If you read this page and have any interesting bird sightings or indeed any wildlife please let me know by email john.fisher@btclick.com or 01582 792843
Bird Notes - July 2008
There is more good news this year regarding barn owls, as a pair has bred again for the third successive year near Redbournbury and it looks as if a second pair will breed late near Shafford. It will be interesting see which strategy pays off. You have to be licensed to even check a barn owl box so in early June I watched while our barn owl man, Peter Wilkinson, looked into all 6 of the boxes we now have along the Ver Valley. One box had one live youngster, just a few days old, a still warm dead one and an unhatched egg. Barn owls are very dependent on voles and mice which may be in short supply this year and of course the very wet May would have made it a difficult hunting time for the adults. Hopefully there will be two healthy young barn owls when we return to ring them in early July. In the other box two adults were roosting and as there is still time for them to produce a brood before the autumn we are hopeful. This pair had bred late in 2007 as there was one dead fledgling still in the box from last year’s brood. It is likely that two or three youngsters flew from this box in September or even October. Our barn owls are very elusive and to see them you need to be around at dusk as they seldom hunt in daylight. Two breeding pairs of barn owls in the Ver Valley must a first for decades.
I saw my first cuckoo this year on the very last day of May, having heard my first on 26 April. As with most years I found that the best local area for cuckoos are the water meadows just north of Shafford where a lot of reed warblers nest which are probably the hosts for our cuckoos. I heard cuckoos calling several times in early May, including the strange bubbling call of the female, but could never manage to get a sight of one until on this late May evening I saw the very distinctive profile of a cuckoo on the top of a fence post. Cuckoos have very long wings which when they are perched extend beyond the tail and it is this feature which I think makes them unmistakeable.
Buzzards and red kites are both now firmly established around the valley and although red kites live mainly on carrion I saw one take live prey while on an early morning walk through Gorhambury. Several pairs of lapwing are breeding this year along the Ver and it’s great to see the swooping flight and hear the plaintive calls of these wonderful birds. It was these calls which first drew my attention to a pair mobbing a red kite. This is normal behaviour especially when they have young to defend from predators but in this case the defence did not work as the kite dropped down to the ground and grabbed a lapwing chick and then was pursued into the distance by the furious lapwing pair. Hopefully they had another two or three chicks hidden in the grass which will survive. I am afraid this is nature at this time of the year when the success of one species depends on preying on others. Even your garden blue tits depend on caterpillars which are really just like the young lapwing.
Bird Notes - April 2008
Last year the Society agreed to buy 40 nest boxes and I arranged for some friends of mine who are Watford RSPB members to make and supply them this winter. Watford RSPB have been making nest boxes for several years and the great thing about their boxes is not only are they really well made but the marine ply they use is donated and cut by a supporter and they are put together by volunteers. This means that practically all the money they raise from selling the boxes goes directly to the RSPB and their conservation programmes.
All 40 boxes have been put up now ready for the spring breeding season. They have been sited on trees along the Ver Valley Walk between Redbourn and Redbournbury. They have a range of hole sizes to suit blue tits, great tits, sparrows and one for a nuthatch. We also have a few open fronted boxes which we hope will attract spotted flycatchers as they are now only occasional breeders in the valley. The committee have just agreed to buy a further 20 boxes for later this year and with more time available I may be able to put these up a bit further from Redbourn! Any suggested sites – please let me know. I would like to thank Ernie Leahy and my son Martin for their help with putting up the boxes and Mandy James for the loan of the Redbournbury Mill ladder.
Some of you will know about the barn fire which destroyed one of the barns on the north east side of Redbournbury farm. Our barn owl box which has been successfully used in the last 2 years was not affected but I am concerned that the construction work to replace the barn may disturb this year’s breeding. We do have another 4 boxes in the valley so hopefully if there is a lot of disturbance they will relocate to one of these boxes.
This winter has been notable for even more regular sightings of little egrets with up to 4 present at times. Snipe are not being seen so often this year which is particularly disappointing but I did see one right up near the junction 9 of the M1 where the river is flowing for the first time in about 5 years. Flocks of lapwings have been seen along the valley throughout the winter and also the occasional flock of golden plover.
