It’s around mid-winter stage
already and winter has yet to arrive. It hasn’t been exceptionally mild, but
January has been mostly benign with no frost at all in London. Traditionally, January
can be when the weather is at its most severe. There doesn’t seem to be any
severe winter weather at all in the northern hemisphere this year, which is the
exact opposite in the southern part of the globe with the horrific Australian
forest fires due to a devastating mix of heat, drought and high winds. The UK,
of course, is often mild in winter with the south westerly winds that dominate
but for people of my age, mid-forties, our first weather memories probably
begin around a time when severe snowy weather was commonplace. Indeed between
1979 and 1987, there wasn’t a winter season without that occurring at least
once. I was conditioned into thinking that it was normal. Since then there have
been cold winters at times but never normally for more than two or three years
in a row.
Anyway,
the grey stillness of January has been brightened by bird song. The mistle thrush,
its unique, far carrying and almost stilted notes being heard from a distant treetop.
This is, the robin aside, the earliest of the singers. The mild winter has
perhaps encouraged it, but it’s not entirely unusual to hear this so early in
the year. Being keen on worms and snails, thrushes are a good barometer of a
healthy ecosystem. In principle, they can be found wherever there are mature
trees and grass though the song thrush, being particularly dependant on snails,
has suffered through pesticide use in gardens. Listen out for the song when you’re
out and about. You won’t mistake it as, the Robin’s melancholy twitterings
aside, no other birds are singing yet. Another thrush which has, in fact, been
noticeable by its absence this winter is the redwing, a delightful visitor from
Scandinavia with a creamy stripe above the eye and a red flank. This is the first
time in my four years living in North London that I haven’t seen any. As they
normally come across the North Sea to profit from our milder climate this is
proof of how clement the weather is this year, even over there. This may change
so let’s see. I’d be interested to know if they’ve been commoner in the west of
the UK as the redwing population there comes from Iceland. It’s disappointing
not to have seen them so far, anyway, as they are a nice symbol of winter and a
pleasure to behold. The lack of frost has helped maintain plenty of earthworms
in the garden to the delight of the blackbirds. I like to see that, firstly as
its shows a healthy lawn and garden but also as the blackbirds are amongst the
least likely to visit my birdfeeders - partly as they’re unable to access them
but also as they are less inclined to feed on seeds - and so rely more on nature.
A tip for you; they love apples so if you feel so inclined as to chop some up
and throw on the lawn, you’ll be very popular. This is a real treat, the
problem being that if you have squirrels, they’ll likely hoover them up so bear
that in mind.
An
interesting visitor is the Blackcap. A pair; a male and a female. Normally
summer visitors which over-winter in Spain, it is not unusual for these pretty
birds - the size of a robin - to stay here instead. I wonder, in fact, if this
is the same pair which I’ve seen the last couple of winters? Such events
invariably lead to suggestions of global warming. In the case of the blackcaps,
however, it’s not necessarily the case. Firstly, mild as it is this year,
London is colder than the south of Spain. I know, I myself have over-wintered
there. Secondly, blackcaps come to the bird feeders thus avoiding dependency on
finding insects. Also, London has plenty of buildings providing safe and warm roosting
spots. My feeling, for the blackcap, at least, is that it’s more the case of an
opportunistic bird which is able to survive the winter here through the
artificial combination of city heat and bird feeders. A bird that relies solely
on insects could not survive here through the winter. Though certainly so far
this winter, it will have been relatively easy, due to the lack of frost. A
winter without some cold, frosty or snowy weather does feel like a bit of a
cheat and can only add to the sense that global warming – suddenly highly
publicized though awareness of the issue amongst scientists goes back decades –
is indeed taking a grip of weather events on a global scale.
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