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Song Thrush - Turdus Philomelos
Featured on BBC Springwatch Social Media sites Dec 29 2019
The song thrush (Turdus philomelos) is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive song, which has repeated musical phrases, has frequently been referred to in poetry.
The song thrush breeds in forests, gardens and parks, and is partially migratory with many birds wintering in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East; it has also been introduced into New Zealand and Australia. Although it is not threatened globally, there have been serious population declines in parts of Europe, possibly due to changes in farming practices.
The song thrush builds a neat mud-lined cup nest in a bush or tree and lays four to five dark-spotted blue eggs. It is omnivorous and has the habit of using a favourite stone as an "anvil" on which to break open the shells of snails. Like other perching birds (passerines), it is affected by external and internal parasites and is vulnerable to predation by cats and birds of prey.
The song thrush has an extensive range, estimated at 10 million square kilometres (3.8 million square miles), and a large population, with an estimated 40 to 71 million individuals in Europe alone.
In the western Palaearctic, there is evidence of population decline, but at a level below the threshold required for global conservation concern (i.e., a reduction in numbers of more than 30% in ten years or three generations) and the IUCN Red List categorises this species as of "Least Concern". In Great Britain and the Netherlands, there has been a more than 50% decline in population, and the song thrush is included in regional Red Lists. The decreases are greatest in farmlands (73% since the mid-1970s) and believed to be due to changes in agricultural practices in recent decades.
The precise reasons for the decline are not known but may be related to the loss of hedgerows, a move to sowing crops in autumn rather than spring, and possibly the increased use of pesticides. These changes may have reduced the availability of food and of nest sites. In gardens, the use of poison bait to control slugs and snails may pose a threat. In urban areas, some thrushes are killed while using the hard surface of roads to smash snails.
Many Poets and Writers have referenced the Song Thrush, here is one example:
In The Tables Turned, Romantic poet William Wordsworth references the song thrush, writing
Hark, how blithe the throstle sings
And he is no mean preacher
Come forth into the light of things
Let Nature be your teacher
The song thrush is the emblem of West Bromwich Albion Football Club, chosen because the public house in which the team used to change kept a pet thrush in a cage. It also gave rise to Albion's early nickname, The Throstles.
Little Tern - Sterna Albifrons
Norfolk
As seen on BBC Springwatch Ep 7 08/06/2022
This delightful chattering seabird is the UK's smallest tern. It is short-tailed and has a fast flight. Its bill is a distinctive yellow with a black tip. It is noisy at its breeding colony where courtship starts with an aerial display involving the male calling and carrying a fish to attract a mate, which chases him up high before he descends, gliding with wings in a 'V'.
Its vulnerable nesting sites and its decline in Europe make it an Amber List species. It is also listed as a Schedule 1 species in The Wildlife and Countryside Act.
This bird breeds on the coasts and inland waterways of temperate and tropical Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in the subtropical and tropical oceans as far south as South Africa and Australia.
There are three subspecies, the nominate albifrons occurring in Europe to North Africa and western Asia; guineae of western and central Africa; and sinensis of East Asia and the north and east coasts of Australia.[4]
The little tern breeds in colonies on gravel or shingle coasts and islands. It lays two to four eggs on the ground. Like all white terns, it is defensive of its nest and young and will attack intruders.
Like most other white terns, the little tern feeds by plunge-diving for fish, usually from saline environments. The offering of fish by the male to the female is part of the courtship display.
At the beginning of the 19th century the little tern was a common bird of European shores, rivers and wetlands, but in the 20th century populations of coastal areas decreased because of habitat loss, pollution and human disturbance.
The loss of inland populations has been even more severe, since due to dams, river regulation and sediment extraction it has lost most of its former habitats. The Little Tern population has declined or become extinct in many European countries, and former breeding places on large rivers like the Danube, Elbe and Rhine ceased. Nowadays, only few river systems in Europe possess suitable habitats; the Loire/Allier in France, the Vistula/Odra in Poland, the Po/Ticino in Italy, the Daugava in Latvia, the Nemunas in Lithuania, the Sava in Croatia and the Drava in Hungary and Croatia. The status of the little tern on the rivers Tagus and lower Danube is uncertain.
It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to film these beauties.
Today the light was perfect and given it's distance from me I was very pleased with the results.
Red Fox - Vulpes vulpes.
Yeadon Tarn - Leeds
Many thanks for stopping by to view and comment on my photos. It is very much appreciated and welcome.
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When I took this shot I was so excited. I have been taking shots of this pair for several years, but this was the closest I had managed to get.
Little did I know that the pair down the road, minutes later, would provide me with, not only better, but my best owl pics to date.
This female was out hunting without her other half and was for once fairly relaxed about me.
Mr Barnie from down the lane will feature soon. He's well worth the wait.
Barn owl (Tyto alba)
Yorkshire Dales - Upper Barn female
Many thanks to all those who take the time to comment on my photos. It is truly appreciated.
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It was sunny and dark clouds in different parts of the sky. I decided to shoot on low ISO. As I spotted this seagull standing still looking around. With the nice light shone on the seagull and good angle I raised my camera. Suddenly it pulled out a crab from the pebbles flying away before other seagulls go after its prey, still got a lot to learn about the seagulls.
I took a few shots as it unfolds and managed to freeze this last frame. Not exactly the image I would like to have but given the unexpected circumstances and windy conditions I think it is alright. What are your thoughts ?
f 7.1 / 1/400s / ISO 200 / 160 mm
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Brighton 🇬🇧
5th June, 2020
Two of three siblings that were borned in May.
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Brighton 🇬🇧
June, 2020
Robin (Erithacus Rubecula)
Dunollie - Scotland
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This is a female grey heron just arrived to hunt for her first meal of the day. She is very particular on the fish that she hunts for.
F/5.6 1/200s ISO:800 f:200mm
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Brighton 🇬🇧
22nd June, 2020