Bad day all round

It was a bad day all round... at the weekend I watched one of my sons play football. He did not get into the game at all, though he was not the worst player out there. Anyway, he and some others were substituted at half-time as his team were losing 3-0. The end result was a 9-0 loss!!! And to make matters worse I only heard one species of woodpecker call during the game...a Syrian. Maybe the local Greens and Great Spotteds just knew it was going to be a bad day, a bad game and a bad result and so did not bother to turn up?

Beaver

I was at Lake Tisza in NE Hungary briefly, guiding a chap from the UK. We had a surprise day-time observation of a European beaver Castor fiber. It was swimming along a backwater and then climbed out briefly onto a bank. The European beaver is the continent's largest rodent, a stocky, robust mammal with short legs, webbed hind feet, a round head, long yellow teeth and, of course, a large flat tail. The tail is used as a horizontal rudder. Besides being mainly nocturnal, these aquatic rodents swim very low in the water, with the tail often submerged. There are not over common in Hungary but are increasing, especially on rivers in the NE and NW and SW. There have also been a few reintroductions as part of a WWF project. Beavers live in families of up to six individuals led by a pair of adults. Territories may be linear, along a stretch of river or channel, or based around a pond or lake. In some areas of Europe beavers have even colonised wetlands in urban areas. European beavers are now fairly common in the Baltic States and Poland in wooded lake-districts and wide river flood-plains lined with softwood trees like birch, willow and poplar. Further south they are not as widespread, inhabiting quieter rivers such as tributaries of the Danube in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Croatia. I am running a trip to Poland next year (see post below this one) and it is almost certain that we will see beavers on that trip.

A tour to Poland

Some of you will know that I am often asked to guide birders and wildlife lovers in Eastern Europe. A destination that has been requested a lot recently is POLAND. So, after much thought, I have come up with an original itinerary for next year. If you are interested to hear more, or wish to join us, then get in touch. Here is a brief outline: POLAND - Autumn in the Polish Carpathians: Birds and Mammals: dates 25th - 30th October, 2008. 7 days, 6 nights. We will take in two fantastic areas in southern Poland: the Tatra and Bieszczady National Parks. We will focus on finding mammals (with chances of Wolf, Brown Bear, Lynx, Alpine Marmot, Chamoix, Elk, European Beaver, European Bison and others). Indeed, I will have a local tracker do some homework before our visit in order to increase our chances of finding these mammals. Special birds on this trip should include Pygmy & Ural Owls, Hazel Grouse, and woodpeckers such as White-backed and Three-toed. October is also a great month for photographers as many trees are covered in shades of reds, yellows and brown. It's a year away, but don't delay, I expect this exciting trip to fill up fast...

My NEW woodpecker BLOG

I have set up a new BLOG. I intend it to eventually replace my WOODPECKERS OF EUROPE website. I will be able to keep the blog fresh and it will save me time and expense. It will take a little time to sort it all out, but I hope that withinh a month it will be packed with info and nice photos of the Picidae from all over Europe. Please take a look and let me know what you think of it, and the idea. Here is the address: http://woodpeckersofeurope.blogspot.com/

Great Spotted... spotted

So I heard the usual tapping in the garden. I stepped onto the balcony to peer into the trees and there it was. But no, it was not him (or her), not my Syrian. Rather, it was a male Great Spotted Woodpecker. Four things: 1) You can't take anything for granted. 2) There is no difference in tapping (as in feeding action) between these species. 3) There are differences in drumming. 4) Both these species live side by side, share the same areas, habitats, they overlap... though some of the literature denies this... incorrectly.

Anvil, smithies, workshops

There is a new development in my local Syrian Woodpecker observations. The birds have wedged a walnut in a joint between two boughs on the biggest false acacia tree in the garden. This is known as an anvil (sometimes termed “workshop" or “smithy"). The anvil is a crevice or crack in a tree, log, post or even a wall, where woodpeckers wedge and process hard food items such as nuts, cones, fruit stones and large insects. Great Spotted, Syrian and possibly Green Woodpeckers use anvils. Nuthatches do this, too, but an important difference between anvils used by Nuthatches and those used by woodpeckers is that Nuthatches only use an anvil once, thus no piles of debris accumulate beneath it, whereas woodpeckers use favourite anvils repeatedly. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are unique in creating customised anvils to suit the food item regularly fed upon in an area. Anvils are often used for long periods hence debris, cones, nutshells, hard insect remains, accumulate beneath them. Sometimes trees with several crevices used as anvils are dotted with wedged cones and nuts and in winter take on a strange Christmas tree appearance. Beside walnuts, the stones of plums, almonds, cherries and apricots are often wedged in anvils by Syrian Woodpeckers.

Barking Mad

Went out into the forest for a fw hours, to check on a Black Woodpecker territory. I heard a couple of sudden, loud, barks in the forest. But not dogs... a Roe Deer. Both roe males (bucks) and females (does) bark and it always seems to sound sharper and louder on otherwise silent mornings. Like all deer this species has excellent senses of smell and hearing but their eyesight is a little suspect. Roe deer quickly spot movement but often stand and stare at stationary objects. It is always wise to keep still and silent when watching wildlife but especially so with Roe Deer which can be approached closely if the wind is blowing the right way. This is what I did, and I soon saw the buck that had barked, a fine animal with a rich chesnut coloured coat and sturdy little antlers.