Fieldfares arrive early in Ashe lane Etwall
| Published: 1st February 2007 19:17 |
"Tales of Ashe Cottage". by Steven Beach
I live behind my computer that looks out over the fields behind Ashe Cottage and a couple of years ago a flock of birds that look like Thrushes arrived in the field and had me reaching for the bird book. It was wonderful to see them, hop hop hop, just like a Thrush does, stop and head on one side listening for worms (or whatever it is they listen for). Except there were hundreds of them doing it in unison, rather like synchronised swimming.
There are about 50 of them out there today - 31st January - whereas they normally arrive later in the year and they appear to hop and stop at the same time. "scuse me" they might be saying, "I can't hear the worms if you are hopping about!"
Too far for the camera-phone to pick out the Fieldfares
An abundant winter visitor to Norfolk, the fieldfare's distribution varies, at times surprisingly, from winter to winter. The flocks arriving here soon make their way inland. Some years the first arrivals take place during March.
In severe winters fieldfares are forced to retreat from East Anglia and they then head westward across the Irish Sea.
Fieldfares breed in Scandinavia and the former Soviet Union including the Baltic States. In central Europe the breeding range has extended to Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and France.
Only a proportion of the Scandinavian fieldfares migrate. The remainder spend the winter in their home countries, often in very large numbers. Breeding habits are as irregular as their migrations. In some years the birds are abundant in the Lapland birch forests; but in other breeding seasons they are absent.
The first known breeding of fieldfares in Britain was in 1967 when a pair nested in Orkney. Very small numbers have continued nesting fairly regularly in Scotland and the Peak District. In Scandinavia fieldfares visit gardens and parks in late summer and autumn to feed on a variety of berries. In this country, unless the weather is severe, the birds frequent open country associating with redwings, blackbirds and yellowhammers. Fieldfares find their food (including slugs, insects and earthworms) on the ground often locating it more by sound then sight. A gregarious thrush often found with Redwings, it is distinguished by a combination of grey and chestnut brown. It's about 25cm - 10inches in size. Their call is a loud 'chack chack' - a chuckling song
Towards dusk, each flock settles down for the night, sometimes in a hedge or a plantation, but often along the furrows of a ploughed field or in the marshes. If a tall hedge is selected, all alight to face in the same direction. Which appears to fit in with the coordination of hop hop stop routine I observed.
By mid-November normal fieldfare emigration in Scandinavia is at an end unless weather conditions become severe. Then and particularly if the berry crop fails, 'weather migrants' may arrive in East Anglia at any time during December or even in January. Like waxwings, fieldfares are nomadic and show no allegiance to regular wintering areas, ‘cept they like our bit of the world it appears.
MANY THANKS TO STEVEN BEACH FOR THIS ARTICLE, HAVE YOU GOT A LOCAL NEWS STORY OF INTEREST
EMAIL debbieavery@aboutmyarea.co.uk
What do you think?
You will need to sign in to post a comment to this article. if you do not have an AboutMyArea account, you can join now for free.
