The Nightjar project, from the summer of 2015

As a third year student at The University of Nottingham, I have been studying the impact of human disturbance on the breeding of the European nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus). In the summer of 2015 we surveyed the recreational trail usage in the forest, the wildlife abundance, and breeding success of the nightjar. The surveying of the trails was carried out by myself and a masters student Jack Rayner under the supervision of Dr. Kate Durrant, while the monitoring of nightjar breeding was led by the Birklands Ringing Group.

A little friend we met on one of our surveys

We spent June and August surveying the forest and monitoring the nightjar from around 7am until anywhere between 7pm and 11:30pm five days a week. We cycled around, with our food for the day packed in our bags, and a rake threaded between our rucksack straps. The looks we got from local cyclers was quite amusing, wondering if we were hopelessly trying to garden the forest of Sherwood Pines. We spent half an hour at each survey point, counting all the traffic passing, and the wildlife spotted. The rake was used on the earth paths to track any traffic crossing paths over a 24 hour period, rather like Sherwood Pines CSI. The rest of the time we spent cautiously searching for nightjar nests, and ringing the chicks born in that season. If the weather was suitable, we would set up nets to catch the birds at around 7:30pm. It was fantastic on those evenings to hear the nightjar males making the churring territorial call, and watch the nightjar gliding past us before being caught in the net. The caught nightjar could then be identified, and carefully released back to continue their evening hunt. I thoroughly enjoyed carrying out the field work, and was inspired to find out what is affecting the distribution of these birds.

One of the many bees that were pollinating the heather in
the forest

In previous years from 2001 to 2014, the nightjar of Sherwood pines have been shown to prefer a breeding habitat incurring less frequent human disturbance, however in 2015 we found the nightjar have shown no preference between more or less disturbed areas of the forest. Furthermore, in 2015 there has been a higher portion of nests that fledge chicks, as well as an altogether greater number of nests going on to fledge chicks in areas incurring higher levels of disturbance. Through wildlife surveying we established that predators threatening nightjar breeding such as Corvids and Birds of Prey live in greater densities in the area of the forest incurring a lower level of disturbance. Corvids predate on the nightjar nests, while the Birds of Prey are thought to predate on the adult nightjar. This difference in risk of predation could provide explanation for a lower success in nightjar nests.

A moth we came across quite frequently, not sure which species though? (Please comment if you know!)

A mother nightjar, who is rather  insulted at being disturbed from her afternoon nap

The same mother nighjtar, whatching us with a glaring eye

Historically, nightjar have been shown to be less successful in breeding where human disturbance is greater. In recent years however, we may have found that the nightjar in this forest may have become more habituated to human disturbance, impacting the consideration of the suitability of nightjar habitat in the future.

A buzzard in the early morning, keeping a careful eye on us at work. 

After seeing that Jack and I were carrying out the surveying well, the buzzard left us for more important duties for the day

To Find out more, please take a visit on the Sherwood Pines website! http://www.sherwood-nightjars.com/the-project

The Crafty Cormorant

Last week I took a visit to the university lake where I met a Great Cormorant. His face looked like the cross between that of a dinosaur and a gnarly troll. Given that previous description, it seems impossible for me to like this bird, but given his crafty and wily nature, his phenomenal resilience, and incredible hunting skills I could not help but enjoy the company of this prehistoric animal.

I first caught sight of the cormorant at the side of a lake, basking with his wings welcoming the sun. It is easy not to wonder why the cormorant undertakes the task of drying his wings, but I could not help but think this myself. As his looks would suggest, the Great grey Cormorant is one of the most prehistoric species, along with the Shags. Unlike the more recently evolved water bird species, the cormorants have not evolved a waxy coating on their feathers, and so understandably will get rather wet after a hunt for his fish or whatever meal is available. After becoming sodden from a hopefully successful attempt to catch dinner, the cormorant will stand on a perch for an hour if needed to dry off any water that may not be shaken off. While this characteristic is reasonably interesting, the wing drying behavioural quirk provided scientists with the ability to carry out an experiment revealing something rather more intriguing.

One of the Coromorant standing minding his own business

A cormorant looking back very disapprovingly at me after folding back his wings, and ceasing
to dry his feathers

Recent research has been undertaken to study the migration behaviours of Roach fish. Through use of the cormorant feeding behaviour, evidence has been gathered to demonstrate the reasoning behind migrations. Once a cormorant has caught a fish, he will regurgitate spit balls at the perch on which he is drying his feathers on. If a fish has been pit tagged (a form of microchip-like identification), all morphometric measurements can be taken of that fish, and so we can understand what size fishes are being eaten by the cormorant. It was found that fish spending more time outside a lake would be less likely to be eaten by the cormorants, but will also be less likely to find plentiful food. In addition to this, it was found that the bigger fish were more likely to get caught. Using this information, and the information of when the fish left the lake to migrate, they found that when the risk of being predated outweighed the food benefit provided by a lake over another stream, the fish would leave the lake. Bigger fish were more likely to leave the lake, and especially so when predation pressures were high and less food was available in the lake.

