Green Holidays

This article will introduce you to 5 of the most common seen ducks around town ponds and wetland sites.

There are plenty of ducks that all look very similar to the naked eye – especially the females, so these descriptions are focused mainly on the males as they are the most likely ones you will pick out in the water. They will be in their display colours as they try to find a mate.

Most of the time in the spring and summer, the females will be close by the males as well for breeding – or will already be closely followed by a herd of ducklings – so you can start to practice the differences in the females once you have mastered their associated males.

However, outside of the breeding season, most male ducks moult into what is known as their ‘eclipse’ plumage, which is quite different to their summer splendour!

They all turn into rather drab birds – looking very similar to their female friends. Well, they don’t want to stand out to predators when they don’t have to!

Anyway, straight to it then with a firm favourite:

Mallard:
We should all know this one purely because it is always about on almost every pond or canal where there are humans – as they know that we will probably feed them!

As a result, they are usually quite bold birds and will waddle over to us for priority feeding if there are other birds like Mute Swans about!

photo credit: Tomi Tapio

Key points of the mallard male is his beautiful green head, pinched in by a white collar but there are several others ducks with that feature too. So you will have to look for other signs: like he will also have a bright yellow bill which seperates him from some of the other similar birds.

Another point is that he will have blue patches on his wings rather than white or green (not visible in this image) – and in flight these show as a blue bands with white edging.

Shelduck:
Here is another one with a green head – but he has some more striking features to tell him apart. Both male and female look the same; bright white birds (very goose-like) with a band of brown across the shoulders, then a thick collar of white before the dark green head and bright orange beak! You won’t be able to miss them once you see them.

The main and obvious difference between the sexes is that the male has an extra ‘knobbly’ bit at the top of his bill – as in the image below – a bit like the Mute Swans.

photo credit: Vlaskop

Shoveler:
Another green-headed common bird is the Shoveler – so called because of its very wide black shovel-shaped bill.

It sits lower in the water than a mallard, and has a noticable yellow eye when viewed at close range. It has the same broad white neck as the Shelduck with brown shoulders and sides too, but there the similarity ends. This bird has a very low profile where the Shelduck sits high in the water and is more ‘white’.

photo credit: chapmankj75

Goldeneye:
As its name suggests it has a bright golden eye set bold in its green head – but manages to look nothing like the Shevelor despite this!

It has a much more rounder, pronounced head that looks like it has been stuck onto the body like a giant pom-pom! It also has a bright white cheek patch beside its smaller, pointy bill. The rest of the body is very pale with and almost stripy back where black and white feathers mix as shown below:

photo credit: Graham Racher

Mandarin Duck:
No need to worry about the green head for this one as there is too much else to give it away! This species is one of our most decorative and colourful ducks – if not birds – in the UK and you can see them quite frequently in wetland reserves.

They are difficult to describe as there is so much to say – so look at the picture below to be amazed! They have delicate patterning on their seemingly ‘giant’ cheeks if you look close enough; their long white eye streak goes on forever; and they have the most unusual orange ‘sails’ jutting up from their wings when they are on the water.

And the bright blues and purples……

photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar

Next time you head out to the wetlands – have a look for these males – and try to find their partners hidden among all the other brown looking birds on the water!

See you soon…..

This is a great way to learn about local wildlife – and entertain the kids!

Why don’t you spend a short time devising a nature key that can be followed local to where you live. For example a key identifying local plants, leaves on trees, animals at a zoo or even breeds of dog in the city!

It doesn’t take long to gather the information to get started – and then setting up the key can be quite a puzzle in itself – enough to keep you entertained as well as teaching you the information too!

Yeah – you can use a printed guide or photographic aid – but they will include all the plants ever! You only really need 10 to 20 to cover your local patch in a season, so yours will be more relevant to you. Your key doen’t need to incldue every single plant, tree or animal in the country – just those most common – the ones your kids will see almost every time they go out.

And they don’t have to use microscopes to tell them apart – just their eyes and your guide!

Breeds of Dogs:
If we use breeds of dogs as the test mode it should be easy to follow as we all know the most common dog breeds around town. Let’s use the following examples: Dalmation, Great Dane, Bichon Frise and Jack Russel

Now, with a key – it’s good to get rid of the obvious ones first, as they need no further description. So for example the Dalmation can’t really be confused with anything else – so that is your first step: ‘Is it white with black or brown spots all over?’

