The latest report from Michael Walter:
So far the signs for this year’s breeding season are not auspicious. Last month I wrote about the dearth of wrens and, while their position has improved a little since then, numbers of these diminutive birds remain far lower than expected. Another worrying species is the song thrush. Not one to be reticent about showing off its vocal talents, on a normal spring morning you can hear a scattering of these birds singing loudly throughout the wood; not so this year – on my most recent early morning survey I failed to hear a single song thrush, although I did listen to its larger cousin, the mistle thrush, which has previously been far scarcer. In an apparent rerun of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, many other species seem to be absent, though it is still too early to say definitively that the birds have died or moved out of the wood; the endless succession of dismal mornings must surely be playing its part in suppressing birdsong, and my hope is that the advent of drier, milder weather will coax most species into at least clearing their throats. Some good news is that our scarce and reclusive lesser spotted woodpeckers have been drumming and calling in several areas, and we also have at least one pair of mandarin ducks that seem set to nest in the wood this year (the purists among us will treat that last comment with disdain, holding a low opinion of any introduced species; but, unlike many other aliens, these ducks don’t appear to be adversely affecting any of our native species, so perhaps we can afford to offer them a corner in our affections).
A recent encounter in the wood reminded me that size is relative. Returning from my weekly check of the livestock on the heath, I flushed a buzzard from a tree right beside the track. Seen at such close quarters, this bird of prey, languidly flapping away on broad wings, seemed positively enormous, and still capable of giving me a frisson of delight that these raptors should be present once more in Kent. As I pedaled on down the track I ruminated on the question of size, and it occurred to me that, compared to an eagle, the buzzard is not actually such a big bird, and it is only the absence of larger raptors that makes the buzzard seem so impressive. No more than a minute later I came upon a great patch of wood pigeon feathers that hadn’t been there when I went past half an hour earlier – a sparrowhawk kill! And there it was: a female sparrowhawk, its claws in the pigeon’s breast, glaring defiantly at me. This was a female, a brownish bird lacking the slatey blue-grey back and rusty breast of the male who, at a mere 150 grams, simply isn’t strong enough to tackle a wood pigeon. Even the female, a much meatier 260 grams, has her work cut out to subdue a pigeon that is nearly twice her weight. Having seen the buzzard only moments earlier, my overwhelming impression on viewing this female sparrowhawk was of a remarkably small and scrawny body. There didn’t seem to be anything majestic about her; she wasn’t in the least awesome, despite gaining my respect for refusing to relinquish her prey when I appeared just a few yards away. The experience brought home to me that we really are lacking larger birds of prey that can cast a dark shadow as they fly overhead. As for the total absence of top carnivores in this country – wolves, lynx, bears and others – well, that’s another story!
Sunday 6th May dawn chorus walk in Blean Woods at 5.00am. An excellent opportunity to listen to nightingales, as well as many other species that are in full song at that time of day. Places must be booked by emailing blean.woods@rspb.org.uk or phoning 01227 464898. £3 for national RSPB members, £5 for non-members, children under 16 free.
Michael Walter
michaelwalter434@gmail.com
01227 462491
Buzzard in field beside Tyler Hill Road, Blean (Dave Smith)
Female sparrowhawk (Dave Smith)
Song thrush – apparently a rare bird in Blean Woods this year (Dave Smith)