Bird Notes by Jim Cassels
One of my grandchildren, when he was very small, explained to his mother at this time of year he did not want any presents from Santa; he just wanted to be able to fly like a bird.
While I am not sure how his mother dealt with his serious request, I can understand it.
Birds are fascinating and obvious. Many are noisy – the long call of the herring gull; the alarm call of a blackbird as it bounds away; the explosive song of the diminutive wren and the piping of oystercatchers. Many are colourful, including the familiar blue tit, goldfinch and robin. But the stand-out feature of birds, with a few exceptions, is that they can fly.
Flying. It never ceases to amaze me. The small coal tits moving expertly between feeders, swallows swooping over fields collecting insects, kestrels hovering in the sky, gannets plunge diving, migratory geese passing overhead in skeins, fulmars gliding effortlessly over the waves, the amazing aerial food pass between male and female hen harriers – the examples are endless and they do fly so well.
I know the theory of flying – lift, thrust and drag – but it seems like magic.
Birds are built to fly with many adaptations, like strong light bones, powerful flight muscles, super-efficient lungs and feathers – a real wonder of evolution. Their feathers are light, waterproof and tough. Great insulators and overlapping them together, you get wings with their pattern of primary, secondary and tertial feathers. Feathers I have written about before in a previous Banner article. It is available at http://www.arranbirding.co.uk/feathers-and-moulting.html
There are many books on the subject of birds flying, like Birds in Flight, The Art and Science of How Birds Fly by Carol L Henderson, published by Voyageur Press. But just go out, look at the birds and marvel at them being able to fly.
Enjoy your birding.
Please send any bird notes with “what, when, where” to me at Kilpatrick Kennels, Kilpatrick, Blackwaterfoot, KA27 8EY, or email me at jim@arranbirding.co.uk. I look forward to hearing from you. For more information on birding on Arran, buy the Arran Bird Report 2022 and visit www.arranbirding.co.uk/index.html
Swallow swooping. Photograph: Helen Logan. No_B47fly01_23_swallow
Kestrel hovering. Photograph: Gordon Riddle. No_B47fly02_23_kestrel
Gannet diving. Photograph: Brian Couper. No_B47fly03_23_gannet
Fulmar gliding. Photograph: Dennis Morrison. No_B47fly04_23_fulmar
Hen harrier passing food. Photograph: Maxwell Law. No_B47fly05_23_hen_harrier
A goldcrest in flight. Photograph: Brian Couper. No_B47fly06_23_goldcrest