Essex Man is back!

I can’t believe that over two years have passed since I last blogged but here I am back into print after finally publishing my book called, naturally, “Essex Man Goes Wild”. I have collated a series of articles written over a number of years detailing observations, experiences and sightings in my own garden and further afield. All profits from any sales will be divided equally between Basildon Natural History Society and Essex Wildlife Trust. The book is available on Amazon.

So, what’s been happening in my little corner of Essex? Well, it was around the middle of February that I started to notice two long tailed tits in the garden on almost a daily basis. Normally in winter we see family ‘troops’ of up to twenty birds passing through, emitting their high pitched contact calls but then only on the odd occasion. So this regular sighting of what might be a pair caught my attention. More so when after a few days I noted that they seemed to be particularly interested in our berberis, a spiny evergreen shrub, which has grown to a height of  around 15 foot with honeysuckle growing through it. 

The pair of blue tits who appeared to have ‘reserved’ the nest box on a tree about 20 foot away seemed to take exception to the presence of the newcomers and would make darting flights to drive away the long tailed tits. Not to be deterred they would return and quickly disappear into the shrub only to reappear minutes later from another part of the bush. By now I started watching through binoculars and to my delight on occasions I could see material in their bills, confirmation they were building. Their tiny bills would only have a small amount of material, sometimes moss, sometimes perhaps it was cobwebs and now and again what looked like small white feathers, I couldn’t be sure but what an intricate and time consuming business it must be. 

I did wonder if both birds were involved in building but as male and female are alike it wasn’t easy to confirm. But with patience I did manage on two or three occasions to see both birds with nesting material in their bills before they disappeared into the berberis. I should not have been surprised, for only one bird to build such an intricate nest would, I feel, have been a Herculean feat too far.

   

I was intrigued to think that I would be able to witness the formation of this bird’s elaborate nest. A small, soft, domed pouch with the entrance hole near the top, made of moss held together with cobwebs and sometimes finished with lichen it must be one of the marvels of avian construction. 

Despite their quick, darting and often acrobatic movements, using my binoculars I was on occasions afforded some close up views of this delightful tiny bird. The plumage is mainly black and white with a prominent white ‘flash’ in the middle of the head. The scapulars are a wine-red or reddish brown and on the flanks and belly the reddish brown sometimes takes on a pinkish hue and there is a gorget of small dark spots across the breast. On one such close encounter we watched from the kitchen as a long tailed tit probed the corners of the garage window and edges of the soffit plucking strands of sticky spider webs and having harvested a small bundle flew directly back to the nest site. The mortar for the moss!

The comings and goings continued daily over the next week with the blue tits, who were not making any attempts with their own nesting, still keeping up their ‘bullying’ tactics but I was pleased to see it did not deter their black and white cousins. Another encouraging sight was to see them feeding on the peanuts or fat balls, helping, I like to think, to sustain their energies for the task in hand.     

As I watched their tireless determination I could not help but think of the trials that may lie ahead. On occasions I have seen a sparrowhawk flash through or drift high over the garden and a pair of magpies are often squawking harshly in the tops of nearby trees. Then of course there are the local cats and even great spotted woodpeckers, which also visit my garden, all can be a threat to either the young or adults. Even the weather might play a part, how would they fare if we had a cold snap with snow and ice? And then there is me! Mowing the lawn, gardening, will these disturbances cause the birds to desert the nest? These may be dangers that most nesting birds face but when it might happen in your own back garden it somehow seems more real. 

Around the middle of March the nest looked complete, what a feat of engineering, all accomplished without hands! However, sightings of the pair had diminished drastically. Trying to be optimistic, I put their apparent absence down to the fact that they could be laying eggs and therefore keeping a low profile but by the end of March and no sightings for over a week I was certain they had deserted the nest. And so it proved to be, to think that this pair would have to spend another hectic three or four weeks building a second nest. I do so hope they will be successful wherever they are!