These magnificent birds are a common site in our waterways, but have recently come under some threat from avian flu. Devastatingly, the Lancaster canal pair lost all of their cygnets (which were almost fully grown) in autumn 2022 to the outbreak, but survived themselves. This resistance in the adults gives us some hope for the future, and it appears that population numbers are increasing. A few tips to stay safe (for both you and the birds):

• If feeding birds, avoid doing so on hard surfaces (it can promote the spread of bird flu, and can damage the birds’ beaks). Instead, throw into the water.
• Do not feed bread. This is like junk-food for the birds, and can cause dangerous algal blooms especially in stagnant water like the canal. Seeds are a good alternative, as are peas (although best to defrost them first!).
• Avian flu is highly contagious, so be careful about any close contact. As with any wildlife, it’s probably best to observe from a distance so you don’t disturb them. If you do find any dead/dying birds, don’t touch them, and keep your dog away. If you do have any contact, don’t touch your face or eat anything, and wash your hands thoroughly as soon as possible. For all of the latest information, please visit the RSPB page on avian flu.

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• English or pedunculate oak (Quercus robur)
  
  • Deeply lobed leaves (and the leaf-lobes on each side of the leaf are not opposite to each other).
  • The leaves often have little or no stem.
  • There are auricles at the base of the leaf (look a bit like 2 little ears grasping the base of the leaf.
  • The acorns are held on a long stalk (hence pedunculate). You can just see one in the image above.
  • Widespread throughout Britain.

• Sessile oak (Quercus petraea)
  • Shallower lobed leaves, with more lobes that are more or less opposite each other.
  • The leaves have a longer stem.
  • The acorns are held with no stalk (hence sessile).
  • Tends to be found more in hilly areas (naturally) and more widespread in the west of Britain.

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On Saturday 15th April, artist Anita Burrows part of Higherford Mill Artists and I introduced some immersive walks in the beautiful Storey Gardens. This was in conjunction with the fantastic art exhibition, Visions of Landscapes, being held in The Storey. 

Half-hour walks were given throughout the day offering people a chance to see the garden in a whole new way: up close and personal. We used hand-held lenses to magnify plants, lichen, mosses and insects. This is a great way to mindfully immerse yourself even in a small space like the Storey Gardens.

With the glorious spring weather saw a whole host of insects and flowers and heard a surprisingly wide range of birds singing… and all of this in a small garden a stone’s throw from the city centre!

This is a garden which has been lovingly cared for by the wonderful volunteers of the Friends of the Storey Gardens (including the very knowledgeable Fiona who kindly chatted with us about many of the garden’s green inhabitants!), a real gem which gives plenty of space to nature.

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Celebrating RSPB founder Emily Williamson & enjoying the natural sights in the park

Emily Williamson was born just a short distance from Williamson Park (no connection!) and was one of the founders of the then Society for the Protection of Birds, later given Royal charter to become the RSPB. This inspirational woman is one of a number of locals to be celebrated with a plaque. 

The local RSPB Lancaster group have done a wonderful job in achieving this, and the event to honour her was well attended, including speakers from the RSPB and her great-great niece (Professor Melissa Bateson) who, coincidentally, studies birds! 

Our walk followed the unveiling, starting in Fenham Carr and then finished up in the park. Spring was in full swing with lots of bird song (blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, dunnocks, wrens, blackcaps, chiffchaffs, chaffinches, nuthatches, and many more), and plenty of leaves beginning to unfurl. This was a lovely, relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the spring.

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The aim of this session was to introduce and learn some different bird songs, of both resident and summer migratory species. This can be quite tricky to do in practice, attempting to distinguish one ‘voice’ amongst the many. Even more so as some of the songs are complex and varied.

To make it easier, we started the talk part of the session listening to some recorded bird songs. I used an app for this, but there are plenty of websites (such as RSPB identify a bird) and online videos which can help with this.

We then went outside to give the group the opportunity to hear the birds in situ and see if they could identify individuals from their song. By the end of our 1.5 hour walk around the beautiful Fairfield Nature Reserve, the group felt much more confident in singling out greenfinch, blackbird, chiffchaff, crow, great tit and coal tit. 

We stopped for a mindful moment in Pony Wood to stop and listen, firstly concentrating on just a single song, then attempting to identify as many as we could hear. Between us we estimated between 6-8 different bird songs (plus a few more calls). Stopping a listening is a great way to immerse yourself and I was surprised just how many we heard (it had seemed pretty quiet just a few moments before).

The video below is a nice one to get you started with good close-ups of the birds, and excellent sound recordings of their songs. Slightly misleadingly, the songs of some of the males are playing in the background whilst showing females (for example the blackcap), so it is worth checking a good bird book to see if one or both species calls or sings. Mostly it is just the male that sings, but if you are starting out, it is not always clear whether something is a song or a call.

Here is a list which might help with this, but if in doubt, it’s worth reading up on it some more:

• Robin – male and female sing in winter, but only males sing in the breeding season.
• House sparrow – the chirpy chattering is predominantly males, but females do ‘cheep’ as well.
• Jackdaw – both males and females make the distinctive ‘tchak’ sound, but do have vocalisations that differ between the sexes.
• Blackbird, song thrush, blackcap, chiffchaff, willow warbler, dunnock, greenfinch (and many more!) – only the males sing, but alarm and contact calls made by both sexes.

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