Habituation

Most animals and people in fact learn via habituation or perhaps more accurately are trained by habituation. Scientifically habituation is the diminishing of an innate response to a frequently repeated stimulus. Think of it a little like the saying 'familiarity breeds contempt' or rather in this case familiarity makes the response more comfortable. In human psychology habituation is fundamental to cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), something I am accustomed, habituated to you might say. When tackling my anxiety over travel my CBT had me taking weekly train journeys in incrementally larger distances until travel by train was normal.

 Habituation has been used throughout human history to domesticate animals and it is something I have used send times over the years in my wildlife watching. When I first started regular patchwork back in 2001 my local swans were ZNY and VGY, over the space of many years I got to know this pair very well, and importantly they me. I saw them every week and each week I would have some bread or seed to feed them. Out of habit, I would make a whistle when I fed them and they soon associated that sound with me and food, pretty soon I did not need to whistle and they would come over as soon as they saw me. 

The habituation slowly developed into something more than cold psychology, we gained mutual trust and respect. In the end, before ZNY died and VGY moved off with a new mate, they were comfortable enough with me to allow me to sit alongside them and would even bring their cygnets over to within arms reach and be quite relaxed. I learned how to read their moods and behaviours and likewise, they learned my hand signals that denoted a warning for when I would move or stand or my splayed-out fingers to demonstrate I either had no food. This was a very special bond that I have never managed to replicate with the other swans in the area. 

I talk about habituation today because I think that the roe deer are beginning to habituate to me. The two young does have been on my patch their entire lives and just as the local foxes, badgers, and muntjacs are a normal sight, so I believe I have become to them. I am getting pretty good at guessing where on my patch they will be on any given day, nevertheless, they are always one step ahead of me. Their senses are keen and their camouflage nearly perfect.

 This week on my survey I decided not to be too stealthy, they knew I would be there long before I saw them and I wondered if acting stealthy might make me seem more predatory. I have found this trick useful in the past. I try to appear docile and part of the wildlife, I make my movements hesitant and wary I don't make eye contact, something that instantly screams predator. I even try to respond to alarm calls. If a blackbird or great tit alarms I will freeze and look and scared. I try everything I can to seem like one of them. This worked quite well. I spotted the roe deer lurking in the undergrowth they loped away but I didn't follow. Instead, I sat for a bit and then went on. When next I saw them they were standing in the undergrowth watching me, I avoided eye contact and moved further away. Keeping my moments slow I took a few photos. As they moved off again I followed slowly keeping a distance and again taking a seat on a gate feigning disinterest in them. They quickly settled down and whilst they were still wary of me their body language was more relaxed and as they moved they did so in a less panicked state. Although they weren't comfortable enough to stay in my presence they left at a slow pace and not due to any action of mine.

This was the most natural connection I have had with a roe deer and it stemmed from them becoming used to me - habituated and me becoming used to them - habituated. The danger of habituation is that they become too familiar with people, its why many rescue centres try to handle animals as little as possible and will use release pens.

The application of Apps in Wildlife Watching

 I am of the generation that saw the common use of mobile phones during my late teens. Back then they were simple brick-like affairs with just call and test functions, far removed from the pocket computers we have today. I am by no means a Luddite I am drafting this blog on a Remarkable (TM) tablet but wildlife watching has always been a getaway from technology. I use tech of course, what birder doesn't? , my binoculars, my camera, my Garmin GPS device for plotting trees, and my digital thermometer/anemometer but I had always avoided the application of apps.

This month however I have discovered two apps that I have found easy to work into my survey routine. 

First off is the Mammal Mapper by the Mammal Society. I must admit I have been using this app for a little while to log mammal sightings but I haven't been using it to its full potential. My increased use of the app came from my desire to submit more of my sightings to the Mammal Society national database. In the past, I had used its individual sighting mode which is simple to use and very intuitive. This month I have used it in survey mode and it was amazing.  

I used it on my own patch of course, where else would I test it? The app allows you to continuously track your movements on a map as you walk about. Whenever you spot a mammal you log a sighting by pressing the record button. The record button allows you to add photographs and record notes. You can also record mammals based on their tracks and signs and dead individuals. At the end of your walk, you press submit and this generates a map of where you walked highlighting each sighting. It also states the time taken and the distance traveled. 

