Chats & Thrushes - Bird Blog 5

This blog has been a long time coming, apologies for the suspense, and I haven't seen the Whinchat illustrated above, but I have seen regularly on my travels across Hastings Country Park since lockdown began, a number of birds from this family, notably the thrushes. Indeed, a couple of our most familiar birds, and often seen in gardens too, are the Robin and the Blackbird. These are mostly ground-dwelling birds that find the majority of their food on the ground, and who hasn't heard and seen Blackbirds regularly foraging in undergrowth?!?

Male Stonechat

The Stonechat is the only non-thrush of this group that I have seen during this period as far as I am aware (who knows what I may miss among the fast flights across my path and in the distance?), and I have quite taken to the Stonechat too, once I knew what I was observing. Their orange-red breast, and the male's black head and white half-collar, made them stand out for me at first. They like heath and grasslands, and particularly the gorse that grows at Firehills, openly perching and taking off from the gorse and other vegetation there. Stonechats eat insects and worms, and have a distinctive 'chak-chak' call with an added whistle (YouTube).

Song Thrush

The Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush have been enchanting to see and hear, the Mistle Thrush being the slightly larger of the two. Both eat berries, worms and insects, and the Song Thrush also eats snails, and they both visit gardens as well as living in heaths, fields and woodland. I observed them more in the earlier months during the lockdown, and was delighted to see and hear a Song Thrush singing loudly from on high (YouTube) during a specific visit to the old disused Sand Quarry at Fairlight, what a beautiful sound!

Juvenile Robin

The Blackbird, another wonderful singer, and the Robin, are well known to us all, with songs written about them, and they are both great singers too, perhaps the Blackbird's song being the best known as it sings so loudly and clearly (YouTube). The habitat of both is widespread, and the Robin eats mostly insects, whilst the Blackbird also eats worms and berries. I have included an image of a juvenile Robin because I saw one a few days ago, and it took me a while to realize just what I had seen.

That's enough today for this chapter of my bird observations, and the next chapter of the book* is called Larks, Swallows, Wagtails, Wrens, Dippers, Accentors and Allies, consequently, the Birds Part VI blog will be called similar, although probably a shorter title, but please do watch out for it, and many thanks for reading the blog.

* John Gooders The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide.

All 3 photographs of individual birds are with many thanks to the RSPB, and specifically for the image of the Song Thrush singing with thanks to Chris Gomersall, and of the young Robin to Andy Bright.

John Gooders used to live in East Sussex before he died 10 years ago, sadly, and had previously been Chair of Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and the Mayor of Winchelsea.

Walk to Firehills, Sloes, and a Recipe for Sloe Gin - plus!

View from Firehills Earlier

I own up, I've been walking over to Firehills, and usually beyond to Pett Level/Pett Village/Winchelsea/Icklesham/Rye (whichever), for years, but since the Covid-10 lockdown began, I walked across Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve for my daily exercise (eg see blog from March), and still do more days than I don't, and taken more notice. So, lovely, and not too hot this morning, with a decent breeze, and, okay, I've noticed them lots before, and I've already picked berries and placed a couple of bags of them in my freezer. Anyway, SLOE BERRIES! There are so many about, and so early in the year to be ready to pick, indeed, they've even been dropping free already.

Sloe Berries at Firehills Earlier

So what do I suggest? For a start, if you like sloe gin (and other sloe-based recipes, eg sloe port and sloe brandy), hurry up and pick your sloes before it's too late. Then wash the berries, leave to dry, and place into freezer bag/s to be frozen; this helps them to develop better, and to crack them when they are later placed into gin whilst frozen, helping the flavour and colour to come out. Otherwise, if using the berries straight away, then comes the laborious task of pricking every berry with a sharp knife! I strongly recommend freezing them before using them. 😉

SLOE GIN EASY RECIPE: There are many sloe gin recipes about on the internet and in books, this is my basic recipe, I tend to add a little less sugar (personal preference) and, depending on how many berries I've picked, usually a few more berries, especially as I use the berries again a few months later.

Place 500 grams of frozen/pricked berries into a litre of gin in a larger sealable container, stir in 250 grams of caster sugar. Then shake every day for at least a week (I tend to shake every now and then after the first week, you gradually see the colour going red), and leave for 2-3 months. Again, I'm impatient and tend to not last the 3 months, and I've never been disappointed. Then pour off the berries into sterile bottle/s. I wash the bottle/s (unless it still contains a wee bit of gin, which I make sure a 75ml bottle does), and use 2 or 3 of those smaller glass-sized wine bottles which have been washed, then had gin swirled around inside them to sterilize.

Here's one I made earlier!

Drink when you like, but better to leave for a little while to mature, if you can remain patient enough! Then, what do I do with the berries? Use them again, that's what! Years ago I had a book with recipes in it (no idea where that went, I think I may have sold it with other books when I was short of money) which had a recipe for sloe brandy, which is very good (a bit like brandy with ameretto, so I discovered - if you don't like almonds, give them a miss!), and I found recently a recipe for sloe port on the internet.

