Calling on all you twitchers in the hood!

Paul Simmons

Now that the mornings are lighter and the days getting longer we have more time to keep a watch out on our lovely feathery friends, and I’m not talking about Eric roaming around doing good deeds up and down the Quad, I’m talking real birds of the tweet, tweet, flying kind, but believe it or not Westbank gets a fair share of quite unexpected types!

For those who are interested, I thought I’d give you all a lowdown of what I have seen over the years and what to look out for in the future, any feedback or sightings will be well welcome!

You may all be familiar with Blue Tits, Great Tits, Sparrows, Blackbirds, Pigeons, Magpies, Starlings and Herons, but has anyone seen the colony of Long Tailed Tits?

Long Tailed Tit

Lovely little things, as cute as a baby monkey holding a teddy bear, tiny wee fluff balls with long tails, often seen in groups, they move quite fast through the trees, and don’t like feeders much, a bit shy I guess, you usually hear them before you see them, little sharp tweets, they tend to visit the Quad about 4 times a day.

Did anyone see the Bullfinch in the front gardens this time last year? Not to be mistaken with the Chaffinch (Which you see all the time, low on the branches of trees on the Quad), once you see one you cannot mistake it, bright red front and a very Black head, nice! Also, around at this time of year, in the front gardens look out for Britain’s smallest bird, and its not the Wren! It’s the Goldcrest, tiny little thing, cant stop moving, but often quite tame, and funnily enough has a little Goldcrest! I’ve only seen it once.

Bullfinch

Male Chaffinch

Goldcrest

On the more dramatic note 4 weeks ago a Female Sparrow hawk was spotted flying over from Westbank into the park, Females are larger, they tend frighten all the birds around them, which I guess is understandable, since that’s what they eat, not to be confused with the Kestrel, Sparrow Hawks fly faster and lower, and have lovely long legs, just like some of our local ladies.

Female Sparrowhawk

A real treat is to spot the Tree Creepers on the trees by the river, always on tree trunks, like tiny woodpeckers, curved beak, and White fronts, eating wee grubs on the bark, very tame, not common in cities, lovely to watch.

Tree Creeper

Goosanders are often spotted in the Kelvin, a type of Duck, it nests in holes often in old trees, there is a pair that often swim by, dart like head, quite big, female has Red/Brown head and male has a Green head, both have White-ish bodies, they hang around all year, lets see if they have a family this Spring?

Goosander

Has anyone seen the Kingfisher? Not seen for a while, what a great sight if you spot one!

A high shriek and a flash of bright Blue colour, I saw them quite often a few years ago, but I cannot remember the last time I saw one, so keep on your toes, keep your eyes peeled, you will be rewarded!

Kingfisher

Visit Burnham Birds,

BTO, and British Garden Birds for more information.