The app is so easy to use and creates a great record of all your mammal sightings and the distance and length of your visits. Its greatest benefit is the fact that the information is logged directly with the Mammal Society. Of course, there is an inherent bias in this system, small rodents are likely to be under-reported, and most species are nocturnal and hard to spot but the facility to record mammal signs and record individual sightings makes this a powerful tool for the society to monitor mammal populations.

The second app I have started to use is the Merlin Bird App from Cornell University. I am normally a traditional birder and make field notes of birds whose identities I am unsure of rather than carry a bird book with me. I always do my checks at home late with my good bird books. I used to carry a book as a teenager but I was once told that a good birder never takes one with him, an element of birding snobbery that has stuck with me. So was not the visual ID tools that I was most interested in. 

The power of this app is instead its bird song and call identification. I am not the greatest at identifying birds from their song, I have learned the basics and I know most of the birds on my patch but I am still getting the hang of some, the warbler for instance. I have tried to improve and used  CD's and cassettes in the past but it never really stuck, for me, I think I need to associate the sound with actually seeing the bird a kind of visual tag to attach to the audio. 

Merlin isn't the only app out there for this I have used a few other apps before this one and find most to be lacking in one key area, accurate identification. The Merlin App bowled me over the first time I used it on my iPhone. Cornell is an American university and so I had to download the Britain and Ireland datasets but this was very easy and took up very little space, my other option was to download the birds of the Western Palearctic, but as I don't travel I think the local set will work fine. 

I have only used the bird song function and it is great. You click on the record button and the app will display a sonogram in real-time very much like some bat detectors. Beneath the sonogram, it will generate its estimation of the species and create a list of all being heard and highlights each one as they call.

 I have used it for several hours and not once did it misidentify a bird, an accuracy rate second to none. It helped me locate species on the survey I had missed. At one point a background call, which I would normally have ignored as too obscure, revealed itself to be a Goldcrest, honing in on the sound I was able to see it and confirm its presence.  

This isn't an app that I will use on every visit nor will I record a full survey, although this is eminently possible, all be it risking using up all my memory storage. I will use it to help train myself and on unknown or suspect birds. It will help tighten me up on my neverending battle to accurately identify Marsh Tits and all Willow Tits and will give me a better handle on Willow Warblers in the summer. 

Like all good apps these are tools to help, not take over your visits. It would be able to record a whole visit and not look up and around at all and still have a fairly good species list at the end, all be it lacking in the less vocal residents. 

Technology should augment our enjoyment and not steal the fun from it and these two apps certainly do that. On my Mammal Mapper survey, I was hyper-focused on mammal signs checking every footprint and examing every burrow whilst the Merlin app opened up the world of sound to me and encouraged me to be a better birder.

Displaced Nesting

 This week, heavy rain has resulted in a good deal of flooding, this time I did not lose any of my cameras to the rising floodwater. One effect of the raging torrent was that the efforts of the Swans to nest on the sandbank in the middle of the mill pond came to nothing.

Last years successful nest on the sandbank

 The old experienced pair VGY and ZNY used to nest in a secluded part of the river bank, since their demise and the inheritance of their territory by young swans they have each year attempted to nest on the sandbank. On the face of it, this sounds like good sense. Swan clutches can be as high as 7 or 8 individuals with the norm around here being 6, however, mortality is high with up to 50% of cygnets lost in the first few weeks. The island protects from the predation of Foxes which are common down the mill. The flaw is the water level. Flooding is a regular occurrence and often occurs during April when the nest is in full use and results in the nest being washed away eggs and all. Since 2006 when ZNY and VGY left Swans have nested on the site 9 times of which 6 times the nest was washed away and only 1 was successful.

The drive to make a nest is innate, it is hardwired into swans and you will often observe individuals start dragging out reeds and twigs to build a nest. Sometimes the urge is so strong that they will start to build in the most unfeasible sites. I have observed swans build a couple of nests abandoning each before deciding on another.

