Monday 26 March 2018

Signs of spring ... a Chiffchaff sings its heart out ... winter migrants on the move, Wigeon and Whooper Swans ... Barn Owls that survived the easterly blast ...

My first summer migrant today ... a Chiffchaff singing constantly this morning from high in a beech tree by Campfield Scrape ... blue skies and barely a breath of wind made it feel much more pleasant than the 2 deg C. air temperature ...


On the Esk above Longtown Rooks were busy by their nests ...


... and several pairs of Oystercatcher looked territorial on the shingle ...


... but no sign of any Sand Martins ...

While on the move a small flock of Wigeon took off ... first against cloud ...


... then into the blue sky ...


... a Greenshank, probably an over wintering bird flew noisily upstream ...


... before turning to fly high overhead ...


Barn Owls had a hard time at Geltsdale with repeated heavy snowfall resulting in several fatalities but two foraged before sunset last week and seemed to be finding voles ...




The Walby Whooper Swan flock had only a single family party yesterday evening ...


... and the wintering Green Sandpiper showed well on the west pool there as the light faded ..





Tuesday 20 March 2018

Kleptoparasitism ? ... it's a fine line ... Wigeon feeding opportunistically with Coot at Talkin Tarn ...

My mental image of Wigeon in winter is of quite large flocks sometimes grazing near the water then moving en masse to swim for a while or feeding together in the shallows ... at Grindon Lough this would certainly be typical behaviour

And with Coot I picture them bobbing together in the middle of a lake ... often in quite tight formation ... not particularly associating with other species of waterbird ...

During this winter at Talkin Tarn Wigeon and Coot have associated in small groups scattered widely across the tarn ... and the Wigeon have very clearly been taking the initiative in following the Coot ...


... this Coot looks into the crystal clear water for food ... the Wigeon looks at the Coot ...

Talkin Tarn was quiet and benign this morning with barely a ripple ... not a hint of the ravages of the weather from the last few days ...


... and birds were scattered across its surface ...


... in the foreground a Coot is intent on feeding while a pair of Wigeon wait on ... this same scenario is played out in the background ...


... the Coot dives leaving a circle on the water ... the Wigeon wait ...


... up comes the Coot and for the first time the Wigeon pay attention to the water and the vegetation brought to the surface by the Coot ...


... feeding in progress ...

So the Wigeon are very clearly following Coot, waiting for the Coot to bring food to the surface and joining in on the spoils.

There was no attempt by the Wigeon to actually take food directly from the Coot but they helped themselves to the food the Coot had made available ... is this kleptoparasitism which normally refers to taking food directly from another ? ... well I think it is ... on the human stage this would definitely be called theft ...


... here the Wigeon wait while the Coot gets busy ...


... maybe lean pickings this time ...


... the Coot seeks better foraging and the Wigeon follow ...


... here the spoils allow feeding for all three birds ...

Interestingly the Coot show no sign of aggression towards the Wigeon ...

The literature cites frequent kleptoparasitism on the part of American Wigeon towards a variety of other species ... and Gadwall have been described as having kleptoparasitic relationships with Coot ... the Wigeon Coot relationship seems largely untold ...

On one occasion a male Wigeon swam towards a Coot ...


... whose pose did not indicate foraging ...



... clearly other things were on its mind ...

And with spring in the air all the other birds were looking superb in the hazy sunshine ...




... a Moorhen made a last minute getaway ...

... and with diminishing Wigeon numbers some of the Coot lived unmolested ...