While the cormorant is currently causing great concerns with regards to impact on current biodiversity, given past distributions I cannot help but admire the resilience of this species. Historically, cormorants were regarded as an irritating competitor for fish by fishermen, and so were nearly hunted to extinction. Since, the Great Cormorant has escalated in numbers to the 1.2 million individuals in Europe today. The Great Cormorant is now thriving in the UK, and now the species is predicted to cause incredible changes in our aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. There are great concerns over the impacts that cormorants may have on ecosystems, with relocation of matter and microbial agents between ecosystems, and the possible food web modifications that may follow the cormorant’s population growth. It is true that in the future we may need to control cormorant populations, however it is still fantastic to see such a prehistoric creature on our doorstep, and I thoroughly enjoyed admiring the bird in the sun all the same.

This isn't much to do with the blog, however I did think the gulls looked 

brilliant sitting in a line along the concrete posts

Wollaton's Wacky Wildlife

So I have been rather quiet over the last few weeks, putting together a video from the last few months of footage I have gathered from Nottingham. I had so much fun making it, and I hope you have as much fun watching it with the few surprises I have edited in (not your normal wildlife video I promise you!)

Thanks a lot, and thank you to Fat Freddy's Drop for the music, and to the wonderful wildlife who helped create it!

A trip to Brighton, with a mesmerising murmuration!

A starling murmuration is always a fascinating sight to see, and I was lucky enough on my trip to Brighton to see one at dusk from the pier. The wind was howling, the skies were grey, and the sea was whipping up an angry and salty mist into the air, and I didn’t want to leave as these birds danced in the sky in perfect unison. I also could not help but wonder how these birds coordinated themselves so well. Luckily, I have since found that a group of scientists has managed to provide us with part of the answer.

A Black and White of the Brighton Beach looking from the new pier

A colour picture of the beach at Brighton

A Starling murmuration is a swarm of Starlings that forms at dawn and dusk, as a mass of thousands of birds swoop through the skies. The best time to view these swarms are between November and March, all across the UK. Although piers such as the one at Brighton are particularly good for viewing Starling murmurations, they can also be seen over wetlands and farmlands, so almost anyone could be lucky enough to see one. It is simply a case of being in the right place at the right time.

A black and white of the murmuration, looking from the new pier towards the old pier in the distance

There are many theories behind the existence of these murmurations, ranging from predator defence, to maintenance of warmth, to the development of information exchange. It is well known that animals will group in large numbers as a form of predator defence, and creating these mesmerising illusions of fluidity could confuse dangerous predators such as peregrine falcons, or short eared owls. Animals are also known to gather to decrease heat loss, and to exchange information between individuals. At the moment information is being gathered on Starlings all over the country, but data is not complete enough to fully understand what is going on.

The Starling murmuration powered by the winds created by the crashing waves in the sea

The murmuration, echoing the movement of the waves

While the reason behind the Starling murmurations is not fully understood, recent research has given a fascinating insight into who coordinates the movement of these flocks. A study amazingly managed to develop a tracking algorithm to reconstruct three-dimensional trajectories of each of the individuals in the flock during a turning event. This allowed the researchers to analyse the indivitdual change in movement of each starling as the turns of the murmuration were occurring. From this, it was found that the birds on the outside initiated the steering of the entire flock. With this kind of technology that can be used to analyse Starling murmuration movement, it may only be a few years until we may understand the evolutionary reasoning behind this beautiful phenomena.

While the murmurations really were breathtaking, I can't take a trip to the beach without acknowledging the Herring Gulls that of course were in a great abundance. While they are seen as quite a nuissance by many, I find them really quite entertaining. Its great to be able to get so close to them, and meant I had a great opportunity to get some bird close-ups. Of course I may have had a very different view on the beggars if I had a sandwich in my hand I am sure! 

A juvenile Herring Gull who was sitting on Brighton Pier

An adult Herring Gull, with its mature plumage

A Herring Gull going for a stroll next to the pier, keeping an eye out for lunch

The Great Grey Heron Family

So one particular family that I’m looking forward to following in the next few months are the Great Grey Herons. We are very lucky to have such a large siege at Wollaton, and with about six males spotted so far, waiting at their nest for the right lady to come along, we could have a very exciting few months ahead as we wait and see these birds trying to produce offspring of their own.

