Birdwatch & Insects, Autumn-Winter 2017

Steve Jones rounds off the year, puzzled by the absence of some birds he expected to see.

Common Scarlet Darter Dragonfly Common Scarlet Darter Dragonfly Photo: Steve Jones

As we came into Autumn there was the expected movement, with lots of finches appearing, predominantly Chaffinch, Goldfinch with a few interspersed Serin, feeding on seed heads. I am always on the lookout for Brambling amongst the Chaffinch but it seems I have to make to do with the two sightings in early January. The Serin pictured below was at the pond (which still had very little water after the hot dry summer). The picture came out better than I was expecting, even though I was looking into the sun. I think it is probably a male in winter plumage, which becomes incredibly bright in Spring time.

Serin, 18th October 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

October 13th: Still seeing odd Swallows and this morning a Swift. Lots of Wagtails on the airfield, up to 50, and this week a big movement of Stonechats which I didn’t notice at all last year. I've seen 30 - 40 at various locations this week. I was very pleased with this picture of the goldfinch / gardelin - you really don't get too much closer than this. I took about 20 shots this morning, slowly edging closer, shielded by some grape vines.

Goldfinch, October 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

In October, 'Nature' journal publicized a report from Denmark1 showing changes in breeding patterns as well as a decline in numbers of starlings (sturnusa vulgaris) in a long-term study. Over 45 years from 1971 to 2015, dairy farmer Peder V. Thellesen logged the habits of the birds, which had 27 nesting boxes on his property2. The changes are attributed largely to climate change, and give cause for worry. Similarly, I know of in-depth studies of curlew on Dartmoor, which have suggested that curlew in the south of England could be extinct within 7 years, unless something is done. the situation is complex, but in this case predation is apparently the biggest problem.

October 18th: I saw a Swift two days ago at Jelsa fire station. There are still lots moving, most notably Stonechats. I have also seen several Pipits, but have not been able to get anywhere near close enough for a decent picture. Sparrow Hawks have been about regularly, but again they have escaped the camera. Robins are back in large numbers, and they are the most prominent singers at the moment. Robins may well be here throughout the year, but if they are, they're certainly not obvious.

Robin, December 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

October 19th: There was a flock of 20 plus Starlings at airfield this morning. Oddly, I hadn't seen one in all the time I had been going there until January/February of this year (I even mentioned this when we did an interview for the magazine Dobra Kob at the beginning of the year). And now this is the second lot I have seen this Autumn. What a surprise!

Starlings, 19th October 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

Towards the end of October I had another first for me and the island – Wood Lark, there were up to seven on the airfield for around a week.

Wood lark, October 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

Blackcaps seemed to be actively feeding on the remaining figs. I did manage a glimpse of another new species, a Firecrest.

Firecrest. Photo: John Ball

Stonechats were clearly passing through for about 10 days, I saw them regularly regularly down near the pond. Up to 50 Pied Wagtails were on the airfield amongst occasional pipits and Yellow Wagtails, and I was still seeing the odd Swallow and Swifts well into October. (A Grey Wagtail was often to be seen in Stari Grad, but he has not provided me with a decent picture). It's worth noting that 'pied wagtail' used to be the general term for two groups of birds which were very similar, whereas nowadays it's more usual to differentiate between 'pied wagtails' and 'white wagtails'. In fact most of the the ones on Hvar are white wagtails.

Yellow wagtail, 14th October 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

The latter part of October saw the arrival of Great Tits and Blue Tits. Sparrowhawks and Buzzards were also seen now on an almost daily basis, but both were extremely uncomfortable near the camera.

Buzzard, Dol, November 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

October 29th: I am 99% sure I had a Goldcrest the other day. I am not 100% certain, but fellow bird-watching enthusiast John Ball had a definite sighting with a fine photograph to prove it on October 13th, from the beach by the Senses resort in Vrboska, where he was staying. So Goldcrest is included in the year's list of sightings, bringing the total to just above 90 species for the year. Say I miss about 10% the true figure could be close to 100 species for the year.

Goldcrest, October 2017. Photograph: John Ball

This week saw the return of Black Redstarts (I first saw them on 2nd November last year, 2016). There were still Tawny Pipits on airfield and at last I managed a picture this week - not a brilliant one, but good enough for certain identification.