SLOE BRANDY: To the sloe berries, following the gin being poured off, add up to 200 grams of caster sugar (amount can be personal choice), a bottle of brandy and some crushed almonds (I may try almond essence next time, just to see if it works, and I don't see why not). Shake for 2 months, leave for another month, then drain off into sterile bottle/s. Leave for a month or so, your choice, and drink!

SLOE PORT: Similar to sloe brandy, only add to the used gin-soaked sloe berries 100 grams of caster sugar, 200mls of brandy, and a bottle of red wine (I used a reasonably cheap 14% full-bodied red from the New World). Shake daily, if you remember, for 6-8 weeks, leave for a month or so, and drain the sloe port off the berries, 'tis good!

Or you can look up other recipes on the internet, enjoy!

Sunday Ramble, and revised public loos opening times...

As I mentioned an update about the public toilets opening times I thought I'd get it out of the way first, meaning you don't have to read through my rambling to get there. On my way back from my daily exercise/walk I met up with Judy who informed me that the public toilets at the Stade and those at the Pelham Beach car park, are now open from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm daily, or from 09.00 to 22.00 in 24 hour-clock-speak.

Above is the wee stream that descends Warren Glen, this morning at about 06.35, now I think it's quite cute, and the lighting wasn't too bad, considering, however... 

Before I reached Warren Glen I had a very quiet start to the morning, I saw a couple of lads from a distance in the town centre soon after leaving home, I think they were either acting suspiciously at 05.20 in the morning, or they feel the cold! They both had hoods up, it looked like from jackets, but they were a way away, so they could have had hoodies up plus jackets on top, anyway folks, was this suspicious, do you think, or are modern day youths just that soft? I'm wearing a polo shirt at the time... 😉 

Oh, and I didn't see anyone else until I got up to Barley Lane, when I think it was Neil and his wife walking along in front of me, at pretty much the same speed as me, so I didn't catch up with them before I turned off right, and down into Fairlight Glen, where I actually met someone for the first time. It was about 8 someones actually, all aged somewhere between nappies and 18, probably about 15/16 years of age, give or take, but acting closer to 12. I was nice and friendly, as I always am, said 'hello' and smiled, all I got back was some strange animal noises from one or two of them, giggles, and a shouted "BALDY!" Now, they'd probably been out all night, I couldn't smell alcohol, so I'm guessing they'd been sniffing gas (which I have mentioned in a blog before), seems to be the drug of choice for youngsters these days, and the only reason I can imagine for 8 young lads to be spending the night 'out in the country' together...

This (above photograph of pony and Warren Glen) is after I had passed the posse, and walked back over into Warren Glen, took the photograph of the stream, carried on up to Firehills and the far eastern edge of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve, then walked back to above Warren Glen, where I had a wee chat, more sensible discourse this time, with the 6 ponies (the other 5 are to our left/the east of the photograph). 

But I had been walking along, musing about my own teens, and how I had never taken drugs (a big NO NO for my parents, and for me, fortunately), but had enjoyed the similar benefits of testosterone and adrenaline, played football most of the time, or watched football, or tried to 'get off' with girls, sometimes did, sometimes got into fights (another big NO NO for my parents was carrying a knife, so I never did, fortunately, my mum always said that if you carry a weapon and get in a fix, you'd use it, she was most likely correct there, indeed, my brothers and I weren't even allowed one of those wee little penknives!). Oh yes, and we used to go to clubs to meet girls, drinking in a pub beforehand, or to parties with alcohol (usually a large bottle of cider or a Party Seven), and like all youngsters, we knew which pubs we could get away with drinking in whilst underage... But where did those 50 years go?!?

Thank you for bearing with my rambling, it was pretty quiet for birds this morning, but I shall be writing my latest 'Bird Blog' very soon, anyway, cheers folks and be careful!

And I didn't even mention Led Zeppelin (youtube) 😉

My Daily Walk Today - Just a few photographs

Firehills

My daily exercise/walk earlier today and another stroll to the far eastern edge of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve and back, as I said, just a few photographs...

Looking across Warren Glen 

Not such good light as the previous photograph, but looking down into Fairlight Glen.

Birds Blog IV - Warblers and Flycatchers

So, here I am writing my Birds Part IV blog, Warblers and Flycatchers, with the image of a Wood Warbler and its brood (above) from the appropriate chapter of John Gooders' The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide. These birds mostly eat insects, although some do vary their diet slightly, particularly in the autumn before they migrate southwards, when many take advantage of fruit and berry crops. Sadly, I am not aware that I have seen any Wood Warblers since March the 23rd, so I shall write no more about this specific member of the group today, however...

What I have seen are Whitethroats (above) and Blackcaps. I saw my first Whitethroat quite early in the lockdown period, right at the eastern edge of Hastings Country Park Wildlife Reserve, sitting on a shrub singing his little heart out for me! More likely he was telling me to 'take a walk.' Anyway, go to YouTube to hear the Whitethroat song. A summer visitor to Britain from the fringes of the Sahara in Africa, probably spotted early due to our 'summer' coming so early this year. Indeed, the Whitethroat is an example in this group that does eat berries as well as insects. More recently I have seen other birds collecting nesting material for a second 'brood' this summer, there is so much food around for them, and they nested early the first time when humans were quite rare for them to see due to the lockdown.