The Siege of Herons waiting for their ladies  in the willow tree

Normally herons are solitary animals, but at Wollaton there is a diverse array of prey, with many fish, insects, crustaceans, frogs and even small mammals – all of which they may choose to forage on. As breeding season is nearing, these birds have gathered to nest in the trees on an island in the middle of the lake, close to the water to hunt for food. It is easy to see the huge nests spanning a few feet across on the Willow tree and the taller trees around, with the males guarding and waiting for a potential female.

The female heron watching me intently

At this time of year, the males remain at their selected resting sites in these trees, and will try to attract females to choose for a mate. Grey Herons are socially monogamous throughout the breeding season, and both sexes must consent before this partnership is formed to produce young. The male will make low grating calls to attract potential mates, and the female will express an interest by approaching the nest sites. If at this point the male is not interested in the female however, he will express his opinion by chasing the female away from his nesting site. Only if both individuals deem the other to be a worthwhile partner will they begin a romantic dance during courtship. The female will perform a series of neck stretching, thrusting, and bowing, followed by the male’s lunging and bill clapping used to impress the female. These individuals will then work together to begin preparing the home for a family.

The male and female pair preparing their nest for spring

At the moment it seems that only one pair has formed from the selection of males available at Wollaton. It is great to see this couple newly joined, and I can’t wait to see how they do in producing young. Hopefully we will soon have some more pairs on the lake, and we may catch some courtship displays as new pairs form for the season.

On another note, while photographing and watching the herons, I could not help but notice how beautiful the mallards feathers looked, reflecting the light of the sun. So I have a few duck pictures to share as well...

A Mallard male basking in the sun

A female mallard, with the light catching the dust on the water's surface

Robins, Blackbirds, a Wren and some Great Tits all in a Student house!

So since I came back to Nottingham for exams this January, I decided to try providing some food for the local birds to help them over winter, and to provide myself with some solace from the mundane exam season. Since first putting some food on the brick barbeque a few weeks ago, we have had a fantastic array of birds coming to see what’s on offer, and I think I may have heightened my reputation amongst house mates as the crazy bird lady as well. Hopefully what I have to tell about these wonderful winged friends will make a few people want to do the same as myself.

The very fat little Rob helping himself to more seed

Before putting out any seed, we had to the odd visit from a Robin and a pair of Blackbirds, who liked to rummage around the Ivy for any berries that may be in the undergrowth. I initially thought it may be nice for them to have some seed to supplement their diet, and surely enough the three birds turned into regulars. The female Blackbird in particular is happy to potter around the edge of the garden, minding her own business and looking for food while I watch on the patio only a few metres away. The male blackbird in contrast is a little shyer, but it is quite evident that his lady has her belly as a much higher priority over any dangers a human may pose on her. The Robin has been one of my favourite characters, who has been looking rather well fed in recent weeks, and with good reason. Each morning now when I come to put the seed out I can hear him tweeting at the top of our tree wishing me a good day. Before I have even stepped a few metres away he will have swooped down onto the bricks and be pecking away at all of the goodies I have provided for him.

The female Blackbird pleased with one of her berries she's managed to forage from the undergrowth

The female Blackbird looking interested in what I'm doing 

The slightly shy male Blackbird sitting higher up the tree

The Wren sitting on a rock behind the barbecue

A few days after putting the food out, these three were joined by yet more birds. A little wren is often seen flitting about the garden like a mouse with an incredibly nervous disposition on a sugar rush. He however is often chased off by another slightly slimmer looking Robin who reckons he is far more worthy of this territory. Of course this Robin is soon put back in his place when the two dim-witted Pigeons come to play. It did make me chuckle watching one pigeon progress its way, and eating all along the wall of seed, before sitting there for a good 15 minutes realising he has eaten far too much. He looked a little like I felt after Christmas dinner, having filled every gap in my stomach, and just needing to sit digest for a while before any other activity is even thinkable.

After a few days I decided to invest in a very basic bird feeder to hang off the branch of a tree, but unfortunately and surprisingly, the birds have not taken too well to it. It did not occur to me before that the birds may refuse to use the feeder, but this one had been out for a week and still nobody had decided to try out the new gadget. I still put the food on the top of the barbeque wall, but on catching sight of a recent less desired visitor, a large rat, I thought best to try other methods of feeding. I have since bought a new mesh feeder and a seed feeder with larger holes in the hope that these may be a little more appealing to the birds. I don’t mind any non-flying wildlife, so long as they remain outside, but I somehow don’t think everyone else would agree on that matter!

One of the Great tits on the seed with the Pigeon and female Blackbird on the
barbecue behind

The winged guests have come to visit our garden every day without fail, and I was delighted with two new visitors that first came to munch on the fat balls on the washing line yesterday. Two Great Tits decided to grace us with their presence for a short while, and unlike the other birds, were quick to use the bird feeders. I am hoping the others may catch on so I can see them well from the window of our kitchen, and so that I may provide a little less of an advert to the rodents around and about. Unlike the other birds, the Great tits are much more timid, and will fill their beaks with as much seed as they can before flying up to a high branch on the tree to continue their feast. I’m hoping in the next few weeks they may too learn that I am no threat to them, so I can see these two going about their daily business moderately undisturbed.