Tawny pipit. Photo: Steve Jones

 Common Darters (dragonflies ) are laying / mating at the remaining water in the pond.

Common darter dragonfly. Photo: Steve Jones

The Grey Wagtail keeps escaping the camera in Stari Grad but I have been seeing and hearing it most days now. Yesterday I saw good numbers of Clouded Yellow butterflies, but as for getting one on the camera ........... Ummmmm.

In November I started using the little bird feeding station I had created. Initially it was all very quiet, but once they got used to the food they started to come in numbers. I was inundated with Great Tits - up to 20 at one time -, also Blue Tits and Chaffinch.

Blue tit, November 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

A very occasional Dunnock appeared, also a Wren (but I have not been lucky enough to get a decent photograph of him yet). There were a few Black Redstarts around, but they didn't come to the feeders.

Great tit, November 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

In early December I was delighted with another new species on the Island - Hawfinch. I had only seen one briefly in the UK once before. I managed to see three in the following days, but not close enough for a picture, until I managed this on the 12th December.

Hawfinch, 12th December 2017. Photo: Steve Jones

December 19th. My feeding station has proved to be very successful, I could easily get rid of 1kg of bird food in a day (and at 18 kuna a kilo I am rationing it somewhat)!! It is interesting how the birds come in waves, appearing in grouops of 20 - 30, although there are mainly just three species. They feed just for a few minutes and then are gone. I suspect it is a strategy to fool the neighbouring cats, as three have taken to lying in wait at the bottom of the feeder or in a tree nearby.

I have still been hearing the Wren in the neighbourhood, but he's escaped the camera so far. I am sure I will get a picture at some stage during the winter. As we passed the shortest day you may well have noticed how the Blackbird was more prominent, starting to feed on the ivy berries. Before long they would be actively singing as the New Year begins………………. Bringing with it another list of bird species sightings!

With the end of another year upon us, it seems I have to settle for 93 species sighted in 2017, not the 100 I had been hoping for. I accept from the areas I cover I could have missed several species, but on balance, given the frequency with which I have visited “my patch” I am happy with what I have recorded. I don’t do any sea-watching – for no other reason than on the times I have tried, it has offered little, which is surprising. I am also puzzled as to why certain “common” species aren’t seen on the island, such as Magpie, Jay, Crow and Jackdaw, which I was used to seeing in large numbers in the UK. However, here there are lots of Hooded Crows, which are very apparent at the moment, so maybe they do the job of all those others. I also have not seen Long Tailed Tits or Coal Tits at all, and Blue Tits are rare, appearing only in single numbers. I am planning a couple of trips to the mainland in 2018 for some bird watching – it may just be to do with the location of the island.

© Steve Jones 2017

References:

1. Fox, A., Heldbjerg, H. 2017. Ornothology: Danish dairy farmer delivers data coup. Nature, 550, 333 (19 October 2017) doi:10.1038/550333b

2. Thellesen, P.V. 2017. Kuldstørrelse og yngletidspunkt hos Stær i Sydvestjylland, 1971-2015. Dansk Ornitol. Foren. Tidsskr. 111, 87-95.

For more of Steve's nature pictures, see his personal pages: Bird Pictures on Hvar 2017, and Butterflies of Hvar

You are here: Home environment articles Nature Watch Birdwatch & Insects, Autumn-Winter 2017

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Campaign network calls on government to prioritise smaller cars and introduce higher charges for SUV owners

    More than 1m cars too big to fit in parking spaces are being sold in the UK each year, and numbers are growing, research has found.

    A trend for cars bigger than the average urban parking space means new vehicles are outgrowing towns and cities.

    Continue reading...

  • Nests on Amsterdam canals provide archive of plastic waste and show how the material ‘is really here to stay’

    One day in 1996, someone ate a McDonald’s McChicken burger in Amsterdam.

    Perhaps it was a quick bite after work? A leisurely stroll down the canals? A family outing? These details are lost to time, but others are hard to erase completely.

    Continue reading...

  • Authorities race to complete clean-up operation after devastation from gales and heaviest rainfall in 20 years

    People on the Aegean islands, more used in April to the sight and scent of spring’s blossoms, have been left reeling from flash floods spurred by typhoon-strength gales, with authorities calling a state of emergency in some of Greece’s most popular destinations less than three weeks before Easter.