My good friend Ernie Leahy saw a female peregrine in late March in a field to the east of the river near Shafford. I have heard of occasional peregrine sightings along the valley before but I have yet to see one so close to home.
Bird Notes - January 2008
We luckily chose a fine dry sunny autumn day for a walk from Park Street back to Redbourn and it started off really well when we saw three kingfishers along the river where it flows through the water meadows behind Park Street village. In fact we spent so long watching these kingfishers that it took us over an hour to cover the first mile but it was a good day for hanging around and not route marching on.
One kingfisher was particularly unconcerned by our close presence and as it perched on several overhanging branches and fished it moved ever closer and closer to us. We just stood still amazed that this kingfisher, a species which is notoriously skittish, seemed completely comfortable with us so close. The bright electric blue and the rusty orange of the breast are I think are one the best “colour schemes” of the English countryside. Have you ever noticed the blue T on the back of the kingfisher which stretches right down its back or how the bright blue changes to green in different light? We watched so long that my attention drifted further upstream where the river was shallower as it raced over a pebbly bed strewn with water crowfoot and I was really surprised to see a water rail wading through the fast moving water. I am sure water rails are regular along the river but I seldom see them as they are even shyer than kingfishers. The water rail is similar in habits to the moorhen but tends to feed in reed beds rather than in open water. It has a red dagger of a bill and subtle brown and grey barring. They have an amazing call which is like a pig squealing and you are more likely to hear this than see one.
Eventually we walked on seeing a soaring sparrow hawk and a few kestrels along with the usual winter flocks of noisy chattering fieldfares and the quieter redwings.
Another surprise was when we reached Verulam Lake where we found an unusual goose amongst the motley crew of greylags and Canada’s. It was an Egyptian Goose which is a species now well established as a breeding population in the UK after numerous escapes from wildfowl collections. They are an African species but seem to cope well in our climate and are now seen all over the south east. But this was the first one for me in the Ver Valley.
Little Egrets have moved into the UK of their own accord and as many as four have been seen this winter along the Ver. Still waiting for a Great White or a Cattle Egret to show up on the Ver.
Perhaps the best news this winter is that it seems likely that water voles have returned to the Ver after an absence of probably 20 years. Now mink are being caught and disposed of throughout Hertfordshire there is a good chance that they will reestablish themselves. They are a great sight and I am really looking forward to seeing my first Ver water vole since about 1980. That distinctive plop as they enter the water and the struggling swimming style is so characteristic of “Ratty” of Wind in the Willows.
Bird Notes - October 2007
I have been traveling a lot this summer so I have not been seeing as many birds along the river as in most years. However just this week I did find a splendid male stonechat close to the river in Redbourn and it will be interesting to see if stays around or if it is just passing through on migration. Stonechats are both a resident and a migratory species. I think it has been proved from ringing records that birds from the same brood often are split between stayers and movers. Stonechats do not normally breed in Hertfordshire so most of the stonechats seen locally are passage migrants with a few staying through the winter.
I have also noticed that numbers of skylarks have been building up on the winter stubble fields but I have yet to see any fieldfares and redwings.
Following the success with barn owl boxes we have decided to put up 40 nesting boxes for small birds like tits and robins this winter at various site along the valley. As with the barn owl boxes these will be made by our friends at the Watford RSPB Group and once again our payment will provide funds towards all the good work that the RSPB carry out. This is because Watford RSPB get the wood free from a local supplier and uses their own volunteers to make the boxes. So our funds are simply recycled into more conservation work. I have in mind a few suitable areas for the boxes but I welcome suggestions from any of our members
Bird Notes - July 2007
It is not often we get a rare bird in Redbourn so it was a real surprise when a ring ouzel turned up in the Redbournbury Water Meadow one Monday morning in late April. Ring ouzels are the mountain version of the blackbird with a distinctive white collar and pale wing panels. They pass through the southern counties each spring on their way to their breeding areas in the uplands of Northern England and Scotland. Most springs I get to see them for a few days either at Stepps Hill near Ivinghoe Beacon or Blows Down in Dunstable. These are traditional stopping off points where they recharge before continuing their migration northwards.
