Nightingale observations (May 4, 2024) – song as a tool to regulate spatial distribution

As I have been continuing the nightingale observations (see earlier post - Nightingale observations (May 1 – 2, 2024) – singing perch preferences), I have come to conclude that some of the males who had been singing over the first nights (and who likely occupied the most favourable singing perches), are no longer singing because …

Nightingale observations (May 1 – 2, 2024) – singing perch preferences

May 1 was the first day (night) when nightingale males began singing in the riparian habitats. I was quite startled at first to hear a songbird vocalizing intensely at what I thought was a 'very inappropriate hour' (at around 1 - 2 am, way after sunset and long before dawn) but then I recognized the …

Climate change effects on bird nesting material

My dog has started shedding her winter fur early this year due to the warm weather. Typically, I place the combed-out fur in the backyard for the birds to pick if they wished so. This year, as I brought the fur out in the garden, I began noticing that there were not yet as many …

Different chemical composition in fruit- and seed-bearing trees due to bird droppings (evolutionary implications)

Some winters I install a feeder for the birds in the garden. The activity is moderate because I cannot invest as much in abundant supplies. However, as the snow melts but the ground is yet unfrozen, I observe many tiny droppings scattered around the tree. As the soil unfreezes, these droppings would become accessible to …

Tawny owl (mythical) observation – Jan 27, 2024

This post will perhaps be more poetic than scientific. Lately, tawny owls seem to have increased their vocal activity level. As far as I understand (I have not studied tawny owls too much), they are currently searching for nests and probably reaffirming pair bonds prior to mating. As I was walking on a forest edge …

Bossy female or preparing mate for times of hardship?

As I was watching this video by Robert E Fuller following the events unfolding during the breeding season of 2022 in a kestrel family, I found myself disagreeing with the assumption that the female behaviour observed from 00:48 to 01:43 can be only explained by her generally commanding disposition. It may be quite true that …

Bird dawn chorus – shifts in distribution of the earliest singers

This summer I have observed certain dynamics in the bird dawn chorus in a specific location which is characterized by a medium-sized river (about 5 m wide), riparian forest (which is rather narrow in some strips and wider in others) and a small patch of pine forest (pines dominate the canopy) further upslope. Agricultural fields …

Bird nest materials – seasonal availability

Several bird species can produce multiple broods per year. While some species may use the same nest for the second (third) brood, many birds, e.g., species in the Turdidae family tend to make new nests for the new brood. Even if the nest site remains unchanged, the lining material is likely replaced due to the …

Curious mute swan behaviour – observations from my childhood

I grew up in a small village which only had one swan couple and those were mute swans that resided on a small island in the middle of a large pond (both artificial features built as a part of a former manor landscape design). The mute swan couple appeared unusual because they lived in the …

Bird dawn chorus – a nature’s clock

Recently I wrote a post about bird dawn chorus which I have been listening to over the mornings of the last months. The dawn chorus truly marks a boundary between the twilight and the first light of the day (pre-dawn). As humans, we tend to associate it, at least culturally, with a beginning of a …