Bird Observatory Competition

• 15 Feb 2008
• Tags: Swallow, When to go,
• Species: Swallow

As winter turns to spring in the northern hemisphere, so many of our British spring migrants including many of our songbirds which over-winter south of the Sahara migrate north. It's likely that the first people to spot their arrival will be based at one of our Bird Observatories on the south coast. So, we thought it would be rather fun to hold a World On the Move competition between three Observatories to see who in the coming weeks, spots our first spring migrant, who spots the bird that’s travelled the furthest, and who spots the most unusual of our migrants.

User comments

Jeanette Cutler
On 3rd May 2008 the swallows came back to our neighbours house to nest however because they were what I think is a little early the spot was already inhabited by a family of starlings. Usually by the time the swallow arrives the starlings have gone. There was an awful squabble before the swallow fell to the ground amongst a bunch of stinging nettles. My husband managed to rescue him/her out and although he/she looked very tired we gave him/her a quick drink of water and he/she flew off.

kent Nicholson
I see alot of strange looking birds. Look like pelicans and have white body and black tiped wings. Fly in a flock of roughly 6-8 very quietly. LOCATION: 39.2897,-121.5253 DATE: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:54:38 UTC

Kathleen Lindsley and Nick Carter (postcode IV55 8
We spotted our first Wheatear on 26th March looking surprised at being here and all alone for some days following. Local fishermen spotted first Minke whales on 18th March - a mother and calf. First mackerel caught 1st April. The last two are much earlier than usual. Wheatear one week earlier. Is this the general pattern up here on the NW coast? LOCATION: 57.4509,-6.7511 DATE: Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:06:37 GMT

Matthew
What are the best websites for finding and listening to the calls of unusual birds that visit Britain? Or perhaps someone can suggest which bird I might have heard this morning? At about seven o'clock, amongst the usual bird song and calls of the collared doves and wood pigeons that are common around here, I heard quite a loud call consisting of a single tone, around 1-1.5 seconds in length. It started at a medium pitch, went down quite low and then finished very high. I heard the same call another two or three times and I'm quite certain that it was made by a bird, even if it did sound more like the sort of thing you'd expect to hear halfway up the Amazon than in Hertfordshire! Any ideas? LOCATION: 51.9730,-0.2170 DATE: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 18:24:07 UTC WOtM team: One strong possibility if this is a rural/edge of town location is the Little Owl. Little Owls have a sharp yelping call at all times of the year, but in early spring,they begin to sing. It's a single note, quite low and melodious, ending in a sharp higher-pitch and sounds most un-owl-like! I was completely foxed when I first heard it, but it's a suggestion and fits Matthew's description. With regards bird recordings, we have some here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/birdsong.shtml

Susan Duke
Could I have seen a ring ouzel by a tumbling Scottish stream in the high ground of Sherrifmuir to the east of Dunblane Scotland? LOCATION: 55.066700,-3.550000 DATE: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:39:09 UTC WOtM team: Yes is the short answer, but it depends on the time of year. Ring ouzels, are related to blackbirds and are summer visitors.. They spend their winters in Spain and north Africa; very occasionally birds will over-winter in the UK. The habitat you describe is good for ring ouzels. They like rocky moorland and mountainsides, often by streams. However, if the bird was in the water, it's more likely to be a dipper, which likes fast-flowing streams. Dippers are dumpy, dark-backed birds with white chests and are present all year-round. They're sometimes called the Water Ouzel.

John Wood, Lyme Regis
In the first of the regular programmes broadcast on 19th February it was interesting to hear a nightingale recorded singing in its African wintering quarters. Whilst we did not hear the willow warbler or whitethroat singing, some species do and some do not sing in their winter quarters. I have always believed that chiffchaffs and blackcaps do not do so. By holding this view one can say that the first song of these species in the spring is of a newly arrived migrant. But does this theory hold water? Considering the blackcap the theory would fit quite well for the birds wintering in the UK are winter visitors from central Europe. Our breeding blackcaps winter around the med.But the chiffchaff is a different matter for as far as is known the relative small number of birds that winter in this country are part of our breeding population. Can we delude ourselves with the belief that the wintering birds will hold off singing until the migrants have arrived and announced the fact with their song? I mention this because having lived in East Devon for twenty years I have come to expect the first migrant chiffchaff of the year to be singing at or soon after the end of the second week of March. So how should a singing chiffchaff be classified that was heard by a friend on 12th February?What’s more this bird was on the cliffs just above the beach to the west of Lyme Regis’s Cobb.Does this record beat the observatories? Admittedly there can be less chance of misinterpreting the status of an individual bird if the habitat, as is often the case at such places, not suitable for the wintering of that particular species. LOCATION: 51.633301,-0.766700 DATE: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:58:27 UTC LOCATION: 50.7295,-2.9471 DATE: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:01:04 UTC

Andrea Weston , teacher at Gattons School Burgess
The children of Gattons Infants School are so interested in animals that their classes are named after birds. My class is Eagles. Can you tell the eaglets of this class what animals they might keep an eye open for during migration? I am afraid we don't get many elephants in Burgess Hill, nor humpback whales - but we do have plenty of butterflies and birds.Also, have you any suggestions about finding a school we could twin with in somewhere relevant to the World on the Move?Well done BBC - Big, Bold and Cleveraweston@wsgfl.org.uk, home 01273 479208 LOCATION: 50.8822,0.0082 DATE: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 22:40:09 GMT WOtM team: Although it's highly unusual, an Atlantic Humpback was seen off the coast of Wales last year! Burgess Hill will no doubt become a haven for a variety of birds and butterflies as you mentioned, in particular the Painted Lady Butterfly, Red Admiral butterfly, Willow Warbler, Nightingale, Swift, Swallow and maybe even an Osprey. For details of school twinning go to BBC World Class; http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/find/index.shtml

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