Red Backed Shrike - Greenham Common

Incredible day! I got to see the Red Backed Shrike on Greenham Common this morning and this afternoon the sun came out which gave much better photographic opportunities after the disappointingly gloomy start to the day. The RB Shrike is a very rare bird which is on the RSPB Red List for endangerment, with (on average) less than 10 breeding pairs in the UK.

This particular Red Backed Shrike is a juvenile and probably a female. Apparently the adults head back to Africa first leaving the young to fatten up on bugs and beetles before they too leave for warmer climes in late September.

Quite a few birders were present this morning on Greenham Common and this stopped me from getting close enough for good pictures with my meagre 400mm lens. The other birders were all using spotting scopes and were clearly not keen on us photographers. The exception being a kind hearted couple from Bracknell who let me use their fantastic Leica spotting scope which offered amazing quality images.

Late this afternoon was much better for photography as the spotting scope brigade had all gone home and we had the opportunity to take some serious pictures! The Shrike was still showing really well in the same area as this morning - in the undergrowth to the north west of the Fire Plane. In reality you could carefully approach the bird quite easily without spooking it by hiding behind nearby bushes, so not sure what all the fuss was about this morning.

For those not familiar with Greenham Common, the Fire Plane is a very rusty metal aircraft frame used by the USAF to practice putting out aircraft fires. It is located on ground south west of the EPC Factory and Venture West buildings. It is only a 5 minute walk from the disused Nuclear Bunkers. The closest parking is at Venture West, Greenham Business Park - that is if you're not staying long as this parking area is really intended for employees working on the business park.

Chiffchaff on Migration?

I noticed a small bird hopping about and doing aerial acrobatics catching insects in our back garden this morning and it turned out to be a beautiful little Chiffchaff.

There are a few others in the hedgerows opposite today, so maybe they've had enough of the colder-than-average September weather and are heading south to their wintering grounds in the Mediterranean and western Africa.

We know some birds stay in the UK all winter as we've seen them particularly near rivers (Dinton Pastures by the River Loddon  being one place), where they feed off insects even when there is snow and ice on the ground.

Chiffchaffs are one of my favourite birds and have a wonderful soft yellow colour and are great to watch darting about. They can be confused with other small warblers, but you can distinguish a Chiffchaff by the "chiff-chaff" song which gives the bird its name and by it's black legs. Please write a comment to correct me on that if I am wrong!

Marsh Tit visits garden feeder

This friendly Marsh Tit stopped by this lunchtime to briefly visit our sunflower feeder.

The Marsh Tit is an RSPB 'Red Listed' bird and are not particularly common. We saw one yesterday in Bowdown Woods off Bury's Bank Road, so there are definitely a few in the Greenham area and this year looks like it has been a good one for them, with quite a few local sightings over the summer period. We think this particular bird may live in West Wood adjacent to our house.

Redstart at Dinton Pastures

A great bird sighting yesterday at Dinton Pastures, near Woodley, Berkshire - Three Redstart were seen at the far side of the car park field.

This is a first for me and after a great deal of patience sitting around, we managed to get the birds fairly used to us and approached a little closer to get a few decent pictures.

Apparently according to FOLL bird expert Fraser Cottington Redstarts start their migration in late August and through September and are regularly seen in this area each year.

Kingfisher Sighting - Rye Meads RSPB Reserve

We had an amazing day at Rye Meads RSPB reserve in Hertfordshire yesterday. Bit of a trek from West Berkshire, but worth it.

The Kingfisher Hide at the reserve produced some memorable views of Kingfishers fishing, perching and returning to the nest hole to feed their young. It was all quite magical.

The bird pictured left is a male as it has a black beak. Kingfishers are uncommon birds with only about 5000 - 8000 breeding pairs in the UK, due largely to the shortage of suitable habitat and their fiercely territorial nature.

We were surprised that they are only a little larger than a house sparrow. The Kingfisher's incredible iridescent blue colour is due to the reflection and refraction of blue light from its feathers, rather than from pigments.

Kingfishers eat mainly small fish (typically sticklebacks and minnows) but they can also take small aquatic animals and insects to supplement their diet.

2 to 3 broods are raised each year, and the Kingfishers at Rye Meads are currently raising their second brood. Multiple broods are very important as Kingfishers frequently only live a year or two. They are very susceptible to sever weather and to make matters worse the survival rate of young Kingfishers is only 25%. The adults tend to chase the young birds out of the territory soon after fledging, often before they have learnt how to fish!

Green Woodpecker Searching for Ants

We spotted this Green Woodpecker a few days ago - outside our house in Greenham on some communal land.

It was seen very early in the morning before the noise disturbance from passing cars became too much, and it reappeared briefly in the afternoon.

An ant-infested lawn is all you need to keep Green Woodpeckers coming back time and time again!

Blue Tit Fledgling

It's been a long time coming this year given the delayed nesting season, but our Blue Tits have all successfully fledged and have been seen back in the garden today being fed by the attentive adults.

The chick appears bigger than the adults, who both look rather bedraggled following the heavy showers earlier.

Here we see one of the adults feeding the chick sunflower hearts, whilst the other waits patiently to answer the chick's insatiable need for sustenance.