It might be cold but the robin at Fiveways is still singing.
Both pictures of the Fiveways robin were taken by DKG in 2019.
Recording by Beatrix Saadi-Varchmin CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) xeno-canto.org
Before dawn, this frosty morning in the park, it sounded as though there was a song thrush singing from the top of every tree.
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There is a family of Eurasian wrens (Troglodytes troglodytes) sharing a winter territory in the copse to the north east of the big pond. Have you seen them?
Continue readingFour calling birds
Not calling birds, according to the experts, but colly birds. Colly is an old word for soot or coal dust and a colly bird is a blackbird. We have tuneful blackbirds by the dozen in the park.
Audio by Beatrix Saadi-Varchmin (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) xeno-canto.org
Daylight hours
The clocks went back; the nights, which have been getting longer since the autumnal equinox, will seem extra long and especially dark now. We cosy up in front of the fire and crave stodgy puddings but out in the park, the ratio between daylight and dark triggers many natural processes.
Continue reading “Daylight hours”Chiffchaff or willow warbler
DKG photographed 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”Birdsong
Trowbridge and Southwick, all locked down and emptied of traffic, are full of birdsong. Here are some interesting facts about birdsong.
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A walk in the Park
by Ian Bushell
I took my permitted exercise at the park over lunchtime. There were just eight cars when I arrived at noon and only fifteen when I left an hour later. People were well spaced all around the park; everybody seems to be taking the new regulations seriously.
Continue readingThrostle
Throstle is the Old English name for a song thrush. We have several breeding pairs in the park; if you visit early in the morning, wherever you go, you can hear a throstle singing about his territory and challenging competitors.
Read on for conservation status and a recording of its songOur chiffchaffs are back
Chiffchaffs are tiny birds, no bigger than a blue tit. Most are migrants, overwintering in southern Europe or northern Africa and returning here in the spring to breed.
Continue reading “Our chiffchaffs are back”
Has anybody seen the owls?
Two years ago, in the first week of March, there was a pair of barn owls in the park. They hunted over Lambrok Meadow and the field between Lambrok Stream and Church Lane where a developer plans to build 45 houses.
Continue readingReturning chiffchaffs
Has anybody heard our chiffchaffs yet? This is the time of year when they come back from the Mediterranean and Africa to nest here and their unmistakeable call is a welcome sign that spring is here. Message or email us if you have heard them .
All these pictures were taken in the park by DKG.
How to tell corvids apart
Of the five species of Britain’s black corvids, four have been seen in Southwick Country Park park: crow, rook, jackdaw and raven.
Continue reading “How to tell corvids apart”Goldfinch
An expedition into our archives produced this post from February of last year, and a beautiful picture of a goldfinch high in an ash tree taken by DKG
Continue reading “Goldfinch”Blackbird singing in the dead of night
We usually write about the park but today we are branching out a good half-mile, as far away as the junction between Frome Road and Manor Road on the A361.
Continue reading “Blackbird singing in the dead of night”Jenny Wren
Jenny Wren, the Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes.
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Robin’s winter song
The robin is one of the few birds in the UK that sing in the winter as well as the summer. The purpose of the song is territorial; robins winter here and defend their territories all year round.
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The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is one of our commonest birds; it is very widely distributed, with an estimated population of eight million breeding pairs.
Continue readingSong Thrush
At least three pairs of song thrushes nested in the park this year. On any clear July evening, especially after rain, it has been possible to walk right round the park’s boundaries and never be out of earshot of a song thrush singing from the top of a tree.
Here is five minutes of a song thrush’s song; listen to it while you check the morning’s news.
Song thrush recorded by David Bisset in Essex
Header picture:- Song thrush by Simon Chinnery [CC BY-SA 4.0]
Willow warbler
A willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) seen and photographed by DKG yesterday morning.
Continue readingWhitethroat
A common whitethroat (Sylvia communis), seen, identified and photographed by DKG near the Lambrok this week. This is probably either a female or a juvenile; the male is more distinctively coloured.
Continue reading “Whitethroat”Meadow pipit
The meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) is the default pipit. In the UK there are, besides meadow pipits, tree pipits, water pipits and rock pipits all very much alike.
Continue reading “Meadow pipit”Chiffchaff or willow warbler
DKG photographed 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”Song thrush
A song thrush, busy feeding a nestful of babies somewhere in the park.
Read on for conservation status and a recording of its song
Great tits are very loud at this time of year. They sit high in the trees, like this one in the willows by the decorated bridge, and shout. It is a distinctive repetitive call like a creaky gate. Listen out for it.
