 |
| Gulls at Lepe |
|
Welcome to the first edition of Fawley Birdlife. It is written by Paul Matthews, a local bird watching enthusiast. This page will feature regular news and information on the wild birds that can be seen in the Fawley area.
Future editions will highlight local places to visit, detailing the species of birds that are likely to be encountered, as well as any other forms of wildlife.
Reports of any interesting local sightings for the previous month with predictions of what might, or should be seen this month will be found in this section of the website.
But Paul could use your help…. Please feel free to email him with your own reported bird sightings. His Email address is pjm82@btinternet.com
So, onto this month’s article:
Our Area
We live in a very good birdwatching area. We have the New Forest on our doorstep which holds many rare and interesting species such as Dartford Warbler and Nightjar, plus we have the Solent which provides a haven for thousands of Waders, Gulls, Terns and Seabirds.
We have nature reserves at Lepe and Calshot, and even the industrial area of the refinery provides homes for unusual birds such as Bittern, Bearded Tit and Peregrine Falcon.
We are also well placed to attract migrant and vagrant species, so it should be possible to see around 150-200 species of birds in the Fawley area each year, given a bit of luck.
What to see in May
 |
| Dartford Warbler. For more about this bird visit the RSPB website |
|
Migration is now well under way and most species have now been seen somewhere in the country. More birds are arriving daily, and the normal late arrivals such as Nightjar and Spotted Flycatcher should arrive any day now.
You possibly may never see a Nightjar, but if you are in the New Forest at dusk listen out for their "churring" call. Its a bit like a grasshopper sound. The heathland between Blackfield and Exbury is quite a good area for them.
All birds are busily nesting at this time of the year, and if you get the chance pop down to Inchmery near Lepe where you can get a good view of the Black Headed Gull colony at Needs Ore.
There are thousands of nesting birds there, and the noise can be quite deafening at times. You should also be able to see Sandwich and Common Terns, and possibly the rarer Little terns too.
Garden Birds
Many people believe that you don’t need to feed garden birds at this time of the year, but recent studies by the RSPB suggest this is not the case. There are very few natural seeds around at the moment, and a cold or damp spell of weather will reduce the amount of insects about.
Therefore it’s vital to provide high energy foods such as sunflower or mixed seeds, fat cakes and also peanuts, as long as they are fed from a mesh feeder, to prevent whole nuts being given to young birds which may choke them. You should also provide a source of water for drinking and bathing.
Its also never too late to put up a nest box. Even though many Blue Tits and Robins have already started nesting, they often have 2 or 3 broods a year and may not use the same nestbox.
Happy Birding.
Paul
|
