Ray Collier Country Diary - Pied Wagtails
Pied Wagtails - 31st December
Last week there was a pied wagtail foraging on the pavements of Union Street, Inverness, and it simply ignored the passers by who probably did not see the bird. It was picking up food too small for us to see but then it flew up onto the front of a parked car. It had seen the dead insects on the radiator grill and picked them by the beakful. Sometimes it would land on the grill, somewhat precariously, but it also hovered and picked up the dead insects in the process. Meanwhile in the middle of the Inverness station a herring gull was striding around amidst all the passengers waiting for their trains. These birds do not moult into their adult plumage until they are four or five years old and with such a close view it was easy to see by the brown markings on its head and neck that it was in its fourth winter.
If you exclude parkland, the River Ness and gardens that are, in their own way, an extension of the countryside, there are a number of reasons why so many birds are attracted to the city. In the case of the herring gull and other scavengers such as crows we leave so much litter around that it makes easy pickings. Another reason is the temperature within the city as opposed to the countryside. Sometimes, for example, the city is free of snow but the surrounding countryside, if it has snow and ice, is often around 8 or 9 degrees C. colder that the city. So the city provides food and warmth and for many birds breeding sites in the summer and predators are few although no doubt cats take some birds.
The most conspicuous of the City’s birds is probably the herring gull that now seem equally at home on a sea cliff or rock as they do on streets and buildings. This bird causes more headaches to local authorities than any other since it frequents the cities, towns and villages. Apart from the mess the adult birds are very protective of their young and will willingly attack people. At this time of the year they can be seen virtually anywhere from the car parks of supermarkets to wandering amidst the people even in the Victorian Arcade. They will eat almost anything and you only have to look at the streets in the city to see the rubbish on which they thrive.
Another conspicuous city bird is the feral pigeon and here again they can be seen almost anywhere from pavements to Falcon square. Sometimes they are in pairs, this is one of the birds that has been found nesting in every month of the year, or in large flocks. Next time you walk down Academy Street or Church Street look up and there is always a good chance of seeing large flocks of feral pigeons wheeling round. They may not have the grace of motion of large flocks of starlings but they are still impressive. It is amazing to think that all the colour varieties of these pigeons came from one source, the native rock dove, that now seem to have been bred into extinction in the Highlands. There are other city birds such as house sparrows, blackbirds, carrion and hooded crows, robins and dunnocks. They, in turn, attract birds of prey and a good example is the sparrowhawk. Last week one was seen hunting a side street and suddenly it turned sharply and was headed for a fence with narrow slits. At the last moment it flipped sideways through ninety degrees and was through the fence after a house sparrow.
Last week there was a pied wagtail foraging on the pavements of Union Street, Inverness, and it simply ignored the passers by who probably did not see the bird. It was picking up food too small for us to see but then it flew up onto the front of a parked car. It had seen the dead insects on the radiator grill and picked them by the beakful. Sometimes it would land on the grill, somewhat precariously, but it also hovered and picked up the dead insects in the process. Meanwhile in the middle of the Inverness station a herring gull was striding around amidst all the passengers waiting for their trains. These birds do not moult into their adult plumage until they are four or five years old and with such a close view it was easy to see by the brown markings on its head and neck that it was in its fourth winter.
If you exclude parkland, the River Ness and gardens that are, in their own way, an extension of the countryside, there are a number of reasons why so many birds are attracted to the city. In the case of the herring gull and other scavengers such as crows we leave so much litter around that it makes easy pickings. Another reason is the temperature within the city as opposed to the countryside. Sometimes, for example, the city is free of snow but the surrounding countryside, if it has snow and ice, is often around 8 or 9 degrees C. colder that the city. So the city provides food and warmth and for many birds breeding sites in the summer and predators are few although no doubt cats take some birds.
The most conspicuous of the City’s birds is probably the herring gull that now seem equally at home on a sea cliff or rock as they do on streets and buildings. This bird causes more headaches to local authorities than any other since it frequents the cities, towns and villages. Apart from the mess the adult birds are very protective of their young and will willingly attack people. At this time of the year they can be seen virtually anywhere from the car parks of supermarkets to wandering amidst the people even in the Victorian Arcade. They will eat almost anything and you only have to look at the streets in the city to see the rubbish on which they thrive.
Another conspicuous city bird is the feral pigeon and here again they can be seen almost anywhere from pavements to Falcon square. Sometimes they are in pairs, this is one of the birds that has been found nesting in every month of the year, or in large flocks. Next time you walk down Academy Street or Church Street look up and there is always a good chance of seeing large flocks of feral pigeons wheeling round. They may not have the grace of motion of large flocks of starlings but they are still impressive. It is amazing to think that all the colour varieties of these pigeons came from one source, the native rock dove, that now seem to have been bred into extinction in the Highlands. There are other city birds such as house sparrows, blackbirds, carrion and hooded crows, robins and dunnocks. They, in turn, attract birds of prey and a good example is the sparrowhawk. Last week one was seen hunting a side street and suddenly it turned sharply and was headed for a fence with narrow slits. At the last moment it flipped sideways through ninety degrees and was through the fence after a house sparrow.
posted by Corinne @ 10:56 AM
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