A goldfinch photographed last week in the reserve by Cheryl Cronnie.
Images: Cheryl Cronnie; recording: Jack Berteau via xeno-canto.com
Carduelis carduelis
UK breeding population:1.2 million pairs
UK conservation status: Green.
Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
A greenfinch photographed in the reserve on Friday by Cheryl Cronnie.
There are two species of thrush resident in the reserve: song thrush (Turdus philomelos) and mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus). Here is how to tell them apart:
Cheryl Cronnie asks if this is a house sparrow (Passer domesticus) or a tree sparrow (Passer montanus) that she has photographed in the reserve.
Read on to find out
In response to yesterday’s fledglings, somebody sent me a link to a YouTube video of great tits leaving their nest. The screen is split so that you can see the inside and the outside of the nest box at the same time.
The reserve is full of little brown birds. Small and brown seems to be some kind of default programme for birds and accurate identification can depend on an extra millimetre in a brown tail feather or the exact shade of a brown eye-stripe. Until they are otherwise identified, the RSPB calls them all LBJs: Little Brown Jobs.
Continue reading “LBJ”
by Cheryl Cronnie
There’s a little story behind the robin in this picture, whom I’ve called Rocky Robin. I’ve been feeding him since the end of August 2021.
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The record breaking swifts are back from their winter feeding grounds.
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A willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) photographed in the reserve by Cheryl Cronnie.
Audio: Willow Warbler by Stephen Barlow (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) xeno-canto.org
Clive Knight has photographed a great tit at its nest site in one of the reserve’s oaks.
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by Simon Knight
There’s not a huge amount of easy-to-spot insect life at the moment. There will be the odd butterfly or two about: speckled wood, peacock, brimstone, small white, comma, green-veined white and holly blue. I managed to photograph this perfect male green-veined white in the picnic area whilst deliberating over whether to continue to feed the birds in the picnic area.
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A song thrush singing from its perch right at the top of one of the reserve’s oak trees, photographed by Ian Bushell.
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) recorded by David Bisset (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) xeno-canto.org
The swallows, house martins and swifts have all returned now and are hunting for winged insects over the reserve. Here is a short video to help you tell the three species apart.
The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is the only species of bird to have passed the mirror test.
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by Simon Knight
This past weekend I had an amazing afternoon in the park watching a pair of hardworking, caring and protective parents. It was one of the best wildlife moments that I have had this year. As you can see from the pictures, the parents were long-tailed tits who, in my opinion, win the award for ‘cutest bird’.
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Sun 24/04/2022 09:39 From Suzanne to Ali and Ian
Good morning,
This is another of the pictures sent by Cheryl Cronnie, who is a photographer rather than a ornithologist. Is this a twite?
Email from Clive Knight – Mon 25/04/2022 21:32
Continue reading “Grey Heron”
The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is tiny, only the goldcrest and the firecrest are smaller among British birds, but it has an enormous voice, apparently ten times louder, weight for weight, than a cockerel.
Audio: Eurasian Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) by Lars Edenius from xeno canto.org
Images: taken in the reserve by Cheryl Cronnie
A Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) photographed in the reserve last week by Cheryl Cronnie.
Audio by David Bissett from xeno-canto.org
One of the reserve’s greater spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) photographed by Cheryl Cronnie.
Every spring our readers report the arrival in the park of a small grey green bird with a pale eyestripe and cream underparts. This is either a chiffchaff or a willow warbler and it’s very hard to tell the difference.
Continue reading “Chiffchaff or willow warbler”
The latest results from the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch are in and there is good news: greenfinch numbers are up.
Continue reading “Good news”
Bullfinches are regular visitors to the park. Despite the male’s glorious colouring, they are quiet, retiring types, rarely seen. DKG took this picture in April 2019 early one Saturday morning when the park was pretty much empty of visitors.
Continue reading “Bullfinch”
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 