Green Holidays

Let’s get down to the serious birds.

As promised here are some great tips for identifying some of the UK’s most common and widespread birds of prey.

These don’t include the owls who will have their own post later in the series, but cover some of our most well known raptors; some hunt live prey (mainly other birds) while others are mainly scavengers, searching along roadsides for their next meal.

It is always a pleasure to see a raptor soaring overhead as they have a certain menace and beauty to them at the same time. And their silhoutettes let you know that they don’t mind being seen – they don’t hide away like most garden birds…..

So let’s get started with the only hovering bird in the UK.

Kestrel:
These smaller birds of prey are often seen at roadsides and along field edges – magically floating in the air. They are the most likely of the 5 birds in this article to be seen on your commute to work!

photo credit: jim kelly3

They are reddish in colour on their back with black tips to their almost pointed wings. They fly with a long, straight tail – also with a black tip – however when hovering over it’s prey – usually small mammals – the tail feathers will be spread open in a fan.

Merlin:
Smaller than the kestrel and not so easy to see unless you are in the thick of the countryside. Rather than roadsides and fields, these birds are more likely to be over woodlands, coasts and heathland chasing their avian prey!

They have sharply pointed wings and a long barred tail – perfect for fast pursuits through the air chasing birds. However they are dull browns and greys with no really distinct features, so you have to identify them on their behaviour (fast swooping flight) and where you see them – or get a good look and rule out Hobbies and Perigrines which both have a white chin and throat.

Sparrowhawk:
As its name suggests, this bird is also a bird-eater – but does so in urban areas too – so you have a good chance of seeing one in your garden or walking through town. However, they fly so fast that you might not actually see them very clearly at all, but this behaviour alone is enough to identify them. I have witnessed many a garden bird attack without having even seen the bird approaching as they tend to fly low as they get closer and then surprise their prey (and me).

photo credit: Chester Zoo

ID wise, their pale breasts sport a concentrated pattern of horizontal stipes and their backs are very plain grey in colour if seen perched – if in flight you may spot the very long banded tail and the stripy underside with relatively blunt wings held slightly bent.

Common Buzzard:
These birds are becoming more and more numerous in the countryside and just on the outskirts of towns too. They are large birds in flight and tend to fly with their broad long wings held outstretched – you may only ever see them gliding.

photo credit: Lip Kee

Usually seen in pairs, they scout the landscape from on high looking for carrion – and as a result are commonly seen being harrassed by crows – who they loosely compete with for this food source. If you get a closer look, you will notice the single primary feathers sticking out of the wingtip (the fingers) as well as a noticable change in patterning between the main body and ‘forearms’ and the longer primary and secondary feathers.

There are plenty of other large birds in the UK with these 2 key features, but without binoculars you can never tell and so always assume it was the most likely suspect rather than a Golden Eagle! With binoculars look out for the black outline to the wings and the paler band across the coverts!

Red Kite:
One of the most majestic of ‘common’ birds of prey in the UK – and so large and brightly coloured that you won’t mistake it once you have seen it.

Even if it is high in the sky and you have only the naked eye – once it has fanned its tail and you have seen that unmistakable deep fork – there is nothing else it could be.

photo credit: Noel Reynolds

With a wingspan of over 1 and a half metres and with a reddish appearance this bird a real joy to find – and that isn’t always so difficult these days with red kites being spotted over most of the UK – I even saw one in an industrial estate car park on the ground. However they aren’t so common in the south-east yet – but they do make the odd appearance!

So, how many of these have you already seen and can now identify almost everytime? There are of course 11 other raptors in the UK which share some of their features and can look very similar to the novice bird watcher – like the rare Hobby and the elusive Goshawk – but it is very unlikely that you will see one in the first place. But even if you did – experts probably wouldn’t believe you anyway; I mean do you know what a carpel or a supercilium is? How about an alula or a tertial tip?

How about Seagulls next time? Surely they are a lot easier…..

See you soon…..

Cod & Chips; Tuna & Sweetcorn and Salmon and Cucumber sandwiches – Just STOP!

Of course, as humans in a developed nation – we can eat whatever we choose; but should we be a little more picky?

As consumers, we can demand whatever we want from retailers and manufacturers without donning placards, signing a 10,000 people petition or starting any riots.

How? you may ask – How else can you get people to listen to your opinions?

It’s called: Your Choice.

By choosing to buy a certain product, we are also choosing to leave something else behind – and it is what is left behind that forces retailers and manufacturers make big changes.

If 40,000 people all chose not to eat cod this week – there would be plenty of it left on the shelves of shops or in the fridges or restaurants. And this means that they probably won’t order any more of it for a while.

It also means that they are selling out of all the other fish products that you are buying, and so need to buy more of those to suit your needs.

Basically, your shopping choices can help to make big changes – and save threatened species.

Cod, Tuna and Salmon:
Of course you can still chose to eat any of these threatened species if they are available for sale when you eat out on holiday, but it is interesting to know a bit about what makes them so attractive to fishermen.

