Nightingale Song by Starling

When out with my better half the other day, I stopped and raised my hand to stop the conversation we were having, fortunately she knows me well enough to know that its not intended to be rude. There was a bird singing that just seemed odd. Or at least out of place. It was one that I thought I recognised but I needed to listen to my bird song CDs to see if I could identify it.

Then the following day, as the BBC has a programme on the radio called Saving Species, there was the call again. It appeared that I/We had heard a Nightingale. However, it was late afternoon, and Nightingales don't normally sing at that time. So while I was sure that was the song I heard, was it really a Nightingale?

Locally there are few people I can turn to regarding bird song, as while some people know the common birds, there are not many that know some of the rarer species. Additionally as I did not have a recording of the song we had heard, I had no record to get someone to verify.

But, going for another walk today, after a long day, I saw a chap with binoculars. I vaguely recognise him, yet greeting him he pointed out a starling that had been singing. Not his own song but that of a Nightingale. Starlings are good mimics and it had fooled him too, so the mystery solved, but as we talked we agreed that it had to have learnt that from a Nightingale so could there be one in the woods? Well if I can find the time, perhaps I will find out.

Tadpoles and Nests

As I have been very busy with other things this year, I have not had the time or opportunity to chart the was that the changing seasons bring new or different life to my local woods and surrounding areas. Well not as much as I have in previous years. However, I have my contacts, and that means that while I have not yet been to see the ospreys nest in Cumbria this year, I can bring you folks updates as and when I get them. Equally, while I may not have been able to get out to see other areas of wildlife activity, I do get to hear of some of them.

However, there is nothing better than going out and taking a peek for yourself, and this is what I did with my better half on Monday. This was more a stroll than one of my expeditions, and as such I was not laden down with equipment. So while it was possible to see and hear much, it was more a matter of just enjoying what was there. Like seeing an Orange Tip Butterfly. Had I been on my own, I may have gone chasing off to try and get a picture, but I know that my better half does not have the same passion that I do and she would get bored.

It is also amusing that she doesn't like creepy crawlies and while on my own I would go off and scrutinise many of the small creatures, such behaviour by me gets her feeling upset as she really doesn't like spiders et al. So when I got on my belly to try and photograph the tadpoles in the pond, it was a mixture of amusement and “don't pick up any insects” attitude. But just as I adjust my way of interacting with the natural world when with her, she has learnt to trust that I will not be childish and make her interact with creatures she does not feel happy being about.

That said, I have often joked with her that one day I will grow up, as I have long recognised that I am rather childlike when it comes to the natural world. She can recognise and respects that passion I have.

While out on Monday, we heard a call that was one of the Red Kites. That told me that near by was likely to be a Red Kite nesting. It was close to an area where a Pair of Kites have tried to nest before. This year they appear to have been successful. As in past years the nest was disturbed, deliberately it has to be said, I am keeping quiet about this one. But I hope like the Ospreys there will be chicks successfully reared this year.

There be Eggs

Last Sunday, the Osprey pair in Cumbria laid their first egg. Followed by another on Wednesday, and this time the female did sit on the first and start its incubation. As this information came to me on Thursday, and there are expectations that a third will be laid, it looks like there will be another brood of Cumbrian Ospreys this year.

Flying Resumes

While I am pleased to hear that the people who have been stranded by the Volcanic Ash, will be able to return, I personally am very concerned that the reasons for this is financial and that it is actually safe.

In Europe, if there had been an incident where an aircraft had crashed, the responsibility would have been on the civil air authorities. While in America, the safety is legally with the individual airlines. Thus, the relatives could ultimately sue the Airline. Here it would be the civil air authorities that could be sued. However, while there are many volcanic eruptions across the planet, this is the first time that one has, whilst spewing ash into the most crowded airspace in the world.

I genuinely hope that there is not a crash, nor a incident where a plane has suffered serious engine failure and has to make an emergency landing somewhere.

I have never been so exasperated but to hear some of the stupid comments by the people saying that the shut down of air space was an over reaction. While a single aircraft can make manoeuvres to get out of trouble if during a flight it encounters the ash cloud, but with more than a thousand aircraft over the Atlantic at any one moment, would that aircraft have the safe space to move into? This even assumes that the pilot and the instruments can detect the ash. As the ash is not detectable on radar.

I strongly suspect that there will be an incident sooner or latter. As the ash is highly abrasives and damages engines, I can see that an aircraft could become damaged and then suffer a catastrophic failure well away from the area of concern.

Personally I just will not be flying in the near future myself as while I don't think that it is totally unsafe, for financial reasons, the aviation industry has been prepared to compromise safety.

