Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) Photo By Markxmlx – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=142789879

Dear Readers, today there was a Bird Walk in Coldfall Wood, one of two patches of ancient woodland here in East Finchley. We’d already had a good walk when, right at the end, our guide, Gareth Richards, heard a familiar song. And then, a Firecrest flew out of the holly along the edge of the wood. What a treat!

Firecrests and Goldcrests are the UK’s  smallest birds, both weighing in at 4-7 grams (less than a quarter of an inch for those who are Imperial-measurement  inclined. But the Firecrest has a bold line through its eye, and that bright orange crest, though this isn’t obvious all the time.

Firecrest (Photo by By Alexis Lours – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114333793)

Plus, I always think that the Goldcrests have rather indignant little faces. In my experience, I often see Goldcrests in yew or other conifers, but Gareth explained that Firecrests prefer holly and ivy, especially amongst oak trees – just the kind of habitat where we spotted ‘our’ Firecrest.

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) (Photo by Sergey Yeliseev at https://www.flickr.com/photos/yeliseev/2239299769)

Firecrests are relatively rare birds (though not on the Red List), so this was a great find for the wood – the British Trust for Ornithology estimates that there are about 2000 breeding pairs in the UK, as opposed to 790,000 breeding pairs of Goldcrests.  Apparently Firecrests are increasing in number in London, which is great (we need all the birds we can get!) Firecrests and Goldcrests can sometimes be found together, but they differ in the prey that they eat, which reduces competition  – Firecrests favour bigger prey and, in addition to stealing dead insects from spider’s webs, they may also eat the spiders themselves. In Europe, Firecrests may nest in the same tree as the mighty Northern Goshawk, which will feed on the Firecrest’s main predators, such as sparrowhawks and squirrels. If we ever get one of these in Coldfall Wood you’ll certainly hear about it!

Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) Photo By Ferran Pestaña from Barcelona, España – astor 01 – azor – northern goshawk – Accipiter gentilis, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23889210

Firecrest really are a great find for Coldfall Wood, and it makes me think  that I should definitely do more regular birding there. If we don’t look, we don’t know what we’ll find. And that goes for any local ‘patch’,  be it a park, a garden, a stretch of shoreline or an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. We found 30 species of bird in 90 minutes today, which just  goes to show that all is not lost, and there is still much to see if we’re patient and pay attention.