Tag: birds

Winterwatch 2013 now Over

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In early Autumn last year, the BBC announced that instead of the usual format for Autumnwatch, it would be cutting it to a single week, with a second week scheduled for January and would therefore be the first series of Winterwatch. Both weeks were to be set at the Aigas Field Centre, a place that has become my second home over the past five years. The large estate is a real haven for wildlife, including the rare pine marten and a family of beavers. The studio was located in a fishing cabin, next to Loch Cuil na Caillich, affectionately called “The Illicit Still”, after a story told to Sir John Lister-Kaye.

“The Illicit Still”, the log cabin used as the Winterwatch studio in 2013.

Autumnwatch was a great success, with good views of a wide range of wildlife and showed unexpected behaviour, not least in one of the beaver lodges, when a water shrew was seen on one of the cameras. Now that Winterwatch has ended, it can be viewed with equal success, with more footage of previously unseen behaviour, including beavers swimming under the ice on the loch. In fact, the timing of the week of programmes was fortuitous, as it coincided with the advent of cold weather, in what had been a mild winter up to that point. Also featured were pine martens and red squirrels, with some experimentation to examine their behaviour. The final programme was followed by Winterwatch Unsprung. The whole half an hour slot was based in the studio, instead of outside. It was good to see some of the rangers I have grown to know of the past few years, even though a number of them have left since Autumnwatch to take up new challenges. However, behind and above Chris Packham’s right shoulder, placed in prominent view, was a print of one of my images, in fact it was very appropriate, as it was a view of the very cabin they were in, from across the loch following overnight snow.

Female blackbird feeding on Pyracantha berries.

Further south, winter even gripped the southwest of England. Snow is uncommon in most winters, but we have had snow in three of the last four in Somerset now. Parts of Somerset had several inches, but in Bridgwater, the snow was preceded by a spell of heavy rain, which limited the snowfall to a just a couple of inches. However, it was enough to alter the behaviour of the local wildlife, due to the scarcity of food. The public area at the front of my house was full of blackbirds, but when the children were playing in the snow, they were forced into my garden, where they fed on berries on my Pyracantha and Cotoneaster bushes. At a couple of points, two female birds were present and this resulted in some territorial disputes. Lighting was pretty awful, but I was able to get some ok images of them perched on the bushes and some of them feeding.

 

Starling Roost 11/1/11

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Last night, I decided to go and see the starling roost that occurs every evening during the winter months on the Somerset Levels. The roost in the Avalon Marshes area is one of the largest in the country, due to the large area of suitable natural habitat, with the extensive reed beds. Of course the downside is the number of people it attracts, which is the main reason I don’t watch the spectacle more often. Parking is at a premium in the area and some days there can be almost 200 vehicles parked in the small car park and along the verges.

Starling roost on the Somerset Levels, showing motion.

Some of the photographs are spectacular, but there is an element of luck involved (aside from patience and persistence), as no one evening is the same. In wet or windy conditions, the starlings don’t perform and dive straight into their chosen roosting sites. Also, conditions have to be just right to get the vivid colours as a backdrop. Even when conditions are seemingly perfect though, there are no guarantees of a good display and it is thought that the presence of raptors provokes a response; certainly a close examination of the best photos would seem to suggest this. Also, while some years they seem to have a preferred site, they are liable to move around and the past couple of years, they seem to have been much less decisive in where they will roost.

Black and white conversion and slow shutterspeed as roosting starlings fly south, showing a more abstract view.

Yesterday, despite the heavy cloud in the morning, things looked pretty good, the clouds thinned and the sun bathed both of the Shapwick Heath and Ham Wall reserves. However, as sunset appproached, more cloud started to roll in from the west, preventing the vivid colours that make the best photogaphs. It was also quite windy, which didn’t bode well for a good display. However, despite the conditions, it turned out not to be too bad a display, at least they didn’t dive straight into the reeds. In fact, they seemed to be quite indecisive and split into three large groups, coming in at different times. The first group seemed to fly over the reserve from the west to roost to the northeast of the first viewing platform. The second group however, flew more to the south, as did the third, which came in quite a bit later. Finally, the first group seemed to change their mind and flew back south, to roost directly east of the easterly facing screens, to the south of the main path.