The Standlake Birder

Sanderling The varying migration choices made by different birds I’ve seen recently has made me ponder the pros and cons of the various strategies they adopt. Most, if not all, life has one overriding driver, to produce viable offspring and hence perpetuate the gene line. Pretty much all bird behaviour derives from this one simple driver. Different birds adopt different tactics to deliver this, the key being how to be in prime condition when it comes to breeding season in order to attract a mate and successfully raise their progeny. Condition is largely determined by food supply and energy usage, put simply the question is how to consume the maximum amount of food while expending the minimum amount of energy. In northern climes there are two basic choices in winter. Firstly, stay put, save energy and hope there is enough food to see you through the winter. Secondly, expend a lot of energy migrating to warmer climes but hence ensuring abundant winter food. The other part of the...

Sedge Warbler I’ve spent more time birding in Standlake and its environs during the lockdown that I care to remember. So with the partial easing of the lockdown rules I was queuing to get into the reopened Farmoor reservoir at 10:00 last Wednesday. It is getting a bit late for Yellow Wagtails at Farmoor and a quick look at their favoured spot on the grass by the waterworks produced no sightings so I set off down the causeway. I soon noticed 3 waders making their way towards me, summer plumage Dunlins, a common enough bird in the UK but such a relief to see something different! In common with many waders on passage this time of year they are on route northwards where they breed and take advantage of the long hours of daylight.    Dunlin There are actually a rather staggering 11 races of Dunlin world-wide with different races having different breeding locations. We have one race of Dunlins breeding in the UK in small numbers in Scotland and western parts of Engla...

  Lockdown birding has provided some surprising and unexpected benefits. The extra time spent on my local patch has led to a much closer familiarity that I now realise was lacking in recent years when so much of my available time was spent twitching. This familiarity being emphasised by a much greater knowledge of individual species territories and the habits and behavioural characteristics of our more common birds. The Common Whitethroat, as the name suggest, is a common summer migrant from the Sylvia genus. In previous years, to be absolutely honest, I would not have gone out of my way to see or photograph it.  Yes I have acceptable photos, but these were obtained as a consequence of expeditions looking for other birds. Once it was ticked for the year in April I would not pay the poor bird any particular attention for the rest of this year. This year has been very different and I’ve invested quite a lot of enjoyable time watching and learning ...