Swans
We have had many reports of swans on their own, which triggers queries about whether they can be found a mate or whether they can cope on their own. These are often birds chased away from their parents' territory. They are fine and they can find their own mates.
   

Pheasants
These birds are turning up in gardens, which can be a surprise. Many are released into the wild for shooting so there are millions of them about. Some manage to find their way into gardens, even in urban areas.

Birds on ships
A few reports of birds hitching a ride on ships. We received a great photo of a willow warbler on a ferry coming into Newcastle. We also had two queries in a week from people on the Madeira to Antigua cruises. One had found an exhausted petrel at sea just leaving Madeira. They fed it raw fish and released it to sea when they reached Antigua. It flew off quite happily apparently. The other was a bird of prey, identified as a juvenile peregrine. Which was spotted, perched on the ship in the middle of the Atlantic. It was hunting from the ship and had managed to catch an equally lost swift and, according to the person who saw it, was also chasing flying fish!

Birch Bashing
On Thursday the Wildlife enquiries team left the office, put on our walking boots and outdoor clothing to get a taste of ‘hands on’ conservation. We decided to help out our Warden, here at The Lodge, and pull up Birch saplings on our developing heathland. Birch and pine grow particularly well in acidic soils and, when left unchecked, can soon thrive and encroach on open heathland, eventually shading out heather and other plants.  
 Heather can survive in areas rich in sunlight but the patchiness of these areas makes them unsuitable for many of the animals and other plants that would otherwise grow and thrive. Trees stop sunlight reaching the ground to give the vital warmth that many heathland plants and animals need. Birds like the Nightjar which feeds on the Heathland Moths and Insects and Dartford warbler, which will perch on top of a gorse stem to sing, but is often seen as a small flying shape bobbing between bushes. We are hoping to encourage these species to our Heath land here at RSPB headquarters.

While it was challenging to pull up those stubborn birch saplings, it was a chance to be on the frontline of the RSPB conservation work. Despite a few blisters and aches, one of the highlights was seeing a flock of Siskins and Redpolls fleeting from trees around where we were working.