Firstly, they are big and live in shaols or behave in a way which makes them easy to catch; and due to their size and tasty flesh, they make more money per fish than the same weight of sardines (tuna can weigh up to 200kg and are mostly muscle – but the same weight of sardines would be riddled with bones and guts – even if they are still just as tasty).

The only downside here is that the reason they get so big is because they live for so long – and living a long time generally means that they reach sexual maturity later in life. Ultimately, if we catch more adults than can be replaced by reproduction then we have a serious problem.

A second downside to these ‘higher’ fish, is that they are predatory fish and so have to eat lots of other smaller fishes to get so big themselves. And as happened with Tuna recently, they can accumulate very high levels of toxin (a little bit from each of the smaller fish they ate over the years) and can actually became dangerous to humans if ingested.

The Answer?
We need to do the opposite to what we do now.

By aiming to eat all those little tiny fish we could not only help the larger fish numbers to recover, but we could also eat more sustainably and more healthily!

Smaller fish like herring, kippers and sardines reproduce very fast – so catching the adults doesn’t affect the number of young still in the water; and as they are not predatory fish, they will not accumulate high levels of toxins and heavy metals through their feeding habits.

And, as they are not normally caught by the big trawlers (who want to save all the space on their ships for the larger species), these fish can be caught by more sustainable and small scale fishermen making the most of the oceans along our coasts without affecting fish stocks.

So, next time you pull over in a small village for a travelling lunch – try something different!

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Now, things are hotting up! You should now be able to identify some of the UK’s most common birds, and it is hopefully making you not only look forward to going out and looking for these species – but also making you want to find out what the other ones are….

So let’s not disappoint you with this next bunch of the more noticable birds – and lets have a bit of fun today.

The following 5 birds really can’t be mistaken for anything else as they are unique in their appearance – however, they are rarer than the average bird and can be quite shy:

Kingfisher:
This one is so easy to spot with it’s bright blue colouring in flight.

There is no other bird in the UK that is aquamarine in colour and that you will normally only get a flash of as it darts along a river bank.

When they alight on a branch or twig, you get to see a whole different side of them with their bright orange breasts and patterned heads.

photo credit: neal young.

They can sometimes be found near beaches, estuaries and other waterways, but a quiet river with a steep sandy bank is their prefered habitat.

They are a protected species though, so do not disturb them in or around a suspected nest or if they have young present – otherwise they could abandon the nest and you could get into hot water if publishing or sharing any of the images!

Hoopoe:
Not a commonly seen bird – but one that you won’t forget as these birds have got a very unmistakable head crest as well as a bright black and white wing and tail patterning.

photo credit: Alan Manson

They also have a very long curved bill which would only normally be found on wading species – but this bird is rarely ever found near the coast – or infact any water.

They feeds on insects and worms in orchards, agricultural land and vineyards only in the summer (if at all), and are really only seen in passing and alone. They do not breed in the UK.

Puffin:
Do I even need to describe this one?

I think virtually everyone could tell a puffin from any other seabird – and even any other auk – by their crazy patterned beak and comedy face!

photo credit: Joanne Goldby

Golden Oriole:
This bird will make you think you are on holiday in the tropics with it’s rich yellow and black colouring.

photo credit: brian.gratwicke

Although very secretive you can still get a good look at these birds if you know where to look for them; namely poplar plantations in Suffolk, of flying along the south and east coasts on migration around May and August.

These birds are best searched for by song – so get used to their distictive call before you head out looking for them!

Avocet:
This slight black and white wader is the emblem of the RSPB – and for good reason.

It was virtually wiped out in the UK, and the RSPB managed a great conservation project that saw them bounce back. Now you can see them all over the east coast in the summer and down in the south-west over the winter.

They can be mistaken at a distance for gulls, but through your binoculars you will see their noticable black and white markings, their delicate upturned bill and their long blue legs!

photo credit: spencer77

I know these were all a bit less common than some of the other birds covered so far in these guides – but sometimes it is noce to see the most striking of our birds to bolster your interest.

Yes, its great to be able to identify those smaller garden birds that you see regularly – but it is such a thrill to see something so different, bright or elusive!

Next installment will be the most common birds of prey…..

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…..

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

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…..

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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!

You know the first 5 inside-out do you? Good Stuff!

Let us move on then……

So now you come to some more common birds – but these ones aren’t so obvious at first glance. You may have to look at them for a bit longer than the first 5 – or have some binoculars to hand too!

There are 2 sets of pairs here; 2 sets of birds that look quite similar until you can pick out the obvious differences.

And then of course you need to remember which one is which!

So lets look at the next 5 species and see what you think…..

Blue Tit:
This tiny garden lover is very common on garden feeders, and is not so easy to tell apart from the larger (but also blue-bodied Great Tits) for beginners.

