Home Bird

The Easter break provided me with the chance to go back to Northern Ireland to visit family and do a spot of birdwatching while I was there. The urban garden of my parents’ house provided me with the opportunity to see nearly twenty species at close quarters. Many of these we can see in and around Cordoba such as robins, great tits, blue tits and long-tailed tit. The latter are unmistakeable pink, black and white balls of fluff with ridiculous seven centimetre long tails. They are social birds usually seen travelling in family groups. Their small size means they are vulnerable during cold winters and so they huddle together at night in order to minimize heat loss and even take turns in the coolest spots. This altruistic behaviour is not confined to roosting. They take part in co-operative breeding with the youngsters of one brood often helping their parents raise the next one.

Long-tailed tit

Another visitor to the garden was the dunnock, most likely attracted by the bird feeders. It was often seen foraging on the ground under bushes and between plant pots. It is quite unassuming with its grey and brown plumage. However the dunnock lives quite an interesting life. Females are known to form relationships with two males (polyandry). The two males, the dominant alpha and the beta, will work together to defend their territory from intruders. Occasionally a single male will also form a relationship with two or more females (polygyny). 

Dunnock

Another polygamous bird is the Eurasian wren which could also be seen foraging on the ground for insects. This tiny bird has one of my favourite scientific names- Troglodytes Troglodytes, meaning cave-dweller due to its ability to squeeze into tiny holes when looking for food. The wren has a troubled history in Ireland where it was traditionally hunted on St. Stephens Day (26th December). This was because it was believed to have betrayed the Christian martyr. Fortunately today a fake wren is hunted down and tied to a pole and interestingly a similar tradition takes place in Galicia in the north of Spain during the Caceria del rey Charlo (Chase of King Charles). 

Bullfinch

Other visitors to the garden included coal tits, bullfinches, goldfinches, chaffinches, blackbirds, Wood pigeons, common starlings and blackcaps. Blackcaps are a common sight in and around Cordoba. However, these warblers are a fairly new addition to the gardens of Belfast. Their numbers seem to be increasing due to the rise in the number of people putting out seeds for birds in winter. Only the adult males actually have a black cap, the females and juvenile males having a brown cap. Treecreepers were also seen creeping up the bark of trees in the hunt for insects. They are very similar in appearance to the short-toed treecreeper which can be seen here in Cordoba, but they are whiter below with a slightly short bill. Redpolls, another species which we don’t have in Andalucía, were another regular sight. 

Redpoll

We were also fortunate to be able to visit the RSPB’s Window on Wildlife centre at Belfast Lough. This site is close to the city’s airport, the harbour and major road and rail routes yet it is home to a wide variety of birds. In fact, one of the volunteers there told me that he had seen over 100 species in the last calendar year. Not bad! Our visit coincided with low tide and we were able to see black-tailed godwits feeding in the shallows and a reed bunting on the mud. There were surface feeding ducks including teal and shovelers and diving ducks such as pochard and tufted ducks. The resident buzzard was trying to avoid the attention of the hooded crows and we managed to spot a few Mediterranean gulls hiding among the black-headed gulls. 

Black-headed gulls in a courtship display

Black-tailed Godwit

On our last day in Northern Ireland we headed to Tollymore Forest Park at the foot the Mourne Mountains. It was a cold day with a little drizzle helping to remind me why I live in southern Spain. Our short walk provided us with a couple of interesting finds. A flash of yellow on the head of the bird hopping along the branches of a Douglas spruce told us that we had seen a goldcrest. Europe’s lightest bird weighs in at 4.5 - 7.0 grams – that is about the same as a 20 cents coin. The British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Garden Bird Feeding Survey has shown that goldcrests take advantage of feeders in cold winters and in fact we were lucky to spot one in the garden in Belfast too. A harsh screech alerted us to the presence of a couple of Eurasian jays, their blue wing patches standing out even in the poor light. 

Eurasian Jay

As we walked along the Shimna River I spotted a dipper perched on an exposed rock at the edge of the fast flowing river. I have never seen them in Andalucía so seeing one here was quite exciting. They are remarkable birds, well adapted for feeding underwater. They have flaps that go over their nostrils when they are submerged, well-developed wing muscles to push against the current and they can even hold onto stones with their feet to prevent them from getting carried away by the water. 

Dipper

As we were taking off our boots to get into the car a sparrowhawk flew overhead. It was a fleeting glimpse but, nonetheless a good way to round off my time back home.