Attractive duo are a delight to see on garden feeders
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TWO regular visitors have dominated discussions on garden birds in the past few weeks – although one has still to invade garden feeders.
The absentees are lesser redpolls, which are now in almost unprecedented numbers in the countryside.
They are very attractive small birds, around the size of a coal tit. Their most conspicuous features, which can be seen in the photograph I took recently, are the red forehead and black bib, which varies with each bird. It is sometimes difficult to tell the female from the male.
Lesser redpoll numbers are linked in the wild with seeds mainly from birch trees, though they also have a liking for seeds of alders. They will also take flowers and seeds of from sallow trees, as well as insects.
At present, lesser redpolls only occur in small numbers in gardens. They are a delight when you see them.
Now experts are suggesting they will soon invade gardens in much the same way as siskins have done in the past few years.
Nyger seed certainly seems to attract them, but the few that have come to my garden have gone mainly for sunflower hearts. These small seeds seem to be just the right size for the birds to take freely.
The other bird currently under discussion is the long-tailed tit. These very attractive little birds are now appearing on garden feeders from the surrounding countryside.
This is one of my favourite birds, partly because of the famous lines from the poem by John Clare. He was a Northamptonshire poet (1793-1864 ) and for several years I lived for in the countryside he wrote about.
I used to be warden over the heath he wrote about in his poem Emmonsail’s Heath in Winter:
And coy bumbarrels, twenty in a drove,
Flit down the hedgerows in the frozen plain
And hang on little twigs and start again.
He knew long tailed tits as bumbarrels – a name coined after the shape and structure of their lichen-covered nests.
An early mentor of mine, James Fisher, once described John Clare as the "finest poet of Britain’s minor naturalists and the finest naturalist of all Britain’s major poets". All these thoughts came to mind when I saw a small flock of 10 long-tailed tits land on the suet balls in a feeder in the garden.
Contrary to popular belief this is not simply a group but a family party that will stay together until the next breeding season.
They constantly chatter to each other to stay in touch, and at dusk they exhibit some intriguing behaviour.
When they go to roost, two birds – generally the two adults – will sit tight against each other on a branch, and then the members of the family will follow suit on either side of them.
The idea is that they will share the warmth of being close together, with the two outer ones losing out.
The further from the adults, the less dominant the birds, so this survival technique seems to work.
So next time you see a flock of long-tailed tits, think about how they spend the night all huddled together.
BOOKS
This year ended with a simply superb book on dragonflies.
I may be biased as the artist is one of my favourites, Richard Lewington.
Along with Steve Brooks and Steve Cham he has produced a masterpiece in the Field Guide to the Dragonflies & Damselflies of Great Britain and Ireland (British Wildlife Pub – £18.95).
No fewer than 57 species are described in detail in this completely updated and revised version.
The regional guide fortunately covers some sites in the Highlands, some of which are well known and others to be explored.
They include Glen Affric, with advice that there are many other sites to be covered there. Loch Maree is also included, with particular mention of Bridge of Grudie.
A must for your bookshelves.
