Habitats for singing Paul Ritchie

Since the arrival of spring, both in terms of calendar March and physically warmer days, the bird song in our wildlife garden has risen to a crescendo morning and evening as resident and visiting species establish new territories, select breeding pairs and build nest sites. Last week I was able to add Stock Dove and Garden Warbler to the survey and this week I recorded Sparrowhawk, Marsh Tit and Siskin for the first time. I am now recording a total of 50 species across the four transect walks.

The most sightings of songbirds occur in our wildlife garden (30%) and the riverine habitat (30%), which is a consequence of mature and extensive hedgerows and scrub habitat that provides food, shelter and secure nest sites. The farmland and woodland walks register slightly lower sightings (20%) but both support larger species of birds such as birds of prey, owls, woodpeckers and wetland species. There are some species that are seen frequently across all four walks, including Wood Pigeon, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Ring-necked Parakeet.

My bird of the week is Redpoll (Carduelis flammea), a finch that favours treetops where it feeds on the seeds of birch and alder. Our house backs onto the River Mole valley and the riverine survey walk and it is characterised by mature willow and alder woodland and riparian thorny scrub. Redpoll often feed in flocks alongside Linnet (open farmland species) and Siskin (riparian woodland species), both of which are recorded in my surveys. We have been lucky to see and hear all three species on the trees in our wildlife garden as they move through the local area feeding.

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