It’s that time of the year again when perfectly rational couples get all loved up for Valentine’s Day. Mid February is also a bit of a starter gun for spring. Our birds are getting all loved up as well. This is why the BTO always launches its annual Nest Box Week on this date. The BTO Website is full of fun activities including on how to build your own nest box to step up for nature and help your garden birds. The RSPB Homes for Nature section of this website is also full of fantastic ideas on how you help all your garden visitors. They may be needed after last spring’s wash out that affected the number of fledglings so dramatically.
There are the first sounds of the dawn chorus beginning. I have heard Robins singing everywhere, Tawny Owls marking their territories from some unseen tree, and the unmistakable “teacher-teacher-teacher” of Great Tits seemingly coming from each and every branch. Great Spotted Woodpeckers, another traditional early starter in the breeding season, have started drumming on old hollow tree trucks, to both attract a mate and ward off interlopers.
As an incurable romantic myself, who has gone that extra mile to try and find a partner, I thought I would turn my attention to the Romeo and Juliet’s for this blog. Certainly the Wren could be considered a contender. A lot of work goes into wooing a suitable female by the male Wren. He will sing to attract a mate, if she is impressed by his vocal talent, the next stage of courtship is his dwelling portfolio. You see, the male will build several nests within his territory, and then take the female around all of them to see if she thinks is one suitable to bring up a brood. If she is suitably impressed they will pair up. Like all blokes soft furnishings are a mystery to him, so he leaves it to the female to stuff the interior with moss and feathers to complete the nest.
Kingfishers think nothing says it better than a dead fish. Keep an eye on their fishing habits in the coming months. If you are lucky enough to see a Kingfisher holding a small fish head forwards in its beak, then it is trying to woo a passing female. If he is unsuccessful he will simply eat the fish, catch a new one, and try in a new location. If he strikes lucky, he will then present the fish to his prospective partner, and if she takes it then he’s in luck. Should there be little ones about later in the breeding season, watch the parent birds. They will once again be holding the fish head forwards. This is because it makes it easier to swallow with scales all pointing forward, and thus stopping the chicks from choking should the fish get stuck in their throat.
The less said about the Dunnocks love life the better. I have mentioned before they engage in every kind of taboo imaginable, including several that do not appear in Fifty Shades Of Grey!
Then there are the show offs! Male Black Grouse lek to try and find a dominant male to brag breeding rights, this can be seen near Llangollen in North Wales, something I have never done, and I have on my “bucket list”. At dawn, the birds will gather at a traditional lekking site, the males inflate their throats and let out a bubbling call, they will flare their tail feathers into a fan in a show of dominance.
The ultimate romance has to belong to the Great Crested Grebe. If you get any chance to visit a body of water that plays host to these beautiful water birds this spring do so. If you get lucky and see a mating ritual it is simply a thing of wonder. I have only ever seen it twice, once at Frampton Marshes and once in Roath Park, and it never ceases to amaze. The male will dive and collect a piece of pond weed and begin flicking its head from left to right to impress the female. If she is receptive, she will then perform the same action. This may go on for several minutes, and can even be aborted on a few occasions. Keep watching, because what happens next is breath-taking. If the birds are keen to pair up, they then will rise up out of the water, and then begin to run along the surface next to each other, sometimes with the head flicking continuing. Nature sometimes brings you things that can only be described as magical. I promise you if you witness this amazing courtship ritual dance you will be left with a truly magical wildlife memory that will live with you for a long, long time.
Whatever you love birds are doing tomorrow night have a wonderful time … but fellas, don’t go flicking asparagus stalks in your teeth at your date in the restaurant, this really doesn’t work in polite company!
“The greatest thing you'll ever learn is (just) to love and be loved in return” © Nature Boy – Eden Ahbez (1947)
All Images © Anthony Walton
Interesting and educational! A very topical and well-written report!