Winter birds in The Wildlife Meadow

A juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

Late winter sunshine catching the early daffodils and primroses in The Wildlife Meadow is a sure sign that spring is on its way. The plants and then insects that start to appear as the days get longer will be welcome news for birds as we reach the time of year when food is hard to come by. To help them out we have continued to improve our bird feeding area with new feeders and a bird table and have been rewarded with some great sightings already this year.

Lesser Redpoll, a welcome winter visitor

We have seen winter migrants to the Midlands with Lesser Redpoll visiting the nyjer seed feeder and more recently Siskin visiting the bird table and sunflower seed feeder. A group of long-tailed tits have also started to visit regularly, attracted by the fat balls. Nuthatches that started to visit at the end of last summer are now seen throughout the day as well as Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Most of the more common garden bird species are also regulars including the delightful Greenfinch and Goldfinch. Feeding garden birds with quality food such as food from CJ Wildlife will attract many birds for us to enjoy but feeders may also spread disease if unhygienic. We regularly clean our feeders with brushes and disinfectant. It is important to do this often in summer when disease is more prevalent.

Siskins feasting on a feeder

Away from the feeders we have also seen birds with different feeding habits such as Green Woodpecker, Bullfinch, Treecreeper, Mistle Thrush and a Kingfisher along the canal. We want visitors to the meadow to have the chance to see these amazing birds too so this winter we have erected a bird hide that has great views of the bird feeders and the canal – the perfect spot for looking out for the elusive Kingfisher! Although it is early in the year we have already seen or heard 5 Red List and 3 Amber List species so far. Unfortunately the Hoopoe that has for so long amazed visitors to Wall Heath has not made it here yet!

We are lucky enough to have a rare insight into our local bird population as those who attended one of the recent free bird ringing demonstrations will know. The experts from the Brewood Ringers have delighted our visitors by showing them the process of ringing the birds after they have been caught in the Wildlife Meadow and passing on interesting information about each species. Those of you who have attended a demonstration might be interested to know that Blackbird (1), Blue tit (43), Coal tit (1), Dunnock (1), Great tit (25), Great Spotted Woodpecker (3), Greenfinch (5), Long-tailed tits (4), Nuthatch (2), Robin (6), Siskin (1), Sparrowhawk (1) and Wren (1) are the species ringed here so far this winter. Interestingly there were only a couple of birds from the November demonstration that were re-caught during the more recent demonstration which shows that although we think the same individuals are visiting our garden feeders, only a proportion are locally resident throughout winter while many are more nomadic.

Hopefully there will be another chance to see a bird ringing demonstration here at Ashwood Nurseries this winter before the Brewood Ringers start focusing on breeding season ringing projects. We will certainly be inviting them back next autumn for some more demonstrations! If you would like to come and see birds in The Wildlife Meadow then come along to one of John’s Garden Open Days. Please visit our website regularly for more upcoming events.

A wren delights the crowds at the February bird ringing demonstration

A great spotted woodpecker is the undisputed star of the November bird ringing demonstration