ventodue
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Posts posted by ventodue
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[quote user="Patf"]
<snip>
There are clouds of hundreds of small brown birds with a white patch on their back above the tail. They move so fast I can't see anything else about them. I wonder what they are?[/quote]
Hi Patf,
If, when disturbed, they're flying up from the ground into nearby trees and bushes, they could well be Bramblings, aka Pinson du Nord or Fringilla montifringilla. One of the diagnostic field notes of this species is a clear white rump in flight. They often flock with Chaffinches.
Go http://www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/pinson.du.nord.html or http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/b/brambling/index.asp#
At this time of year, the males aren't as black-headed as they are in summer. They breed in Scandanavia and Northern Russia and winter in western and central Europe.
HTH
Craig
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[quote user="Shivy"]I am a bit rubbish at identifying them, by the time I've looked them up in the book they have flown off!! [/quote]
Hi Shivy,
It's very difficult to identify birds, particularly small and active ones, by looking in the book while trying to watch them! The way to do it is to take notes ('field notes' in the parlance) and then check these against the book after the birds have flown. (In fact, this is still the recognised way of reporting sightings of rare species - if you have no field notes, the scrutiny committee will be very unlikely to accept your sighting.)
The old-fashioned way to take field notes was to write them down in a notebook - not fool-proof, of course, 'cos, as you're writing, the bird may fly. But technology has come to our assistance. All you need is a small tape recorder or memo recorder. You can talk into this and never let the bird out of your sight.
I use an old technology Philips one; but £20 will buy you something modern like this http://uk.shopping.com/xPO-Oregon-Scientific-VR393.
HTH
Craig
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[quote user="Ecossais"]
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My ideal deal solution would be a scanner which would work like a sheet feeder on a photocopier – insert a pile of slides and the mechanism works through them, automatically scanning, optimising the colour balance etc and saving them at a choice of resolutions…..
Does anyone know if such a device exists?
[/quote]
Or, even better, a scanner which enabled you to feed the slides through using a standard slide carousel or tray ...
Cheers
Craig
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[quote user="chris pp"]
"That could be one way of describing the situation but I don't think that it really tells the whole story.[;-)]
Partial migration is normally, (as far as I understand it), defined as....
"A bird, (or other species), where some individuals remain as resident where they are, but others migrate over varying distances"
[/quote]
Hi Chris,
Yes, you're right, this is the classic definition of a partial migration, certainly when applied to a population. However, when applied to a species, such as in this case, I'm quite happy to use it, not least 'cos I'm not sure there is a term to describe the phenomonen where a resident population is increased by a seasonal influx of migratory indviduals ...??
But, then again, it's been a while since I did my ecology and I confess, I haven't really kept up ("Population Ecology: A Unified Study of Animals and Plants.", Michael Begon & Martin Mortimer - do you remember that?!)
Cheers
Craig
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Starlings are what is known as 'partial migrants', meaning that the resident population is increased at a certain times of the year by birds migrating from elsewhere.
In this case - Starlings + Western Europe - this means winter and the birds come from Eastern and Northern Europe.
Go here for more info: http://w3.rennes.inra.fr/etourneau/fiche/biologie_etourneau.htm
HTH
Craig in 34 where the starlings have arrived to raid any grapes left on the vines ...
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Garden birds
in Wildlife/Nature/Environment
Posted
[quote user="Shivy"]think I might stick to photo's or notes then, the neighbours already think the English are mad without walking around the garden talking to myself!! [/quote]
Ha! In that case, I think it is almost your duty to go out there and confirm them in their suspicions! [:D]
Cheers
Craig