Goldcrest by Chris Prince
One of my favourite birds to look and listen out for on the wooded heath is the goldcrest. This tiny bird is continually on the move, foraging amongst the tree branches for its invertebrate prey and performing its high-pitched reeling song.
Whilst goldcrests can be seen here year round we do get an influx of them in winter. These tiny birds, weighing no more than a 20 pence piece, make the tricky journey from northern and eastern Europe and across the North Sea to reach our shores. Surely that is a journey too treacherous for such a delicate creature?
Legend has it that the goldcrest is rather adept at hitch-hiking, sneaking into the plumage of another migratory bird -the woodcock - and hitching a lift across the sea. Goldcrests became known as ‘woodcock pilots’, and this paints a lovely image for me; a titchy goldcrest with its yellow mohican stripe complete with ‘Biggles-style’ aviator goggles and cap!
See & hear a goldcrest: you’ll find them in the wooded areas of the heath throughout the year, associated with the lovely mature oak trees and the pines.
‘Heathland heroes’ will be a series of blogs celebrating some of the fascinating creatures that we find on our wooded heathland. Lowland heathland is an incredibly rare habitat; less than 1% of England’s area. Just 16% of the heathland that existed in the UK in 1800 is left, so what we have here is incredibly precious.