April was very dry this year which meant that the usual sites were probably poor feeding areas so I think this bird found better conditions at this lower and damper site. This bird was first seen at about 7.30 am and remained in the area all day as it was seen again later that morning and in the early evening. I heard a report that it was seen on the Tuesday but after that it was not seen again. This was just a brief stop over by a very special visitor to Redbourn.
A pair of kestrels has nested again along the green lane which is a section of the Ver Valley Walk that runs from Harpenden Lane to Porridge Pot. For the last two years they have raised a total of 5 young in an old crow’s nest in a fork in the huge oak tree but during the winter gales the nest was blown out. Early this spring a pair of crows started building a nest at the top of this same tree and the kestrels, which will not build a nest from scratch, were battling to take over the nest. Eventually the crows won and were seen feeding their young in early June. The kestrels eventually moved to another crow’s nest in a smaller oak tree which had been used by probably the same crows last year. The kestrels also seem to be successfully raising a brood again in their new premises.
One of the VVS barn owl boxes has been used again this year and four fledglings were ringed in late June and another of the boxes was used by a pair of stock doves. After been seen along the valley this spring I was delighted to learn that a pair of tufted ducks had bred at Redbourn Fishery. No doubt the deeper water here suited this species of diving ducks. A few pairs of spotted flycatchers have been recorded and it is highly probable that they have bred. Lapwings which usually only breed in the Ver Valley in Gorhambury have been seen with young close to Redbournbury. This is the first time they have bred in this are for many years.
Bird Notes - 23 April 2007
Male Ring Ouzel at Redbournbury Water Meadows
This splendid but solitary male ring ouzel was first seen at about 7.30 am feeding on the damp water meadows along with a pair of mistle thrushes. It was very wary and flew off into the nearby hedges at the slightest disturbance. This picture was taken by Ernie Leahy at about 7.00 pm in dismal light. These birds normally are found on high spots like the Ivinghoe Beacon and Dunstable Downs as they stop off on migration to their northerly upland breeding areas. The dry conditions this April have probably forced them down to lower and damper areas. For most people this will be their first ring ouzel in the Ver Valley - it was for me!
Bird Notes - April 2007
This winter has not been a particularly good one. I think the milder winters on mainland Europe have meant that we are getting less winter visitors. Siskins and redpolls have been few and far between and waxwings, which we have come to expect in recent years, have only been seen near the East Coast.
My favorite visitors this winter have been a delightful pair of stonechats which have been along the Ver just south of Redbournbury all through January. Stonechats are always very conspicuous as they tend to perch on fence rails or on the top of bushes waiting to drop down to feed on the ground. There is a photograph on the web site of the male stonechat taken by Ernie Leahy. We often get stonechats passing along the valley but they seldom stay very long. The wet meadows are an ideal habitat for wintering snipe and very few have been seen this winter. I have seen two green sandpipers, one in the flooded meadows to the south of Prae Mill and one near Redbournbury Farm.
Buzzards are now really common and provided the conditions are right I expect to see at least four on Ver walk these days. Buzzards prefer sunny dry days so they get good thermals on which to soar from mid morning onwards. If it is wet you are unlikely to see a buzzard.
The kestrels which have nested in the big oak on the green lane on the way to Porridge Pot Meadow for the last two years, raising 5 young, lost their nest to the winter gales. However recently I have seen a pair building a nest right at the top of the tree so hopefully they will have another successful breeding season.
Following the successful barn owl breeding last year when 5 young were fledged the Society has taken delivery of 3 more boxes. These have been made by members of the Watford RSPB Group and they have received a donation of £250 which will be channeled straight back into conservation. One of the boxes has been sponsored by a long term VVS member, Ron Such, as a memorial to his son Phil who died of Motor Neurone Disease five years ago. Phil who was only 38 was a sports journalist specialising in his major interest Rugby Union.
