January 2023 in Bicknor Wood

Working on the assumption that nobody actually reads this twaddle, I have happily neglected the blog for a couple of months. But someone noticed. Ooops!

Bluebell shoots were seen pushing up through the leaf litter on Jan 2nd with Lords and Ladies showing too. Lords and Ladies are pollinated by flies and the berries are eaten by birds. Seed dispersal by the birds is the main method of propagation, but fragments broken from their tuberous rhizomes can also lead to their spread.

 Many of the birds appear to be consorting in twos. Have they chosen their partners already?

A Magpie was seen carrying nesting materials and subsequently found to be constructing a nest.

The Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been actively drumming and were seen as a threesome on Jan 15th. It was not possible to discern whether the new bird was male or female, nor whether the pair which nested last year and the year before is still made up of the original male and female. 

Woodpeckers do not pair up for life and can be a bit fickle if a better mate comes along. This is the third year in a row that the pair might have been tempted to change partners and inject some DNA diversity into the local population. In the previous two years, the newcomer has been female and the male has made his choice, but it is not possible to say if he was faithful to his original partner on either occasion. A single chick was fledged in both years which can be considered a success, but woodpeckers can lay 4-6 eggs, and might be hoping for a better strike rate with the right partner.

The cold weather pushed a few winter visitors our way, but has not brought as many as in previous years, nor have they stayed as long. A few Lesser Redpolls were seen through the early part of the month, but then moved on.

Redwings were present in smaller numbers and gorged themselves on the ivy berries which are reputed to have a calorific content similar to that of peanut butter.

Treecreepers and Nuthatches have returned to the wood after their short absences last year and will hopefully find a nesting spot to their liking.

Treecreepers' habit of nesting behind a loose piece of bark makes them vulnerable to predators. 

Long-tailed Tits were also elusive last year and difficult to see. They have returned in higher numbers and hopefully will also find somewhere within the wood to breed. Their nests are wonderfully camouflaged, so they might have been nesting under our noses last year and we may not have known.

   

A Carrion Crow was seen during the last week of January taking advantage of the view from the burnt oak while it still could.