water rail is Rallus aquaticus, meaning water rail!  It is mostly found in the wetter parts of the east of the UK.

Numbers seem to be on the increase.

The UK water rail population is thought to be around 1000 territories (breeding pairs) but because of its behaviour it is a difficult bird to survey.  I helped James with a water rail survey in Gosforth Park Nature Reserve in the spring where he played a recording of the rail's territorial call at multiple sites in the reserve and we listed for responses.  We reckoned there were at least 8 pairs and 2 single birds in the Park.

Despite being a reluctant flier it can be a migratory bird, although the UK population mostly stays put in the winter.  This is what Thomas Bewick had to say about it in A History of British Birds vol II published in 1832.

Bewick also knew it as the brook runner.

This picture was painted by the Scottish wildlife artist, Archibald Thorburn.

Water rails make a lot of noise and emit a variety of squeals and grunts.  The territorial call is known as sharming and can be heard here.  You can listen to Chris Packham's BBC Radio 4 Tweet of the Day on water rail here.