Then you can divide on size – so ‘Is it shorter than a Dalmation?’ The answer ‘No’ takes you straight to Great Dane and the answer ‘Yes’ then follows to the final question: ‘Is it white and fluffy?

Obviously this is only simple – and there are many other dogs that are shorter than a Dalmation – but you only focus on what you are most likely to see – let the more unusual ones dangle the carrot for further learning.

photo credit: Tanja de Bie

Getting Outdoors:
Most plants or animals have a specific feature that is unique to it that can narrow down your options when trying to identify something. So by getting to a general point you are halfway there – then by looking for these ‘individual’ things you can find the exact species.

For example, the early dog violet and the heath dog violet look very similar from head height – but they have very obviously different colour spurs if you get closer. And location can make a difference in the case of the cowslip and an oxlip. Both look quite similar – but the oxlip only occurs in the East of England.

So find plants/trees or animals that you already know are very common where you live and start from there!

Obviously the seasons change and bring out different plants or things to look for. Like deciduous trees don’t have leaves in the winter, and many trees and bushes have blossom in the spring. Seasonal plants only last a few weeks and sometimes look very different when they have ‘gone to seed’.

And birds and mammals don’t always hang out in the same continents let alone the same woodlands – so you can watch them come and go – as well as the young growing up and moving on.

All this change means that you can have the same activities running throughout the seasons in the same locations – but with different plants and animals to look out for. And it is a great way to connect to the landscape and to see the changes through time.

It can also make you feel like you belong to that area.

You know how to pack a rucksack properly – but what about save a life?

We all learn to pack our racksacks top heavy, learn which wildfood we can eat, how to get our tents back in their tiny bags, how to purify water and how to run away from a bear.

But what about help another human being?

When was the last time you took a first aid lesson? At school, in your teens or because your workplace told you to go?

Why do we wait – when our friends or family could get injured at any time!

Things that we learn on these courses could save other peoples lives – as well as our own, so why don’t we sign up in droves?
.

What are you going to do?
Things change all the time in medicine and first aid – so some things your parents told you or that you learnt over 5 years ago might not still be current – like laying a person who fainted on their back with their legs raised. Wrong.

How about pinching the top of the nose and tipping the head back to stop a nose bleed! Wrong. Putting soothing creams or lotions on a burn – WRONG!

You don’t even check for a pulse anymore – there are better, more effective ways to save a life.

Obviously we all hope that we never have to deal with an emergency – but if you like to travel a lot – especially out in the countryside, emergency first aid could be your only chance of survival.

Call The Emergency Services!
It is all well and good to assume that the emergency services will come and save the day – but if the casualty isn’t breathing or is bleeding heavily – then 10 minutes is too long to wait. And you will probably be out in the countryside or up a mountain!

photo credit: Adam Tinworth

So, you could save someone by starting first aid straight away.

Immediate Action:
I can’t teach you first aid in this article – but I know that making sure that someone is breathing is more important that calling 999 in the first instance. The time it takes you to make the call is more time that they aren’t breathing.

By first checking the airways are clear and listening for breathing you could have done all that was needed to save a life. People who are unconscious and on their backs can suffocate on their own tongue – so by you moving their head to free the tongue – you can help them breathe again. Then, by putting them in the recovery position – and knowing that they can still breathe – you could have just saved their life.

However, if you make the call first; all the while you are trying to describe where you are for the emergency services to find you – they will be getting worse.

First Aid is about dealing with the most critical thing first – like not breathing. There is no point stopping them bleeding if they aren’t breathing, and no point moving them into a more comfortable place if they aren’t breathing either.

And an Emergency First Aid course can help you understand why things are important and when they are not. The course will help you gain confidence in your actions even if they seem rather odd and ‘different’ to what other people are saying.

You would have taken the most up-to-date course (to protect your friends and family) so it will be the best you can do for a stranger too!

And thank you for caring.

Have you ever put into words your close encounters or your love of the landscape?

Every year BBC Wildlife Magazine offer you the chance to not only be published in their magazine – but to win a wildlife experience in some far-flung destination desperately in need of volunteers and research.

All you need to do is write a short passionate story about something you love or have experienced that you want to share with others to help them see another side of nature – your version.

