1-10-2016 CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - MUTE SWAN (JUVENILE) (Cygnus olor)

The Mute swan (Cygnus olor) is known as an integral feature of urban parks as well as most of the waterways in our regions. But originally this beautiful white bird was a wild animal, not always with compatible behavior and habits for life in city parks. It is also amongst the heaviest of the world's flying birds.

The plumage of Mute swans is white, while the legs are dark grey. The beak is bright orange, with black around the nostrils and a black nail. Males are larger than females and have a larger knob on their bills. Young birds (cygnets) are not the bright white of mature adults, and their bill is dull greyish-black, not orange, for the first year. The down may range from pure white to grey to buff, with grey/buff the most common. The cygnets grow quickly, reaching a size close to their adult size in approximately 3 months after hatching. Cygnets typically retain their grey feathers until they are at least one year old, with the down on their wings having been replaced by flight feathers earlier that year. All Mute swans are white at maturity, though the feathers (particularly on the head and neck) are often stained orange-brown by iron and tannins in the water.

Population size

500,000

Life Span

19-40 years

Top speed

80

km/hmph

km/h mph 

Weight

6.5-13

kglbs

kg lbs 

Length

140-160

cminch

cm inch 

Wingspan

3

mft

m ft 

Mute swans breed in north-central Europe, the British Isles, and north-central Asia. They are partially migratory throughout northern latitudes in Europe and Asia, as far south as North Africa and the Mediterranean. Mute swans prefer well-sheltered bays, lakes, ponds, and open marshes.

Mute swans are usually very territorial with just a single pair on smaller lakes, though in a few locations where a large area of suitable feeding habitat is found, they can be colonial. Non-mated juveniles up to 3-4 years old commonly form larger flocks, which can total several hundred birds, often at regular traditional sites. Once the adult birds are mated they seek out their own territories and often live close to ducks and gulls. Mute swans feed during the daytime, by dabbling on the water surface and upending. While swimming they hold their neck with a graceful curve, the bill pointing downward. Mute swans are not very vocal but they do make a variety of sounds, often described as "grunting, hoarse whistling, and snorting noises." During a courtship display, they utter a rhythmic song. Mute swans usually hiss at competitors or intruders trying to enter their territory. The most familiar sound of these birds is the vibrant throbbing of the wings in flight which is unique to the species and can be heard from a range of 1 to 2 km (0.6 to 1 mi), indicating its value as a contact sound between birds in flight. Cygnets are especially vocal and communicate through a variety of whistling and chirping sounds when content, as well as a harsh squawking noise when distressed or lost. Mute swans can be very aggressive in defense of their nests and are highly protective of their mate and offspring. Most defensive acts begin with a loud hiss and, if this is not sufficient to drive off the predator or intruder, are followed by a physical attack. Swans attack by striking at the threat with bony spurs in their wings, accompanied by biting with their large bill.

Mute swans are serially monogamous and remain together for at least one season. Males may, however, have four mates, and even "divorce" to have another female. Mute swans nest on large mounds that they build with waterside vegetation in shallow water on islands in the middle or at the very edge of a lake. They often reuse the same nest each year, restoring or rebuilding it as needed. Male and female swans share the care of the nest. The breeding starts in March or early April. Nest building is done by both parents, with the male bringing the nest material to the female. Females lay 5 to 12 eggs, and incubation lasts around 36-38 days, which is done mainly by the female while her mate defends the territory. The cygnets hatch over a period of 26 hours and both parents look after the young. The female broods the cygnets and they often ride on their mother's back from the age of 10 days. Two months after hatching the young are fully feathered. They stay with their parents until the following spring and breeding season. At 3 years of age, they become reproductively mature and start to breed.

1-10-2016 CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - MUTE SWAN (Cygnus olor)

Population size

500,000

Life Span

19-40 years

Top speed

80

km/hmph

km/h mph 

Weight

6.5-13

kglbs

kg lbs 

Length

140-160

cminch

cm inch 

Wingspan

3

mft

The Mute swan (Cygnus olor) is known as an integral feature of urban parks as well as most of the waterways in our regions. But originally this beautiful white bird was a wild animal, not always with compatible behavior and habits for life in city parks. It is also amongst the heaviest of the world's flying birds.

