Summer update of birds at KFP

As we are now into July, it seems a good time to share some news about some of the birds that can be seen around KFP during the summer.  

First of the summer visitors to arrive in the spring are the warblers, of which the Chiffchaff and Blackcaps are the most common and are breeding widely at KFP. The Blackcap has a rich ‘fluting’ song that has earned it the name of the ‘Northern Nightingale’. The Common Whitethroat is another warbler seen at KFP and appears to be more widespread this year, with them seemingly appreciating the bramble patches around the park!

Blackcap (T Hill)

Common Whitethroat (J Davies)

The 4 ponds installed last November have already been popular with a variety of birds. Herons, Mallards and Mandarin Ducks have all been along to explore them. Since they arrived a couple of months ago, Swallows and House Martins have been enjoying the insects over the water, as well as collecting the mud from the pond edges for use in their nests.

Swallow collecting mud from the edge of our new ponds

As the hawthorn bushes/trees on the western side of Butler Hill continue to grow, they are now attracting a wider variety of birds. It looks as though Reed Buntings and Linnets might already be nesting there and a Tree Pipit was spotted earlier this week.

Over the last month, young birds have fledged and can increasingly be seen around the park. These include Nuthatches and Jackdaws which make their nests inside the trunks of the older trees, affording them protection from the weather and predators.

 Jackdaw emerging from its nest near the Garth

Nuthatch feeding its young at KFP

A key bird at KFP is the Skylark, known for its evocative song-flight, which it gives as it climbs vertically to a great height, before ‘parachuting’ down to the ground again. As many will know, it has long been immortalised in literature and by the composer Vaughan Williams in his work ‘Lark Ascending’.

Skylark numbers have declined nationally by 63% since the 1960s. As they are ground nesting birds which are susceptible to disturbance, amongst other precautions, it remains important that we request that dogs are kept on leads at KFP during the breeding season. There has, however, already been an encouraging increase in Skylark sightings so far this year, but with only one confirmed pair breeding on Butler Hill, there is still much to do to protect these and our other ground nesting birds.

Skylark

Skylark's song flight

Since we started monitoring 15 months ago, we have now seen over 70 species of birds in KFP. It is exciting that changes being made to the park are already beginning to have positive impacts on the number and diversity of birds being seen!