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Storm Petrel -
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May 2006 will go down on record as the time we had one of the best ever influxes of Storm Petrels in our coastal waters.
They are rarely seen off the Hampshire coast and it normally doesn’t happen until the autumn and only then if we get a prolonged spell of stormy weather.
The weather during the middle of May was particularly wet and windy with predominately south westerly winds and it is this that has driven them closer to our shores, when they would normally be heading up the west coast of Britain and Ireland to their usual breeding areas.
I managed to see my first ever Storm Petrel at Milford on Sea, but they were seen all along the Hampshire coast including Lepe and also from Shore Road in Hythe.
They look very much like a House Martin and are about the same size. They are mainly black with a very prominent white rump and if seen close up they often look as though they are walking on the water.
The stormy weather brought in many other sea birds too, including Skuas, Shearwaters, Gannets, Kittiwakes, Fulmars and Auks. Unfortunately the weather conditions at times didn’t make for pleasant bird watching.
Although I have not heard anything officially, there do not seem to be so many nesting Gulls and Terns on Gull Island by Inchmerey.
It could well be that the rough seas washed away any nests. The birds will be back for another attempt as the weather settles, but it will have put back their normal breeding season and many may now only have one brood instead of more.
Away from the coast, all of our summer arrivals are now in the country and busily nesting and bringing up their young. They need the extended daylight hours at this time of year just to find enough food to feed themselves and perhaps seven or eight offspring.
Again the weather plays its part too. When its warm, sunny and dry the insects and caterpillars are out in force and can be easily found by hungry birds, but if its cool and wet they stay hidden away, making for much harder work.
This is why it is still very important to continue putting out food in your garden. You can put out all types of food, but you should only feed peanuts from a mesh feeder so that they cannot take whole nuts.
Also if you put out bread, it is best to wet it first so that it swells up straight away rather than in a young bird’s throat.
Currently in my own garden the first young Starlings have arrived, and I have counted up to fifteen of them all trying to sit on my bird table and noisily calling for their overworked parents to feed them.
The coming month will see more and more young birds in your gardens, and quite often you will find a young bird that appears to have fallen out of the nest and been abandoned.
You should resist the urge to catch the bird and instead just ensure it is in a safe place away from cats. The parents are usually around somewhere and will hear the youngster’s calls and continue to feed it, hopefully until it can fend for itself.
June is often thought of as a quiet month in bird watching terms. Spring migration has finished and most birds are now paired up and nesting.
Now that they are not trying to attract a mate they become less vocal and shortly many of them start their annual moult. Because of this many birds become harder to see, but it is still possible for rarities to turn up, possibly a Stork, or one of a number of birds of prey that normally stay on the near continent.
And don’t forget that autumn migration starts again in July!
Remember to watch “Springwatch” on BBC2 at 8pm Monday-Friday for some excellent shots of nesting birds and other wildlife.
Happy birding.
Paul Matthews
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