The plumage of Mute swans is white, while the legs are dark grey. The beak is bright orange, with black around the nostrils and a black nail. Males are larger than females and have a larger knob on their bills. Young birds (cygnets) are not the bright white of mature adults, and their bill is dull greyish-black, not orange, for the first year. The down may range from pure white to grey to buff, with grey/buff the most common. The cygnets grow quickly, reaching a size close to their adult size in approximately 3 months after hatching. Cygnets typically retain their grey feathers until they are at least one year old, with the down on their wings having been replaced by flight feathers earlier that year. All Mute swans are white at maturity, though the feathers (particularly on the head and neck) are often stained orange-brown by iron and tannins in the water.

1-10-2016 CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - MALLARD (MALE) (Anas platyrhynchos)

The mallard (/ˈmælɑːrd, ˈmælərd/) or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae. Males have green heads, while the females (hens or ducks) have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent purple or blue feathers called a speculum on their wings; males especially tend to have blue speculum feathers. The mallard is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long, of which the body makes up around two-thirds the length. The wingspan is 81–98 cm (32–39 in) and the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in) long. It is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks, weighing 0.7–1.6 kg (1.5–3.5 lb). Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes.

The female lays 8 to 13 creamy white to greenish-buff spotless eggs, on alternate days. Incubation takes 27 to 28 days and fledging takes 50 to 60 days. The ducklings are precocial and fully capable of swimming as soon as they hatch.

1-10-2016 CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - MALLARD (FEMALE) (Anas platyrhynchos)

The female is only brown and white. She is smaller than the male and has straight tail feathers. Body Length: 20-28 inches. Wing tip to wing tip: 30-40 inches.

Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue “speculum” patch in the wing. Mallards are “dabbling ducks”—they feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants. They almost never dive.

Unlike some waterfowl, like Mute Swans, which stay together year in and year out, Mallards only hook up for a single season. For them it’s one and done. Each fall Mallards get together in large flocks and begin the process of selecting a new mate for the following spring. They perform an assortment of wild courtship displays until pairs are formed. Once paired off the new couple has their own mating rituals, and one of these is called the “inciting” display. Here the female follows the male around, no matter where he goes.

1-10-2016 CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - GREY WAGTAIL (Motacilla cinerea)

Population size

6.9-19.8 Mlnlnn

Life Span

8 years

Weight

15-23

goz

g oz 

Length

18-19

cminch

cm inch 

Wingspan

25-27

cminch

Grey wagtails (Motacilla cinerea) are slender ground-feeding insectivorous birds of open country. They are always associated with running water when breeding, although they may use man-made structures near streams for the nest. Outside the breeding season, these birds may also be seen around lakes, coasts, and other watery habitats. Like other wagtails, they frequently wag their tail and fly low with undulations and they have a sharp call that is often given in flight.

The Grey wagtail has a narrow white supercilium and a broken eye ring. The upperparts are grey and the yellow vent contrasting with whitish underparts makes it distinctive. The breeding male has a black throat that is edged by whitish moustachial stripes. They forage singly or in pairs on meadows or on shallow water marshes. They also use rocks in water and will often perch on trees. They have a clear sharp call note and the song consists of trills.

1-10-2016 CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - EURASIAN BLACKBIRD (JUVENILE) (Turdus merula)

Population size

162-492 Mlnlnn

Life Span

2.4-21 years

Weight

80-125

goz

g oz 

Length

23.5-29

cminch

cm inch 

Wingspan

34-38

cminch

cm inch 

The Common blackbird (Turdus merula) is a species of true thrush. It is also called the Eurasian blackbird (especially in North America, to distinguish it from the unrelated New World blackbirds), or simply the blackbird where this does not lead to confusion with a similar-looking local species. This common and conspicuous species has given rise to a number of literary and cultural references, frequently related to its song.

The adult male has glossy black plumage, blackish-brown legs, a yellow eye ring, and an orange-yellow bill. The bill darkens somewhat in winter. The adult female is sooty-brown with a dull yellowish-brownish bill, a brownish-white throat, and some weak mottling on the breast. The juvenile is similar to the female but has pale spots on the upperparts, and the very young juvenile also has a speckled breast. Young birds vary in the shade of brown, with darker birds presumably males. The first-year male resembles the adult male but has a dark bill and weaker eye ring, and its folded wing is brown, rather than black like the body plumage.

