BIRDS

At the last count we have recorded some 50 bird species in the garden and adding other species we see around the parish we could well have some 75 species.

BIRDS OF PREY

Birds of prey have increased greatly since we moved the village in 1980. We now regularly see kestrels hovering over the grass fields, red kites circling on thermals over the parish and buzzards either thermalling or watching out from fence posts and telegraph poles from which they dive down onto potential prey.

KESTRELS

Caught in mid-hover over the village green looking for voles or mice prey.

RED KITE

Magnificent birds riding the thermals of rising air on sunny days over Stroud usually seeking carrion rather than live prey.

BUZZARD

Also riding the thermals looking for small mammals or even grass snakes.

OWLS

We often hear the haunting calls of tawny owls calling to each and have had one perch in the garden.

We now regularly see ghostly white barn owls hunting at dusk over our rough grassland fields, and the fields around the school and the village green are good places to watch them within the parish.

TAWNY OWLS

This young owl was in the hedge at the end of our garden and seems to have rotated its head through 180 degrees to look at me.

BARN OWLS

Sometimes, just keeping still in the late evening on a rough grass meadow could mean a barn owl will fly close. I recently had a barn owl fly fast past me within touching distance on the village green.

FARMLAND BIRDS

Fieldfare and Redwing. Walking the footpaths at different times of the year we see many species typical of wider open landscapes. In winter there are flocks of fieldfare having arrived from Scandinavia, Russia or eastern Europe and often associating with redwing arriving from Iceland, Scandinavia, or even eastern Asia.

FIELDFARE

REDWING

GULLS

Gulls. This winter we have seen massed flocks of gulls wheeling and settling over recently cultivated fields. Most of these are black-headed gulls (with brown heads in summer) but common gulls and Mediterranean gulls (with jet black heads) also occur.

Flock of mixed gulls

BLACK HEADED GULL

MEDITERRANEAN GULL

COMMON GULL

LAPWING

Lapwing can be seen in small flocks on our fields during the winter, but many disperse in the spring to continental breeding sites or other locations in the UK.

LAPWING

DUCKS AND GEESE

We see mallard and Canada geese flying across the parish and see moorhen on our ponds. There may be other species that we have not seen.

MALLARD

CANADA GEESE

MOORHEN

HERONS

GREY HERON

We regularly see grey herons flying across the parish, possibly to the ponds on New Buildings Farm. We had one taking frogs from our garden pond some years ago and sometimes we see them standing in the damper grass fields.

LITTLE EGRET

We see little egrets (smaller white cousins of grey herons), from time to time standing in ponds and wet drains and streams within the parish. We had one stay for several days in our garden looking hopefully down on our winter flooded woodland for fish, of which there were none.

WOODPECKERS

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

Great spotted woodpeckers regularly come to our garden to take food from the bird feeders, and we sometimes hear their drumming close by. We know they breed nearby because in the early summer we see the juveniles with their red caps. Adult males have a red band at the back of their necks and adult females are entirely black and white.

LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER

The tiny lesser spotted woodpecker is quite rare, and we have only seen one, perhaps 20 years ago.

GREEN WOODPECKER

Green woodpeckers occur around the parish and though seldom seen, can be identified by their yaffling call.

CORVIDS, THE CROW FAMILY

We see flocks of carrion crows flying over the parish along with jackdaws calling their name Jack-Jack-Jack loudly as they go to and from their feeding fields and sometimes come down to the bird table. Rooks fly noisily around their tree top rookeries identified by their downturned silvery beaks. Black and white magpies take their opportunity to feed around the gardens and chatter loudly at passing cats and we see colourful jays from time to time.

4 ! 01190289 Crows feed on peanuts -_Moment EC --

CARRION CROW

JACKDAW

5 IMG_20210311_125345 Rook nesting Reduced

ROOKS

9 ! 01010036 Magpie vid_Moment ECC Reduced

MAGPIES

JAYS

GARDEN BIRDS

We have just had the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results and find that the top ten for England very much match those we get in our garden: house sparrow, blue tit, starling, wood pigeon, blackbird, robin, goldfinch, great tit, magpie, and long-tailed tit.

In the 43 years we have lived in the village, we have listed 60 bird species in our garden and, in addition to the top 10, we have also had blackcap, bullfinch, buzzard, chaffinch, chiffchaff, carrion crow, collared dove, dunnock, spotted flycatcher, goldcrest, greenfinch, grey heron, jackdaw, jay, mallard, house martin, moorhen, nuthatch, barn owl, tawny owl, red-legged partridge, pheasant, redwing, rook, sparrowhawk, swallow, mistle thrush, song thrush, coal tit, song and mistle thrushes, treecreeper, pied wagtail, wood pigeon, wren, and yellowhammer.