SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE 

February 2013

Sunlight glints on the icy lake

February brings the rain

Thaws the frozen lake again

I’m not convinced about the validity of the rhyme, because much of the lake was still frozen on the 19^th, when I visited Hatfield Forest on a glorious but cold day, and we have had more than our fair share of snow this month, too. However, this shortest month of the year began on a calm note. The previous couple of days had been extremely windy, but on Friday, the first day of the month, the wind had dropped. I was pleased to discover that we had a clump of snowdrops in flower, an indication that spring is just round the corner. Two squirrels are regularly coming down together now, so hopefully they will breed this year, maybe in the large old oak tree across the road.

By the 6^th, the weather had turned bitterly cold, and the birds in the garden were coming down early to the feeders. They must be keeping watch, because as soon as the trays and holders are refilled, the robins arrive, soon followed by the starlings and house sparrows. At the moment, as well as the birds already mentioned, we’re regularly getting blue tits, great tits, starlings, wood pigeons and blackbirds. When the pigeons come down the other birds tend to scatter, though I’ve noticed the canny robin sits nearby under the shelter ready to grab anything that is dropped. The squirrels sometimes scare the birds off, too – not intentionally, but just through their natural boisterous nature which must seem intimidating when you’re the size of a blue tit.

A visit to Harlow Town Park on the 7^th, a bitterly cold but sunny day, found a gathering of mallards on the lake exhibiting rivalry, for instance two drakes angrily circling with their heads close together in a threat display. Other birds around included moorhens, black headed gulls, coal tits, chaffinches and robins. I watched a wren foraging on a mossy log that straddled the narrower part of the water, no doubt there were plenty of insects there, sheltered from the extremes of the cold. Also on the 7^th I was amused to see a crow on wasteland by a main road triumphantly carrying a crisp packet it had found. It stalked around, head high, but was soon pursued by a group of magpies, intent on stealing it from him. Soon there was quite a procession, but instead of attempting to fly off with the packet, the crow panicked and it was grabbed by a magpie. As I was leaving a nearby garden centre, a female sparrowhawk skimmed low in front of the car and sped off like a rocket across the road to the fields.

February 10^th saw a return of the snow in the afternoon, and the spider’s web outside the window looked beautiful festooned with snowflakes. The grey squirrels that visit the garden seem to be a pair now, as they often go around together and will sit near each other. Earlier in the year they were more cautious and if one went to the feeder, the other would move away. Not far from us, my daughter spotted a fox on the pavement that, oblivious of the passing traffic, was chewing on what seemed to be a joint of meat. Maybe he had stolen it from the nearby restaurant or perhaps the waiters had felt sorry for the fox and donated it. Over the next three days the snow lingered, and at its maximum we had 2½ inches. As usual it was interesting to see the bird and squirrel prints in the garden snow. The squirrels not only leave paw prints, they leave tell-tale slithery tracks where their tails have dragged.

Pigeons in flight from a nearby loft - beautiful when the sun shines through their wings

February 15^th dawned brightly, with blue sky. Someone nearby has a pigeon loft, and every day the birds gracefully perform acrobatics in the sky. Some of the birds are grey, and some are white. Today, the sun shining through the feathers, especially of the white birds, was beautiful and the birds seemed to shimmer. There was quite a bit of sun over the next few days, even though the wind was still cold. On the 17^th, a blue tit had decided to make a start on clearing the nest box, and it pulled out the grasses and feathers bit by bit. At first, it took each beakful to the apple tree a couple of yards away, to drop the debris onto the path, but it soon tired of that and so just dropped it to the ground  as it pulled it clear. (Normally, we would have cleared out the nest boxes last autumn but that one seemed to have escaped the net.)

That same day we visited the Gibberd Garden in Harlow, renowned for its natural gardens as well as its sculptures. The snowdrops were out en masse, presenting a beautiful sight – a snowy sweep of blooms up the banks edging the woodland paths. There were yellow aconites, too, and around the lawns were beds of hellebores. The birds were in good voice there, especially the robins, dunnocks and great tits. This will be a good place to return to later in the year, it’s an informal garden with woods, a stream and numerous mossy paths leading off tantalisingly in all directions.

