Garden birds

[sueyh]

Where have all the birds gone.  We had hundreds of

birds in our garden until about a month ago, beginning of the chasse in

fact.  Now perhaps one or two at a time.  Any ideas?

Suey

[Patf]

I haven't noticed that here, still lots of sparrows and black redstarts. Swallows and house martins left a while ago for warmer climes.

Are you in a rural area?

[mint]

But, I haven't seen the cranes return?

It's been very mild here for the time of year and I am left wondering what to expect next?

[HoneySuckleDreams]

they have migrated.

Blue tits especially

 

and the cranes are on the move as I'm in Luxembourg at the moment and there are flocks flying over heading north

[Gardian]

I wish that I understood more about the birds around here.

You hear a fair bit of birdsong during the Summer months, but you rarely see a bird other than the occasional pairs of birds of prey flying high and the swifts (?) at dusk.

When Winter comes on, it all changes. We put out fat balls (in an RSPB container) and they're around in spades. Mostly Great Tits, Wagtails, Chaffinches and the odd Robin.  The Robins are here year-round I'm certain, but the other blokes .....? 

[powerdesal]

Blue Tits are resident birds, they do not migrate

[ventodue]

[quote user="Gardian"] I wish that I understood more about the birds around here. <snip> [/quote]

Well, here's a bit of info for starters:

1. Yes, Robins are essentially sedentary.  They're calling now to establish/maintain their territories over winter.  For me, the start of their singing is always one of the first signs that summer is finishing.

2.  Great Tits: some are sedentary, many more are not.  These winter visitors are starting to arrive now, as weather deteriorates and food supplies declines further north.  How many birds you get year on year is closely related to these two factors (and how much food you put out!).

3.  Wagtails: mainly migratory, some wintering here around the Med., others wintering in Africa.  They're one of the first birds to arrive in the Spring and the Autumn migration starts early too.

4.  Chaffinches: winter vistors.  They will form large flocks, often mixed with other species, in the vines over winter.

Btw, you can get all your bird food supplies from the French equivalent of the RSPB, the LPO (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux), http://www.lpo.fr/

HTH

Craig

[sueyh]

We have given our bird feeder a really good clean and thrown all existing peanuts and fat balls and sunflower seeds out and replenished with new.  So now we'll see if there is any difference.  We normally have Blue Tits, Great Tits, Crested Tits, Sparrows, Nuthatch, Woodpeckers and at the moment nothing.

Suey

[ventodue]

[quote user="powerdesal"]Blue Tits are resident birds, they do not migrate[/quote]

(Hope you don't mind me saying, but  ...) 

Not entirely. Winter populations here in France are increased by the arrival of birds from the North (for example, the migration of Blue Tits down the Baltic coast has been the subject of studies going back to the 1960s at least) and from further east.

(To confirm, please put "migration mésange bleue" into Google ).

Craig

 

[ventodue]

[quote user="sueyh"]We normally have Blue Tits, Great Tits, Crested Tits, Sparrows, Nuthatch, Woodpeckers and at the moment nothing.[/quote]

Well Sueyh, it's still very warm further north.  So many migratory species have yet to arrive.  While some birds migrate according to a relatively fixed time clock (swifts, for example), many others do not.  Instead they respond to weather and the related availability of food (and shelter).

I'm aware this year, for example, that the starlings are only just begining to arrive here in Montpellier - and not in great numbers, either.  The Jackdaws, on the other hand, turned up right on cue!