1-10-2016 CHELMSFORD, ESSEX - EURASIAN BLACKBIRD (FEMALE) (Turdus merula)

A singing male Eurasian Blackbird is a study in elegance: a glossy black bird with a vibrant yellow bill and eyering delivering a leisurely, beautiful song from a high perch. The female, which also sings during courtship, is brownish overall, with subtle streaks and spots. This thrush—at home in woodlands, gardens, city parks, and farmlands—often raises up to three sets of chicks each year. Across Europe, blackbirds are common sights as they patrol grassy areas for worms and insects or feed on fruits and seeds.

“Blackbird singing in the dead of night....” Eurasian Blackbird is the species immortalized in the 1968 Beatles song “Blackbird.” The bird's mellow song even makes an appearance at the end of the recording.

Eurasian Blackbirds sometimes use good hearing and a bit of thievery to obtain an easy meal. Blackbirds eat small snails, but are unable to open larger snails by themselves. But if a Eurasian Blackbird hears a Song Thrush hammering on a snail shell, it may swoop in and steal the snail after the Song Thrush has extracted it.

For North Americans, the word “blackbird” conjures up images of Red-winged Blackbirds or Yellow-headed Blackbirds—members of the family Icteridae. But Eurasian Blackbirds are thrushes, in the same family (Turdidae) and genus (Turdus) as American Robins.

Female bird song has long been overlooked, but Eurasian Blackbird is one of the more than 600 species where ornithologists have documented female song. Female Eurasian Blackbirds give a soft song in response to male song during courtship.

1-10-2016 BASILDON, ESSEX - EURASIAN MAGPIE (Pica pica)

The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) designated magpies, and belongs to the Holarctic radiation of "monochrome" magpies. In Europe, "magpie" is used by English speakers as a synonym for the Eurasian magpie: the only other magpie in Europe is the Iberian magpie. The Eurasian magpie is one of the most intelligent birds, and it is believed to be one of the most intelligent of all non-human animals.

The Eurasian magpie is glossy black in color with a metallic green and violet sheen; the belly and scapulars (shoulder feathers) are pure white. The graduated tail is black, glossed with green and reddish-purple. The plumage of the sexes is similar but females are slightly smaller. The young resemble the adults but are at first without much of the gloss on the sooty plumage. The young have the malar region pink and somewhat clear eyes. Their tail is much shorter than the adults.

The range of Eurasian magpies extends across temperate Eurasia from Spain and Ireland in the west to the Kamchatka Peninsula. These birds are normally sedentary and spend winters close to their nesting territories but populations living near the northern limit of their range in Sweden, Finland, and Russia can move south in harsh weather. Eurasian magpies prefer to live in open countryside with scattered trees and usually avoid treeless areas and dense forests. They sometimes breed in suburban areas such as parks and gardens and can often be found close to the center of cities.

3-10-2016 CALPE, ALICANTE - EUROPEAN MANTIS (MALE) (Mantis religiosa)

The European mantis (Mantis religiosa) is a large hemimetabolic insect in the family of the Mantidae ('mantids'), which is the largest family of the order Mantodea (mantises). Their common name praying mantis is derived from the distinctive posture of the first pair of legs that can be observed in animals in repose. It resembles a praying attitude. Both males and females have elongated bodies with two pairs of wings. The most striking features that all Mantodea share are a very mobile, triangular head with large compound eyes and their first pair of legs (the 'raptorial legs'), which is highly modified for the efficient capture and restraint of fast-moving or flying prey.

In Germany, M. religiosa is listed as Gefährdet on the German Red List on the basis of an assessment from 1998. It is not supposed to be caught or held as a pet. At a global level, it is assessed by the IUCN as least concern.

The great variation in the coloration of M. religiosa from different shades of yellow, brown, green, and sometimes black has been the cause of numerous hypotheses and studies for over 100 years. However, no generally accepted answer about reason, benefit, or mechanism of the coloration or the change of coloration has been found.

Di Cesnola observed in 1904 that green mantids were found on fresh green grass, whereas brown individuals seemed to prefer brown grass burned by the sun. When forced to change the location as to no longer match their coloration, almost all the ‘not matching’ animals were killed by predators such as birds. This indicates a camouflaging purpose of the coloration.

Przibram also observed in 1907 that a change in temperature can trigger a change in coloration: animals that hatched in a cold environment turned green after moulting when heat and sunlight were provided. Without the change in temperature and only a change in the color of the background, no change in coloration occurred. This finding contradicts with Di Cesnola, who claims to have observed the animals within the same time and location (and therefore the same temperature).