Although they have a solid blue ‘caps’ seperated from their body colour by a black line running through their eye – they move so fast that you can’t alwasy make it out – especially if there are several birds on the feeder.

photo credit: chapmankj75

In fact to begin with it’s easier to learn what a Great Tit looks like – as it has much bolder colours and markings – and then you know it’s not that, so it must be a Blue Tit.

Great Tit:
Easy markers for these larger tits is the fact that they have a very dark head and neck – and a large white cheek patch. They also have a clear solid black chest line from their chins to their underbellies!

Try to find a garden feeder with both Blue and Great Tits feeding to see these differences first hand. And of course the Great Tits are much larger as well when you see them side by side!

photo credit: Chris Isherwood

Moorhen:
If you are out on the water – then you will no doubt have seen a small black bird walking about the waters edge with large feet. It might be on the water trying to get away from you as fast as it can.

Now this is one of 2 birds; if it has a red bill it is a moorhen – remember ‘R’ as in Moorhen. It will also have big yellow feet if you take a look.

photo credit: brian.gratwicke

Coot:
If it has a white bill and face plate – it will be a Coot (just remember ‘Red’ for moo’R'hen – then you will know it is a coot!). These birds are much larger than moorhens, but you might not see them together to compare so just go by the face. They also have grey legs and feet too if you get a chance to look at them walking over weeds.

photo credit: shimgray

Starling:
These noisy little birds tend to hang around in groups and will raid any food source that they come across! They are mainly black in appearance, but it depends on when you are watching them. In winter on closer inspection, you will see that they are a mottled pattern of brownish feathers spotted with creamy-brown patches all over, wheras in the summer they sport a rather metallic appearance of shiny greens, blues and purples with only residual spotting on the upper back and lower underside.

photo credit: marlin harms

They can look like other birds from a distance in your garden, but their extensive vocal range and large numbers usually gives them away as not your normal garden bird.

Now you have the basics, lets move on to some garden specialists in our next installment!

If you collect berries for making pies, drinks, puddings – where does the plant go?

Now we know that certain berries are great for puddings like blackberries, some are good for drinks like juniper berries and others are great for a whole host of other yummy tummy fillers.

But have you checked that those berries are not locally threatened with extinction?

It only takes a little bit of your old biology class to remember that the berries that plants make contain the seeds of that plant - and if the seeds don’t hit the ground – you don’t get a new plant!

So, needless to say, if you eat those seeds or throw the seeds in your bin – you are preventing a new generation of berry plants from germinating.  And that’s ok if they are a garden plant that you have brought and grown in your garden – but if you go on a wild berry hunt, you should really check on your species before you go stealing it’s fruit!

Case In Point:
Take juniper berries – great for gin making – but locally threatened in certain habitats.

Also, the berries take up to 3 years to fruit on the plant itself and another 2 or more to germinate into a new plant – so it’s berries are at least 5 years in the making.  And of course, not all berries contain fertile seeds in the first place!

Junipers are also very fussy about where they grow and as a result many juniper stands (groups of junipers) are not producing young plants in certain habitats across southern England.

Well, how could they if you are using all their berries each year for your festive fun!  Yes, wild mammals and birds also eat the plants and berries – but you are just adding to their woes!

photo credit: oskarlin

By all means in Scotland, where the plant is very common and widespread, take some berries – but still make sure that you don’t pick all the berries of any one plant or in any one stand otherwise you are just being a bit selfish towards nature’s efforts!

And according to local by-laws; you may not even be allowed to pick plants and berries in certain nature reserves or on protected land – or even beside footpaths or bridleways if it passes through private land.

And there may well be a good reason for it – don’t assume these berries go to waste if you don’t pick them. Nature takes care of these things; with mammals and birds eating the fresh produce and the invertebrates finishing off the waste materials!

Wild Food:
There is a big drive towards ‘wild food’ at the moment with mushrooms, berries, plants and game all making it onto the apparently eco friendly menu – but think about the bigger picture in all cases.

Yes, it’s lovely to kill off some wild deer and feed 30 of your friends at a wedding – but if everyone did this there would soon be a very noticeable shortage of deer!  Same goes for ducks, boar and fish.

And foraging for mushrooms is actually where you pick and eat the fruiting bodies of the underground fungi (just like the berries of the juniper bush) so you could be preventing the next generation of life for them too!

Conclusion:
Just because nature grew something for free and you happen to be near it – don’t assume that you should take it!  Think about the long term.  Think about 10 or 20 years down the line for that plant or animal.

I mean – have you checked which native plants or local habitats near to where you live are threatened?  Would you even look it up before you head out for a walk in the countryside?

We are in a bit of a bind over biodiversity at the moment – so it seems a bit selfish to try to stop people in Borneo from felling rare trees and killing orangutans, if we are basically preventing threatened species from growing and eating our own variety of ‘bush meat’!

Perhaps we should start to be a bit more concerned about these things – otherwise getting yourself and your kids back out into nature could actually be hindering or destroying the very plants and animals that we wanted to get closer to in the first place!