Two of the boxes will be sited near Shafford Mill and the third in a tree close to Kettlewell’s Farm. Kettlewell’s Farm are also making nesting platform for barn owls in one of their barns. This will mean we will have 6 nesting sites along the valley. Not all of these will be used for nesting but barn owls like alternative roosting spots. We hope to have another successful brood this year in at least one box.
There is now a list of birds seen along the Ver Valley on our web site. If you have any comments on the status or notice any omissions please let me know.
Also if you have any interesting bird sightings I would be pleased to hear from you on 01582 792843 or email
john.fisher@btclick.com.
January 2007
In the last few months I have had many reports of little egrets along the Ver including one of three egrets together. As far as I know in previous years only single birds have been seen. This is certainly an indicator of how this continental species is gaining an ever strengthening foothold in the UK. From their initial break through on the south coast, notably on Brownsea Island, they have spread further northwards each year. This is probably a delightful side effect of global warming. To my mind with their brilliant white plumage, slim elegant shape and distinctive head plumes they are a great addition to our local bird life.
On mainland Europe there are two other white egrets, the larger great egret and the smaller cattle egret. These are now often seen in the UK but are still relatively rare. Little egrets are the only species with black legs and yellow feet so if you see a white egret with yellow legs it could one of the rarer species. I wonder how long it will be before we get a great or a cattle egret or even a spoonbill along the Ver.
2006 has seen red kites establish themselves as a regular bird of our valley. It has taken a long time for them to breakout from the original release area in the Chilterns but reported sightings have risen dramatically risen this year suggesting that they may be breeding close by.
If you read this and have any interesting bird sightings in or around Redbourn I would be pleased to hear from you on 01582 792843 or email john.fisher@btclick.com.
October 2006
In March 2004 the Ver Valley Society funded the purchase of two barn owl boxes and with the agreement of a local farmer these were erected in suitable positions in the Ver Valley. Barn owls had bred successfully on the Rothamsted estate in recent years but to be honest our project was one more of hope than expectation. Peter Wilkinson who monitors nesting barn owls throughout the UK put the boxes up for us and one sunny afternoon in mid August I went with Peter to check the boxes. As Peter put his ladder up to the first box much to our surprise a barn owl flew out and disappeared over the nearby trees. Even then we suspected that it was an adult bird just using the box as a daytime roost but when we opened the inspection door we could see four white downy young barn owls. Like all birds of prey the eggs are laid and youngsters hatch over a period of several days and in this case the biggest chick was probably 25 days old and the youngest just 10 days. Barn owls stay in the nest until they are about 55 days old so these had some time to go before they flew and at this stage they needed to be brooded, so after a quick look we departed to enable the parent to return.
We then went on to the second box only to find it had been used by a grey squirrel earlier this year and was stuffed full of twigs and leaves. It took Peter a long time to clear it out.
Peter, who is a licensed bird ringer, wanted to ring the youngsters and he felt that the best time would be in another three weeks so we returned in early September. This time when we opened the box we found not four but five young barn owls and the larger chicks were now developing the wonderful orange and brown flight feathers. Peter carefully lifted each chick out of the box and placed it in a holdall before descending the ladder. Once at ground level each bird was weighed, had its flight feather measured to determine the exact age and was ringed with a numbered ring for future identification. It was amazing how docile the birds were while all this was being done – no flapping wings. When all five had been weighed, measured and ringed they were taken back up the ladder and returned to the box. All five had fairly full crops so the parents must have been finding plenty of voles to bring back. Barn owls feed almost exclusively on voles, rats and mice unlike other birds of prey such as buzzards which include worms and carrion in their more varied diet. Unfortunately this means that the success of a barn owl’s breeding season is entirely dependent on how many voles are available. This year’s cold damp spring meant that voles were scarce and nationally it has been a very poor year with many barn owls unable to prevent their chicks from starving. It is likely that the Ver Valley birds had a failed breeding attempt earlier this year and our nest is a second and late attempt. As it is very late in the year and they will need to be really strong to survive the first few weeks when they leave the nest and begin to hunt for themselves. The water meadows along the valley provide an ideal habitat for field voles and a local “takeaway” for the owls!
