BIRD WATCHING

By ValerieKelly

Withmigrationjustaroundthe cornerthere willbemuch excitementofreturningbirds to breedinour country. Thefirstofwhichwillbe Wheatears,Sand Martinsand YellowWagtails. Of otherinterest,aGlossy Ibishas returned to the Marshand roosts overonHengistbury Head.

Many birdsarenow insongincluding Song Thrushes,Dunnocks,Skylarksandtheodd Blackbird. Thereasonthesebirdsaresinging nowistowardoffotherbirdsfromentering theirbreeding territory.Itwasthoughtthat onlythemalebirdssingbut recent studieshave foundthatsomespeciesof femalesalsosing. Ourbeautiful redbreasted Robinshave long been knowntosingallthroughthe yearand bothmaleand femalesbirdsproduceatruly beautifuland variedsong.

We know thatbirdsmigrateto this country to breeddue to optimum availabilityoffood sourceswhich theyneed to sustaintheir young. Birdsmakethousandsofmilelongjourneys from Africaandoftenarrive tired,dehydrated, worn outandhungry.Ifyousee abirdsitting still,itmay justneed to chilland rest forawhile. TheArtic Tern makesthe longestjourneyas itmigratesfrompole to pole.Theirjourney canbeup to 22,000miles ayear.Theymove betweenthe Articsummerand Antarctic summerandareseen regularlypassingthrough HengistburyHeadtobreedinnorthand west of Scotlandand Ireland.

Thebirdwatchingboat tripthatweheldin MarchfromPoole to Warehamproved very popularandisoneofthe excitingadvantages ofbeing amemberwithsightingsof avariety ofGrebesandDiversamongstother marshbirds.