Over the last week, the pair of swans that are now resident on the site have been beginning to pull together a nest on the sandbank. Their progress was washed away on Friday in the rising waters. Today I watched the pair swim up into the backwater where the water was calmer. Here whilst the male fed the female couldn't help but try and build a nest.

What she was experiencing was displaced behaviour. In this case, although the location was unsuitable, it wasn't even on solid ground the urge to build was so strong that she was trying. More sadly I have seen the same occur late in the season by lone Swans, swans who have failed to find a mate or lost them prior to mating still building a nest, an exercise in futility courtesy of the hard-wired biological imperative to reproduce.

Good Value Birds

Nature is wild and varied, it ranges from the small or insignificant to the large or magnificent, but within this variety, it could be said that some are better value for money than others. These species give you rewarding views and behaviour for very little effort. No need for expensive gear or exotic locations they give you the very best bang for your buck.  Garden birds such as Robins, Blackbirds, and Blue Tits are obvious candidates and they do offer a lot, but for me, I think the best value bird is the Grey Heron.

A bird in its prime

 Herons are not especially rare but not seen often enough to make any sighting a special event Herons benefit from a combination of factors that make them ideal species to watch and understand most aspects of life.

 

One of the things that I feel makes herons so fascinating is their positively prehistoric appearance, you could throw a heron back in time to the Mesozoic and it would fit in fine. They. They evoke the primitive simplicity and subtle predatory instinct of a dinosaur. Herons alongside cormorants show a great though line in the evolution of dinosaurs into birds.

 

Although unwieldy and seemingly clumsy in flight there is something endearing in the way its broad wings flap lugubriously, the way the legs stick out backward, jutting out behind it, and the way it pulls its neck in tight to the body short, is nearly comical.

In Flight

As a species, they tend to be fairly comfortable around humans. Get too close and they will definitely take flight but keep a safe distance and they are more than happy to just ignore you and carry on with their day. Give them such a chance and they will show you its complete repertoire.

 

Despite what wildlife programs might make you think predation observing a successful kill is incredibly rare. The amazing and dramatic shots of a lion taking down a gazelle represent days and days of field time and patience camera work. Herons are a voracious species and will take a range of fish amphibians and small mammals with great relish. Watching a heron hunt is like viewing a masterclass. Its slow, stealthy deliberate steps are counterbalanced by its ability to stop stock still. A practiced watcher will soon pick up on the heron’s subtle skills. The way it cocks its head to enable it to see through the reflection of the water, the positioning of the dagger-like beak poised ready to strike.

Catching a vole

Just by watching the heron’s posture, you can tell at an instant the point it spots its prey. It becomes stiff and stock still, statuesque. If it does move to reposition it does so carefully slowly and with purpose.   Finally, its head may move side to side as it focuses and accounts for the refraction in the water and then it strikes with lightning speed.

Caught

Swallowing

Swallowed

Unlike other predators which often move to a new location to eat their prey, the heron will usually swallow it there and then or pad onto the backside. I had the fortune to spot a heron take a fish, a very large fish, one that it could barely carry. I was convinced that it had "Bitten off more than it could chew", a case of eyes bigger than its stomach. But to my amazement, it managed it, and with a great gulp, it swallowed it down headfirst. You will find most swallowing animals will swallow their prey headfirst.  It makes it easier to slide down, any spines and the fins of fish all point backward, and of course fish are streamlined. The heron in question managed its mammoth feat and looked very full, I could see the bulk of the fish moving down the gullet, what must that feel like? I think a subtle companion would be a human trying to swallow a cat!

You can find this consummate predator locally on ponds, rivers, and lakes and only watching for a short period of time will give you a great deal of delight and interest. Grey Herons are a top bird.

The Next Generation

 This may seem to be coming from left field but bear with me, I am going somewhere with this. Last week saw the start of the new season of Star Trek Picard. I grew up on Star Trek: The Next Generation and this season all of the original cast are reappearing. The first episode was fittingly entitled 'The Next Generation'. As I reach 45, like the stars at Star Trek The Next Generation I have realised that I am no longer 'the next generation'. 