Sound of Silence

When I first heard about the volcanic ash cloud grounding civil air traffic, it occurred to me that with spring starting and that the prevailing wind would normally be flowing from west to east, that it would last longer than a day or two. As my better half's farther was travelling back from America, my initial priority was to let her know as this would impact her directly.

However, while it has caused inconvenience and real distress for some people, it has real real benefits too. Not least the sound of silence that has given people a taste of what life would be like without the relentless sounds of aircraft.

The longer this ash cloud grounds aircraft the harder it will be for people to accept that pollution again once flights resume. If we take a location like Heathrow in London where there is an aircraft movement every ninety seconds from half past five in the morning, this sudden silence will have only served to highlight what millions have lost because of air travel.

As with a lot of adverse effects, as the volume of air traffic has built up over a long time, several decades, many people will not know or remember what life was like without that constant sound pollution. Therefore this reminder of what life could be like could well boost the opposition to the third runway at Heathrow.

A major problem is simply that far to many aircraft leave half full. This was how the low cost airlines started, by lowering fairs to get people in those empty seats. But even now there can be aircraft movements where the aircraft has only one passenger, or worse with none. As simply to retain their landing or take off slot, the airline has to move that aircraft. Fail to use their allocated and valuable slot they loose it.

I have no idea how long this ash cloud will prevent aircraft to fly, but the longer that aircraft are grounded, the less people will tolerate a return to the status quo. Further, the longer this continues the more likely that airlines, already struggling because of the recession, will go bust. While the loss of jobs will have a negative personal effect, overall it is likely to dramatically change the way that we allow air travel to exist.

This could and should include not allowing aircraft to fly near empty. That would reduce the number of aircraft movements needed with a potential of reducing carbon emissions by at least a third, and eliminating the need for a third runway at Heathrow. Additionally if the ash cloud does persist for many months it would mean that there will be political pressure for better internal transport links within the UK, predominantly rail, and the high speed rail link.

Often much business travel is unnecessary, and with the good information technology links that exist, video conferencing is actually a better option. But often business people see business travel as one of the perks of the job. Even though it has a dubious economic benefit for the business. But like so many aspects of air travelling people have accepted so much in an unquestioning manner.

It is bizarre that we allow ourselves to be treated like bovine creatures, packed into cramped seats, and herded around in an abusive way at airports. Yes it is fast and convenient, but as the blissful silence that many millions are experiencing, shows that the pollution and inconvenience of many is for the benefit of the minority.

I am well aware that I don't make myself popular for saying this, but I really do expect the ash cloud to disrupt air travel for the next few months at least and hope that this disruption changes the attitude to air travel. I for one am just enjoying hearing the birds sing.

Egg Incubation in Raptors

In the update on the Ospreys, I mentioned that last year the hen osprey failed to sit on her first egg. Typically, Ospreys will sit on her first egg, and while it may take two or three days then lay the second and so on until a clutch of three and rarely four are laid. As they are incubated for the same time, they will hatch at different times. Well that is what typically happens.

But as this young bird doesn't seem to have read the text books, last year she failed to incubate her first egg when laid. While that chick hatched, only two birds fledged as one died. It is likely that it was this chick from the first egg that failed to thrive.

It raises an interesting question; as this pair are an isolated young pair, could it be that without others to learn from they made mistakes?

While it is good news that the Osprey population is growing and expanding, it is where isolated pairs, like this pair in Cumbria, where the birds seem to lack the skills that they would learn from others. There was a similar situation with the Red Kites when a pair tried to nest a year before they were old enough to breed and the result was a failed season.

Thus, with these Ospreys it may well be that they will do better this year, having had the experience from last year.

The comment that Ms Tree asks is interesting as, the smaller the egg the faster it looses heat. So as a good rule of thumb, the smaller the egg is then the hen has to keep the egg warm straight from laying. With Raptors in particular they will space out laying to cope with any possible scarcity of food. As simply as the chicks grow their food demands increase, thus if the chicks were all the same size the parents just could not catch enough fish to feed a full clutch of pre fledged chicks and feed themselves. This is one of the reasons why Ospreys migrate from Africa to northern latitudes to breed. As the longer daylight hours mean that they have more time to hunt. Experienced Ospreys, will often adjust the time they sit on eggs to space out the hatching to match the food supply.

Personally I am just happy to see the birds have returned and are trying to breed again. I have also been informed that local to me, an Osprey was seen, it was likely to have been on route to Scotland.

