In search of Sklylarks

As mentioned in the previous blog post, there are indications that Skylarks are singing (if not nesting successfully) over the fields of south Abingdon

So with a new sense of optimism the blog set out early morning to try to and catch a sight of this iconic bird.

Although seeing them is unlikely. Not only are they are a small bird which flies up the fields to either deter predators or to try to attract a mate but the UK population has fell by 50% since the 1980's[1] with the most likely cause loss and changes of habitiat, especially the modern move to different crops[2].

But to the blog's suprise they are in Abingdon are what a delight to spend a late April morning watching them sing.  So someone appears to be doing something right in the nearby fields and may they continue to sing for years to come.

Although one of the things that has not changed over the past 5 years is the poor quality photography in the blog

Sources

[1] RSPB Handbook of British Birds (2006)

[2] BTO  https://www.bto.org/learn/about-birds/birdfacts/skylark

New Technology #1

 Whilst this blog has been dorment, the world has moved on, and things which seemed like science fiction five years ago and now used all the time. 

One of the obvious changes is the rise in wildlife identifation apps and probably the most impressive of those is Merlin:  https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org.

Whilst some bird songs are fairly easy to distinguish - robins, blackbirds, wren - most seem only indentifable by experienced Ornithologists. So Cornell Univesity (https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/) have set out to help answer one of most common questions "what is that bird song?" and best of all it's free (although donations are welcome).

Using a smart phone, whilst the app is open,it detects even the quietest bird song (and amazingly ignores the any background noise).

And this is what it recorded in the fields around south Abingdon:

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The Redstart & Stonechat seem somewhat optimistic and the probability of Redshank in south Abingdon is almost certainly fanciful, but the others are very good identifications. And illustrates that whilst UK birds are declining there is still a diverse range of song birds in the area.

And interesting and tantilising is the thought of skylarks nesting in the fields near where we live.....

Return to the blogosphere (again)?

There are many reasons why this blog fell into decline 

- lack of inspiration:  there are only so many times you can write about water voles

- Family illness: the less said the better 

- COVID: the move to working from home has resulted in less willingness to spend spare time on a laptop.

But maybe the muse is back, and the intention is to write one post per week - but lets see what happens

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149 Days Later

 
Back in June, the trees were green, the grass in the meadows was long and there were a multitude of pyramidal orchids and lots of butterflies to lift the spirits:

In the river, it was possible to spot the occassional water vole:

Now the seasons have changed, the trees are loosing their leaves, the grass has been cut and the orchids have been replaced by fungal fruiting bodies.

And there are very few signs of water vole activity.

Yet somethings don't seem to change, the Prime Minister has announced that there will be another national lockdown from the 5th November to 2nd December.

Return to the Bloggersphere

 On the 23^rd March 2020, in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the British Prime Minster  announced to the House of Commons that the UK government would be informing people that they must stay at home and that certain businesses should close.

Throughout spring there were many things to distract from the on-going crisis:

• Great Tit's nesting in the garden
• Sparrow's nesting in next door's cavity
• Multitude of low flying red kites
• A rewilded garden, with cinnabar moth caterpillars on the garden.
• Solitary bees - leaf cutter, mason & sweat bees
• Swifts and house martins flying overhead
• And of course water voles in the nearby river.

But those days are gone, winter is coming, a second virus wave is occuring and future lockdowns seem invitable.

So this blog is being resurrected, in order to give me a project through the dark winter nights, I intend to do one update per week - maybe searching for signs of otters, reviewing photos of the past summer and maybe even my favourite you-tube channels.

Even if no-one else reads this, it will help to keep me sane in a very strange world.

Water Voles 2018

Recent studies have shown that water voles in the UK are in even more trouble than previously thought, with a decline of 30% in recent years (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/26/water-vole-areas-england-wales-fall-30-percent-decade).
This is on top of the 90% decline in the proceeding decades: http://www.bbowt.org.uk/what-we-do/protecting-wildlife/water-vole-recovery-project-0

As a result, the water vole hotspots in and around Abingdon are more important than ever.

And fortunately after the very wet spring, there are signs of water vole activity, including what burrows in the river banks:

And cut stems, the distinctive sign of water vole feeding.

And the best sign of all, water vole swimming across the river:

Resident Fieldfare

It has been very cold and also heavy snow here in Oxfordshire (although not as heavy as some parts of the country http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43251824)
So this is a difficult time for wildlife and some birds and animals are driven into our gardens looking for warmth, shelter and food. 
And we now have a single resident fieldfare in ours, probably attracted by the supply of apples we have put out for the birds and is now chasing off the resident blackbirds. 
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Like most thrushes they are in decline and is globally threatened https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/fieldfare .