In any case the Ver Valley Society’s investment in buying the nest boxes has been more than worthwhile and hopefully we have re-established barn owls to our valley.
Elsewhere the kestrels nested again in the same oak tree and successfully reared two youngsters. All four birds hunted around the fields before going their separate ways in mid July. Last year they raised three, but five fully fledged and flying young in two years is excellent.
Sadly the poor flow in the river has meant that water birds have not been so numerous this year. However I continue to get reports of red kites, buzzards and little owls.
Many thanks to my artist friend Ernie Leahy for the sketch of two baby barn owls. There are pictures of the young barn owls and the young kestrels on the "gallery" page
If you read this and have any interesting bird sightings I would be pleased to hear from you on 01582 792843 or email john.fisher@btclick.com.
July 2006
This summer some of the rarer birds of the Ver Valley have been seen albeit in some cases very briefly. Probably the most unusual was a brief stay in late May of a wood warbler, near to the Chequers pub in Redbourn. This warbler normally breeds in woods far to the west or north of Hertfordshire so it was just stopping off to refuel after its long migration from Africa. It has a very distinctive two part song and very yellowish underparts. Another comparative rarity was a singing turtle dove in the Church End area of Redbourn which waited patiently for a mate to turn up. As I write a turtle dove has been reported at Shafford which is probably the relocated Redbourn bird
Farmland birds continue to do well and this summer yellow wagtails seem to be another species benefiting from the more environmental friendly farming in our valley. I have seen more yellow wagtails this spring than I have for years. Elsewhere in the News Section you will see that Tracy Adams is speaking at our July Open Meeting about farming and wildlife.
I have been watching a pair of nesting kestrels over the last couple of months and I am delighted that once again they raised their young to the point where I expect them to fly in the next week. Last year 3 juveniles flew from the nest tree but this year I have only seen two and as is usual with birds of prey one fledgling is far in advance of its smaller sibling. Earlier last month there was a very low level of activity and I mistakenly thought they had lost their clutch to a predator but thankfully I was wrong.
Buzzards and red kites continue to be seen more and more regularly but I have yet to see a hobby along the Ver Valley this year. Let me know if you see one.
If you read this and have any interesting bird sightings I would be pleased to hear from you on 01582 792843 or email john.fisher@btclick.com.
April 2006
As I write this just a few days into April it seems that spring is late and our summer visitors are still waiting for better weather. Most of our summer migrants depend on insects and caterpillars and it is only when the warmer weather brings them out that the birds arrive – how do they know when to set off? I have seen some early migrants such as wheatears, sand martins and a common tern but the only warbler has been the notoriously early chiffchaff. Of all the summer visitors the one I look forward to most is the willow warbler and its simple little fading song of the summertime. They will be here soon along with whitethroats, black caps, garden warblers, swallows, house martins and finally swifts and cuckoos.
I fear for our river this summer as it seems inevitable that it will dry out north of St Albans and this will be bad for our birds, especially for herons, kingfishers and species such as reed and sedge warblers. Herons already have young in the nests on the island in Verulam Park but they will struggle to find fish as they predominantly use the upper reaches of the Ver.
Farmland birds continue to do well, with skylarks and yellow hammers already very active. The kestrels I see most days seem to be going to use the same nest as last year when they successfully raised three young. I saw 6 buzzards in the sky over Prae Wood just a few days ago along with a beautifully marked red kite. Although red kites have been seen occasionally in our valley over the last few years it does seem that they now may be taking up residence. Duncan and Jane Gardiner see them regularly from their kitchen window. Duncan took a wonderful picture of one just as it turned in the sky with its tail feathers fanned outwards so that the usually forked tail is not evident.
One cold winter morning two old friends and I were dropped off in King Harry Lane by one of our long suffering wives and well booted and protected from the cold we set off along the Ver Valley Walk back to Redbourn. It did not seem a promising morning for us one with a dodgy nee, one with a heavy cold and one with an arthritic dog. It was grey and dull overhead and wet and muddy underfoot but we were in for a real treat that morning.