Whether you want to describe the fox family living in your garden, that one off encounter with a tiger in India, your hopes for conserving a small patch of endangered wildflowers or even your first-hand description as you witnessed a tornado rip through a field near you!

As long as it was something outside – and could appeal to anyone interested in the ‘great outdoors’ – then get your pen to paper and write out your thoughts!

The Competition:
Don’t worry if you can’t think of anything for this years competition (closing date 30th April 2011) – but you can start thinking about next years entry.

Nature writing normally means that you have captured your thoughts while caught in the middle of things – or that you have a lot of experience in your subject – so know it inside-out. Needless to say, you can’t just pluck such a story out of thin air.

They offer plenty of tips for your writing and you can read past winners tales too – but only be inspired by yourself.

The hardest part will be reducing your passion down to just 800 words – so don’t even worry about all the judging and the other people entering – get your story straight first.

photo credit: whyohwhyohwhyoh

(Click picture to play)

What If I Can’t Write?
Not everyone feels comfortable writing – so BBC Wildlife offer other competitions too – including poetry and photography.

Whatever your passion, experience, age or ability – they offer something that you can sink your teeth into!

Everyone is different – and their version of events or the way they can share their experiences and knowledge will be different too. By all means try your hand at everything, but some people are naturally just better at some things – but it can take a while to figure out what!

Visit their website for ideas and inspiration – and maybe I could be reading your story or admiring your photos on their website soon!

Buying a dog can be one of the best experiences for a family or individual – but take care!

It’s not just about buying from a reputable breeder, or making sure that it is vaccinated and wormed – it’s about what that dog can do for you – or what it can never do.

For example – if your dog is prone to skin problems and needs cream applied, you can’t take it for water-filled days out. If it get out of breath quickly with its short ‘bulldog’ face – you can’t go cycling with it or for long walks with it – or take it anywhere that it might get too hot!

And if it is prone to digestive upsets, takes certain medicines every 6 hours, has sore joints, patches of fur missing or can’t stop scratching – how much fun is he going be when you take him on holiday with you?

Your Dog Breed:
Some dog breeds are just the wrong shape to be outdoor active pets – for example any dog with a very short nose, dogs which are longer than they are tall, dogs with really droopy skin and dogs that have no fur!

photo credit: Jen and a Camera

Most dogs like this will have some sort of problems when you take them out over their lifetime. Now I am not saying that dogs with normal faces and skin won’t suffer from problems – I’m saying that these types probably will.

So if you want to run, swim, cycle, climb and basically spend hours out in the sunshine (and rain) with your dog – then think about getting a hardy average-shaped breed – like a pointer/retriever/terrier type. And avoid Great Danes, Bassett Hounds and Pugs!

Extra Un-Green:
In addition to choosing a dog that suits your lifestyle – you will also be choosing a dog that demands less from the environment.

For example, endless trips to the vets, tablets, treatments, therapies and operations can’t reduce your eco footprint can they? Even if you are insured (which I recommend) that only covers the money for treatment, it doesn’t buy carbon credits for all the fuel and chemicals you will be using!

Dogs which need extra grooming and clipping add to their footprints too – as well as dogs that have to be on special diets.

But, if you want a pet dog that can enjoy the outdoors as much as your – then consider all these things, and plan for the dogs lifespan (10-20 years).

They might not have any problems when they are young, but they will soon catch up with them as they mature.

So, we are moving on to our first batch of very similar looking species!

The remaining 5 tit species common to the UK are here – as we have already looked the more common Great and Blue tits in our previous Bird Hunt article.

And to make it more difficult for you, 4 of these birds all fit the same niche really in terms of their appearance, size, habits and the fact that they all look roughly the same until they sit still!

There are of course slight differences in terms of their specific habits and habitats, but it won’t be easy to master all 5 in a single sitting!

Right, lets get straight on with the 4 that look the same first while your brain is eager to learn!

Coal Tit:
This tiny fella has a face that is very similar to a great tit – and does have a hint of ‘blue/grey’ about him, but the shape and size of him is totally different.

He does however, have 2 white wing bars on his side that none of the other tits on this page have (and blue tits and great tits only have 1 bar on their wings).

So if it’s small with a black and white head with 2 wing bars – it’s a coal tit!

