We mammals know that hot weather requires us to take greater care of our skins and the same principle holds true in the bird world. Except, of course, for birds it’s their feathers that need to be in top condition.
Be it in dust or water, bathing plays an important role in feather maintenance. One famous experiment compared starlings in flight through an obstacle course of suspended strings. Amazingly, the ones that had recently bathed were more agile, bumping in to fewer strings as they flew!
Today at Old Moor, temperatures in the twenties prompted an outbreak of bathing behaviours all over the reserve. Pheasants, starlings and finches enjoyed dust baths; the water fowl ducked and rolled; and the black-headed gulls took to their communal bath in front the Reedbed Hide.
A pheasant takes a dust bath in the Bird Garden today
The first sighting from Old Moor’s records today was of a lesser whitethroat in the car park. In fact, two others were singing around the reserve today, one on the Reedbed Trail and one half way down Green Lane.
This wasn’t the only significant ‘car park sighting’ today. At 13.30 today at red kite soared across Old Moor, looking for a meal. Those who were lucky enough to see it, told me that the bird was seen-off by a local sparrowhawk. Now that would have been something to see!
Bathing, mute swan style!
I’m glad to say a bittern was seen from the Bittern Hide today along with a pair of great crested grebe and surprised that a barn owl was spotted from the Wader Scrape this afternoon around 13.00.
On the Mere today were: mallard, gadwall, Canada geese, coot, moorhen, one cormorant, mute swan, pied wagtail, lapwing, oystercatcher, sand martin, two lesser black-backed gull and a single Mediterranean gull. There was also a common tern seen here this morning.
On Green Lane, as well as the lesser whitethroat, there were chiffchaff and willow warbler singing. Some lucky visitors also reported weasel sightings here today.
Definitely an improvement on Monday’s picture… a lesser whitethroat on Green Lane today
The Wader Scrape provided sightings of two shelduck, a common sandpiper and a another cormorant.
Finally, reported from Wath Ings were: one redshank, another great crested grebe, one teal, ten mute swan, and five oystercatcher (the reserve today was nine today) along with gadwall, pochard and grey heron. What was of interest today was that I could not find a single goldeneye nor any wigeon.
Butterfly sightings today included: comma, brimstone and small tortoiseshell.
I shall leave you with a bit of drama from the Wader Scrape today. Predators on the scrape include the lesser black-backs who are not above taking the odd smaller gull. This afternoon they were enjoying the fruits of their labour when a lone magpie attempted to steal their meal. Undaunted by the much larger birds the magpie came back time and time again to attempt the theft. In the end he was seen off by the ‘lessers’ but it was touch and go there for a while!
Until next time.