Many birds migrate, but it is the arrival of warblers that I most look forward to in Spring, because they are so tiny and travel all the way from West Africa.
April saw the arrival of both Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers to Rosemary Green and May Park Wood, little birds so alike that even experienced birdwatchers struggle to tell them apart. Until, that is, they start to call.
The call of the Chiffhaff is like its name - a soft, slightly breathless, chiff-chuff-chiff-chuff. It can be heard all around the green spaces in our neighbourhood. The Willow Warbler makes a gentle cascade of declining notes that is quite different. I heard several on Rosemary Green in early April but none since then. Gilbert White was a British naturalist who first realised that these two seemingly identical birds had totally different songs.
Both these birds like open woodland with areas of low scrub and smaller trees for nesting. May Park Wood is perhaps not ideal for them because, although there are lots of young trees, the leaves and branches are not very dense.
But with a little help it could be perfect for them. Coppicing (cutting trees to ground level every 5 or 10 years) was devised a way to provide small posts and logs for firewood and other uses, but also encourages warblers to stay and nest by creating lots of crowded stems and leaves for them to hide in. Traditionally in coppice woodlands, other selected trees are left to grow to full size. What do you think about coppicing May Park Wood? Click on ‘comment’ and share your views…
You may have noticed that the closure of May Park Wood became an local election issue last week. There are a couple of comments at the end of the previous post about this surprising turn of events. Feel free to add your own!
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