I have blogged before about how I can recall as a child and young adult even in university that myself and my peers were the next generation of environmentalists and conservation pioneers. I never fulfilled my potential as an ecologist. Since leaving uni I have not earned a penny in that field. That is not to say that I have abandoned it. Regular readers of this blog will know how much time I invest in wildlife watching and conservation, it's just that I have made my career about science education and now Health and Safety. 

Working in a school is very rewarding and I have the opportunity there to make a difference.  I may not have had a huge impact on the ecological world, published any new theories, or discovered or saved a species but I can instill that passion in others or at least nurture that spark in others. 

At school after all the difficulties of Covid and getting used to my new role, I have finally been able to restart Eco-schools. I ran the school club for many years prior to Covid and we worked hard on achieving Green Flag status twice. We did gardening, wildlife watching, and many other events. Alongside this I have taken classes in the primary school, teaching Reception about Bees and Year 4 how to dissect owl pellets.

With the relaunch, we started with a tree-planting project. Unsure how many would turn up I was pleased to find eight 7's and a sixth former join me to plant about 60 bare root trees on the school site. Trees are definitely par of the course at the moment as over this half term I have planted 180 whips on my patch To do this I had some help from my parents, sister, and nieces. Three generations working together putting in trees that will hopefully last for generations of their own. 

In both these activities, I was able to educate them and add value to what we were doing. For the school I was able to explain the difference in species of tree and why they were being put where they were.  On my patch I showed my nieces the local tracks and signs, deer beds, footprints, offer spraints, and badger setts.

I may no longer be the next bright thing but I can ensure that there is a whole new army of bright eager young things following in my stead. Some may say this is vicarious living but we each have to make use of the skills and opportunities we have.

This new gang of year 7's have turned up two weeks in a row and seem eager when I talk of gardening beds and digging a wildlife pond, the future is promising in more ways than one.

Marsh Tit or Willow Tit, Willow Tit or Marsh Tit - The Hazards of ID

 Bird identification in the UK is, on the whole, pretty simple. Many of the species can be identified readily enough by sight or sound, behavior, and location. One species however has always plagued me. Marsh Tits and Willow Tits. These two species are morphologically indistinguishable at distance and up close still very difficult. Their songs are diagnostic but I have found my ear is not very well attuned at identifying bird songs. 

In the records of my patch, I have a record of a Willow Tit recorded in 2003 and 2004. Back then I was less experienced and although I make a vow of accepting my early sightings I suspect that my diagnostic feature for this species was the fact that it was seen in Willow and Alder Carr rather than any morphological details.

In 2007, 2011, and 2012 I have records of a Marsh Tit, but this time I had photographs because it regularly visited a feeding station.

In these pictures, I identified the Tit as a Marsh Tut based on the glossy cap. But let's break this down a little. The bib is fairly large and neat, and the cap seems glossy, the tail seems flat, not rounded and there is evidence of a pale spot on the upper mandible but this could just be the light reflecting.

So now we come to this week's birds, several of these tits have been seen recently and so I set up a camera on a feeding station and got the following shot, which is a still from a video clip.

From the grainy image we can again see a square tail and what appears to be a white spot on the upper mandible of the beak... Marsh Tit? Maybe but then I heard one calling and felt it was reminiscent of a Willow Tit.

So, after much research including The Helm Guide to Bird Identification and the very interesting Bird ID from Nord University website, I went back down the mill to try and get a better photo and hear it call. Both happened. Below are close-ups of the bird I recorded today.

These images show a flat-ended tail, a large white cheek, and a cap that is sort of glossy, there is also a very small suggestion of a white mark on the upper mandible. The black mark beneath the right is an individual trait not indicative of the species. It actually proves that there is a pair as the video camera bird lacked this mark.

This individual however flitted away from the feeder and sat in a hazel tree and called. I was unable to record it on my phone but noted in my field notes that it sounded like : zuuu Chee Chee.

The song is supposed to be diagnostic in these species and so I used the excellent xeno-canto website to see what it was. Marsh Tits can be heard at and Willow Tits at. From this, it sounded definitely like a Willow Tit.