Marsh Tit:
Both the marsh tit and the willow tit (below) were thought to be the same species until quite recently as they look so very similar – which is no help to you!

photo credit: chapmankj75

However, on closer inspection, the marsh tit could be said to have a straight-edged glossy black cap atop his tiny head. They also have a neat square bib under their chin and wings feathers the same colour as their back when perched.

Willow Tit:
In comparison, the willow tit has a more curve-edged black cap and a larger more spreading black bib under his chin. He also has slightly paler band of wing feathers in the centre of his wings – more noticable when perched.

photo credit: Aschaf

Habitat-wise the willow tit is more likely to be seen along river banks – with willow, birch and alder, or in coniferous woodlands -and rarely ever at birdtables in winter. The marsh tit is very likely to be seen feeding at bird tables – most likely close to damp untended deciduous woodlands.

Crested Tit:
When he has his crest lifted – there is no mistaking him, but he is roughly the same size and colour as the 2 tits above so with a normal flat head you might have to look closer! However, these tits are only found in old coniferous woodlands in Scotland so if you aren’t there, you probably haven’t seen one.

photo credit: birdtracker

He doesn’t have the obvious ‘black cap’ of the others but has a distinctive triangular white shape framing it’s head with a beautiful face. However, if you were to look at him from afar or from behind he is the same buff brown colour with brown wings and a black bib! It is asthough someone stuck a different top on a marsh tit!

Long-Tailed Tit:
This one is the easiest of the bunch to identify as it is almost pink in colour when you see it in the bushes – and has an incredibly long tail!

photo credit: centralasian

On closer inspection, they have a white head with a dark eye-band running through to their dark wings and throught to meet the tail. These tiny birds are usually only seen in small flocks that chatter their way from tree to tree along a path or from the front garden to the back garden looking for food.

So – you feel confident with these (or just the last one?).

When you see those cute baby lambs running around the fields – what do you think?

Cute? Fluffy? Adorable little clouds? What about biodiversity lynchpin? Wildflower saviour?

These last 2 might not immediately spring to mind – but this is what sheep do, and have been doing for hundred of years. And these cute lambs are the next generation of grassland guardians. It’s all part of the countryside cycle.

Even if the lambs won’t live long enough to see next Spring – they are an essential part of the lifecycle of the farm and the surrounding grasslands. Without the lambs, there would be no grasslands – and maybe no farm either!

How Come They Are So Important?
Well, it’s important to first realise that grasslands are a man-made environment – or sheep-made as it happens! Without mans intervention there wouldn’t be grassland habitats.

And it is because of the sheep that the grasslands exist today.

photo credit: anemoneprojectors

They mow their way across hillside areas that can’t effectively or economically be farmed by other means – and they eat almost everything low to the ground in their paths. This includes the shoots of trees, scrub plants and bushes – and as a result the grass stays as grass.

If you take sheep off of a meadow for a few years, it will be covered in prickly bramble, spiky gorse and possibly some small trees.

And wildflowers don’t grow underneath brambles.

It’s Not Just About Flowers!
Without the flowers, there wouldn’t be any food for butterflies and other insects – which in turn are food for birds and mammals – which in turn are food for larger birds and mammals. So basically the whole food web of a grassland habitat would be lost. Possibly forever.

As grasslands shrink due to the low cost of meat and the rising costs of running a farm – these habitats are split up and become a fragmented mosaic of restricted areas – useless for breeding wildlife and wind pollinated plants. So one by one the plants and animals start to dissappear from the fields until they are all gone.

Imagine your local open access lands covered in bramble up to your knees? Don’t you want to be welcomed into a picnic-inducing field of pink and yellow wildflowers in rich deep grass? Well there is an easy way to make sure that you can – go see some spring lambs!

By supporting your local farmers – you are supporting your local landscape – and ultimately protecting the habitats that attracted you to the countryside in the first place.

I couldn’t bear to think of the South Downs, Exmoor or the Lake District without its rolling fields of grass and sheep!

All it takes is for you to coo over the cute baby lambs!

photo credit: jpockele

If you lost your dog on holiday – what could you do to get it back?

When you are in a new area – you may not know about the local vets, rescue centres or capture policy for ‘found’ pets.

And you really should!

Needless to say, if there was a simple and fast service available that did all the searching for you; shouldn’t you know about it?

