Nightingales in November (7 page)

Meanwhile, further north it seems from telemetry data provided by the BTO that most British-breeding Cuckoos will be in a broad belt stretching along the mighty Congo River in mid-January. The river also marks the boundary between the two Congo countries – the Republic of Congo to the west of the river and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the east. This border region is dominated by Western Congolian swamp forest which, when combined with the Eastern Congolian swamp forest, is thought to be one of the largest continuous freshwater swamp forests in the world. Known for its large numbers of Lowland Gorillas, the Western Congolian swamp forest consists of seasonally flooded forest with a high canopy, dense undergrowth and a muddy floor, which is also interspersed with grassland areas. Lush Raffia palms and low vegetation, mixed in with swamp and abundant waterholes, makes passage through this largely pristine habitat almost impossible for man.

Due to the more imprecise positioning of geolocators, when compared to the Cuckoos' satellite transmitters, it's difficult to pinpoint which habitat Nightingale OAD was using during its stay in Guinea. Since the original pioneering work tracking
OAD, five more British Nightingales have been successfully tracked all the way to West Africa, with most seeming to spend mid-January along the coastal strip between south-west Guinea and north-west Sierra Leone. Having spent a month up to mid-December in coastal scrub further north in Senegal and The Gambia (Senegambia), Chris Hewson from the BTO thinks that as Senegambia becomes too dry at the end of the year, the Nightingales may well be moving south up a ‘moisture gradient' to an area where the rainy season has only just finished, potentially making it easier for the birds to find food. In other words, with the start of their return journey to England just two months away, moving even further in the other direction seems to be the smartest move!

Late January

Leading the headlong charge towards the breeding season will be the Tawny Owls. Any established pair will have already been holding exclusive access to a territory throughout the winter, and the next logical step will be to select the precise nesting location in which their clutch will be laid and resultant brood reared. The end of January will see the parents visiting all the potential sites within their territory before deciding which suits their precise requirements best. The Tawny Owl is of course primarily a cavity-nesting species, often favouring large holes in deciduous trees, although they will sometimes resort to old stick nests or even sites in buildings if push comes to shove. In territories that consist mostly of coniferous woodland, with few natural cavities, they may even nest in amongst rocks or tree roots on the ground. More recently, where natural options may be scarcer, many Tawny Owls have been persuaded to use nest boxes, with a considerable degree of success. The recent advances in miniature camera technology have meant that for any box-nesting Tawnies
we're now in a position to learn much more about their secretive nesting behaviour.

Certainly in southern Britain, most Robin pairs will already have become established by the end of January. Pair formation is considered distinct from courtship, which is usually nothing more than a brief precursor to when nesting begins properly in the spring. Like most species of bird (and indeed most wildlife), it is ultimately the female Robin who will choose the male. So with the males already singing lustily at this time of year, the onus will be on the bachelors to entice any unpaired females into their territory. With a surplus of unmated males each year, the female can afford to be quite fussy, and will sometimes move into the territory of a single male, only to quickly reject him for the neighbouring male if she feels he has more to offer. It's difficult to elucidate exactly how the female makes her choice, but it may well be a combination of the standard of his song, the quality of his territory, his looks and aggression.

A whole neighbourhood of Robins in Devon was studied closely by David Lack for his celebrated book
The Life of the Robin
, and it was David who discovered that Robins commonly form into pairs soon after first light. Pairing up begins with the prospective female flying into the male's territory, and after belting out a brief burst of song she will then fly right up to the male. The Robin's red breast is of course its most conspicuous feature and is frequently used for display purposes, to both impress and intimidate. Initially confronted with an intruding Robin at such close quarters, the male will aggressively display at her, which involves extending himself to show her as much of his bright red breast as possible. With wings flicked half-open, his tail cocked and the feathers on his crown standing upright, he will then often turn slowly from side to side, displaying his
breast in a peculiar mechanical motion, which looks distinctly at odds with what is normally a busy little bird. Also replying with song of his own, at some point the penny must drop for the male when he realises that the Robin constantly perching uncomfortably close to him, despite his threat display, happens not only to be female, but also (crucially) a single female. Quickly changing his tune, he then invites her to begin feeding alongside him on the ground.

With most Robin pairs keen to rear at least two broods during the course of the spring and summer, for the single-brooded Blue Tits there is no such hurry. Despite nest-building still being over two months away, it's thought that pair bonds may well have already formed during the winter months, while the tits were travelling around in their mixed flocks. As the pair waits for the longer and warmer days of spring to cement their bonds, the female will already have a clear idea where she'd like to rear her young, and so at this time may begin spending the long winter nights at the exact location she intends to be her future nest site.

As January draws to a close, established pairs of Peregrines will use this time to strengthen their pair bonds close to the nest site. Having tolerated the presence of itinerant Peregrines throughout the winter, a change of behaviour will start seeing them adopt a zero tolerance approach to any intruders violating the pair's airspace. Any Peregrine still unwilling to leave at this stage risks physical violence from the incumbent pair, and trespassing Peregrines have even been killed. Peregrine expert Ed Drewitt reported a dead male found below an active nest in an urban site in Derbyshire in 2013, which was thought to have been killed by the resident pair.
Despite most Peregrines not forming clutches until at least mid-March, many pairs will have already begun copulating – behaviour that may well continue right the way through until the female is finally ready to lay.

Still keeping to their respective territories, our resident Kingfishers will be keeping a low profile along their favoured watercourse in late January, where they'll divide their time between fishing, roosting and preening. Having begun a complete moult of all their feathers after the rigours of the previous breeding season, most Kingfishers spotted tucked in tight against a river bank should by now be looking in pristine condition. Needing to find enough food just for one, they'll nevertheless be surviving on minimal rations as so many freshwater fish will be tucked away and moving little during the winter months.