On 10th May 2009,I spent an hour in the East Hide at Minsmere, Suffolk,and witnessed someunexpected behaviourfrom a femaleCommon ShelduckTadorna tadorna,which attacked thenest of a pair ofCommon Coots Fulicaatra. I watched theShelduck taking threeeggs; each in turn wastaken around 10 m ormore from the Coots’nest and destroyed,although not eaten(plate 405).

634 © British Birds 102 • November 2009 • 634–638

NotesAll Notes submitted to British Birds are subject to independent review, either by the Notes Panel or

by the BB Editorial Board.Those considered appropriate for BB will be published either here or on our website (www.britishbirds.co.uk) subject to the availability of space.

Common Shelduck predating eggs of Common Coot

405. Female Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna with the egg of a Common CootFulica atra, Minsmere, Suffolk, May 2009.

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Robin Edwards5 Chapel Lane, Willington, Bedfordshire MK44 3QG

Common Buzzard attempting to kill Tawny OwlOn 1st December 2008, while walking throughCoed Crafnant North Wales Wildlife Trustreserve, Meirionnydd, my partner and I weresurprised to see a Common Buzzard Buteobuteo rise from the Bracken Pteridium aquil-inum in front of us gripping, and apparently

being held by, a rather damaged-looking TawnyOwl Strix aluco. The buzzard failed to getenough lift to take off and the two sunk backinto the bracken, out of sight. After waiting insilence for a few minutes, we approached to findthe two birds grasping each other’s legs with

406 & 407. Common Buzzard Buteo buteo and Tawny Owl Strix aluco, Coed Crafnant, Meirionnydd, December 2008.

Paul

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m

Paul

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such concentration that we were able to getwithin a metre or two without them showingany sign of letting go or fleeing. I took a couple

of photos (plates 406 & 407) before we leftthem to it.

635British Birds 102 • November 2009 • 634–638

Notes

Paul Jerem105a North View Road, London N8 7LR

EDITORIAL COMMENT Although it is not unusual that diurnal raptors such as buzzards will kill owls,including Tawnies (e.g. Mikkola 1976), the photographs of this encounter merit publication.

Reference

Mikkola, H. 1976. Owls killing and killed by other owls and raptors in Europe. Brit. Birds 69: 144–154.

Mediterranean Gulls in HampshireDuring the springs of 2008 and 2009, a concen-tration of Mediterranean Gulls Larusmelanocephalus has been evident betweenCalshot and Lepe, on the Solent coast of Hamp-shire. The gulls gather in large numbers in aspent gravel working known as Badminston GP,along with larger numbers of Black-headedGulls Chroicocephalus ridibundus and muchsmaller numbers of large gulls. In spring 2009,there were regular counts of over 500 Mediter-ranean Gulls, with a peak of 554 on 1st April –mostly adults, with fewer than 40 first- andsecond-summers. Numbers gradually dwindledto fewer than 20 by the beginning of May.

When the numbers peaked, many birdscould be seen feeding in the adjacent pig fields,often following the mechanical pig-feedspreader. Upon closer observation, they couldsometimes be seen swallowing the pig-feedpellets. It would seem that this artificial foodsupply provided a major attraction to the area.Occasionally, pellets were carried to the gravel-pit and the birds could be seen swallowing thepellets whole. I understand that these pelletsconsist of mixed cereal grains and can containsome additives to aid digestion (lecithin) and topromote growth (copper sulphate). The pelletsare approximately 3 cm long and 1.8 cm indiameter but are frequently broken or crushed

into smaller pieces. Non-natural food items forMediterranean Gulls listed in BWP are limitedto ‘rubbish and sewage outside of the breedingseason’, so the intake of these feed pellets as afood source may be considered unusual at thebeginning of the breeding season, and they areperhaps the main reason for the local concen-tration of this species.