I hope this may inspire some of you with even just a patio outside your house to put out some seed for the birds. To give you an idea, I managed to get a bag of mixed bird seed for £1 from a certain shop selling things for a pound, have lightened up January for myself, and hopefully provided some entertainment for my housemates as well.  

An Icy Walk to see the Water Birds

Two Mallard males grooming on a log that was floating in
the water

So today I thought best to leave the deer in peace, and I was warmly welcomed by a family of the Great Grey Herons, the Pochard ducks who had made their way across Europe to winter at Wollaton, and amongst the usuals, an incredibly friendly swan.

I had not quite appreciated how cold the weather had been recently, but it was certainly evident when I looked across the lake to see half of it covered in ice. Most of the water birds thought themselves a little too lardy to dare testing their weight on the ice, but the gulls, being far from tentative, flocked in the dozens on the ice quite happy to have a new place to squabble amongst themselves. The odd moorhen decided to potter around on the ice as well, leaving a little pecking trail behind him. I couldn’t quite see what the little old men would find in the layers of ice, but clearly there was something to be had there.

A few seagulls standing on the ice, accompanied by a strangely arranged Moorhen who came to join them

I was happy to see a couple of Pochard ducks paddling around in the lake. They have come here to winter from the colder eastern European countries, and Russia, and so would really feel quite at home in these icy waters. Being one of the rarer birds to be found in the UK, I felt blessed looking at them with the male’s burnt umber plumage, bobbing around with the mallards and moorhens in the lake. Their mannerisms reminded me somewhat of the tufted ducks I saw before Christmas, and so I found it particularly interesting to find out that the Pochard and the Tufted ducks are quite likely to hybridise. Most species do not interbreed due to vastly different sexually selected characteristics, and due to the huge compromise in the fitness of these hybrids. Perhaps in this case, the two species may not experience these costs to such an extent, allowing this phenomena to occur regularly in nature, creating some sort of Tuftchard I presume.

A male pochard swimming across the lake with a Gull swooping overhead

The male and female heron pair tending to the nest. I guess the female is
carrying out general maintenance here while the male ruffles his feathers
and keeps watch on the lakes goings on

Over on the other side of the lake, on an island with a great willow tree, I was thoroughly excited to catch site of a group of herons making nests for the summer. Five large herons sat in the willow tree, with three nests clearly visible from where I was standing. These birds tend to be solitary, and only nest in groups where the food is plentiful, so I was very thankful of this Heron haven of fish, and amphibia that may sustain the family as they attempt to successfully produce young in the summer. Nearer to me I could see a pair tending to a nest, which was lovely to see, but in other nests I could only see one solitary bird. I presumed the individuals guarding the nests alone were females, as normally Heron females will be left to the housekeeping while the men go out to work for the day, catching food and going about the necessary daily business. Although it is normal for these females to remain at home, they certainly didn’t seem to happy about it. Apart from the pair, the rest of the group didn’t really seem to move or even show the slightest hint expression, but I guess not everyone can be so cheerful to have a tree by an iced-over lake as a home for winter…

It is quite difficult to see here, but here is the willow tree, with the heron nests dotted around amongst the branches

I hope the swan was satisfied with this shot...

While I was distracted by the herons in the distance, I had failed to notice a swan that had taken a particular interest in me, and I was rather surprised to catch him in the corner of my eye when he was only a few metres away. It was almost unnerving when there just a foot between me and this beautiful creature, but given the sense of ease about him, I guess I did not pose any threat. The swan stayed with me for a while, striking various poses in order for me to get the best angle, before hoping I had the million dollar shot, and gliding back back to the middle of the lake. This swan portrayed the traditional sense of a swan’s elegance far better than his friend in the background, who looked a little more like an upturned boat attempting to pick some weeds from the lake’s floor below.

I also hope he agreed I was getting his best angle here...

One of the Canada Geese tending to his feathers

After the close encounter with the swan, I decided to leave the birds for the warmth of my home again, but not before a sit on the side of the lake with a couple of friends I had met – the Canada Geese. These birds are often thought of as cumbersome and rowdy birds, and pests in the countryside. Here however I was quite happy to enjoy their company, and sat and watched them grooming and looking at my activities with as much curiosity as I did while observing them.

Catching my eye as he is arranging his plumage to the best of his ability

One of my favourites of the Goose, looking like he's noticed the attention he is getting and asking me what on
earth I am doing sitting here, if not to rearrange my feathers as well...