Osprey Update

There is some good news regarding the Ospreys in Cumbria. The birds are mating and it looks as though the female is being a bit of tease. Initiating mating but biting the male when he tries, they are mating. At this point, no eggs have been produced, but that could change in days. With any luck there will be three, as there were last year. Unlike last year, lets hope she sits on the first egg. She failed to start sitting until the second was laid.

Volcano Closes Air Space

Even before British airspace was closed down Newcastle University released a press release saying that the volcanic eruption in Iceland had the potential to seriously disrupt air travel. This yesterday I did not know, while out the first that I realised was the absence of aircraft. Sitting below the flight path of Newcastle airport, hearing nothing but natural sounds raised worries in my mind. I had visions of something akin to September eleventh, so I was greatly relieved to discover that there had been no disaster and that actions were taken to avoid any loss of life.

While I do feel for the people caught up in the situation, not able to complete a journey or even start a holiday, it really is not the end of the world. Although to hear some of the people who have not been able to take a holiday, they seem to want to blame someone. Equally, there appear to be others that blame over caution. Would they feel the same way if several aircraft had crashed?

But while so far the volcano has just caused some inconvenience, it shows how fragile our economic systems are. For as well as passenger travel, there will also be no air freight into north-western Europe. While this will stop some of the fresh produce appearing on the supermarket shelves, it will effect all imported manufactured items such as pharmaceuticals that are regularly air freighted.

It has long been a bone of contention for me is the way that multinational companies export jobs and move manufacturing to cheaper locations. This to has also been something that I have long cautioned about, as simply the weak link was always having the ability to air freighted goods across the world. While if we run out of green beans or prawns will not be the end of the world, shortages of life saving drugs will.

The experts all say that the effects of this volcano will impact air travel for at least six months, and may even last two or three years. While there are other means of transporting vital goods, had we retained manufacturing capacity in Britain, or even Europe, the effects would be far less. We will learn to adapt to this new situation, and the grounding of all these aircraft will dramatical reduce the CO2 pollution from Europe. Also the gasses from the volcano will reduce the greenhouse effect of the man made carbon dioxide.

Perhaps we will learn lessons from this, but I doubt it.

Markets and Walks

Because the weather was good on Sunday, I dragged my better half out for a walk in the woods. First thing in the morning I had already been out to get some bread for toast and I had delighted in the number of birds that I had seen singing their hearts out. So when the light cloud cleared and the sun came out, we really had to get out in the air.

For the most part, many of the observations were routine to me, but when I showed her a definite track of a fox on its regular route, she told me of seeing a fox recently near her home. So slowly she is growing to appreciate the natural world. We stopped and sat by the river near the end of the walk, and were happily content there, but our peace was disturbed by a fisherman who clearly wanted to fish from the spot we were enjoying the tranquillity of the river. So we decide to wander a little further. Thus we headed into the village of Blackhall Mill. I pointed out the places where I have seen Otters, as well as other wildlife. Then we spotted a banner that told of a market in the village. At the angle, I had read it as a farmers market, but it was in fact a “Makers” Market (Craft Market).

It was an interesting market and I was actually quite good quality. It is one of the aspects of craft markets that can be frustrating is that the quality can be rather poor, yet here were some true makers trying to sell their own products. There were a couple of the makers that we took cards for, as my better half like her fun earrings. While talking to one stall holder, I discover she lives in my street in my village.

It is one of the aspects that disappoints me about some of the people in my village that they will complain about many aspects of the village (that I live in), yet expect others to resolve them. Yet in the two villages either side of mine, the folks actually get off their bums and try and make improvements for themselves. As with this Makers Market in Blackhall Mill, and other projects such as the HOP garden in High Spen, people at least try to help themselves. I genuinely wish that there was at least some of that spirit in Chopwell, but sadly it really seems that in my village it is always someone else's job to do something constructive.

Ospreys Return To Cumbria

First I have to report a wonderful sighting of one of the Red Kites. To the North of my village there is some fields that are owned and managed by the Local Authority for wildlife. Therefore I often see the Red Kites quartering this searching for Voles, Beetles and other tasty (to a Kite) items. However on Saturday I saw one of the Kites that had landed taking off from the ground. It was being dive bombed by a Jackdaw, just a single individual, and the harassment continued as the Kite flew in my direction. What fascinated me was the adapt flying skills of the Kite as it avoided direct contact. Then almost forgetting myself I suddenly realised that the Kite had a Frog or Toad in its Talons. As the Kite was just twenty feet above me as it passed over, as it avoided the Jackdaw, I could see it clearly.

As Corvids and the Kites often utilise the same food sources, the Kites often have to run the gauntlet of the Crows etc. Most of the time the Kites do avoid the attacks, but in a film that I shot last year, I caught a crow pulling at the tail feathers of the Kite I was filming.