Also of interest is that many colour-ringedMediterranean Gulls were observed in the areain spring/summer 2009 by local birder PaulWinter, including no fewer than 75 for whichthe data of origin are known. Most of theseoriginated from Belgium (40, incl. 22 ringed aspulli) or France (15, incl. 10 ringed as pulli), yetincluded significant numbers ringed inGermany (11, incl. 9 as pulli), plus a few fromPoland (4, all ringed as pulli) and Hungary (4,incl. 2 ringed as pulli) and one British-ringedbird. The land currently used as pig fields is partof an area due to be cleared for gravel extrac-tion; it remains to be seen whether the area issimilarly attractive to Mediterranean Gulls nextspring, without the pigs.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Mark Moody for his help with this noteand Paul Winter for his colour-r ing obser vations(http://patchwatch.co.uk/pbadgulls.asp).

Colin Allen73 Highlands Way, Dibden Purlieu, Southampton SO45 4HY; e-mail callendp@yahoo.co.uk

Unusually large assembly of HoopoesThe Hoopoe Upupa epops is usually referredto as solitary; BWP refers to small familyparties of 8–10, with one group of 12 inSwitzerland seemingly the maximum noted,while del Hoyo et al. (2001) mention small,

loose flocks of up to 25 outside the breedingseason and small feeding flocks of fewer than10 in pre- and post-breeding periods. A briefmention of an unusually large assembly(Bundy & Morgan 1969) may be worth

repeating here, and in more detail.At the Libyan airport (then known as Idris

airport), 28 km south of Tripoli, unusually largeassemblies were recorded in the autumns of1964 and 1965. Counts were made from Augustto October at a small, well-watered cricket pitchof about 0.4 ha, surrounded by mature tamariskTamarix. This area was in a generally arid, par-tially cultivated coastal zone and no doubtproved a magnet for feeding birds, both resi-dent and migrant. Hoopoes bred in smallnumbers in the surrounding buildings, a popu-lation estimated at about five pairs, and smallnumbers also overwintered.

On 27th August 1964, 138 were counted onthe cricket pitch and on 29th there were 105+.On 23rd September there were 80, then 90 on25th, 98 on 16th October and 12 on 30thOctober. From early November that year onlysix remained to winter, but there was a small

influx of 23 on 12th November. In 1965, asimilar pattern was recorded but only duringSeptember, the bulk of migrants passing earlierthan in 1964. A loose ‘flock’ of 35+ was seen on9th–10th August, when a few juveniles werefood soliciting. On 6th September, 120 werecounted and numbers peaked at 172 on 9th;numbers dwindled to 40 by 20th and to 10 bythe month’s end.

Although the pitch was maintained in asimilar state throughout the year, there were nosuch assemblies in spring, when migrants ofother species were much more conspicuous.Doubtless the pitch was a productive feedingground in autumn, in an otherwise arid region.

References

Bundy, G., & Morgan, J. H. 1969. Notes on Tripolitanianbirds. Part II. Bull. BOC 89: 151–159.

del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. (eds.) 2001. Handbookof the Birds of the World.Vol. 6. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

636 British Birds 102 • November 2009 • 634–638

Notes

Graham Bundy5 Voesgarth, Baltasound, Unst, Shetland ZE2 9DT

Green Woodpecker using a natural tree hole as a nest chamberThe reports by Alan Prowse and Ken Smith(Brit. Birds 102: 143, 282) of Great SpottedWoodpeckers Dendrocopos major using naturalholes as nest cavities recall the following. In thelate 1940s, I noticed a Green Woodpecker flyfrom an isolated Ash Fraxinus excelsior tree on

the South Downs near Clayton, Sussex; oninspecting the tree I found a nest and eggs inwhat appeared to be a large natural knot-holewhere a branch had been lost. The hole mayhave been trimmed to fit, but not much.

Dr W. R. P. BourneArdgath, Station Road, Dufftown AB55 4AX

Unusual Blackbird breeding behaviourIn spring 2008, I recorded some unusual Black-bird Turdus merula breeding behaviour. On15th March, a female Blackbird began to build anest in my back garden in East Boldon,Durham. The female laid four eggs and thesebegan to hatch on 12th April. The next day,three young were in the nest. On 27th April, Isaw both the male and the female feeding twoyoung, which by now were large and visiblyexercising on the nest. Shortly after, and withboth young still in the nest, I was surprised tosee the female begin building a new nest around60 cm from her current one. Both young left thenest the following day. Blackbirds do occasion-ally commence their next breeding attemptbefore the young have left the nest, and cer-tainly before the young are fully independent

(Snow 1958). The fact that this female began tobuild her next nest before her first broodfledged may partly explain what happened next.