    “It’s a total catastrophe and it happened in just two hours,” said Costas Bizas, the mayor of Paros, the island worst hit by weather not seen in decades. “We need all the help we can get.”

    Continue reading...

  • The best of this week’s wildlife photographs from around the world

    Continue reading...

  • Indore in Madhya Pradesh, India, was once dotted with fetid waste dumps but after a huge campaign is now virtually spotless

    This is what happens usually in India: a politician wakes up and launches a cleanliness “drive” with fanfare. They ostentatiously start sweeping a street and speak solemnly about civic duty while the media take photos. The next day it’s over and things go back to how they were before.

    But not in Indore in Madhya Pradesh. From 2017, when it won the prize for being the cleanest city in the country, it kept winning for eight straight years, until last year.

    Continue reading...

  • Badenoch, Cairngorms: As we pause above the river, a sudden flash catches our eyes – a red squirrelis rippling along the branches below

    It’s early morning and the sky is a billowing parachute of blue, bursting its seams with sunshine and the fluffiest white clouds. A cool wind blows up Loch Insh, roughening the water and bearing the scent of spring. From the island, a song thrush pours out all the trills, beeps and chirps of its bravura performance, oystercatchers pipe and a woodpecker hammers, the sound echoing around the hills.

    In the forest, the birch trees carry no hint of leaves but are shaggy with moss and lichen, their twigs falling in soft fronds, wine-coloured and beaded. The trunks are irregular, pitched at wild angles, curving and bent, sometimes two or three growing from the same base. In contrast, the pale aspens grow up as straight as telephone poles, sharpening to a point at the top. All their branches rise in upturned spikes, bare but for the tiny ink strokes of twigs. At the centre of the woods is a stand of oaks, vast and spreading, last year’s dry leaves still spilling across the moss and the crushed bracken.

    Continue reading...

  • Only a fraction gets resold on the domestic secondhand market, but there are ways consumers can help reduce waste

    Every year, Australians donate the equivalent of 250m pairs of jeans to charity (around 200,000 tonnes of textiles) and send another 200,000 tonnes to landfill.

    But only a fraction of donated clothes get resold in Australia. So what happens to your old jeans when you donate them? And how can consumers play their part to minimise waste in the process?

    Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email

    Continue reading...

  • Wildlife groups claim the resourceful miniature sausage dog was sighted again this week. But not everyone is on Team Valerie

    There’s a roo carcass on the side of the road, near the turnoff to one of Kangaroo Island’s many excellent cellar doors. Black ravens lift sullenly from their feast as cars speed past.

    Some think this sort of roadkill is how Valerie, the miniature dachshund that has been missing for more than 500 days, has survived since running away from her owners. It’s hard to picture the 4kg, adorable, goofy-eared, big-eyed sausage dog choosing this particular meal, but that’s a prevailing theory.

    Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter

    Continue reading...

  • In outback Queensland, an area four times the size of the UK has been inundated with torrential rain, leaving many cut off or forced to abandon homes

    The extent of flood waters that have engulfed Queensland over the past fortnight is so widespread it has covered an area more than four times the size of the United Kingdom. The inundation is larger than France and Germany combined – and is even bigger than Texas.

    The seemingly endless plains of outback Queensland are so vast and remote as to boggle any attempts to visualise the scale of what is being described as one of the most devastating floods in living memory.

    Continue reading...

  • With air pollution causing a fifth of deaths in Nepal, growing EV use could add nearly three years to Kathmandu residents’ lives

    In a rundown hangar in the heart of Kathmandu, the remains of a dozen electric trolley buses stand abandoned and corroding. Caked in dust and bird-droppings and lined with rubbish, they are a reminder of a bold experiment, launched 50 years ago, to electrify the city’s public transport system. Down the side of one is written, “Keep me alive”.

    Today, that plea is being heard. More than 70% of four-wheeled passenger vehicles – largely cars and minibuses – imported into Nepal last year were electric, one of the highest rates in the world. The figure reflects a remarkable growth in the use of electric vehicles (EVs), which saw the country import more than 13,000 between July 2023 and 2024, up from about 250 in 2020-21.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds