Song Thrush - Turdus philomelos

[Ashley Cawley]

I was out camping last night, beside the campfire on a beautiful summers night with the light beginning to fade I could hear a beautiful bird song which was quite varied. It bugged me that I couldn't put my finger on which bird it was at the time. Turns out it was a Song Thrush, I was surprised to read that their numbers are declining seriously, especially on farmland making it a Red List species.

For it's song and more info see: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/songthrush/index.aspx

Also on the note of ID'ing bird songs there is an impressive App called "Bird Song ID" which let's you record bird song and it will analyse your recording and shows you a number of birds that it thinks it could be with a percentage rating to show the likelihood. This is the App: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bird-song-id-automatic-recognition/id601362210?mt=8 (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bird-song-id-automatic-recognition/id601362210?mt=8)

[Humakt]

Did you see the bird?
I just wondered if it may have been a nightingale.
But, yes, song thrush numbers have been steadily declining. Hate saying things like this but, it's not like it were when I were a nipper.
That said, I've noticed an increase this year. Hopefully this isn't just a blip in an otherwise downward spiral. I've also noticed more goldfinches this year as well.

[Ashley Cawley]

You had me doubting myself there - had to go listen to some more nightngale & Song Thrush songs to compare with what I remember, however the Song Thrush more closely resembles it so I do think it was one of those.

Talking about things on the up; I've certainly noticed a few things doing well this summer; seeing more Hummingbird hawk moths has been a treat, they're incredible things.

[Ashley Cawley]

... seeing more Hummingbird hawk moths has been a treat, they're incredible things.
Wow! I had a Hummingbird hawk moth fly into my office last night, that was a tricky thing to catch flying around like a hummingbird!

It stopped at one point and that was the first time I've ever seen one stationary. The colours were very different when it stopped, quite drab in comparison to when it's flying and you see the underwing colours at thousands of beats per second.

I called my wife into my office to see it (she has a phobia of Moths) so she ran pretty quickly when she saw a moth on speed!