Friday 15th January 2021

Another lockdown and some snowy weather have restricted activities more than somewhat.  

I have managed another couple of pleasant but eventless walks in Chopwell Woods, as ever distinguished by the lack of birdsong.   The second in distinctly wintery conditions on New Year's Eve was slightly better, producing five robins and one blackbird but I cut it short as it was quite strenuous negotiating the ice packs on the main trails.  I'm at a loss as to why such a large area of woodland isn't more productive.

Snowy Weather

By contrast a walk down the bridlepath towards Rowlands Gill produced a good deal of song.  There was nothing spectacular, mainly tits and more robins but it gave a more postive feel, as if some birds are already thinking of asserting their territories before mating.  There are less walkers here than in the Woods.

Long-tailed Tit

I ended up on the Derwent River Walk and got a good view of a red kite but it quickly soared off and settled in some trees to make mewing noises.  Things were quieter on the way back.

The normal visitors have been turning up and long-tailed tits have been quite frequent.  They often arrive at the feeders in groups of four or five.  I'd like to photogrpah a group of them but, like the coal tits, they never hang around for long.  Nothing special here either and no sign so far of the blackcap that turned up last year.  No woodpeckers for some while either.

There were at least a couple of rematches between robin and nuthatch on the birdtable.  On the first occasion, the nuthatch arrived second and the robin gave way a bit but didn't fly off, which I adjudged to be a draw.  The second time, the nuthatch was there first but flew straight off leaving the robin victorious.  In this case maybe the redder bird rather than the larger bird has the upper hand.

The robin behaves as if s/he personally owns the bird table, which may also be a factor.