Small birds fly at high altitudes towards Africa

Date:  August 6, 2018

Source:  Lund University

A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that small birds migrating from Scandinavia to Africa in the autumn occasionally fly as high as 4,000 metres above sea level -- probably adjusting their flight to take advantage of favourable winds and different wind layers.

This is the first time that researchers have tracked how high small birds fly all the way from Sweden to Africa. Previous studies have successfully logged the flight height of larger migratory birds.

"We only followed two individuals and two species. But the fact that both of them flew so high does surprise me. It's fascinating and it raises new questions about the physiology of birds. How do they cope with the air pressure, thin air and low temperatures at these heights?," says Sissel Sjöberg, biologist at Lund University and the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether the measuring method itself works on small birds, that is, to measure acceleration, barometric pressure (air pressure) and temperature throughout the flight using a small data logger attached to the bird.

Continued 

Waxwings extend their winter stay in Lancashire

3:44pm Friday 26th April 2013 in News

BIRDWATCHERS have reported ‘unprecedented’ sightings of a rare bird on an estate in Burnley, the latest date they have ever been seen in Lancashire. 

Yesterday, twitchers recorded 13 waxwings feeding on berries at Barnes Court, on the Brunshaw estate. 

The birds have normally migrated back to Scandinavia by the end of March but the unusually cold and prolonged winter has seen them stay here. 

The RSPB estimates only 100 or less of the species winter in the UK, normally in eastern England and Scotland. Allen Rycroft, 66, from Cliviger, is a member of East Lancashire Ornithology. 

He said: “There have been several sightings in the past few weeks of waxwings at Barnes Court and Grindleton Avenue. 

“Waxwings have never been seen here this late. Our records show the latest ever sighting in Lancashire was in 1996, on April 17, in Darwen. 

“They are a real treat to see with magnificent plumage. It’s great that they’re here in the middle of Burnley.” 

The waxwing is a plump bird, which is slightly smaller than a starling. 

It has a prominent reddish-brown crest with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. 

It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, when the population on its breeding grounds gets too big for the food available. 

Continued: http://www.thelancasterandmorecambecitizen.co.uk/news/10383480.Waxwings_extend_their_winter_stay_in_Lancashire/

Unusual bird expected to make Colchester appearance

FLOCKS of stunning birds are poised to appear in north Essex this winter.

Waxwings occasionally migrate from Scandinavia when a successful breeding season means their local berry supply is exhausted and do not winter every year.

But experts at the Essex Wildlife Trust are hopeful for an irruption this year, where the birds arrive in large numbers, and there has already been some sightings at Abbotts Hall Farm, Great Wigborough, and Fingringhoe Wick nature reserves, and also further south in Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers.

Slightly smaller than a starling Waxwings have a mix of colours with a prominent pinky crest from which it gets its nickname pink punk. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. The wax refers to the red endings on the feather tips which help identify the age and sex of the bird.

Regular updates of Waxwing sightings will be given by Essex Wildlife Trust on their website.

The trust wants to collate records about Waxwing sightings in Essex this winter and people are asked to email details of their sightings and any photographs to records@essexwt.org.uk.

The email subject should be Waxwing and include your name, an accurate location including a postcode and if possible six-figure grid reference, who saw them, when, and how many birds were recorded.

http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/10096617.Unusual_bird_expected_to_make_Colchester_appearance/

Crossbills: Rare Birds Visit Hatfield

This afternoon a flock of 30 crossbills were seen feeding upon tree top pine cones in Hatfield Park.

An early Scandinavian cold snap may have triggered the birds south to over-winter in the area. 

Crossbills, are a type of finch and, as their name suggests, they have a crossed beak which they use to prise apart cones to get at the pine nuts inside. They are reddy / brown in colour and a bit larger than a sparrow.

Sightings of other interesting birds can be viewed on the Herts Bird Club website.  

http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/news/hatfield/hatfield_letters/10024713.Crossbills__Rare_Birds_Visit_Hatfield/

Rare visitor drops in from Scandinavia

A SCANDINAVIAN bird that is rarely seen in this country has been spotted at Langport sewage treatment works.

The wryneck was spotted at the Wessex Water plant, between the town and Curry Rivel, in fine meshed nets that are used to capture and tag birds to record their activity.

​The small, sparrow-sized bird is in the woodpecker family and breeds in the Scandinavian forests.

Its name comes from the peculiar way it twists its neck when it is captured.

Doug Miller, 81, of Westonzoyland, near Bridgwater, has been bird-ringing for around 40 years and caught the wryneck in Langport.

He said: "The bird is most likely travelling to Africa for the winter.

"I saw another wryneck two years ago but there have only been two in Somerset in the last 20 years.

"It was so gentle, it is a really calm and collected bird. All birds are really, even the big hawks, so long as you hold them right.

"Langport is a great site, you get hundreds of birds there. It's sheltered and without any disturbances – there isn't really anyone down there or any dogs or animals, and I think they must know that.

"I went down recently and saw about 600 house martins. It's lovely. It is better than a nature reserve in some ways."

The wryneck is in the highest conservation priority category used for birds in the UK.

The categorisation splits birds into three categories of importance – red, amber and green. The wryneck's red category means the species needs urgent conservation action.

The British Trust for Ornithology rings birds at sites such as the Langport sewage works to monitor the populations and survival of all types of birds.

The captures are recorded and the birds are then set free again.

Mr Miller said: "We ring birds in the interests of conservation, but the majority that we get coming through are common birds.

"I look forward to the next unusual bird to arrive at Langport – almost anything is possible."

Andy Mears, Wessex Water's resident bird expert, said: "Any recoveries of the rings provide valuable information on movements and can help conservation researchers."

To see a video of the wryneck visit www.thisissomerset.co.uk.

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Rare-visitor-drops-Scandinavia/story-17110907-detail/story.html