It was also good to hear that the Ospreys that nested over the other side of the Pennines in Cumbria, last year, have returned. I hope that I can keep folks informed of them too.

Surprise Election Called

Well this week the shock news is that there is going to be a General Election on 6th of May. I don't think anyone saw that coming.

Already I am sick of the election coverage in the media and seeing a bunch of grown men, and sorry female personages but it is mainly men, acting like over grown school children. Thus far the political slogans can be summed up as “My Dad can beat up your Dad”

The problem is simply that the two main parties, Conservatives and Labour, are just not being honest. While the economic crash would have happened no matter what party was in power, either have been equally to blame as their central economic policies are the same.

Therefore the so called row about an increase in a tax, is really irrelevant. One side, the Conservatives, are saying it will be a tax on jobs. At the margins any tax increase will effect jobs. Equally the Labour party are saying that taking £12 billion out of the economy will effect the recovery. The point is both are true, but the real question is changing the economy so we can deal with the deficit The deficit last year cost each of us £2800 and this financial year it is expected to £2700. That is like each person in the UK having a credit card that we have borrowed £2800 on then rather than paying that off, we get another and we plan to spend £2700 on that. While the £100 per person raised by the tax increase, will barely pay off the interest.

The reality is that both the Conservatives and Labour would have bailed out the banks. While the details would have been different, the effect would have been the same. As both the main parties seek to perpetuate the myth that property is not overvalued. As what ever party gets into power, they want and need the tax income from property sales (based upon a percentage of the price paid) and the taxes that the banks pay in corporate tax as well as the income tax on the bonuses. Thus the very economic activities that caused the problems in the first place will be repeated.

This election I personally will be voting Liberal Democrat. My rational is actually quite simple, Vince Cable the Liberal Democrat spokesman that shadows the Chancellor was warning of a banking crisis before it happened. Further when Northern Rock went belly up he called for that Bank to be nationalised. Something that had to happen but only after the government had wasted fifty billion trying to prop the bank up.

Had Northern Rock been nationalised from the start, then when the rest of the banks started to fall, the government would not have needed to bail out the banks as they would have owned an institution that would have been able to keep the banking system working. Without spending over a trillion pounds supporting failing businesses.

Further, while the property market would have collapsed, and this would have been very unpleasant for many, the current bank bailout has only delayed the collapse in housing prices. Had we as a nation been following Liberal Democrat economic policies then we would not be as bad as it currently is. It would still be a bad economic situation but not as bad as is currently is.

I know that there will be plenty of people that will say that I am wasting my vote by voting for the third party. Well if everyone who thought about voting for the Liberal Democrat actually did then there could be a real change in politics in this country. That is not to say that I trust the Liberal Democrats more than any other politician, but economically they really do seem to make sense. Further, while members of the other parties were dipping their hands in the expenses pot that looked corrupt, they on the whole were not. Equally, there are many other polices that I tend to agree with the Liberal Democrats on.

So apart from the half a forest of propaganda that is landing on my doorstep, I will be ignoring the whole shambles.

Loss of Village Resources

Yesterday I dragged my better half along to the organic community garden in the next village. I had been flicking through some recipes as I had some haddock that I was going to cook for lunch to make a soup with. This had reminded me that I had wanted to go there to see if I could get some artichokes. As I knew they were growing them, I thought I could buy some there. Well my timing was off as just last week they had harvested them and made a large batch of soup. Just what I was planning too. There were still a few so I was not leaving empty handed, but a few more would have been better.

Also while there, I asked about the local greengrocers. I had visited this just two weeks ago and I had been surprised to see that it was closed when I went by on Wednesday. I discovered that it had closed down.

I had only visited the place twice myself as it requires a walk through the wood to get there, or an expensive bus ride. Short journeys on the buses are expensive here. But I had wanted to use and support the place. What surprised me though, was that they couple running the place said nothing about closing the place down. Yet while I was there it was clear they were packing and leaving. I have discovered today that they have walked away leaving debts etc, so perhaps they did not want to say anything to me for fear of getting caught. There was I talking to them about returning regularly and even asking if they were willing to order for me some of the more unusual items.

Twenty years ago in my village there were many little shops, now half of them have been converted to housing units, and remain empty, while the remaining shop units are empty and boarded up. It makes the village feel run down. But the problem is that the owners of these properties have killed much of the businesses by demanding rents that are unsustainable.

