Instagramatics

I've recently got myself a new phone - an iphone 4s - and the camera on it is great!  I've been messing around using Instagram which has yealded some nice results.  Below are the instagram shot, then the oringinals.

Girecrest II

After some googling I came across the excellent passage written on regulids in HBW, and which is handily reproduced on their website here:

http://www.lynxeds.com/family-text/hbw-11-family-text-regulidae-kinglets-and-goldcrests

In summary, it states that the song development of all regulids is highly influenced by learning process, and are especially sensitive up to the 47^th day after hatching.  In captive studies it was found that Firecrests and Goldcrests could learn each others song from tape recordings.  Individuals have also been found in the wild which give intermediate song – both in northern Spain and also in southern England, and this was explained because in either area both species are at low breeding densities, thus they learn the closest song to their own.

Ok, that is perhaps a little over-simplified, but that is the jest.

I also came across this fascinating image of a presumed Firecrest, however it looks a bit odd...

http://waarneming.nl/foto/view/254481

Aren’t regulids brilliant!

If you have no idea what I’m on about take a look here.

Operation TD

Turtle Dove on a fence

This is my Turtle Dove.  I presume it's the same one that visited my garden last summer.  So far, it has only visited my garden once this spring - 20th May.  I'm hoping it will come back again.

Turtle Doves are rapidly becoming harder and harder to find in East Anglia and it's still not clear why this is.  A new initiative has also started up this year called Operation Turtle Dove and aims to stop this beautiful bird from going extinct in the UK.  Please take a look at their website and consider helping in any way you can.

This year the Beds Bird Club has decided to audit all it's remaining Turtle Doves.  The Bird Club is asking all birders who see a Turtle Dove this summer to BirdTrack their records.  All these records will then feed in to the distribution map which will be updated regularly (see below):

View Larger Map

All the red squares are 2011 records, all the blue sqauares are 2012 records.  Can you add any more?

Kite delight

Red Kite near Southill

These things are now pretty widespread around Bedfordshire.  However there are still pricks who go out and try to poison them - take a look at the Hexton incident.  That link is particularly galling as Red Kites were becoming a wonderful feature of nearby Pegsdon Hills; one of my favourite places to go birding locally.  Both kites and Ravens were slowly getting harder to see around the hills and now we know why.  Really makes my blood boil!

Birdparty

Birdparty; Are you going?