Late Night, Late Start, Useful Gen

Sampling the heady nightlife of Knott End on Thursday evening meant an early start for ringing was unlikely this morning, and in fact I arrived out on Rawcliffe Moss decidedly late at 0930. 

I’d gone to top up the feeders and as there was virtually no wind I put a single net up for a couple of hours and had quite a reasonable catch of 16 new birds: 5 Lesser Redpoll, 4 Coal Tit, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Dunnock. In addition another Lesser Redpoll, a juvenile male bore a British ring from elsewhere in the UK - Y310191. Redpolls were the dominant species this morning, with upwards of 40 birds going over in a couple of hours, with for comparison the Chaffinch passage distinctly poor yet again. 

Lesser Redpoll

Y310191

The Goldfinch numbers are dropping now with less than a dozen birds around the feeders. 

 Goldfinch

Reed Buntings have variable plumage at this time of year, and although as a species they don’t seem to travel huge distances, ageing them makes for an interesting few minutes.

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

Four Coal Tits caught, with at least another eight or ten about at one stage as the irruption continues.

Coal Tit

Other birds this morning: 8 Meadow Pipit, 5 Pied Wagtail, 1 Jay, 3 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 20 Tree Sparrow, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1000+ Pink-footed Goose.

Kestrel 

I drove home via Stalmine Moss where 16 Whooper Swan were on a still flooded field, so flooded that there’s not much chance of it drying out now that winter is almost here. Back home I put my soggy walking boots outside in the sun, then looked up and west to see 4 Buzzards circling nearby fields - a fine end to a morning of birds. 

Whooper Swan

Regular readers will know that Another Bird Blog is not averse to recommending a noteworthy place to go birding, a useful bird book, or with a glance to the right hand column, an informative blog. Occasionally we even make mention of a place to eat after a hard day’s birding, today’s tip-off being that readers should find time to visit The New Village Steakhouse in Knott End. That’s where Sue and I enjoyed a lovely meal in their newly refurbished and agreeable surroundings, with friendly and impeccable service plus a bottle of Grenache thrown in - and all for less than £40. 

Al last, some useful information from a bird blog. Tune in soon for more.