HTH

Craig

[ventodue]

[quote user="sweet 17"] But, I haven't seen the cranes return?  It's been very mild here for the time of year and I am left wondering what to expect next?[/quote]

Hi sweet17,

Don't forget you can track the Crane migration, day-by-day, here: http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grues/point_sur_la_migration.htm

From there, for example, we learn that, right now, there are 60-80,000 cranes at the Lac du Der (near Saint Dizier, halfway between Paris and Strasbourg).  And that:

"La migration est marquée dans l'Yonne et dans la Nièvre avec plusieurs milliers de grues observés à partir de 14h. Des vols sont aussi notés dans la Meuse, en Meurthe-et-Moselle, dans l'Aube, le Cher, l'Allier, l'Indre, la Vienne, la Haute-Vienne, la Charente, la Dordogne, la Loire-Atlantique, les Landes, les Pyrénées-Atlantiques et l'Aude."

Craig

[Gardian]

[quote user="ventodue"][quote user="Gardian"] I wish that I understood more about the birds around here. <snip> [/quote]

Well, here's a bit of info for starters:

1. Yes, Robins are essentially sedentary.  They're calling now to establish/maintain their territories over winter.  For me, the start of their singing is always one of the first signs that summer is finishing.

2.  Great Tits: some are sedentary, many more are not.  These winter visitors are starting to arrive now, as weather deteriorates and food supplies declines further north.  How many birds you get year on year is closely related to these two factors (and how much food you put out!).

3.  Wagtails: mainly migratory, some wintering here around the Med., others wintering in Africa.  They're one of the first birds to arrive in the Spring and the Autumn migration starts early too.

4.  Chaffinches: winter vistors.  They will form large flocks, often mixed with other species, in the vines over winter.

Btw, you can get all your bird food supplies from the French equivalent of the RSPB, the LPO (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux), http://www.lpo.fr/

HTH

Craig

[/quote]

Thanks for that Ventodue - really interesting.

Since you're from this general area and 'know your birds', just another question.  We reckon that we see Moussier's Redstarts around here.  Is that possible?

[ventodue]

[quote user="Gardian"] We reckon that we see Moussier's Redstarts around here.  Is that possible?[/quote]

Basically, no (well, extremely unlikely ...).  The main block is that Moussier's is a sedentary species, so not one that is very likely to turn up 'off patch'. What's more, as you know, it's patch is the other side of the Med, at its western end - Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco.  So, given that there's that bit of water in the way, and it doesn't move about much in the first place ...

However, I have just checked the observation site at Meridionalis (http://www.faune-lr.org/index.php), just in case someone reckons they've seen them around here.  But sorry - no.

What you've seen is Common Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus aka Rougequeue à front blanc.  Lovely little bird, arrives here in Summer to breed. Tell it apart from Moussier's by no white in the wing and a grey, not black, back.  The pair round here seem to spend most of August repeatedly 'weeting', all day long ... drives me mad!   Like this:

http://www.xeno-canto.org/sounds/uploaded/LELYWQKUZX/XC150037-1007_085659-%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B2%2C%D0%90.mp3

HTH

Craig

[mint]

[quote user="ventodue"]

[quote user="sweet 17"] But, I haven't seen the cranes return?  It's been very mild here for the time of year and I am left wondering what to expect next?[/quote]

Hi sweet17,

Don't forget you can track the Crane migration, day-by-day, here: http://champagne-ardenne.lpo.fr/grues/point_sur_la_migration.htm

From there, for example, we learn that, right now, there are 60-80,000 cranes at the Lac du Der (near Saint Dizier, halfway between Paris and Strasbourg).  And that:

"La migration est marquée dans l'Yonne et dans la Nièvre avec plusieurs milliers de grues observés à partir de 14h. Des vols sont aussi notés dans la Meuse, en Meurthe-et-Moselle, dans l'Aube, le Cher, l'Allier, l'Indre, la Vienne, la Haute-Vienne, la Charente, la Dordogne, la Loire-Atlantique, les Landes, les Pyrénées-Atlantiques et l'Aude."

Craig

[/quote]

Ventodue, I saw the first cranes today.  Not a large flock at all.  It was in the Charente Maritime as I was driving home to the Dordogne and it was about sunset time.   Such a lovely sight....I adore the way they spread out in "waves"[:D]

Thanks for the link.