Nuthatches and maybe owls

         The weather so far this winter has been all over the place with a few hard frosts, a covering of snow and rather too many endless grey, damp days. All of these have tended to suppress bird activity in the wood, which at times has seemed almost bird-free. However, many birds are still making very good use of the feeding station and a few regulars are guaranteed there - Cole tits, Marsh Tits, Blue and Great. One of the most acrobatic regulars is the Nuthatch. The species has bred in our wood, making use of one of the nest boxes and on most visits I hear or see at least one. They are colourful birds with rusty coloured underparts and pale-blue feathers on their backs. There is no way of knowing if they are a pair or are the actual birds that raised a family here and it matters not as it is very good to see them anyway. 

       The lack of birds is partly due to the absence of Fieldfares and Redwings. These are winter visitors that normally appear in good numbers from Scandinavia and raid the wood for berries but this year there have been very few about in the UK and this has been mirrored in Crow Wood. I have really missed hearing their whistling and chattering calls as small groups fly overhead, chasing the last of the berry harvest. Better news comes from my remote camera which has been watching the Tawny Owl nest box in the pines. I had given up hope of them nesting in it this year but this week the camera caught visiting owls on several occasions.  They are a species that gets to nesting very early in the year but they are very easily disturbed.......fingers crossed !

hard to see but an owl caught on camera investigating the nestbox

Marsh Tit

Cole Tit

The acrobatic Nuthatch