By: Blonde Two
Blonde One and I are good at a fair few things but we found out during our WGL assessment that, Dartmoor bird spotting was not one of them. I can recognise the most basic of garden birds and we are learning (slowly).
Yesterday, during my dog walk in the copse there was a load of commotion going on. The main culprits were two great tits who appeared to be swearing at each other from a distance. The other party in the noise was a tiny wren with a big voice – I haven’t seen a wren there before so I checked out the RSPB website http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name to confirm calls and markings. If you are at all interested in birds, you should have a look at this site. During my recent visits to the copse, I have discovered that I am not a very good bird photographer and that you really shouldn’t tell young men in the woods that you are trying to take pictures of great tits!
Blonde One and I have learnt the names of a few Dartmoor birds now but are most likely to spot Meadow Pipits who have a distinctive call. We have also made friends with a Heron who has appeared on several of our walks around the Princetown area – he seems to particularly favour the Devonport Leat and we have got quite close to him a couple of times. We know the difference between the calls of a crow (caw) and a raven (kronk) and can tell buzzards and kestrels apart. I have yet to spot a red kite on the moors (I think) despite several claims of sightings.
One bird whose call is easy to pick out on Dartmoor is that naughty cuckoo – the cuckoo is sadly in decline. We are pleased to say that four of our cuckoos (not our personal ones you understand) are going to be taking part in a national project run by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Have a look at the National Park’s information here http://www.dartmoor.gov.uk/lookingafter/laf-naturalenv/cuckoo. They (the cuckoos not the Park Rangers) are going to be given shiny new satellite tags and be tracked as they migrate to Africa (that is a very long way). They won’t be going yet as Dartmoor is a lovely place to pop an egg in someone else’s nest but keep an eye on this website if you want to find out more and see what cuckoos from other parts of the UK have been doing. http://www.bto.org/science/migration/tracking-studies/cuckoo-tracking.
It is probably a bit Blonde to be excited about the prospect of our cuckoos being given names once they have been tagged but there you go, girls must be girls. I am not sure who will decide about this but I think that naming them after Dartmoor places would be a good idea; how about Willhay, Brent, Wistman and Betsy?
On the mountains at lower levels one of the birds that is a very boisterous companion is the skylark who’s conversation is non stop, but as you get to higher altitudes the only bird that is still with you is the Raven with its familiar cronk sound which I actually enjoy hearing unless you live in Scotland of course and
you have the privilege of seeing an
Eagle!
In North Wales the Osprey
(cont) The Osprey has become an annual visitor and at the moment has laid eggs which of course is a very special event!
Out walking by the river today, I had the thrill of seeing my first five Swallows of the year sweeping the water and the sky by turns with their gapes wide open, hoping for insects. Then as I watched, a glorious Kingfisher arrowed past in dazzling turquoise and scarlet orange. On my way home, a Willow Warbler lifted from the grass and flew across the river into a tree. Spring is really here this week. There was a chaffinch singing really loudly – Chip-chip-chip-cherry-erry-erry-chippy-oo-eear. Very soon now the Willow Warblers will be singing as well and their song is very close to the Chaffinch’s, but sounds much more refined and melodious – chip-chip-chip-chelly-elly-elly-chippy-tui-tui. If you listen for the tui-tui on the end, you won’t confuse the two.
Talking of Cuckoos, “Chance” the Cuckoo has made it across the Sahara – now he needs to fatten up a bit before crossing the Mediterranean. Here’s hoping he has found an area with lots of insects to help him on his way.
The saddest thing is that Meadow Pipits, Willow Warblers and Kestrels are all amber-listed birds in decline. Ospreys are amber listed because they were extinct for a time in the UK, and are very few in number as yet and have to be protected against egg thieves. Cuckoos, of course, are red-listed and in severe decline, hence all the satellite tagging studies. Ray’s lovely Skylarks are on the red list, too, though many farmers are trying to help them by leaving Skylark patches in the middle of fields.
As Ten Tors leaders is easy to be a bit irritated by the ‘bird nesting exclusion areas’ which make route planning a bit tricky but they are an important part of keeping our resident ground nesting birds safe and sound.