The sunlight emphasises the grace of the gulls as they swoop

On the 19^th February, the weather was glorious and so we went to Hatfield Forest for a walk by the lake. The mallards and Canada geese were pairing up, with plenty of chasing going on, while a crowd of black-headed gulls were swooping over the water. The sunshine reflected off and through their feathers, and were a striking sight against the sparkling lake.  It was a pleasure to see the catkins out – they looked stunning against a cloudless blue sky. The pussy willow was in tight fuzzy bud. As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, all around the edge of the lake was a thin layer of ice, and there was ice over the small pond which looked sparkling and ethereal in the sun.

Blue sky makes a perfect backdrop for golden catkins

The pussy willow is just starting to fluff!

                

By the 22^nd, we were beginning to get birdsong early in the morning. The singing starts around 4.50am. The wood pigeons had found their voices again, too – I hadn’t heard them for ages. We’ve had a squirrel on the bedroom windowsill, so must be cautious not to open the window too wide, as a squirrel indoors is probably not a good idea. One of the robins is so tame now that it doesn’t flutter off, just sits and watches as we put out some food in the tray, while the blackbird keeps more of a low profile, sitting behind the plant pots. Lots of moss has been dug up around the edge of the path, and I’m sure that the blackbird is the culprit, no doubt searching for grubs.

Two days later, a goldcrest appeared in the garden. Just the one, so it seemed very vulnerable. A similar thing happened in January and February last year, though I would doubt it was the same bird. The goldcrest is our smallest British bird, very dainty, with a grey-green body and featuring a striped crown with a black and yellow stripe. Its relative, the firecrest, is even more attractive with its stunning orange head stripe and white eye stripe.  A few years ago we would get a mini flock of goldcrests, maybe half-a-dozen or so.

It was still bitterly cold and the blackbird, robins and sparrows were clustered around the feeder, trying to get enough food to convert to fat and energy to help them combat this icy weather. Snow was in the air, tiny flakes like pinpricks of dust and for a while some of them settled. A blue tit that was perched in the apple tree appeared rather distressed and kept flying to the nest box then back to the tree. Close inspection revealed that a large thorny stick had fallen on top of the box and was worrying the bird.

On the 25^th I threaded some monkey nuts onto wire and hung it from the feeder pole. The squirrel sat on one of the trays then stretched up on his hind legs, daintily reaching for the nuts, which it cracked open to remove the kernels. Finally, though, the knot at the bottom of the nuts gave way, and so the squirrel was able to have a feast without too much effort. Many years ago I regularly threaded monkey nuts onto cotton or string – most bird lovers did, because the bird food industry was nothing like as comprehensive as it is today, and it was difficult to buy ‘wild bird food’ let alone peanut kernels.

A return visit to the park at the end of the month showed that a few of the mallards had settled down on previous nesting sites along the water, but there was still much rivalry between males, with plenty of splashing and quacking. Some of the fights look really vicious, and after each bout the combatants soothe their ruffled feathers by bathing; dipping below the water surface, then holding their heads high and vigorously vibrating their wings. We tend to dismiss mallards as just ‘ducks’, but how stunning they are, especially when the sun illuminates their emerald green heads, and when they reveal that glorious blue flash hidden in their wings.

The moorhens were thinking about nesting as well. One seemed to have chosen a spot in the reeds while its partner was searching for suitable stalks to collect as nesting material. I have a soft spot for these rather nervous, skittish birds with their long green legs and bright red frontal shield and beak. Unlike ducks and many other water birds, they don’t have webbed feet, their toes are lobed. They seem to keep themselves to themselves, though will fight in the nesting season. It has been reported that adolescent birds from first litters will often act as guardians to the younger birds of later broods, and the moorhen is the only British bird that exhibits this kind of behaviour. Moorhens are also resourceful and according to a BBC website, an incubating bird has been filmed covering itself with some polythene sheet like a cape, which it removed once the rain had stopped.

Moorhen's toes aren't webbed, they are lobed.

There was plenty of bird song in the park, notably from robins trying to out trill each other. One in particular made no move to fly off, and just sang, perched on the bridge rail, even though I was within a couple of feet. It’s amazing how much sound can pour forth from such a small bird. There were long tailed tits, blue tits and great tits in the trees, as well as the usual woodpigeons, black-headed gulls and magpies. In the garden, a check on the 28^th revealed winter jasmine, hellebore and snowdrops as well as a few polyanthus which have been in flower since last year. The daffodils are budding, and as soon as the weather warms up a little the crocuses should be in bloom. Even though it is so cold, there are signs of new life on the branches. Next month is when everything starts to happen, and we should see an abundance of procreation and colour.