We started off around the lake and saw the usual collection of Canada Geese and mallards but tucked in around the islands were a few shovelors. With their white and chestnut flanks it is hard for them to hide away. We scanned through the gulls to see if there were any unusual species but there were only black headed and common gulls. We then walked through St Michael’s church yard and crossed into the Gorhambury estate and we soon saw our first buzzard of the day along with a few noisy fieldfares.
As we got to Shafford Mill a kingfisher flew past us quite high along the opposite bank of the river and we thought that’s our Ver kingfisher for the day. However just upstream of the mill we spotted the kingfisher perched on a branch just about 25 metres in front of us. It then plunged head first into the river and returned to its perch with a fish- probably a stickleback. We just stood there quite still watching as it turned the fish around and swallowed it head first. It then repeated the act and still we watched in amazement as this notoriously shy bird seemed utterly oblivious of our presence. We were so close that you could easily see that this was a male bird with the all black beak and even in the poor light the electric blue of the wings and back were absolutely stunning. In most lights the back is always a lighter shade of blue than the wings which gives the impression of a light blue stripe down the centre of the back. This blue contrasting with bright orange breast makes it our most stunning bird of the Ver Valley. After catching two fish it then flew to a branch even nearer to us and sure enough had another successful plunge into the river and after it had despatched this fish it flew off upstream and we were left in wonderment at what we had just seen at such close quarters. We walked on and saw a few more buzzards making five in total for the day. On the big pool just downstream of Redbournbury Mill we watched the mallard and teal fly up and circle overhead –there must have been about 30 of each.
Just then for the first time that day the sun finally broke through and for about 30 minutes we were bathed in bright sunshine and it was then we saw our second kingfisher. This one was a female with the orange lower mandible. In the bright light from the low winter sun this one looked more green than blue and this one we saw only briefly perched before it was off. By the time we got back to Redbourn it was lunchtime and sun was gone for the day but the sight of that obliging kingfisher will stay with us for many a year.
If you read this and have any interesting bird sightings or you would like to join the Ver Valley Society I would be pleased to hear from you on 01582 792843 or email john.fisher@btclick.com.
This summer has seen the river at its lowest level for several years with a dry river bed north of Redbourn. Kingfishers naturally have no interest in a dry river but herons continue to be seen as their diet is not just fish but includes mice and field voles which is why you often see herons standing in the middle of fields.
The highlight for me this summer has been watching a family of kestrels which nested high in a big oak tree. Last year a pair of kestrels raised two youngsters and probably nested in this same tree but this year we located the nest before the eggs hatched and then saw the fluffy grey chicks gradually develop into three fully fledged kestrels. With birds of prey the nesting period is much longer than for smaller birds. They incubate the eggs for about 4 weeks with the male and female sharing the shifts. Then fledging takes a further 4 weeks and even then the young birds are fed by both parents while they practice flying from branch to branch of the nest tree. Our birds eventually flew off around the fields about 10 weeks after he eggs were laid. It was wonderful watching these beautiful birds every day for such a long time until they dispersed once they were independent. It is a testimony to the farming methods now being taken up across the countryside where field margins are left uncultivated. These margins are full of small mammals which are the staple diet of kestrels and owls.
These field margins also provide plenty of seed for finches and buntings and birds such as skylarks, yellow hammers and linnets are certainly on the increase again after years of declining numbers. Hopefully before long we will get grey partridges and lapwings back. For the last two weeks there has been a huge flock of linnets feeding on the fields near Redbourn. Although linnets bred successfully this summer their numbers were obviously boosted by an influx as the flock grew to over 300. It was a fantastic sight to see this huge flock take to the air in a whirling mass.
After so many years of gloom and doom over the decline of farmland birds there are grounds for optimism at last – just in time!
If you read this and have any interesting bird sightings I would be pleased to hear from you on 01582 792843 or email john.fisher@btclick.com.
