A close encounter with a flock of Wailing Heath-chickens
and other seasonal nature nuggets.
October is the time for our annual pilgrimage to Cavenham Heath National Nature Reserve, an obscure part of the Breckland district of East Anglia. Our target? To get a good look at the Stone-curlews that gather there.
Also known as Wailing Heath-Chickens, Stone-curlews are not really Curlews (or Chickens) but unusual wading birds that don’t really live in wet habitats and prefer stony fields. Stone-curlews are rare breeding birds in the UK and are vulnerable to disturbance while they’re nesting, so they’re carefully protected. But in autumn, Stone-curlews gather into flocks and it’s much easier to see them then.
Scanning beyond the heather into the grassland, we gradually picked out the Stonies. One, two, three… five, six, seven - oops, that one’s actually a Rabbit. An easy mistake to make, honest. We counted 27 birds but there must have been lots more hidden from view on the uneven ground - more than 65 have been counted there this autumn.
At first glance the Stone-curlews don’t appear to be very active birds. Their large eyes tell you that they’re most active at night. But watch a while longer and there’s interesting behaviour on show - preening, looking up into the sky, snoozing, sitting down (Stonies’ long, yellow legs fold up in a funny way).
Often when I’ve seen Stonies before they’ve been [almost literally] miles away, behind a curtain of heat haze. (Maybe it’s a sort of protective force field that shields them from predators?). This time they were much closer and it was even possible to see their odd yellow eyes properly. Have a look at the photos in this blog post (scroll past the Goldfinches and herons).
It’s getting late in the year now but I’ve been keeping a little list of the birds I’ve seen in 2023 (partly so I don’t forget them!)… it was good to add Stone-curlew as number 153 and Woodlark as 154. I have not been doing any twitching to boost the numbers.
Don’t tell anyone but I sometimes forget that birds exist - ones that I see often so I just don’t think about them often. But it’s lovely to be reminded of their existence.
I’ve got competition
Last weekend we went to visit family and our niece, M. (who’s approaching her sixth birthday), drew this fantastic Jay from a photo in about three minutes flat. I love it! Children definitely have the right attitude when it comes to art.
We went for a walk in some local ancient woodland and M. was climbing on a huge oak log when she suddenly stopped and said “I’ve spotted a gecko!” We weren’t sure what she could be talking about but took a look - and sure enough, there was a tiny little Smooth Newt clinging to the bark. I’m not sure I’ve seen a newt on a tree before. Top spotting!
Something for the nature table
One of the things I love about birds is that you can notice them anywhere. I wasn’t out on a nature-spotting expedition when I picked up these two Buzzard feathers - just on a walk back from the Co-Op. They were lying on the pavement, minding their own business, waiting for someone to find them and identify them as treasure.
What’s been your best nature find lately? I’d love to read about it.
I enjoyed this piece about sketchbooks from Deb at The Breakfast of Champignons:
I wouldn’t say I’m a sketchbook hoarder, but I definitely worry about making a mess of nice books with sub-standard drawings. I really need to get over that. What’s the point in having nice materials but being scared to use them?
I hope I’ll have some finished art to show you next time I write.
This was a good read, too:
.jpg){kind=link}
I still have to stop myself from saying ‘Oh, it’s only a [whatever]…’ Even just a buzzard sometimes. Any bird can be a good bird!
Thankyou for the mention! Love those stone curlews eyes, they are mad. I like a mad bird