Backyard Birding & Local Patches

It has been a pretty mild winter this year so far, with the extremes relating to the highest winter temperatures on record rather than the lowest. This has both a positive and negative effect on winter birding; positive in that it is less inclement when you go out birding, negative in that I have not seen as many winter migrants as I did last year. Redwing and Fieldfare numbers are well down and no sign here of Waxwing or Blackcap.

Despite the reasonable weather I haven't been out and about too much this winter. I had a trip down to Thornielea in the Scottish Borders to try and see Goshawk displaying........ which I managed to achieve........ but I didn't manage to get a video clip of it.............. sorry!
I did get some other birds on video at Thornielea, firstly a Crossbill which was part of a small flock:

Secondly a video of a Buzzard flying away from me, before it parachuted down through the trees:

I also had a trip to Tentsmuir with Fife Bird Club, unfortunately we chose one of the few very foggy days:

Tentsmuir Point on a Foggy February

Whaur's the Burds

It was so bad that you were lucky to see beyond 10 metres on some occasions. We could hear waders, ducks and geese on the shoreline, we just couldn't see them. The highlight of the trip was a misty view of a Green Woodpecker clinging to a tree:

Hope you managed to see it through the mist?
So apart from these trips my winter wildlife watching has been restricted to a few walks around my local patches and enjoying the birds that visit our back garden.
One such 'local patch' is Pepper Wood which is just North of Edinburgh Airport.

Pepper Wood

Mistletoe in Pepper Wood

Pepper Wood Pond in Winter Sunshine

There was nothing too exciting on the bird front happening at Pepper Wood but I did get a video of some Roe Deer bucks in a nearby field:

Another 'local patch' I visited was the disused railway line which runs from Dalmeny to Port Edgar and is now a cycle/walkway. This usually throws up a few birds worth seeing, however on this day I only managed to snap/video a very patient Robin:

Robin on Cycle/Walkway

It was a nice sunny day so I took the opportunity to snap a few scenic photos:

Jacob's Ladder - Steps down to Hawes Pier

Old Bridge over Old Railway Line

The Bridge from Old Railway Line

Forth Rail Bridge

Ferry Burn Cascades

That's just some of the 'local patches' I visit, but this Winter I probably spent more time watching the birds in my back garden.
Probably the most regular (and numerous) bird we get are the Goldfinch, which love coming to our feeder. They have an on-going battle with the Greenfinch for supremacy and the only bird that topples both of them off the perch is our resident Psycho Blue Tit. I say resident because he/she spends each Winter roosting in our birdbox.
This time-lapse video shows you some of the Goldfinch/Greenfinch battles that take place on a regular basis:

We do get other birds visiting the feeder, like this more dainty finch...... the Siskin:

Siskins at Feeder

There are two perches you know!

Unlikely to trouble the Greenfinch or Goldfinch, but will grab an opportunity to feed when it arises.
A common bird to most UK gardens is the Robin and our garden is no exception. Some people think Robins only visit in the Winter but they can be there all year round............ they are just more visible in the Winter and numbers can swell with Continental visitors. They certainly like to pose:

Robin on the planter

Robin on the security lights

Robin on the birdbath

I mentioned Psycho Blue Tit earlier, he is the opposite of the Robin and doesn't usually stay still for very long. Usually he is off to attack some other bird who dares to invade his garden. Anyway the following photos where not easy to get due to his erratic behavior:

Psycho Blue Tit in tree

Psycho Blue Tit on shed

Psycho Blue Tit on birdbath

Psycho Blue Tit on fence

One of the least exciting visitors we are the Wood Pigeons, pretty regular when there is food on the ground, and usually pretty boring:

Three Amigos

Heavy Breathing Wood Pigeons

I won't elaborate on what happened next with the Wood Pigeons on the fence, after all this is a family show!! (psst I do have photos for those of you who are interested in that sort of thing).
Another regular ground visitor is the Blackbird, which comes in two flavours:

Male Blackbird on grass

Female Blackbird on Fence

Sometimes we get a visit from a cousin of the Blackbird........... the Song Thrush, which pops in to the garden occasionally in the Winter months:

Song Thrush

Another irregular (but always welcome) visitor to the garden is the sweet little Pied Wagtail, which bobs around looking for scraps in the Winter:

Pied Wagtail

A winter visitor which we can see in much larger numbers is one of my favourite birds............. the Starling. Sometimes you only see one or two and sometimes they come in flocks of twenty or thirty or more:

Starling in the frost

Here is a small flock of Starlings near Vannie, recorded from our rear window:

I love them because they are such characters, as you can see in this video of bath time:

Talking about characters, let me introduce you to the most charismatic visitor we get in our garden, he is a Carrion Crow we call Duncan:

Duncan on the fence

The reason we call him Duncan will become apparent once you watch this video of what he does with bread left out by us (or any of our neighbours):

Yes he 'dunks' it in our bird bath like it is a bowl of soup.......... then he comes back later to retrieve it before flying off to eat it.
Of course once you have got you beak covered in sappy bread there is only one way to clean it properly on a cold and frosty morning:

What a brilliant character, I could watch him for hours.
I will leave you with a less regular, but always welcome visitor.......... a colourful Bullfinch picking some seeds off a dried up flower-head:

It's amazing what you can see from your kitchen window!

Hope you enjoyed this extensive blog.

Take Care

Teddyedward