On 1st May, the female laid the first egg ofher second clutch in the new nest, and thesecond egg on 2nd, between 17.00 and 18.00 hrs.On the morning of 3rd May there were still twoeggs in the nest but at 16.00 hrs, I was aston-ished to see a fledgling Blackbird sitting on thisnew nest. While watching, the female appeared,fed the fledgling on the nest and then squeezedonto the nest beside the young bird, presumablyfrom her first brood. Both birds were gone by17.00 hrs and the nest now held three eggs! Thenext morning the nest still contained three eggs.At 14.00 hrs, a fledgling appeared on the nestagain and at 15.30 hrs, it was still on the nest

(and therefore the eggs) and fed by the male. Onchecking at 20.00 hrs, I noted that the femalewas sitting alone on the nest. The fledgling wasnot seen near the second nest again and thefemale went on to lay five eggs, which hatchedon 17th May. I can find no recorded evidence ofthis behaviour in Blackbirds, or indeed other

birds. Although such behaviour may often gounrecorded, it is probably more likely to occurwhere a pair still has attendant young when theycommence their next breeding attempt.

Reference

Snow,D.W.1958.A Study of Blackbirds. Allen & Unwin, London.

637British Birds 102 • November 2009 • 634–638

Notes

Patrick S. Thompson7 Struan Terrace, East Boldon, Tyne & Wear NE36 0EA

EDITORIAL COMMENT Angela Turner has commented that Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica have beenknown to return to a nest with newly laid eggs after fledging too.

Variation in the eyelid colour of Long-tailed TitsDuring the spring of 2008, I was brought a nestlingLong-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus (it was actuallya case of mistaken identity; it was supposed to be aHouse Martin Delichon urbicum!), which I subse-quently managed to rear successfully. This provedto be a most delightful interlude as the bird had abright and charming character.

Perrins (1979) commented that the rim of theeyelids of Long-tailed Tits is either orange or pinkwhen seen at close quarters, and that the colour foran individual bird can vary, although the reasons

for such variation are not fully understood. In thecase of the youngster that I reared, I found that theprospect of some tasty food morsel brought aboutan immediate and strong deepening of the eyelidcolour, from pink to dark crimson, which lastedabout five minutes before fading back to normal.During the few weeks spent caring for the bird, Idid not observe anything else which had this effect.

Reference

Perrins, C. M. 1979. British Tits. Collins, London.

Gillian WestrayNotre Val, Laverton, Broadway, Worcestershire WR12 7NA

Fledgling Great Tits feeding on wasp larvaeDuring the summer of 2005, wasps Vespulamoved into an empty nestbox in my garden; theysoon filled up the interior and started buildingonto the outside. In a matter of days this struc-ture had reached an overall size of almost 50 cmacross. Then one day I noticed that a newlyfledged Great Tit Parus major had started to peckat the structure. Within minutes, another eightyoungsters joined in and soon the tits had pulledthe outer section of the nest apart; surprisingly,the adult wasps put up no defence whatsoever.

Over the next few days the tits returned and com-pletely cleaned out all the grubs from the insideof the box. By this time all the wasps haddeserted. At no time did I observe any adult GreatTits and the youngsters were clearly very recentlyfledged. Adult Great Tits are known to take wasps(e.g. Birkhead 1974, BWP), but I am not aware ofany records of fledglings feeding on the larvae.

Reference

Birkhead,T. R. 1974. Predation by birds on social wasps.Brit. Birds 67: 221–229.

Gillian WestrayNotre Val, Laverton, Broadway, Worcestershire WR12 7NA

EDITORIAL COMMENT These two notes were kindly passed on to BB by Chris Perrins, who was con-tacted initially by Gillian Westray. An old country name for the Great Tit is ‘Bee-biter’; there are anumber of references to them raiding bees’ nests and taking adults, and in many cases these may relateto drone honeybees collected from a hive near the nest-site. However, this habit pales into insignifi-cance compared with that of the Hungarian Great Tits that have discovered a taste for hibernatingCommon Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus bats (Estok et al. 2009)!

