Berwick Wildlife Group

Promoting wildlife within the Berwick area.

The contents on this page are :-... Sighting Record Card ............. Sightings ............. Nature Ramblings

Have you had any good wildlife sightings recently ? We value all wildlife sightings and would love to hear from you.
Would you like your observations to go in our Newsletter and to be entered on the local wildlife sightings page on this website?
To submit a wildlife record please enter the following information on the record card below.
To submit a nature observation/story/thought please email it to Fiona
Sighting Record Card

Your Name

The Date ?

Where were you?
Map Grid Ref, if known ?

back to the top of this Page
Photo of Eider ducks
What did you see?
Please enter number of; followed by what you saw. (Number of) and your sightings go here.

Comments.
e.g. Weather/Time of Day/State of the tide

Have you had any good wildlife sightings recently ? We value all wildlife sightings and would love to hear from you.
Would you like your observations to go in our Newsletter and to be entered on the local wildlife sightings page on this website?
**To submit a wildlife record please enter the following information on the record card below.**
**To submit a nature observation/story/thought please email it to** Fiona
Sighting Record Card
Your Name The Date ? Where were you? Map Grid Ref, if known ? back to the top of this Page	What did you see? Please enter number of; followed by what you saw. (Number of) and your sightings go here. Comments. e.g. Weather/Time of Day/State of the tide

