A brilliant start to the day, looking out of the kitchen window before breakfast, I spotted a Goldcrest on a smallish conifer. Well in truth not so small, it is just about five feet tall and has over the past twenty-seven years been shaped around a seat, to give protection from either sun on hot days or wind on cold ones.
Anyway, there was this tiny Goldcrest flitting about. They are very restless birds, seemingly never still --- this is what drew my attention. I wondered if it was nesting in this conifer and determined to watch and find out. For the next twenty minutes I stood spellbound as the Goldcrest moved all over the surface of the conifer, finally leaving to do the same on the pineapple shrub, from there it moved to the old bendy over apple tree on the side lawn. Craning forward I could only just see it, so I moved to the side kitchen window, where once again I had a good view of it, from here it spent some time on the lawn, before moving back to the apple tree.
The apple tree was well clothed in leaves and blossom so sadly after a few minutes I lost sight of it.
The reason for my excitement was the Goldcrest itself. Goldcrests are tiny, neat looking birds, they are olive green on their back, with two white stripes on their wings, their underside is a palish buff colour. Their most distinctive marking is the stripe along the top of their head, it is a bright yellow in the females and usually a bright orange in the males, it is a crest and can be raised. Either side of this bright yellow or orange crest is a black stripe, which makes the bright colour stand out even more. There is no head stripe in youngsters.
The Latin name for the Goldcrest is Regulus Regulus. Goldcrests are not only the smallest birds in England, but also the smallest birds in Europe. They are 20-30% smaller than Chiffchaffs and half the weight of a Bluetit. I was once told they were the smallest bird in the world, however this is not true as the honour of being the smallest bird goes to the Bumblebee Hummingbird.
Last year I was lucky to be in the garden at the same time as a brood of young fledgeling Goldcrests, I was attracted to them by their high pitched song. Watching them moving restlessly about in the conifers,just above my head was magical. They were probably seeking food, their thin bill tells us they are insect eaters and would have been searching for food such as tiny spiders, small moths and little insects.
Our often harsh winters take a toll on Goldcrest numbers, and they are also predated upon by sparrowhawks and cats. However we are fortunate because they have two broods a year, each time ten to twelve eggs will be laid. These little birds are tough and with the high number of youngsters produced annually, in spite of predation and harsh winters, their numbers seem to manage to stay fairly stable.
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