Estok, P., Zsebok, S., & Siemers, B. M. 2009. Great Tits search for, capture, kill and eat hibernating bats. Biology Letters,DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0611 Published online

638 British Birds 102 • November 2009 • 634–638

Notes

Common Raven nesting with Grey HeronsWe pay at least three visits each spring to DennyIsland, Chew Valley Lake, Avon, to monitor thecolony of Grey Herons Ardea cinerea there. Theisland is well wooded with a mixture of maturedeciduous and coniferous trees, with muchfallen wood.

On 15th April 2009, we were surprised tohear Common Ravens Corvus corax calling anx-iously over part of the heronry. The noise soondied away and we assumed that a prospectingbird was responsible. There is already one tree-nesting pair elsewhere on the lake margin, butwe thought it unlikely to be these birds sincetheir nest is 2.1 km away. But, on 1st May, weheard more Raven calls and then, as RJP waschecking the heronry, an almost full-grownRaven nestling moved onto the side of one ofthe old Grey Heron nests. This nest had beenmarked as ‘not in use’ on our previous visit. Wecould see a few droppings and some wool onthe sides; it was well built up, but without thecopious droppings expected on an occupiedheron nest. It was 12.2 m high in a Scots PinePinus sylvestris, close to the trunk about two-thirds up, so below the general canopy but withan outlook on one side to the lake. It was one ofseveral closely spaced pines in the area, many ofwhich contained Grey Heron nests.

On 13th May, the Raven chick, now a fledg-ling, was presumably still nearby in the trees tojudge by the brief but noisy presence of theadults. The nearest active heron nest was less

than 3 m away in an adjacent pine and con-tained large, feathered chicks. Astonishingly,within 15 m of the Ravens’ nest there were 15trees containing heron nests, 11 of them activein 2009 (compared with 21 in 2008). Themissing 10 pairs of Grey Herons did not,however, disperse elsewhere in the heronrysince the distribution of nests elsewhere wasalmost exactly the same as in 2008, with theoverall total down by 12 (51 down to 39). The‘loss’ of some nests, almost all close to theRavens’ nest, may have been due to the distur-bance at the time of nest establishment. Other-wise the reduction may have been due to highermortality during the previous cold winter(January/February 2009), although at anotherheronry (at Cleeve), 13 km to the northwest,numbers were up slightly. Or did some movefrom Denny Island to Cleeve?

Ratcliffe (1997) mentioned three examplesof Ravens nesting in a heronry, in Radnorshirein 1942, Devon in 1945 and Ayrshire in 1946,and suggested that Ravens may gain someadvantage of concealment from the presence ofthe herons. We thought it worth drawing atten-tion to this type of nest-site in view of thepresently increasing numbers and range ofCommon Ravens across lowland Britain.

Reference

Ratcliffe, D. 1997. The Raven. Poyser, London.

Robin J. Prytherch, David Warden and Chris Klee23 Caledonia Place, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4DL

Common Chaffinches eating seeds of Monterey Pine from grounded conesOn several occasions in late March and earlyApril 2009, I saw either a single male or singlefemale Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebsprobing forcibly under the scales of cones ofMonterey Pine Pinus radiata which I had col-lected beneath a local tree after winter snowfalland left in a pile in my Somerset garden. Thewinged seeds were extracted, mandibulated andthe edible part swallowed. Monterey Pine conesare normally retained on branches for severalyears, with the scales remaining tightly closed; Iunderstand that in California seeds are usually

released in response to the heat during forestfires, but release may occur earlier when conesare knocked to the ground.

According to BWP, Chaffinches will snatchfalling conifer seeds in flight but seldom takethem from hanging cones. There is no separatemention of Monterey Pine, a common intro-duced species in southwest England. In myrecent observations, I was surprised at thevigour with which Chaffinches attempted toelevate the cone scales to extract the seeds.

Dr A. P. RadfordCrossways Cottage, West Bagborough, Taunton, Somerset TA4 3EG