Sightings
Date	Location	Grid Ref	Count	Sighting	Comment	Observer
24th August	Cocklawburn	NU 035 476	2	Grayling	Also lots of Peacocks and one Meadow Brown. Afternoon. Warm and sunny.	J.I.
23rd August	Castle Terrace	NT 991 536	1	Wall Butterfly	Sunning (briefly) on terrace in first sunbeam for many days. Lots of Peacocks too, and many Small Whites particularly interested in cabbages. Also Small Copper on transect Tommy-the-Miller's, 19.08.08.(L.C.).	F.A.
17th August	Cocklawburn	NU 036 476	1	Snipe.	Resting in dune grass - flew off inland towards pond. Also Common Lizard basking on stile near pond, NU 036 475.	F.A.
17th August	Cocklawburn	NU 032 481	1	Flat Sedge.	Blysmus compressus. Found after being alerted to its presence in area by Botanical Society of British Isles recorder. Good to see it is still there, especially as this species is rare in the vice-county (and nationally) and is declining rapidly. Drainage and lack of grazing considered major reason for decline, so hope new grazing regime at Cocklawburn will help it to survive.	F.A.
16th August	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 992 528	1	Comma.	Also 6 peacocks,2 small tortoiseshells,2 large whites. Noon, warm, sunny.	J.I.
5th August	Cove Haven, Holy Island	NU 125 438		Marine species	1 Sea Lemon, 2 Puple Urchins.	J.P.
4th August	Berwick	NT 991 536	1	Green Woodpecker	Juvenile, taking ants from hill in lawn. Also heard from Castle Hills Woods following week (M.H.).	M.A.
3rd August	Cove Haven, Holy Island	NU 125 438		Marine species	Worm Pipefish ?, Common Brittle Stars, Common Starfish, 3 Purple Urchin, 2 Purple Henry Starfish, 1 Butter Fish, carcass of Lumpfish, 3 Squat Lobsters (Galathea Squamifera), 1 Moon Jellyfish, Long Clawed Porcelain Crabs.	J.P.
2nd August	Cove Haven, Holy Island	NU 127 438		Marine species	3 Sea Hares, 1 Bootlace Worm, 2 Purple Henry Starfish, 1 Common Starfish, Breadcrumb Sponge, Broad Clawed Porcelain Crabs, Hermit Crabs, 2 dead Velvet Swimming Crabs, 2 Brittle Starfish.	J.P.
29th July	Scremerston	NU 009 486	1	Burying beetle.	Almost certainly Nicrophorus investigator. Floating in rainwater in old bath. Rescued.	M.H.
30th July	Linkim Shore	NT 922 657	1	Little Gull.	Also 8 Goosander.	B.P.
30th July	N of Eyemouth		1	Painted Lady.		B.P.
27th July	Kirknewton	NT 908 304	1	Goshawk	Also 3 buzzards, 1 dipper, 1 small skipper, red admiral. Fine, sunny, 13.00.	J.I.
26th July	Holy Island		27	Dark Green Fritillary.		B.P.
16th July	Pin Well, Wooler	NT 9 2		Maiden Pink	Patch in full flower.	S.M.
16th July	Tommy the Millers Field	NT 989 536	1	Small Skipper	Sunning itself on a Birds-foot Trefoil head, in sheltered place. Weather breezy, fitful sun.	F.A.
14th July	Burnmouth	NT 956 611	1+	Northern Brown Argus	Colonies also at Blaikie Heugh and Homeli Knoll (Coldingham) 14/15 July 2008. Grayling - present at Burnmouth, Blaikie Heugh and Homeli Knoll (Coldingham) 14/15 July 2008	B.P.
14th July	Lintlaw Burn, Chirnside	NT 834 585	1	Painted Lady Butterfly	First of the season.	I.C.
13th July	Cocklawburn Dunes	NU 03 47	100+	Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnet	Also 2 or 3 Six-spot Burnet.	B.P.
13th July	Cocklawburn Dunes	NU 03 47	1	Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnet		M.H.
8th July	Palace Street	NT 998 526	1	Queen Cuckoo Bee	Actually in our living room: (removed to yard in a duster): weather sunny: c12.00.	M.H.
7th July	Pipers Knowe Quarry	NT 35 33	20	Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnets	...I have never seen so many 20+!!	I.C.
4th July	Causewaybank Quarry	NT 882 592	2	Small Skipper	Males, dancing in the swaying grasses, and sunbathing. Lots of Ringlet now ,100+ today alone. Meadow Brown 50+. Also some Common Darter Dragonflies on the wing.	I.c.
4th July	Tweedmouth Shopping Centre	NT 995 517	2	Siskins	2, possibly 3, Siskins in the trees at the edge of the pavement: weather fine: 07.45.	M.H.
2nd July	Burnmouth	NT 95 61	16+	Northern Brown Argus	Also 1 Grayling nectaring on Red Valerian. In addition saw 6 Magpie, 1Peregrine, 1Kestrel, 6 Roe Deer, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, all that only a stones throw from the Burnmouth Brae.	I.c.
1st July	Cothill	NT 76 49	1	Ringlet	On the grass verge beside the lane at Cothill, staying for several days.	G.Y.
16th June	Burnmouth	NT 95 61	1	Northern Brown Argus	First seen on 16 June at Burnmouth and then in good numbers there on 18 and 23 June.	B.P.
15th June	Hepburn Woods	NT 073 248	1	Red Squirrel	Hopping along road outside car park for Hepburn Woods. Sunny, calm, 3.00pm.	V.G.
12th June	Eyemouth	NT 94 64	20+	Manx Shearwaters	Moving North.	B.P.
4th June	Eyemouth	NT 94 64	40	Canada Goose	Flocks of presumably moult migrants seen flying N past Eyemouth on 4 June (~40), 17 June (~25) and 18 June (27).	B.P.
4th June	Lumsdaine Moor	NT 86 68	1	Hobby	1 at Lumsdaine Moor on the edge of the plantation flying at tree height.	B.P.
4th June	Hilton Bay	NT 968 593	1	Clouded Yellow Butterfly	Flying strongly.	I.C.
4th June	Catcairn Bushes	NT 965 598	6	Small Blue Butterflies	Also, at the same site, 1 Wall Brown.	I.C.
7th May	Tweedmouth	NT 99 52	2	Swifts	Sunny, dry, 5.00pm	M.MCN.
6th May	Scremerston	NU 00 49	4	House Martins	Dry, sunny, 1.00pm.	M.MCN.
3rd May	Church Road, Tweedmouth	NT 995 522	1	Merlin	Single male merlin attacked garden birds, perched before flying off so could see char. dark band bottom of tail. Zoomed off over nearby roof in typical falcon style. (Mid-day).	M.MCN.
30th	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	1	Redstart	Male, perching on garden fence, flying down to the ground to catch insects.	G.Y.
29th April	Lintlaw	NT 8 5	1	Yellow Wagtail	Bright as a budgie in a wheat field.	I.C.
29th April	Whiteadder Bank	NT 862 556	1	Orange Tip	My first for the year, dodging the hail showers.	I.C.
28th April	Church Road, Tweedmouth	NT 995 522	4	Goldfinches	4 goldfinches (at newly erected niger feeder).	M.MCN.
28th April	Church Road, Tweedmouth	NT 995 522	1	Red-tailed Bumblebee	One fine queen red-tailed bumble-bee (Bombus lapidarius), actively feeding. Mild, after rain, mid-morning.	M.MCN.
25th	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	1	Fieldfares	The local flocks of fieldfares finally left today.	G.Y.
23rd April	Church Road, Tweedmouth	NT 995 522	1	Sparrowhawk	Plus starling kill. Noon.	M.MCN.
22nd April	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	?	Swallows	First of the year here. Followed by male Wheatear on newly sown field on 25th, and blackcaps on 26th.	G.Y.
22nd April	Tweedhill Garden	NT 928 511	2	Swallows	Circling close to last year's nest site. 22 April, 2.30 pm. Exactly on time! Sunny, 11 degrees C.	B.&V.S.
17th April	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	1	Peacock Butterfly	First for the area, followed by first Small White on 22nd.	G.Y.
15th April	Berwick garden	NT 992 536	3+	Bumblebees	Queens of 1 red-tailed (Bombus lapidarius),1 Early (B. pratorum) and several buff-tailed (B. terrestris) in garden, nectaring on grape hyacinth. Brief sunny break in rainy spell.	F.A.
