Collect this page

The birds in Alphington's lanes

Wildlife in Alphington – updated 1st December 2007

By Rowena Jay

Thrush Family Turdidae

Blackbird (Turdus merula). Length: 25cm (10in)
The male blackbird is glossy black with a bright yellow bill and eye rings. The female is dark brown but paler underneath with faint spots and streaks. Some blackbirds have white patches and a few can even be completely white. They eat berries in the latter half of the year; earthworms, insects and other small animals during Spring and Autumn. If they can find them they eat caterpillars in the Summer. They will also catch tadpoles and fish and steel snails from song thrushes. Watch a blackbird hunting on lawns, he cocks his head to one side, hops forward and seizes a worm from its burrow. They build nests from dry vegetation reinforced with mud in a shrub or hedge. Each parent feeds particular youngsters and the male will look after the whole family if the female is incubating a new clutch. They breed between March and June, have three to five broods a year of three to five brown freckled, greenish-blue eggs.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula). Length 14cm (5½in).
The robin eats insects, beetles, worms, spiders and very occasionally fish and tadpoles. In their natural habitat they would follow pheasants, deer, wild boar and other large animals for the prey that they disturbed. This is why they follow the gardener's spade or fork. They pair up as early as December. They build a hair-lined nest of moss and leaves on a pad of dead leaves in a crevice in a tree. They breed between April and July, having two broods a year of five to six red-speckled, white or bluish eggs.

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus). Length 27cm (10½in).
These birds are so named because they feed on mistletoe but they are also known as the holly thrush because they also love holly berries. They also feed on insects and fruit. They have larger spots then the song thrush and also a pale underwing. They build a nest of earth and plants lined with grass in a fork of a tree. They breed between February and July having two broods a year of four speckled whitish eggs.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos). Length 23cm (9in).
They eat insects, invertebrates, worms in the earlier part of the year, during Autumn they take fruit including fallen apples, elder, holly and rowan berries. In an emergency they will eat snails, bashing the shells against a rock to reach the soft body. They can been seen hopping or running forward on lawns, they then pause with their heads cocked on one side looking for prey before pouncing on an earthworm. They build a cup-shaped nest from grasses, leaves, roots and twigs, a smooth lining is made from dung or mud and saliva. They nest in shady places low down in a bush or tree and also among thick foliage of ivy. They breed during March to August having two or three broods a year of four to six black spotted blue eggs.

Family Columbidae

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus). Length: 40cm (16in).
You can always hear a woodpigeon take off as their wings meet over their back with a sharp clap. They feed on peas, beans, cabbage, sweedes, turnips, brussel sprouts, acorns, beechmast, haws, elders, weed seeds, worms, snails and insects. They also swallow grit, which grinds the food in their gizzard. They nest on a flimsey platform usually in a tree. They breed between February and November and the  eggs are laid at one to three day intervals. They have two broods a year of two white eggs. The young birds are given pigeons milk, which is a cheesy secretion from their crop, it is rich in protein and fat. This method of feeding gives them a longer breeding season as they are not dependent on insects etc. as other birds are.

Family Phasianidae

Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). Length: male, 84cm (33in); female, 58cm (23in).
The male is very colourful the female duller and speckled. Pheasants scratch for grain, other seeds and acorns, they  clamber in trees eating buds and fruit, they also take insects, snails, worms and occasionally small mammals such as lizards. They eat grass, leaves and roots in Winter. The female builds a nest in a shallow depression under a hedge or in long grass or bracken. They breed between May and July having one brood a year of eight to fifteen olive-brown eggs. The female brings up the family on her own.

Family Crow (Corvidae)

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone). Length: 47cm (18½in).
Carrion Crows feed on carrion, grain, acorns, potatoes, insects and their larvae, snails, worms, eggs and nestlings of other birds. The male and female build a substantial next high in the fork of a tree. The nest consists of three layers: the outer layer being of twigs; the middle layer of fine twigs, roots, earth and grass; the inside is lined with hair and bark fibres. The female incubates the eggs while the male stands guard and brings food to her. They breed between March and June having one brood of four or five brown speckled greenish eggs.

Magpie (Pica pica). Length: 46cm 18in.
Magpies eat almost anything including beetles, grasshoppers, slugs, snails, woodlice, spiders, many seeds and fruit, nestlings of other birds, animal road casualties and injured birds. They build a substantial domed nest with one side opening. It is built of sticks and twigs and lined with mud and plant material; it is roofed over with thorns for protection from attacks from other memebers of the Crow family. The nest is situated in a tree or tall shrub. They breed between March and May and have one or two broods of five to seven speckled greenish eggs. The young stay in loose flocks.

Back to wildlife and flora in Alphington's lanes and on the Exeter Canal.