Due to my mental health, I started watching and listening to birds more, as I can escape my world for a bit and find being with them tranquil. The birds have involved in my photography journey, which I am loving, as I can spend all day watching them, listening to them and capturing them with my camera.
With that in mind, I need to learn more about the birds I photograph as my knowledge is poor in that area. I know the common bird's Robins, Blackbirds, Crows etc., but not so common ones. I have decided to do some research - see below:
TreeCreeper
TreeCreepers are very hard to spot as they blend in with the trees. I was lucky to capture a Tree Creeper by the River in Chippenham; I had no idea it was a Tree Creeper until I asked on Facebook. I then spotted them again at Center Parcs. Here are ten important facts about the Tree Creeper.
The Treecreeper is a bird that many people have not seen, but they have over 200,000 breeding territories in the UK.
Treecreepers are more likely to be found in gardens between November and April, probably because it is more noticeable in the winter when there are no leaves on the trees.
If a treecreeper is disturbed, it generally freezes on the tree trunk. Its black and brown mottled plumage provides camouflage and makes it look like the bark of a tree.
When it comes to nest building, the treecreeper did not opt for the most common solution. Instead, it builds its nest behind a flap of loose bark. The treecreeper starts with a base of twigs and then add grass, moss, lichen and wood chips. It takes about a week to build the whole nest. The female then lines the nest with hair, wool and feathers. Given that the clutch size is about 5-6, the nest can get quite crowded towards the end. Treecreepers breed between April and July, taking advantage of caterpillars to feed their young.
If you see a treecreeper up-close, it is hard to mistake it for anything else. It has mottled brown and black plumage above and is mainly white below, with a long, slender, downcurved bill. It also has a white supercilium (stripe above the eye). Treecreepers are very small, the size of a wren, and only weighs 10g, though they look a lot bigger due to their bill and long, stiff tail. The treecreeper’s song and the call are high-pitched and easily missed, sounding almost insect-like with a ‘see-see-see’ call.
The above Five facts were from Discover Wildlife - see link below:
Treecreepers are active during the day. They creep up trees, exploring bark and crevices, using their long, sharp beaks to pick out insects such as earwigs. Once they’ve reached the top of the trunk, they will often fly down to the base of another and repeat their upward climb. They might also feed on seeds during the winter months when invertebrates are scarce.
The collective noun for treecreepers is a ‘spiral’, so named for their habit of spiralling up a tree trunk as they hunt for insects.
Predators: woodpeckers and small mammals predate nests; birds of prey take adults
Treecreepers only ever climb up trees, never down.
Common names: treecreeper, tree mouse
The above Five facts were from Woodland Trust - see link below:
2. Nuthatch
Number 2. Well, I was shocked to capture this at Center Parcs. I have never seen this before, so I asked Fiona to love her birds when I edited the photo. Here are some facts on the Nuthatch.
Whereas treecreepers are known for walking straight up a tree, nuthatches are the only species that can walk both up and down a tree. Also, unlike treecreepers, nuthatches don’t use their tail for support but rely on the strength of their legs.
The name nuthatches are derived from the term nut hacker because the birds are known to lodge nuts into tree crevices and hack away at them.
All nuthatches nest in cavities.
Most nuthatches have different ways to protect their nest cavities from predators. Some species use mud to reduce the entrance size of the cavity. The White-breasted Nuthatch smears blister beetles near the entrance, which is said to smell really bad. The Red-breasted Nuthatch will line the entrance with sticky conifer resin.
There are four species of nuthatches in North America: the Brown-headed Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch and White-breasted Nuthatch. Nearly wherever you are in the United States, you’ll be able to find a nuthatch.
There are at least 20 species worldwide, though the number typically goes up to 25 species. The discrepancy is that not all scientists agree on whether certain nuthatch species should be lumped together or separated. In fact, a study says White-breasted Nuthatches maybe four different species.
The largest nuthatch is the aptly named Giant Nuthatch (7.68 inches), and the smallest is the Brown-headed Nuthatch and Pygmy Nuthatch (both around 4 inches).
Eurasian Nuthatches have the largest range by far—consistently breeding from Portugal to Japan in temperate climates.
According to Cornell, the oldest known White-breasted Nuthatch lived to be 9 years and 10 months old.
Brown-headed Nuthatches are one of the few birds known to use a tool to help them find food. They’ll consistently use a piece of bark to help pry open other pieces of bark to search for insects. According to the American Bird Conservancy, they’ll even take it from tree to tree.
The top 10 facts have come from the following link:
3. Chaffinch
I was really spoilt with the birds at Center Parcs. I was lucky to spot this Chaffinch at the hide they have.
Here are ten facts about the Chaffinch.
The Swedish taxonomist Linnaeus noticed the tendency for the all-male flocks, giving the bird the Latin name of Fringilla coelebs (coelebs = bachelor).
In winter, all-male chaffinch flocks are not unusual, giving rise to another old country name of bachelor bird.
During the winter, migrants from Scandinavia boost Britain's chaffinch population.
Chaffinches have been found to have regional accents, with slight differences in the typical song depending on where in the country the bird lives.
The Victorians used to hold singing matches between cock chaffinches, with the winner, the bird, considered to have sung the most phrases in a 15-minute period.
A singing cock will utter his song five or six times a minute and up to 3,000 times a day.
The one essential for chaffinches to thrive in gardens is plenty of trees, while oaks are their favourites.
Chaffinches were originally woodland birds but are now just as characteristic of farmland and suburban gardens.
The correct pronunciation of chaffinch is really charf-finch, as this bird takes its name from the chaff that was used in the nosebags of working horses. The chaffinches fed on the spilt chaff.
Female chaffinches tend to migrate farther in winter than males.
For more information, please see the link below:
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