Lone Scots Pine amidst Oaks in the freezing fog
I often wonder what triggers the onset of spring behaviour in various animals: is it increasing day length, temperature, weather patterns or some other factor? We have just emerged from a month of dull, wet weather and, although the temperatures have plummeted, after a fall of snow the light levels have suddenly increased dramatically. It must be this which has persuaded the Great Spotted Woodpeckers that spring is on its way...
I think this is the earliest in the year that I've ever heard woodpeckers drumming here in Mid Wales. Usually, they begin in the first couple of weeks of February, around the time that the frogs emerge. But yesterday, the first bright day after snow, I heard that distinctive sound and my hopes were lifted for the year ahead. This morning's weather was rather less pleasant with thick fog and temperatures below freezing. But the woodpeckers weren't discouraged; they'd made that step into spring and were determined to continue.
In this recording, besides the trickling of a stream, a Great Spotted Woodpecker drums repeatedly on a broken branch in a lone Scots Pine amidst the Oaks. In the distance, another woodpecker can be heard, too. Close by, we hear the coos of a Wood Pigeon, together with the occasional chattering of a Blue Tit. Then, after a while, calls of Chaffinch and Blackbird. At around 17 minutes a Nuthatch stikes up with a series of sharp chirps and, is that a lone frog I hear shortly after? Towards the end of the recording, the high pitched staccato chirps of a Robin can be heard, too.
There's a lot more bird activity here than the calls alone would indicate. It's still winter with snow on the ground and flurrying wingbeats can be heard all around as birds forage for what little food is available. For the most part, we hear little more than contact calls, and it will be a few weeks before the familiar spring songs begin to emerge.
Recorded: 2023-01-21 @ 0800
Download full length recording:
28min, 64MB, .ogg format
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