I have often spoken about the silly rents that some of the landlords are trying to charge for homes here, and that they remain empty as a result. Well its even worse for retail and commercial property. While there will always be companies and businesses that can make it work in prime city centre locations, in small communities where the where the level of trade is limited by the size of the community, small businesses can not afford to pay rents similar to that of the city centre.

that has the effect of making communities moribund and run down. While it is possible to go and visit towns and cities for food shopping etc, it takes money out of the community and when there are difficulties like the harsh winter we have just had, where it was difficult to get supplies, how are small communities supposed to cope then?

All of the local shops in and around my village survive by by selling alcohol, in vast quantities and to under age drinkers, creating other problems. But often it is only because of the high rents and overinflated property values that these problems occur in the first place.

A Sky Full of Kites

For several weeks now, I have seen Red Kites every day. Today though the skies have been full of them. While my better half was ironing the top she was planning to wear, I saw one out of the window and pointed it out to her. A nice shared moment and a clear sighting of this magnificent bird. Then as we were going out while at the bus stand, we saw two different Kites. Then as we returned, there was other shared sighting. I know that my partner does not share my fascination for these raptors, but she is amused by my childlike attitude to them.

Then after I had cook us both lunch, and she had departed to meet a friend, I headed into Consett and I saw yet another of the Kites as I waited for the bus. As I watched, I realised that there were two young girls watching me and laughing at the strange man that was watching the skies. I was so absorbed with watching the birds that I nearly missed seeing that the bus was coming. This left two children laughing at the (supposed) adult.

It really is a great conservation success story as Red Kites were absent from the area until reintroduced by the RSPB. Now it is a rare day that I do not see one of them. Yet no matter how often I see them, I am never failed to be impressed by them or their behaviour. An example of this happened just two days ago. I suddenly became aware of the Jackdaws together in a large flock calling and wheeling over the roofs near by. I could not see what they were reacting to, but it was focused on something hidden behind one of the chimney stack. It could have been food that was eliciting this reaction, but it was the numbers that made me doubt that as the flock was about seventy or eighty in number.

I had to wait only a few minutes to see a Red Kite stretch its wings and take to the air. My best guess was that it had stopped to feed, but can not be sure. However, it was actually a real surprise to see the Kite there as while I had suspected it was likely to be a raptor the Jackdaws were mobbing. But as the previous day I had seen a Peregrine Falcon hunting, I had expected to see the Falcon and not the Red Kite.

It had been early in the morning, in the early full light I had been watching the pigeons wheeling and tumbling in the sky. As pigeons have a characteristic way of folding their wings to slow and tumble, it was a rather small dot high in the sky that caught my eye as is was alone. When it folded its wings it looked different and I saw it drop like a stone. It was only experience of observing birds that told me what it was, and remarkably I saw the falcon enter the pigeon flock and emerge with one in its talons. This was not close, about one hundred and fifty yards away but close enough to see the kill and the falcon clearly.

Therefore it was the falcon I had thought that had elicited the wrath of the Jackdaws and not the Red Kite. While Kite prefer to stay airborne and will feed on the wing, as I have oft observed, the will come to the ground occasionally. Thus while on the bus today with my better half, when I saw a Red Kite on the ground, on the golf course, I knew it had found food and was covering it with its wings.

All going to make the day a real Red Kite day.

Kites and Kestrels

Over the past week or so, I have been lucky enough to have seen at least one Red Kite every day from my office window. It is not that I have been spending all my time in the office, it is just that I have been lucky. I have been keeping a camera at my side too, but as happened yesterday, the Kite appeared really quickly just over the roof tops and while very close, between twenty to thirty feet from my window, it was not in view for that long. Still a great view and sighting and while I could have gone chasing after it to try and get a picture, sometimes it is just nice to sit back and appreciate seeing the bird flying free.

There really are some very good signs that spring is upon us. Just the other day while in bed, I heard a vixen bark. Not that I needed to prove it, my better half is now convinced that I am mad, as I got up and did go searching to see if I could photograph her, or at least locate her. I think I discovered where she was out hunting, but I lost track of where she headed. Therefore, I don't know where the foxes den will be. Further while I did not get a clear view of the fox, I could at times see a shadow, a silhouette and the fox, if that is what I was seeing, could have been heavily pregnant. Thus there could be cubs about soon. I will have to look into this, but it seems rather early for the fox to be giving birth, but equally it may just be that as this winter has been harder and more normal that it just feels early.

Today, I saw another Red Kite as I first sat at my computer, and as I was writing I saw that there were two Kites. I looked up again, and in the same part of the sky, over some traditional grass meadow owned and managed by the council for wildlife, I saw a Kestrel. I went to make a cup of tea, and when I returned I looked again and the Kestrel was gone and there were four Red Kites in the air. So this has been a good Friday.