Blackcaps are another of these birds who also eat berries in addition to insects and are mostly summer visitors, although they sometimes remain in southern England over warm winters. Warblers can be difficult to differentiate, and so I may well have seen others but not been aware. But I have seen the insect eating Chiffchaff with its distinctive call that it was named after, a summer visitor, and the insect and berry eating Garden Warbler, another summer visitor with a call similar to the Blackcap (YouTube).

What I have not noticed, although I may well have seen one fly by me, is the rarer Dartford Warbler (above). Why may I have seen this rare warbler? Well, a local dog walker I have met regularly at Firehills told me that, about a month ago, a large number of birders had descended upon Firehills to see the Dartford Warblers that had been spotted there, so I am mentioning the bird in this blog, and it is quite a fine looking bird, as well as being rare, I just wish I had seen it...

Anyway, that's enough today for this chapter of my bird observations, and the next chapter of the book* is called Chats and Thrushes, so the Birds Part 5 blog will be called similar, please do watch out for it, and many thanks for reading the blog today.

By the way, although not originally from the county, ornithologist John Gooders* used to live in East Sussex before he died 10 years ago sadly, and had previously chaired the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and been the Mayor of Winchelsea, consequently, the Speaker of the Cinque Ports for a year (website).

* John Gooders The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide.

The photograph of the Dartford Warbler is reproduced with many thanks to Derek Middleton, and of the Whitethroat with many thanks to Nigel O, and thanks too to the Sussex Wildlife Trust and RSPB respectively.

Birds Part I - Sparrows, Finches and Buntings

I am using The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide*, as I suggested I would in a previous blog, starting with the chapter Sparrows, Finches and Buntings. Indeed, as the photograph of this chapter features goldfinches, then goldfinches will be the first bird I report my seeing, quite regularly actually, during my 3 months (probably 4 months by the time I finish!) of walking and noting birds I see.  

This is a group of smaller seed eating birds, and the image above, from The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide* depicts 3 goldfinches, one of my favourite birds I've seen quite regularly over the past few months whilst traversing Hastings Country Park. Indeed, just last week I saw a couple of goldfinches flitting around a telephone wire pole from the window in my living room, and this is in the town centre, they must have been lost!

Goldfinch

Anyway, this blog is commencing with the goldfinch, one of the most colourful birds that can be seen in this country, with its attractive red, black and white head helping you to recognise the bird easily, plus a broad yellow band on its wings that stands out in flight, and also very apparent when the bird is at rest. I originally saw quite a number flocking together quite high up Barley Lane before nesting, they became less obvious for 4-6 weeks, then much more obvious recently, when I've seen groups of, very likely, young not long left the nest, but more regularly, a couple (as mentioned above) or one sitting high up in a tree, singing its heart out (YouTube), wonderful!

I have seen chaffinches and greenfinches too, but not in anywhere as large a number, nor as regularly, although I have to admit, I've walked along these 3 miles or so for years, and can't really remember seeing a goldfinch ever before! The period of lockdown due to the Coronavirus Crisis, and the daily walk I was allowed at the start, and which I've continued with as an institution for myself, has given me the time to look around me and take notice of the wildlife, not that I could miss the profusion of rabbits (obviously breeding like rabbits!), not a few foxes, and I've seen a badger too.

House Sparrow

As one would expect I have seen many House Sparrows, and Tree Sparrows, and realised that you should take more time to look at these birds, who, more often than not, no doubt, I've thought other birds that just flit quickly across the path must be, because they are small. Again, I've learnt over the past few months that, for years, I may have seen a huge number of other birds that I hadn't realised I had seen, which is a bit sad. But, the sparrows are quite beautifully coloured birds too, so one seen should not be written off as just 'another sparrow' ever, the blacks and whites, and the different shades of brown make quite a striking image, a vastly underrated bird in my new opinion!

Yellowhammer

Going further across the Park to Firehills, and you reach a virtual bird sanctuary, again, I've walked across here many times before, but my focus has been on the walk, and continuing on to Winchelsea, Pett or Rye, but who knows what rare birds I may have not noticed?!? In recent months I have seen Reed Buntings, Linnets, quite possibly Siskins, but very definitely the striking Yellowhammer. The Yellowhammer is a very yellow bunting, the male has a bright yellow head and body, with brown and black streaked wings and flecks beneath, consequently, it is very difficult not to notice, and they do seem to love Firehills, as do I!

Enough for today... My next Bird Blog will be Crows, although the chapter in the book* is called Orioles, Shrikes, Crows and Starlings, I've only noticed crows these last few months, can't even remember seeing a starling!

* John Gooders The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide 

Photograph of Goldfinch, with thanks to the Sussex Wildlife Trust, and other photographs with thanks to the RSPB.