So let's look at all the criteria in summary:

Call - Sounds more like Willow Tit than Marsh

Cap - Seems glossy in some shots Marsh Tit), could be either. But stretches down the nape more like a Willow Tit

Neck -  fat neck diagnostic of Willow Tit

Cheeks - Pure white cheeks with clean break into greys more like a Willow Tit

Bib - Neat bib like a Marsh Tit but broader like a Willow Tit

Tail - Flat ended with no degree of rounding like Marsh Tit

Back/Wings - Greyer than brown like the Willow Tit

Habitat - Willow/Alder Carr preferred by Willow Tit although both species overlap.

Given that there are many overlaps in the morphology and habitat the call is perhaps the most important and so I have to conclude that the individual I saw today and was on my trail cam was a Willow Tit.

But what about the ones I saw in 2011/2012, should I revise my identification? Without the call, there is no definitive answer. Morphologically it has a flat tail and a glossy head suggesting a Marsh Tit but my gut says they will be Willow Tit given the latest information. For now, I will respect past me's ID but in any research report I will probably list them as Poecile sp. to indicate that I cannot reliably differentiate the two species. 

HIK Micro Lynx LC06 Review - Wildlife Watching

 My latest experiment in wildlife watching is the use of thermal imaging. I have been toying with the idea for a little over a year, exploring different technologies and options. Initially, I looked at plug-ins for the iPhone somewhat like the bat detector Touch 2 echo meter, but this seemed expensive and energy intensive. A lot of options on the internet were all for commercial use used by home insulators and electricians. By shifting my search parameters to the hunting sites, I started to get a few more options. Flicking through Birdwatching I saw an advert for a couple of scopes and focused my research.  I came up with a couple of main companies Flir, HikMicro, and Pulsar.

I got some money for Christmas and so decided to take the plunge. My largest concern was finding out the distance and sensor quality. Despite a lot of reading, I couldn’t really make heads or tails of the values and figures. The only way was to get my hands on one and try it out. Most models seemed to be around the £1000 mark but there were some for less than £500.

I opted in the end for the HIKMicro Lynx LC06 Thermal telescope. It is made by a Chinese company and the build quality seems good.

The scope has up to x4 zoom, the ability to take JPEG stills, and four colour modes. The modes are White Hot, Black Hot, Red Hot, and Fusion. The controls are well placed, and the eyecup cuts out any extraneous light. It is light and fits well in the palm of the hand. But how good is such a cheap imager.

My goal was to be able to pick up the Roe Deer in the long grass or small rodents in the undergrowth. I took the imager out into the garden and down my patch to field test. First off the modes. Each mode has its pluses and minuses, I have come to like the black hot setting for detecting birds and animals although the fusion is very useful for picking up heat signatures but does little to pick up the surrounding features like the others.

White Hotspot

Black Hotspot

Red Hotspot

Fusion - Yellow/White Hot

Distance was always my biggest concern and with this model it still is. The test stills of the pigeon on the roof were taken about 2 metres away and show the body shape and hot spots of the individual. Out in the field, anything over 10 metres was difficult but not impossible to identify. The following image shows a pony perhaps 100 metres away. The shape is a little indistinct but it’s clear there is something there.

Fusion image of a pony at 100m with x4 zoom

I think some of the issues I am having are partially due to the weather, it’s been quite warm this past week and so the temperature differential isn’t very wide. I suspect at night and in really cold weather it will have better quality. It’s also true that a higher-end model would have better image quality. Lastly, I found it operated best when panning to try and avoid getting too much sky in the viewfinder as this helped keep a reasonable temperature differential.

Robin perched between trail camera and tree feeder 4m away. Black Hotspot

As one may expect the Roe Deer still ‘outfoxed’ me when I tested it this week appearing and bolting before I had even got the scope out of my bag, so I have yet to test it as a technique for spotting the deer first, it’s deer 1 Scope 0 at the moment.

There is still much to try out, especially on more night explorations and in colder weather. A more nuanced review will be added once I am more familiar with the device but for now, I can say that for the price, this device operates as expected. I had hoped for better but was not overly disappointed. I can see plenty of applications that I have yet to explore and will have fun trying them out.