Hugh’s Views: for the love of birds
What a great year it has been for birds and bird watchers in and around Amble. It’s always exciting to hear of rare birds in the area such as the bridled tern which appeared on Coquet Island or the Siberian stonechat which took up temporary residence in the uncultivated corner of a field adjacent to the Caravan Park in early October.
Locals looked out for the crow
The recovery of the seabird communities on Coquet Island after the devastation caused by bird flu was welcome news. The Seabird assistants and volunteers play such an important role in the success of this RSPB reserve.
The Space for Shorebirds project also had success this year with protecting ringed plovers which nested on the shore at Amble Dunes. In early July I was lucky enough to encounter two newly hatched young which were already feeding with their parents outside the protected zone. Unfortunately, neither survived to fledge but it was still an important milestone.
Another bird which seems to have given great pleasure to several people in Amble was a young carrion crow which turned up on the green area between Percy Drive and Rose Finch Drive in early summer last year. Unable to fly, the youngster was at first attended by at least one of its parents. It was undersized with hardly a tail and only stubby flight feathers. It sought refuge in a hawthorn bush beside the footpath roosting there at night.
Several people recognised its plight and soon donations of bird food were being left regularly under the tree. Although it disappeared for a few days around Christmas, it did reappear and continued to forage over the green. The hawthorn afforded very little protection during the winter but the young crow survived the worst of the weather and continued to prosper.
Eventually, as it grew stronger the crow abandoned the hawthorn and began roosting in a silver birch close to the vets’ car park. New feathers replaced the original worn and stunted plumage and the bird seemed to grow in confidence. The crow still accepted food offerings although never losing its natural wariness of humans and by early September it was gliding short distances across the grassed areas.
Then on 16 September I witnessed the crow fly up into a tall birch near the hawthorn. I only saw it once more and hope that it is enjoying its new found independence.
Hugh Tindle