Obviously not all countries offer such services – but if there was one available where you were heading – shouldn’t you really be signing up? Otherwise how would you find your lost dog?

Pet Finding Procedure:
Generally, if someone loses a pet like a dog, they would start by calling a few local vets and rescue centres locally, leaving details with everyone about their dog.

They may also contact other local services like pet stores to take their details – possible enlisting people to start travelling around looking for the animal.

And all this costs money and uses other people resources. The owner may just be making phone calls, but it is the charities that are using up time and money keeping records of all these details.

photo credit: ToniProtto

On average my local pet rescue centre gets 3 or 4 calls every day with people looking for their lost dogs and other pets. And each call takes at least 10 minutes of (volunteered) time, as well as ink and paper to record the details.

And if you multiply that up by all the other people that are called up about the same pet – and all the lost pets in a month – this can get quite costly.

But What If You Are Lost Too?
This is the standard route for someone living at home – but what if you were travelling and you were in a new town or city. Would you know which companies to call to help you? Would you even know where you were to say where your dog was last seen?

And – what is the standard procedure for finding dog owners? Some countries use microchips, some use tattoes and others give you 7 days to find your own dog in a Lost Dog Shelter – otherwise it is simply rehomed!

That is why it is worth knowing what happens to pets in the areas you are visiting – or finding someone who does!

The Experts:
There are several companies available now who know all the local vets to any given address in an instant.

Once your dog has been reported to them, they will alert all relevant centres and vets as to the description and contact details of you and your dog. You don’t need to worry about a thing.

Having built up a relationship with all these vets and centres, their faxes and texts are treated as urgent rather than as routine. So if your dog has been handed in to anyone on their contact list – you will have a result in no time!

No wasted calls, no endless reciting of your details and dogs description – just one call and then you can focus on looking for your dog rather than on the phone!

So I think it is best practice to make sure you find out about these companies before you head off on your green holidays – rather than wasting resources after the event!

This is where the phrase ‘Leave it to the Experts’ rings true!

Right then, lets get straight to it so you can enjoy these garden visitors a bit more – knowing what they are and therefore, a lot more about them.

There are plenty of birds that will visit your garden – whether or not you have a nut or seed feeder about the place. Obviously this will help to attract them in the first place, but your garden large or small will always have birds in it.

Here, we will be focusing on those that will probably visit your garden in the course of week to feed on insects, plants and any food you might have left out for them…… and that have a bright colouring or distinctive markings to help you identify them!

Chaffinch:
Let’s start with a bird that is quite common and easy to identify to kick off with – well the male is anyway. The female of the species is not so obvious at first glance – but if you know the markings of the male, then you can see similar markings on the duller females and they start to stand out from the crowd.

Male Chaffinches have a noticably orange body – not as bright red as the male Bullfinch or as neat and tidy as the Robins bib – but it’s a clear give-away as not many UK garden birds have this colouring matched with such clear white markings on the wings and tail (in flight).

photo credit: Keith Laverack

Bullfinch:
As mentioned above, these birds (males only) have an impressively red breast! This breast is so solid and clearly defined that once you see one you can’t deny that you did. The rest of their body appears black and they have a very stubby-looking head and beak and clear black cap.

photo credit: chapmankj75

The female is exactly the same stubby shape as the male and has exactly the same markings and colours as the male – apart from the red breast. Instead she has a greyish body colour, but they are often seen in pairs or small groups so you should be able to see both sexes close together.

Goldfinch
There is no mistaking the red face patches on these birds when they arrive on your seed feeder! This red is either side of the beak and on a simple but striking black and white head. You will also see a strong yellow colouring on the wings both when perched and when in flight.

Both the male and female have this clear colouring and they just love small seeds to feast upon including thistles, niger and burdocks – and make a great picture while they do it!

photo credit: sarniebill1

Greenfinch:
Another finch that will just love your garden for it’s ready supply of food! Although it doesn’t have the bright colours of any of the finches above – it is a solid green colour with clear yellow bands on the wings that you can’t miss – particularly in flight.

