Change Of Scene

After catching 150 birds in our two ringing sessions at Garstang prior to this morning’s foray, Will and I could be forgiven for thinking we deserved a rest, or at least a slower morning, but we decided on a change of scene, a variation to the target species and a visit to our farmland site.

Out on the moss this morning our efforts yielded just 13 birds, 12 new and one recapture; fairly predictable for a March morning when targeting Meadow Pipits and finches. But we always take the view, repeated here and elsewhere many times, “If you don’t go, you don’t know”, and anyway we are quite fortunate in knowing both how and when to catch Meadow Pipits. The trouble is the pipits themselves don’t always comply with our aspirations for them and climb out of the net, as a few did today.

We caught 6 Meadow Pipits, 5 Goldfinch and 1 Chaffinch, with the single recapture a recent Goldfinch.

Meadow Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Chaffinch

Although an apparently perfect morning for migration with just a light south easterly breeze and hardly any initial cloud cover, the visible migration was very slight. Meadow Pipits came over quite high in groups of less than six individuals with a maximum of 60 birds in four hours. We saw and heard up to 8 Siskins overhead, whilst the 25 Goldfinch, 8 Linnet and 15 Chaffinches we noted were almost certainly local birds only. With hindsight, and in view of the height of the overhead pipits and Siskins, maybe the morning was just a bit too clear and many birds were higher than we could see or hear.

Otherwise the birding was local fare in and about our plantation, 1 pair of Reed Bunting, 4 Blackbird, plus Long-tailed, Great and Blue Tit and 1 pair of Corn Bunting close by. On the fields; 4 tumbling, displaying Lapwings, 3 singing Skylark and the 90 or so Woodpigeon of late. After a cold start 3 Buzzards took to the air in the by now warming sun, as did one of the local Kestrels.

On the way home I checked the potential breeding owls and found both Tawny and Little Owls in their expected slots, and then near the River Wyre I slowed down to watch to watch yet another Buzzard as it soared over the road ahead then climbed unhurriedly into the morning blue.

Buzzard
They do say that a change is as good as a rest so maybe we achieved both today.