The Swallows Return
My garden birds this week |
Tip of the week: Explore eBird hotspots |
Podcast recommendation: For What It’s Earth|
My 100th episode - your help required |
Latest episode: #96 Meet My Garden Birds, Hampshire, U.K. |
Suzy’s Bird Notes
My garden birds
Having seen reports this past week of people seeing their first Swallows of the year, I went out for a walk yesterday at our local green space in the hopes of seeing one for myself. But, it was not to be.
However, I was most delighted this morning to see one overfly my garden - a first! How lucky that I happened to look up while refilling the mealworm pots!
And on that note, the live mealworms have become a favourite food amongst my garden birds. Each morning I put out 3 small pots - one hangs in a tree, one is open for Blackbirds and Starlings to feed from, and one is protected under a cage (which only allows access to Sparrow-sized birds and smaller). I refill the pots 2 or 3 times (mindful of how many remaining mealworms I have). I notice birds coming back several times during the day to check whether the supply has been replenished.
Regular visitors taking mealworms are Robin, Blue Tit, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Starling and Blackbird. The Rooks do eat them but haven't been as keen on the live ones as I thought they would be.
The Waxworms that I got in the initial variety pack (the supplier calls it a Taster pack!) have been beloved by House Sparrows and Dunnocks. However, because they are more expensive, I will only buy them occasionally.
I'm still putting out dried mealworms in a couple of other feeders, and these have been eaten by Starlings and Rooks.
Here's a video I took of a very determined Rook managing to get some dried mealworms from a small feeder! Where there's a will, there's a way!
You might like to know that my Rook friend, Rooksy, has been visiting again. It has only been a couple of times in the past week, but it's nice to be remembered.
Blue Tit pair
The Blue Tit pair (Spot and its partner) have still been visiting the nestbox. I saw the female roosting in the nest overnight during the week. This morning I watched Spot feed his mate a mealworm.
I also videoed some interesting behaviour last weekend, which I assume is part of their courtship. The female was shredding the foam on my neighbour's trampoline. Spot flew over the female several times, I'm guessing to see whether the female was receptive to mating. The female then walked backwards towards him, until he flew to her other side, before repeating the behaviour. It was most odd.
Have you ever seen behaviour like this?
A Woodland Walk
Yesterday I took a walk at our local woodland park and did several Facebook Lives from there. Apologies to those who watched them - having reviewed them I realise that I need to be much more selective about where I point the camera. I'm sure I made people feel quite dizzy with the amount I was moving the camera around.
I plan to do some more live videos, and hopefully, my technique will soon improve.
While out, I was delighted to hear a Blackcap singing and a Marsh Tit calling.
A closer look at birds
In the fourth week of the Bird Identification course (created by Christa of the Birding Tools podcast), I have been learning about bird behaviour - for example, the way that different bird families search for food: Herons and Egrets stand still for long periods before lunging forward to catch their prey, Oystercatchers probe sand and mud for marine worms and molluscs, and Dunnocks shuffle around under shrubs looking for insects.
Another aspect I am focussing on this week is the behavioural traits of my garden birds. The Wood Pigeon that lifts its tail when it lands, or the Rooks raising their feathers and opening their wings in shows of dominance.
During my observations yesterday I noticed that the Robin raises its tail repeatedly when sitting. I don't think I'd ever noticed that before.
Taking the time to observe my garden birds at length has certainly enriched my viewing!
Your help needed! 100th episode!
We are almost at the 100th episode of The Casual Birder Podcast!
I really want to celebrate it with you.
I'd like to hear about your joyful moments when birding, whether of the birds you've seen, or how bird watching makes you feel. Send me a voice message or email
Congratulatory messages are also gratefully received! They will be included in the 100th episode.
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Tip of the week: Explore eBird hotspots
Lockdown is easing in the UK, and we can start to travel a little further afield. Maybe you are starting to think about where we can go to see more birds, and wonder what birds we will see when we get there.
A tip I learned recently is to look at hotspots in eBird for your local area, and see what birds have been seen at different times of the year. It helps you plan for what you might see and brush up on the identification of species you may not be so familiar with.
Where have I been?
This week I took part in a live-streamed panel about Women Podcast Editors, created and hosted by Steph Fuccio (Geopats Podcast Network). I was delighted to take part and learned a lot from the conversation with the other women editors. If you are interested in getting a behind the scenes glimpse into what goes into editing a podcast, do take a look.
Podcast recommendation - For What It’s Earth
For What It’s Earth This is a fab podcast about the environment, climate change and sustainability. Emma and Lloyd explain these subjects in a really accessible way. I particularly love how they demonstrate the things that we can do to make a difference, and there is something every episode for us to try that would reduce our impact on the planet.
Review a podcast!
Podchaser #Reviews4Good
You don’t have to review mine, (although I would love it if you did!) but please review some of the podcasts you listen to this month.
For every review left in April on Podchaser, they will donate 25 cents to Meals on Wheels. If the podcaster replies, Podchaser will double the amount donated.
So leave a review (for an episode or an entire show), share it on social media tagging the show, and feel good that you have helped cheer up a podcaster (we love to hear that people have enjoyed our shows).
The Casual Birder Podcast
Current episode:
#96 Meet My Garden Birds, Hampshire, U.K.
In episode 96, I provide an audio portrait of the 13 bird species that regularly visited my garden during 2020.
If you live in the UK, this episode will help you to identify some of the more common birds found in our gardens and parks.
Wherever you live, I hope it will encourage you to look more closely at your own local birds, and maybe consider keeping a journal of their appearance and behaviours.
Past episode suggestion:
#2 The Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chickadee
All the way back to my second episode, and we hear about these little acrobatic birds.
Visit my website for photos, blogs, and episode transcripts
Keep in touch
I love to hear about your bird sightings and experiences. You can send me a voice or written message here:
Support the show
Thank you all for listening to the show. You can support it further by buying me a virtual coffee.
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