Just like other finches, it has the split tail feathers when perched, as well as a strong solid beak to crack open seeds – particularly black sunflowers and pine cones.

photo credit: chapmankj75

Ring-neck Parakeet:
These very noisy birds are a delight to see when you are visiting the London area – however residents might have other words to describe them! This ‘exotic’ species can be found roosting in huge (noisy) numbers and can cause a great deal of damage to feeders, gardens and other suitable feeding areas.

photo credit: Shawn McCready

They have the ability to utilise a large variety of feedstuffs and can be found almost anywhere in the busy city – which is a great attraction for those living elsewhere. You will hear them before you see them, but when you do see them, you won’t be able to tear yourself away!

There are other native birds that appear bright green (including green woodpeckers and the greenfinch above) – but with their long tails, parrot-like faces and a bright red beak – you’ll know a parakeet when you see it.

And once you see one amongst the green leaves – you might find yourself looking at 100 all in the same tree! I mean, there are 2 in the image below – can you spot them?

photo credit: robmcm

So, that’s your brightly coloured garden dwellers – but what about those that look a bit more dull – or a lot alike….

Let’s look at the remaining 5 species of Tit; 3 of which are virtually the same size, shape and black/white and buff colours…..

.
Did you know that it is illegal in the UK for you to take a close-up photo of a baby barn owl?

This little known law is part of the Wildlife & Countryside Act (1981) where there is a list of species that receive full protection of the law – and this protection includes reducing the disturbance of the nesting young or recently fledged young of all the species on it – and this includes Barn Owls.

It also includes other seemingly random species such as Brambling, Fieldfare, Firecrest, Kingfisher, Bewick’s Swan and even the little Crested Tit!

All these species are among the 80+ protected wild bird species that frequent the UK, which can be native or just passing through.

There is, of course, already a law to protect all wildbirds from being intentionally injured, killed or taken from the wild – and the same goes for their eggs – but there are some exceptions.

In the case of the Barn Owl and the Kingfisher – they are for greater protection; whereas in the case of the Mallard or Woodcock – it means lesser protection at certain times!

photo credit: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Northeast Region

These schedules also cater for captive-bred ‘wild bird’ species such as birds of prey and other more common species such as Magpies, Blackbirds and Goldfinches. And also the sale of wildbirds that have been killed legally and the rehabilitation of injured birds.

Game birds are not covered by these particualar laws however, but are covered under the separate Game Bird Act, which fully protects them outside of the Open Season.

The Bird Schedules:
There are 4 such catagories (which may have several parts) which cover those endangered birds to be protected as well as those species which can be killed or sold, and they lay out as follows:

Schedule 1: Full protection at all times (or during the close season for a specific 4 species). To get close to young, nesting or breeding birds in this list – you will need a licence (or you can visit them in specific reserves).

Schedule 2: Birds which may be killed or taken outside of the close season only – but not sold – basically to be killed to protect crops or other interests or to be killed for food or for sale as per Schedule 3.

Schedule 3: Birds which may be sold; either dead at specific times, or alive if captive bred and legally ringed. These include certain ducks and wood pidgeons to be sold dead; and siskins, song thrushes and other ‘garden’ birds that can be kept as ‘pets’ and displayed at bird shows.

Schedule 4: Captive Bred birds which must be registered and ringed if in captivity (mainly raptors). These birds need to be registered and you must have genuine proof of breeding and hatching. If you find an injured bird that happens to be listed on Schedule 4 – even if you intend to re-release it shortly – you should inform the appropriate authority as they may need to be registered.

photo credit: luc.viatour

Your Actions:
So next time you see the opportunity to photograph any nesting bird – think about what that means.

If they have made a law that specifically prevents human from getting close enough to a Schedule 1 species – as it would disturb them – think again for all birds and other wildlife!

If they think that getting that close could prevent birds from nesting at all or may make them to abandon existing young – then what harm are you doing being that close to any species?

Even with the fantastic zooms on cameras these days – you still have to be quite close to get a great shot – so what if you got a great shot of a nest, but after you left all the young starved to death after you had scared the parents off!

When trying to film or photograph nesting birds – or any birds really – it is best to set up a hide (or use one at a reserve). Birds get used to them and so aren’t so affected by all the keen photographers snapping away at them. And some reserves set up hides to be really close to the action just for this reason.

So, if you are going to enter a photgraphic competition with your nest shot – make sure it’s not a Schedule 1 species – otherwise they may ask to see your licence………. and I’m sure you don’t want the associated £5000 fine and accompanying prison sentence instead of first prize!