Marsh Tit

-

 


I was fortunate on my recent trip to Leighton Moss to come across a family of marsh tits. We don't see marsh tits near our house so it is something of a treat to see something new. Marsh tits are very similar in appearance to willow tits. A sure way (perhaps the only way!)  to tell them apart is by their call, and I was fortunate to meet a man making audio recordings of the call who was kind enough to give me a short lecture on the differences.
This might help Differences Marsh and Willow Tits

Diary
I saw a stoat in the garden this afternoon. By the time I had located my camera it had gone.Overnight cameras revealed a distant fox, some carrion crow , and one of our regular red squirrels as well as the usual rabbits.
Milder today and overcast.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teal

-
Image
 I was in the Sunbiggin Tarn area yesterday and saw a flock of about 150 teal. These little dabbling ducks appear to change colour as they bank in flight to show first their topside and then their underside. The distinctive green wing flashes are diagnostic. Teal are resident in this part of the country year round but I see a lot more in the autumn and winter.                                                                                                             Diary A stoat ran across the road in front of my car yesterday on our land. I caught a glimpse of a roe deer in the bog meadow yesterday and then subsequently caught this shot of a roe buck on the tra...
Read more

Mild Winter With Flowers Arrving Early

-
Image
 People roundabout have been commenting on how mild a winter it has been (so far). This coincided with an article in this morning's  newspaper about how much earlier flowers are blooming and the potentially catastrophic effects this might have.  Guardian Newspaper I guess this underlines the importance of record keeping.                                                                                          Diary Mild again for the time of year 7C or thereabouts today with little wind. I have been seeing the usual foxes and rabbits on overnight cameras. I saw a badger two nights ago for the first time. in a while. A local farmer has given me a tip as to where their sett is so I will have to go and exp...
Read more

Cormorant

-
Image
 We are some distance from the sea here - at least 30 miles as the crow flies. Despite this we often see cormorants which are normally thought of as coastal birds. This is because cormorants have followed the River Eden some 80 miles from the Solway Firth and made the river their home. Cormorants are very similar to  the smaller shag  but shags stay along the coast and don't come up the river. You will see that the bird sits very low in the water and has a beak adapted for fishing. Cormorants dive to fish and swim with powerful legs and assist motion with their short wings. The bird in my photograph is a breeding bird as can be told from the white cheek patches which are absent in non breeding birds. The birds spend a lot of their time preening and keeping their feathers in good condition and can often be seen on a perch with their wings outstretched so that the feathers can dry off after a dive. The birds are unpopular with local anglers who claim (with some justificatio...
Read more