13th April	Cocklawburn	NU 02 48	2	Swallows	Heading north along the dune edge - 1/2 hour apart. Sunny, northerly breeze.	M.MCN.
12th April	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	1	Willow Warbler	First of the year.	G.Y.
10th April	Pier Field, Berwick	NU 005 528	1	Swallow	Cold, bright, temporarily dry, 12 noon, low tide.	M.H.
3rd April	Chirnside	NT 864 557	1	Early Bumblebee.	Queen. Nectaring on Chinodoxa and searching woodland floor for holes. Sunny windless day.	F.A.
3rd April	Tapee Fen	NT 994 537	1	Pipistrelle Bat	Saw the first pipistrelle of the season flit down over the window and go flickering around the yard behind the house. Mild weather past 48 hours must have prompted it from winter sleep.	P.J.
2nd April	Cocklawburn Dunes	NT 86 55	2	Wheatears	Amongst the usual Stonechats and Skylarks.	M.MCN.
2nd April	Crowbank, Whiteadder	NT 862 556	1	Comma	Comma, taking moisture from stems and sunbathing. Also 6 Peacocks in same area and 5 Tortoiseshells at North Lodge, Chirnside (NT 865 561). J&S. R. reported 3 Peacocks by the Till at Etal the same day.	I.C.
31st March	Cocklawburn Pond	NU 035 475	1	Short-eared Owl	About 7.00pm, flying over the little pond at Cocklawburn going towards the railway, presumably to hunt the verges and later we saw it again hunting on the dunes by the road down from Cheswick farm.	J&S.R.
29th March	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	1	Chiffchaff	I heard the first chiff chaff yesterday (29th) and a flock of 100+ fieldfares with a few redwings and starlings feeding on a field where sheep were grazing.	G.Y.
29th March	Walkergate, Berwick	NT 999 531	1	Peacock Butterfly	C. 12.15 pm. Weather pretty windy.	M.H.
15th March	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	1	Jay	On birdfeeder nuts on several occasions. See also "Bird Bonanza" in Ramblings below.	G.Y.
10th March	Riverdene garden	NT 991 529	1	Brambling	With chaffinches and goldfinches. 16.00. Raining.	J.I.
8th March	Tapee Fen	NT 995 536	1	Merlin	Plus 100 or so Pied Wagtails. After 5 minutes approx. of dedicated pursuit, the merlin made a kill at 17:58 as wagtails were flocking to roost. Remaining wagtails descended among the reeds, safe at least for another day. Except...see Ramblings, below.	P.J.
1st March	Hepburn Wood.	NU 07 23	2	Red Kites	The kites rose up out of the wood in front of us and soared around for a while.	S.& R. M.
1st March	Hepburn Wood.	NU 07 23	2	Stoat	Both in ermine. One all white with black tip to tail, one with some brown.	S.& R. M.
1st March	Hepburn Wood.	NU 07 23	1	Red squirrel	High up in a larch tree. There were lots of chewed remains of cones nearby.	S.& R. M.
12th February	Ross Back Sands.	NU 14 38	1	Harbour Porpoise		J.P.
11th February	Black Halls	NT 789 105	1	Peacock Butterfly	We were sitting just below Black Halls at a height of 480m and the peacock flew right past us up the hill and dissappeared into England. Around midday. Very warm and sunny.	J.R.
11th February	Killingworth.	NZ 27 71	1	Small Tortioseshell	Our first 2008 record (not quite in our County).	M.K.
11th February	Kentstone Cottages	NU 037 412	1	Honeybee	On snowdrops in garden, collecting pollen.	J.R.
10th February	Roughside Wood	NT 73 61	1	Peacock Butterfly	Roughside Wood, Abbey St Bathans.	B.P.
5th February	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	2	Nuthatches	One on the seed feeder and one on the peanuts today!	G.Y.
4th February	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	1	Nuthatch	Repeatedly taking seed (in morning) and peanuts (in afternoon) from feeders, and stashing in bark of ash and hawthorn trees.	G.Y.
3rd February	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	c.100	Fieldfares	Feeding on stubble field. Stayed most of day.	G.Y.
9th January	Flagstaff Park	NU 003 527	2	Twite	Feeding on dead Nettles. 11.00am. Very windy and cold.	J.I.
7th January	Town Walls	NT 998 526	3	Snow Bunting	Flew up and away (in a south westerly direction) from a large buddleia bush just below the town/harbour wall opposite Sandgate. Weather cold with northerly wind. Time approximately 16:00 hours.	D.R.
17th December	New Road, Berwick	NT 999 533	6	Little Grebe	Just upstream of the railway viaduct. Very cold but windless. Tide out. Before this I never saw more than two here at any one time.	D.J.
16th December	New Road, Berwick	NT 990 535	1	Kingfisher	Perched on dead log on S. bank of river below Tommy the Miller's Field. Very cold but windless. Tide out.	D.J.
13th November	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Red Admiral	The last of the year....unless you know better?	E.B.
12th November	Few miles N of Berwick	NT 95	2+	Barn owls	Barn Owl family with unfledged young in hollow tree. Attemps to ring (by licenced ringer) failed as owlets hid in deep hole when tree approached. But family still in residence afterwards. Very late breeding record for this area, although winter nesting common in S England.	J.I.
6th November	Berwick	NT 99 52	1	Red Admiral	Lying on the ground. I thought it was dead, although its wings were in very good condition. When I picked it up it flapped its wings feebly so I put it on a sedum plant, but I don't give much for its chances. Sunny, pleasant day. 12:45 pm	M.H.
3rd November	Eyemouth	NT 94 64	5	Twite	With Goldfinches.	B.P.
2nd November	Eyemouth	NT 94 64	1	Painted Lady Butterfly	In Eyemouth garden.	B.P.
1st November	Eyemouth	NT 94 64	3	House Martins	Over Eyemouth. Also one on 2nd November.	B.P.
20th October	Berwick Garden	NT 991 536	1	Hawfinch	Collecting hawthorn seeds regurgitated by thrushes and blackbirds around drinking water. Threatening the larger birds too - quite an agressive creature with a formidable bill.	F.A.
14th October	Little Beach	NU 007 526	4	Grey Plovers	10.30, fine, low tide.	J.I.
9th October	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	12	Redwings	Also 2 songthrushes, 4 dunnocks, 3 goldfinches, 6 yellowhammers, a brown hare and a red admiral in the mist and drizzle! (Redwings have been in Berwick since 6th Oct.)	G.Y.
7th October	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	c60	Chaffinches	With c. 20 longtailed tits and 8 yellowhammers.	G.Y.
5th October	Lifeboat Station	NU 001 520	1	Otter	1 otter and 13 razorbills, fine, 18.45, low tide.	J.I.
26th September	Cheswick	NU 035 474	1	Snipe	1 Snipe at pond, 3 Great Skuas, 1 Arctic Skua, 6 Common Scoters and 100's of Gannets offshore. Cold and windy with showers, 09.30, low tide.	J.I.
25th September	Little Beach	NU 007 526	5	Bar-tailed Godwits	Plus 1 Ruff plus 14 Dunlins. Fine, 17.45. rising tide.	J.I.
22nd September	Yarrow Slake	NT 986 531	76	Greylag Geese	Plus 2 Canadas and two of dubious parentage. Also 1 Bar-tailed Godwit. Fine,mid-morning,full tide.	J.I.
16th September	Cot Hill	NT 762 500	50	Greenfinches	Including many juveniles, a few chaffinches and yellowhammers eating the hawthorn berries in our garden before flying into the stubble next to the garden. They were disturbed by a sparrowhawk hiding in the stubble.	G.Y.
7th September	Cocklawburn	NU 03 48	30	Common Scoter	Swimming offshore and flew just above the water when disturbed by a jet ski. Also eider ducks, ringed plovers, sanderlings and oystercatchers.	G.Y.
4th September	Yarrow Slake	NT 985 530	1	Greenshank	Fine, 10:50, tide receding.	J.I.
18th August	Yarrow Slake	NT 985 530	1	Little Grebe	Light rain, 09.30, tide falling.	J.I.
18th August	Yarrow Slake	NT 985 530	1	Greenshank	Light rain, 09.30, tide falling.	J.I.
14th August	Little Beach	NU 007 526	1	Knot	With dunlins sanderlings and turnstones. Weather fair, low tide, 11.30.	J.I.
11th August	Ford Moss	NT 967 377	Many	Mining Bees	Many newly-emerged bees around holes in south-facing bank. Colletes sp. - can anyone help identify them further?	F.A.
1st August	Little Beach	NU 007 526	1	Great Skua	Chasing terns before heading south. Fine, good visibility, filling tide.	J.I.
18th June	Lamberton	NT 96 59	2	Small Blue	Plenty of Kidney Vetch around. They are so small they could easily be overlooked, both sightings male, as the male has flecks of blue while female is dull. Honestly, they are about the size of your pinkie nail....amazing!	I.C.
17th June	Chirnside	NT 85 97	1	Large Skipper	Nectaring on Dandelion and sunbathing, very lucky to see this as when they decide to fly ,they are very fast..	I.C.
16th June	Yarrow Slake	NT 985 530	1	Little Egret	09.30 overcast, misty, low tide.	J.I.
11th June	Chirnside	NT 85 97	1	Small Skipper	Weather hot and sunny.	I.C.
11th June	Chirnside	NT 85 97	16-20	Painted Lady Butterflies.	Weather hot and sunny.	I.C.
9th June	Needles Eye	NT 992 555	6+	Painted Lady Butterfly	Migrants (tatty), brought ashore by easterly winds, flying despite cool dull conditions.	M.H.
9th June	Golf Course	NT 998 541	1	Grasshopper Warbler	Male. Singing from top of willow bush.	F.A.
22nd May	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Common Blue	Male. On Borage in back garden, warm and dry but breezy.	E.B.
20th May	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	2	Pipistrelles	Front Garden, 9.57 pm, gentle wind.	E.B.
16th May	Harthope Valley		1	Cuckoo.	Calling and seen, on valley side. Light drizzle.	E.B.
16th May	Harthope Valley		1	Hen Harrier.	Male. Light drizzle.	E.B.
10th May	River Whiteadder	NT 848 565	1	Osprey	Probably a youngster, mobbed by Lesser Black-backed Gull. Stopping to hover over pools on the river Whiteadder at bend near Salmon leap. Ospreys are increasingly stopping off in the Borders,maybe the Tweed would be a good place to see them.	I.C.
7th May	Longstone View	NU 002 526	6	Curlew	Feeding at water's edge about 4.00pm.	J.N.
22nd April	Little Beach	NU 006 528	1	Kentish Plover	09:30. Weather fine, tide receding. We think this is first known sighting for this site.	J.I./M.H.
16th April	Yarrow Slake	NT 985 530	2	Teal	18:30. Weather fine, tide receding.	J.I.
16th April	Yarrow Slake	NT 985 530	6	Shelduck	18:30. Weather fine, tide receding.	J.I.
13th April	Near Chirnside	NT 853 553	1	Orange Tip	This sighting is 2 weeks earlier than last year.	I.C.
10th April	Near Chirnside	NT 853 553	6+	Comma Butterflies	Hyndhaugh Brae next to river Whitadder. I have identified 3 territories, Commas battling Peacock butterflies for air space.	I.C.
2nd April	Needle's Eye	NT 993 555	2	Puffins	In sea below cliffs along with several guillemots and razorbills. Kittiwakes already installed on the cliffs. One hour before high tide. Cold but bright weather.	D.J.
1st April	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 988 515	1	Peacock butterfly	On doorstep in sun. Mild, calm, sunny day.	E.B.
30th March	Tommy-the-Miller's Field	NT 993 535	2	Kestrels	Pair of kestrels; one hunkered on branch, other hovering above. Around 2pm. Chill with some haar.	P.J.
26th March	The Hirsel,Coldstream	NT 82 40	2	Long-tailed tits	Superbly camouflaged domed nest, low down in shrubs. Sunny, pm.	M.H.
23nd March	Little Beach	NU 006 528	1	Snow Bunting	Fine. 13:45.	J.I.
23nd March	Pier	NU 010 524	7	Shags	Fine. 13:45.	J.I.
23nd March	Pier	NU 010 524	10	Red-throated Divers	Fine. 13:45.	J.I.
22nd March	Spittal Point	NU 005 520	6	Snowbuntings	Fine. 17:45. Tide filling.	J.I.
21st March	Spittal Beach	NU 00 51	1	Pipe fish	Not scaley species. Specimen near death, floating at edge of sea. Rising tide. 14.00.	PJ & MH.
5th March	Wooler		3	Bullfinches	2 male bullfinches in Ramsays Lane on the 4th March and one female in a garden on the 5th, both in the morning.	S.M.
3rd March	Waud House, Wooler	NT 984 277	50+	Frogs	Some mating, some males chasing females and some making a purring noise. Lots of frog spawn on the water. It was in the afternoon and sunny.	S.M.
3rd March	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	2	Goldfinches	A pair in my garden. Been around for two weeks now.	E.B.
3rd March	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Red-tailed Bee	Surveying holes in our high front sandstone wall.	E.B.
2nd March	Berwick Garden	NT 991 536	1	Tree-creeper	Characteristic food-searching sweeps upwards from base of apple tree.	M.A.
2nd March	Berwick Garden	NT 991 536	1	Peacock Butterfly	Fluttering in sunshine and "shivering" in patch of sun. Weather sunny and still but air temperature cool (9 C).	M.A.
27th February	Scremerston Garden		1	Peregrine	It swooped in, landed on the ground and then perched on a low wall under the dreaded Leylandii for about 5 minutes. So much for putting up this years nestboxes!	M.W.
19th February	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Siskin		E.B.
19th February	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Blackcap	Male. Been there for two weeks now.	E.B.
7th February	Near Paxton	NT 928 511	1	Red Squirrel	Feeding from squirrel feeder in garden.	W.S.
6th February	Berwick Pier	NU 011 524	1	Snow Bunting	13.30. Fine but cold. Has been on the pier for a few days.	J.I.
5th February	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	3	Goldfinches	Only able to feed on unguarded feeder - havn't (yet) learnt trick of getting into feeder caged to keep larger birds out.	E.B.
5th February	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Blackcap	Male. Seems to have taken up residence.	E.B.
1st February	Tommy-the-Millers Field	NT 993 535	1	Buzzard	Trying to soar and being harried by gulls. When gulls had chased it across the river to South bank, they let it go and returned to their patrol above the castle ruins. Buzzard flew SSE.	P.J.
29th January	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Great Spotted Woodpecker	Male, on fat balls, apple tree and pergola.	E.B.
25th January	Tweedmouth Garden	NT 989 515	1	Blackcap	Male.	E.B.
23rd January	Tweed Estuary	NT 995 527	1	Little Egret	Low tide, weather cold, but bright and sunny. The bird was active, wading around and flying from pool to pool.	E.H.
20th January	Tweedmouth garden	NT 989 515	2	Blackcaps	One male, one female. Feeding on windfall apples.	E.B.
7th January	St Abbs Head	NT 908 691	1	Peregrine Falcon	Flying between Mire Loch and Pettico Wick. Clear, bright and still.	S&J.R.

Nature Ramblings

Better than the telly!
We had a great "wild garden experience" recently. We got up to find a headless woodpigeon on the lawn (sorry, can't really feel for them, they eat my veg). We went to Newcastle for the day (did you know kittiwakes nest on buildings beneath the bridge in the city centre, to despair of City cleaning squad?). Came back to Berwick to find just a lot of feathers and 2 wings on the lawn - assume a sparrowhawk had finished its meal.
At washing-up time came "vultures" (rooks) and a "hyena" (cat). 3 magpies mobbed the cat, dancing round it just out of reach, until it gave up on pigeon-wing remains. Cat then chased rabbits (several of which had been in "screen-freeze" mode throughout all this), but (unfortunately - they too eat veg.) with no success. Cat gave up altogether, but on exiting garden came face to face with another. Original cat was outfaced by very large orange animal fluffed up to twice normal size, and Cat 1 (a fierce climbing birder, usually chased out of garden by us) was last seen exiting garden chased by Cat 2 (an over-fed and normally bumbling beast). Just like the telly - only thing missing was voice-over from Simon King!
Since then, the smaller feathers are gradually being airlifted away by sparrows.
Fiona, 16th May 2008

Something in the water?
I was taking a cursory look over the Tweedmouth estuary yesterday afternoon (April 16th) when I noticed a Canada Goose which began to swim after a Mute Swan. The chase continued for minutes with the goose swimming very strongly after its quarry towards the outer bay area. The swan kept going equally determined not to be caught! Got bored watching this so settled on a male Mallard with a female Merganser close by. The Mallard took off and landed on my side of the river and the Merganser followed! The Mallard went at its female admirer and attempted to shoo it away. The Merganser stayed there! Was I seeing things or is there something in the water?
Maurice, 17th April 2008

Bird Bonanza
On Saturday we saw a jay on the birdfeeder nuts on several occasions. Unfortunately he flew off as soon as he was seen. I then went for a 30 minute walk down the country lane and saw 32 different species of birds. These included 20+ wigeon on a wet marshy area, a male & female merganser on a small pond, 5 oystercatchers, a flock of c. 50 fieldfares with some redwings, a small flock of yellowhammers, lapwings, skylarks singing as well as the �usual� birds. The jay has continued to come to the garden just after sunrise. The 2 nuthatches and woodpeckers are daily visitors. Blue tits have been inspecting the nest box. The wigeons are still on the marsh.
Gill, 17th March 2008

Kitchen sink drama
Saturday evening, chancing into our front room while waiting for dinner to cook (17:50), I was astonished to see about 20 pied wagtails land precipitously in the big sycamore opposite the house. They rose again almost instantly and vanished, so I rushed back to the kitchen to watch the fen. (Tapee Fen, nr. North Road, Berwick, an important Pied Wagtail roost.) Probably 100 wagtails were skittering every which way, but I couldn't be sure whether this was their response to the fierce wind or to some other cause... The 'other cause' appeared at 17:55 in the arrow-shape of a merlin bent on a kill. It zipped determinedly hither and yon amid dizzying groups of wagtails and caught one at 17:58 at the south end of the fen a little above tree height. The merlin veered off east at a seemingly awkward angle, wings and tail spread as, presumably, it adjusted its grip to the certain death of the wagtail. Then, flight again steady and purposeful, it turned westward towards North Road and disappeared from sight. The flocking wagtails began to descend to the fen almost immediately. They knew they were safe. At least until sunrise.

But ��.there's no such thing as security if you're a bird.
Sunday, dawn. A mere 24 wagtails rose from the fen at first light (06.37), so those many that I'd seen go down last evening must have moved again despite dusk and wind. What did it mean? The answer was in our own garden: a juvenile sparrowhawk in the branches of the winter-flowering cherry. At 6:57 a second juvenile hawk appeared from our neighbours' evergreens and joined the first in our cherry trees. The two hawks must have been nearby last evening and appeared to have sheltered in evergreens from the frost. One made an unsuccessful bid to catch a female blackbird, and spent some minutes on the ground below the Cupressus hedge presumably hoping for voles or beetles. They flew away separately shortly after 7:00, one east, one south. Some hours are action-packed!
I went down to breakfast but felt more in need of a good sleep!
Philomena, 8th/9th March, 2008

A White-headed House Sparrow
This week there have been sightings of a partially white-headed House Sparrow around Highflields. Thank you very much to those who have phoned in to report it. The bird has apparently been in the area for some weeks, moving around garden feeding stations. Although most commonly seen in members of the Thrush family, partial albinism has been reported from almost all bird species (one American website states that 7% of all the reports of albinism in birds in the US is attributed to House Sparrows).

Unless only a few feathers are affected, the birds are more obvious to predators, so often don't survive long. Partial albinism (also called piebaldism) is sometimes caused by damage to the feathers or illness, but is often genetic. When one of the cells in the embryo destined to become skin and feathers divides mis-copying occurs in the genes, and the usual colouring is not produced. For more information see http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/features/mao-jun-01.asp
Fiona, 23rd January, 2008.

Long-tailed tits are in town.
There have also been reports of groups of up to eight Long-tailed Tits around Berwick and also in Tweedmouth. Do let us know if you see these delightful birds, unusual in the area.
We have recently put up a new fat feeder, in which the fat block is suspended in an oversized cage with only small openings (an attempt to stop the Jackdaws scoffing the lot). It has (so far) fazed the Jackdaws, and also one of the garden Robins which found the way in easily enough but got in a complete panic when it came to finding the way out again. Blue-tits and Great-tits have taken to the feeder well, and amazingly so have the Long-tailed Tits, although when four or five Long-tailed Tits squash together into the feeder it can't be good for their tail feathers.
Fiona, 23rd January, 2008.

Autumn birds with spring flowers
On 19th at Eyemouth 21 Canada geese flew south. At Linkim shore just north of Eyemouth we watched c. 30 linnets bathing in the stream near the beach. On 22nd at Cothill 13 blackbirds were getting worms out of our lawn. They all had black beaks but I think they were juveniles rather than the European species. There were also 2 male and 2 female resident blackbirds so I think they were a migratory flock. We have daily visits of c.12 longtailed tits to the birch tree, and flocks of linnets, fieldfares and starlings flying over the fields.
I noticed wild primrose flowers out beneath an old hawthorn bush in our garden. Has anyone else noticed spring flowers out?
In September, after "the rains" a Bulbous Buttercup growing in our garden flowered profusely (after a poor showing in it's normal flowering time of early June). Fiona.
Let us know of any other odd floral "behavior".
Gill,25th October, 2007.

Update on House Martins
The house martins fledged and left Sisterpath on Oct. 9th and the swallows left on Oct. 11th. On the 12th at Cothill there was a flock of c. 50 fieldfares and 20 yellowhammers . Both flocks were seen again on the 13th.
Gill, 15th October, 2007

And low temperature House Martins
At Sisterpath farm worker�s houses ( SW of Duns, NT 755 485) there were 2 nests with young martins in them being fed by their parents. They usually nested there in mid summer but not this year. A few swallows flew overhead.
Gill, 7th October, 2007

Low temperature frogs
I was sitting by our pond this morning and noticed that there were several tadpoles swimming about and they were only just starting to grow their hind legs. Since the frogspawn was put down at the end of February that seems to be a very slow development. I can only put it down to the cold spring and summer so far keeping the water temperature too low for them to develop.
John, 23rd July 2007.

Insect wars
Last week, when counting the butterflies in Tommy-the-Miller's field we stopped to examine tiny holes in the sandy bank, and were lucky enough to see a small solitary wasp, striped black and yellow, arrive carrying a bright green caterpillar. It dived head first into a hole (where it presumably had already or was about to lay an egg, the caterpillar being the provisions made by the mother wasp for the wasp grub). But, to our surprise it immediately re-emerged, backwards, and still carrying the caterpillar, closely followed by a black ant, carrying part of another caterpillar. The ant must have been stealing the wasp's last caterpillar! The ant struggled up the bank dragging its burden and disappeared in the grass. The wasp meanwhile went back into it's hole , emerged a little later without it's caterpillar and flew off. Nature red in tooth and claw indeed. So, who's larvae will win this war? Not the butterflies', anyhow.
Fiona, 10th July 2007.

Birds at home?
As last year, we've been keeping the wire-fronted suet box on the house wall stuffed with sheep's wool gathered from the countryside. And this spring as last it continues to be in great demand from small familiar birds such as house sparrow, greenfinch, bluetit, great tit and goldfinch. To our great delight the spotted flycatcher has been twice. First time it merely 'cased the joint'. Two days later it returned and plucked wool from the mesh.
Several sedge warblers have staked their territory in Tapee fen more or less in same locations as last year, but they are less voluble it seems, as if they'd wasted no time in getting down to the business of breeding.
Two herring gull chicks hatched today on the roof opposite. They look feisty little specimens and their devoted sire has already fetched them four meals that looked like real gull food, not discarded fastfood. A cold, grey, wintry sort of day to come into the world.
Philomena, 6th June 2007.

How to have a beautiful lawn.
After a number of years struggling to keep the ants in our lawn "under control", we have bowed to the inevitable, and have decided ant hills are a feature to be welcomed. The hills are made by the Yellow Meadow Ant, Lasius flavus. Three are several years old and about 30 cm. high, the rest are youngsters just established. It seems that the Yellow Meadow Ant make these hills only where the soil is moist, in dry areas making do with an entrance to the nest beneath a stone. The underground passages of the nest can extend up to a metre below ground, and there are up to 10,000 worker ants in a large colony.
These ants tend to forage for animal prey (slow-moving insects like caterpillars) at night, and they also encourage aphids on the roots of grass and other plants in their passages, feeding mainly on the honeydew from the aphids in the summer, and on the aphids themselves in the winter. The ants in turn form food for birds, and today I saw a rook spreadeagled on the largest anthill, presumably letting ants run through it's plumage, hoping they will secrete formic acid to deter parasites.
The largest hill is also a popular perch for birds looking for food in the lawn (such as robins and thrushes) and for our resident cock pheasant (especially in wet weather when it keeps his tail away from the wet grass). In Tommy-the-Miller's Field are many more venerable ant hills, many with an attractive crown of Thyme which benefits from the lack of competition from grass in the dryer conditions. I'll have to plant some on our hills.
Apparently rare mosses are also associated with ant hills, but I havn't been able to find out about this, and caterpillars of Holly Blue butterflies may be "taken in" by the ants and looked after (again, details seem scarce). If anyone has anything to add to this information, please let me know.
Fiona, 4th June 2007.

Kitchen window birding.
On a cold day, with strong N. wind and uniform low cloud cover, why not do your birding from a warm kitchen? At 9.00 a.m. a female pheasant, melanistic variant, appeared - the first we've ever seen here. The amber eye showed the more vividly in dark plumage; beak and feet gunmetal grey. The total effect was rather closer to jackdaw than pheasant. An hour later we saw our first long-tailed tit at the hanging block of suet inset with seed. Well worth staying in for.
Philomena, 3rd April 2007.

Pied Wagtail Roost
Wagtails are beginning to congregate in the evening at the Tapee Fen. Between one and two hundred birds between 19:00 and 20:00. last (2nd April) evening. To judge from the exuberance of 'dancing' they are delighted to be back and meeting up with their kind. Many were perched for a time in the large sycamore near the rail tracks and many others on the roof of the electricity sub-station at northern extremity of fen. This morning a male merlin was concealed in trees at SW edge of fen, but did not show himself until after wagtails had departed. My guess is that he'll return tonight.
Philomena, 3rd April 2007.

Merlin attack!
A female merlin made an attack on our back-garden feeder station on 30th March. She did a U-swoop else she was so fast I could not have identified her. Whether she took a small bird I couldn't say: a handful scattered like sparks from a fire as she passed and a large fat wood pigeon standing on the roof of the nearby garage stood looking bemused, his head going right and left like that of a man who can't believe what just happened before his very eyes. 4.50pm. Tea time?
Philomena, 31st March 2007.

Bullfinches.
In our front garden there are a number of blackthorn bushes either side of a thick holly bush. For most of this month (March) two bullfinches, one male and one female, have been frequent visitors to the blackthorn, feasting on the buds and diving into the holly when alarmed. Last Friday they were joined by another male. Both gents were extremely smart, their breasts and necks a glowing bright pink set off by black, white and grey elsewhere. Madam continued to give more attention to the leaf-buds than to either suitor.
Sadly, on Saturday, we found one of the males lying dead beneath a window, his bill still sticky with blackthorn buds. The other two continue to visit, but usually one at a time, so perhaps it was the original male that was killed. He is now residing in the bottom drawer of the freezer, awaiting transport to the National Museum of Scotland (who welcome specimens in good condition for their skin collection and for display). Even so we feel so guilty, especially as data from the British Trust for Ornithology suggest bullfinch numbers fell by 16% in Britain and Ireland in 2006 compared with 2005. We just hope the remaining pair manage to raise a family and help reverse this trend.
Fiona, 20th March 2007.

Spring has sprung!
We have 10 frogs in our pond all amorously courting 1 small plastic one we use to keep the pond free of ice. The poor thing's out numbered and it's quite noisy with all the croaking.
John. 7th March 2007

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Nature Ramblings
Better than the telly! We had a great "wild garden experience" recently. We got up to find a headless woodpigeon on the lawn (sorry, can't really feel for them, they eat my veg). We went to Newcastle for the day (did you know kittiwakes nest on buildings beneath the bridge in the city centre, to despair of City cleaning squad?). Came back to Berwick to find just a lot of feathers and 2 wings on the lawn - assume a sparrowhawk had finished its meal. At washing-up time came "vultures" (rooks) and a "hyena" (cat). 3 magpies mobbed the cat, dancing round it just out of reach, until it gave up on pigeon-wing remains. Cat then chased rabbits (several of which had been in "screen-freeze" mode throughout all this), but (unfortunately - they too eat veg.) with no success. Cat gave up altogether, but on exiting garden came face to face with another. Original cat was outfaced by very large orange animal fluffed up to twice normal size, and Cat 1 (a fierce climbing birder, usually chased out of garden by us) was last seen exiting garden chased by Cat 2 (an over-fed and normally bumbling beast). Just like the telly - only thing missing was voice-over from Simon King! Since then, the smaller feathers are gradually being airlifted away by sparrows. Fiona, 16th May 2008 Something in the water? I was taking a cursory look over the Tweedmouth estuary yesterday afternoon (April 16th) when I noticed a Canada Goose which began to swim after a Mute Swan. The chase continued for minutes with the goose swimming very strongly after its quarry towards the outer bay area. The swan kept going equally determined not to be caught! Got bored watching this so settled on a male Mallard with a female Merganser close by. The Mallard took off and landed on my side of the river and the Merganser followed! The Mallard went at its female admirer and attempted to shoo it away. The Merganser stayed there! Was I seeing things or is there something in the water? Maurice, 17th April 2008 Bird Bonanza On Saturday we saw a jay on the birdfeeder nuts on several occasions. Unfortunately he flew off as soon as he was seen. I then went for a 30 minute walk down the country lane and saw 32 different species of birds. These included 20+ wigeon on a wet marshy area, a male & female merganser on a small pond, 5 oystercatchers, a flock of c. 50 fieldfares with some redwings, a small flock of yellowhammers, lapwings, skylarks singing as well as the �usual� birds. The jay has continued to come to the garden just after sunrise. The 2 nuthatches and woodpeckers are daily visitors. Blue tits have been inspecting the nest box. The wigeons are still on the marsh. Gill, 17th March 2008 Kitchen sink drama Saturday evening, chancing into our front room while waiting for dinner to cook (17:50), I was astonished to see about 20 pied wagtails land precipitously in the big sycamore opposite the house. They rose again almost instantly and vanished, so I rushed back to the kitchen to watch the fen. (Tapee Fen, nr. North Road, Berwick, an important Pied Wagtail roost.) Probably 100 wagtails were skittering every which way, but I couldn't be sure whether this was their response to the fierce wind or to some other cause... The 'other cause' appeared at 17:55 in the arrow-shape of a merlin bent on a kill. It zipped determinedly hither and yon amid dizzying groups of wagtails and caught one at 17:58 at the south end of the fen a little above tree height. The merlin veered off east at a seemingly awkward angle, wings and tail spread as, presumably, it adjusted its grip to the certain death of the wagtail. Then, flight again steady and purposeful, it turned westward towards North Road and disappeared from sight. The flocking wagtails began to descend to the fen almost immediately. They knew they were safe. At least until sunrise. But ��.there's no such thing as security if you're a bird. Sunday, dawn. A mere 24 wagtails rose from the fen at first light (06.37), so those many that I'd seen go down last evening must have moved again despite dusk and wind. What did it mean? The answer was in our own garden: a juvenile sparrowhawk in the branches of the winter-flowering cherry. At 6:57 a second juvenile hawk appeared from our neighbours' evergreens and joined the first in our cherry trees. The two hawks must have been nearby last evening and appeared to have sheltered in evergreens from the frost. One made an unsuccessful bid to catch a female blackbird, and spent some minutes on the ground below the Cupressus hedge presumably hoping for voles or beetles. They flew away separately shortly after 7:00, one east, one south. Some hours are action-packed! I went down to breakfast but felt more in need of a good sleep! Philomena, 8th/9th March, 2008 A White-headed House Sparrow This week there have been sightings of a partially white-headed House Sparrow around Highflields. Thank you very much to those who have phoned in to report it. The bird has apparently been in the area for some weeks, moving around garden feeding stations. Although most commonly seen in members of the Thrush family, partial albinism has been reported from almost all bird species (one American website states that 7% of all the reports of albinism in birds in the US is attributed to House Sparrows). Unless only a few feathers are affected, the birds are more obvious to predators, so often don't survive long. Partial albinism (also called piebaldism) is sometimes caused by damage to the feathers or illness, but is often genetic. When one of the cells in the embryo destined to become skin and feathers divides mis-copying occurs in the genes, and the usual colouring is not produced. For more information see http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/features/mao-jun-01.asp Fiona, 23rd January, 2008. Long-tailed tits are in town. There have also been reports of groups of up to eight Long-tailed Tits around Berwick and also in Tweedmouth. Do let us know if you see these delightful birds, unusual in the area. We have recently put up a new fat feeder, in which the fat block is suspended in an oversized cage with only small openings (an attempt to stop the Jackdaws scoffing the lot). It has (so far) fazed the Jackdaws, and also one of the garden Robins which found the way in easily enough but got in a complete panic when it came to finding the way out again. Blue-tits and Great-tits have taken to the feeder well, and amazingly so have the Long-tailed Tits, although when four or five Long-tailed Tits squash together into the feeder it can't be good for their tail feathers. Fiona, 23rd January, 2008. Autumn birds with spring flowers On 19th at Eyemouth 21 Canada geese flew south. At Linkim shore just north of Eyemouth we watched c. 30 linnets bathing in the stream near the beach. On 22nd at Cothill 13 blackbirds were getting worms out of our lawn. They all had black beaks but I think they were juveniles rather than the European species. There were also 2 male and 2 female resident blackbirds so I think they were a migratory flock. We have daily visits of c.12 longtailed tits to the birch tree, and flocks of linnets, fieldfares and starlings flying over the fields. I noticed wild primrose flowers out beneath an old hawthorn bush in our garden. Has anyone else noticed spring flowers out? In September, after "the rains" a Bulbous Buttercup growing in our garden flowered profusely (after a poor showing in it's normal flowering time of early June). Fiona. Let us know of any other odd floral "behavior". Gill,25th October, 2007. Update on House Martins The house martins fledged and left Sisterpath on Oct. 9th and the swallows left on Oct. 11th. On the 12th at Cothill there was a flock of c. 50 fieldfares and 20 yellowhammers . Both flocks were seen again on the 13th. Gill, 15th October, 2007 And low temperature House Martins At Sisterpath farm worker�s houses ( SW of Duns, NT 755 485) there were 2 nests with young martins in them being fed by their parents. They usually nested there in mid summer but not this year. A few swallows flew overhead. Gill, 7th October, 2007 Low temperature frogs I was sitting by our pond this morning and noticed that there were several tadpoles swimming about and they were only just starting to grow their hind legs. Since the frogspawn was put down at the end of February that seems to be a very slow development. I can only put it down to the cold spring and summer so far keeping the water temperature too low for them to develop. John, 23rd July 2007. Insect wars Last week, when counting the butterflies in Tommy-the-Miller's field we stopped to examine tiny holes in the sandy bank, and were lucky enough to see a small solitary wasp, striped black and yellow, arrive carrying a bright green caterpillar. It dived head first into a hole (where it presumably had already or was about to lay an egg, the caterpillar being the provisions made by the mother wasp for the wasp grub). But, to our surprise it immediately re-emerged, backwards, and still carrying the caterpillar, closely followed by a black ant, carrying part of another caterpillar. The ant must have been stealing the wasp's last caterpillar! The ant struggled up the bank dragging its burden and disappeared in the grass. The wasp meanwhile went back into it's hole , emerged a little later without it's caterpillar and flew off. Nature red in tooth and claw indeed. So, who's larvae will win this war? Not the butterflies', anyhow. Fiona, 10th July 2007. Birds at home? As last year, we've been keeping the wire-fronted suet box on the house wall stuffed with sheep's wool gathered from the countryside. And this spring as last it continues to be in great demand from small familiar birds such as house sparrow, greenfinch, bluetit, great tit and goldfinch. To our great delight the spotted flycatcher has been twice. First time it merely 'cased the joint'. Two days later it returned and plucked wool from the mesh. Several sedge warblers have staked their territory in Tapee fen more or less in same locations as last year, but they are less voluble it seems, as if they'd wasted no time in getting down to the business of breeding. Two herring gull chicks hatched today on the roof opposite. They look feisty little specimens and their devoted sire has already fetched them four meals that looked like real gull food, not discarded fastfood. A cold, grey, wintry sort of day to come into the world. Philomena, 6th June 2007. How to have a beautiful lawn. After a number of years struggling to keep the ants in our lawn "under control", we have bowed to the inevitable, and have decided ant hills are a feature to be welcomed. The hills are made by the Yellow Meadow Ant, Lasius flavus. Three are several years old and about 30 cm. high, the rest are youngsters just established. It seems that the Yellow Meadow Ant make these hills only where the soil is moist, in dry areas making do with an entrance to the nest beneath a stone. The underground passages of the nest can extend up to a metre below ground, and there are up to 10,000 worker ants in a large colony. These ants tend to forage for animal prey (slow-moving insects like caterpillars) at night, and they also encourage aphids on the roots of grass and other plants in their passages, feeding mainly on the honeydew from the aphids in the summer, and on the aphids themselves in the winter. The ants in turn form food for birds, and today I saw a rook spreadeagled on the largest anthill, presumably letting ants run through it's plumage, hoping they will secrete formic acid to deter parasites. The largest hill is also a popular perch for birds looking for food in the lawn (such as robins and thrushes) and for our resident cock pheasant (especially in wet weather when it keeps his tail away from the wet grass). In Tommy-the-Miller's Field are many more venerable ant hills, many with an attractive crown of Thyme which benefits from the lack of competition from grass in the dryer conditions. I'll have to plant some on our hills. Apparently rare mosses are also associated with ant hills, but I havn't been able to find out about this, and caterpillars of Holly Blue butterflies may be "taken in" by the ants and looked after (again, details seem scarce). If anyone has anything to add to this information, please let me know. Fiona, 4th June 2007. Kitchen window birding. On a cold day, with strong N. wind and uniform low cloud cover, why not do your birding from a warm kitchen? At 9.00 a.m. a female pheasant, melanistic variant, appeared - the first we've ever seen here. The amber eye showed the more vividly in dark plumage; beak and feet gunmetal grey. The total effect was rather closer to jackdaw than pheasant. An hour later we saw our first long-tailed tit at the hanging block of suet inset with seed. Well worth staying in for. Philomena, 3rd April 2007. Pied Wagtail Roost Wagtails are beginning to congregate in the evening at the Tapee Fen. Between one and two hundred birds between 19:00 and 20:00. last (2nd April) evening. To judge from the exuberance of 'dancing' they are delighted to be back and meeting up with their kind. Many were perched for a time in the large sycamore near the rail tracks and many others on the roof of the electricity sub-station at northern extremity of fen. This morning a male merlin was concealed in trees at SW edge of fen, but did not show himself until after wagtails had departed. My guess is that he'll return tonight. Philomena, 3rd April 2007. Merlin attack! A female merlin made an attack on our back-garden feeder station on 30th March. She did a U-swoop else she was so fast I could not have identified her. Whether she took a small bird I couldn't say: a handful scattered like sparks from a fire as she passed and a large fat wood pigeon standing on the roof of the nearby garage stood looking bemused, his head going right and left like that of a man who can't believe what just happened before his very eyes. 4.50pm. Tea time? Philomena, 31st March 2007. Bullfinches. In our front garden there are a number of blackthorn bushes either side of a thick holly bush. For most of this month (March) two bullfinches, one male and one female, have been frequent visitors to the blackthorn, feasting on the buds and diving into the holly when alarmed. Last Friday they were joined by another male. Both gents were extremely smart, their breasts and necks a glowing bright pink set off by black, white and grey elsewhere. Madam continued to give more attention to the leaf-buds than to either suitor. Sadly, on Saturday, we found one of the males lying dead beneath a window, his bill still sticky with blackthorn buds. The other two continue to visit, but usually one at a time, so perhaps it was the original male that was killed. He is now residing in the bottom drawer of the freezer, awaiting transport to the National Museum of Scotland (who welcome specimens in good condition for their skin collection and for display). Even so we feel so guilty, especially as data from the British Trust for Ornithology suggest bullfinch numbers fell by 16% in Britain and Ireland in 2006 compared with 2005. We just hope the remaining pair manage to raise a family and help reverse this trend. Fiona, 20th March 2007. Spring has sprung! We have 10 frogs in our pond all amorously courting 1 small plastic one we use to keep the pond free of ice. The poor thing's out numbered and it's quite noisy with all the croaking. John. 7th March 2007 back to the top of this Page

Female Goldeneye by John R For problems with this site please contact - John

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