Where to go was the dilemma? Oakenclough had been quiet with
poor catches, Tuesday might be too soon after our last uninspiring visit, and
strange as it may seem, by 18 May, spring migration is already tailing off.
We knew that at Cockerham was a brood of Lapwings ready for
ringing together with some “Acros”, the lazy birders' name for Acrocephalus
warblers, small insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus
small,insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus.
We drove to where the Lapwing chicks were seen a couple of
days ago to see the farmer's £200,000 sprayer heading across the field. Luckily
the field is sizeable and the ringing job would be done and dusted before the
huge machine reached the Lapwings or ourselves. Andy quickly located all three
chicks and popped them into a tractor rut as the adults watched from above
before returning to parental duties.
Job done we set a couple of nets in nearby reeds and caught
acros but no other species - 4 Reed Warblers and 4 Sedge Warblers. One of the
Reed Warblers bore a ring ALJ4078 that we thought would be our own. It was,
sort of. In fact our ringing colleague Seumus Eaves had first ringed the Reed
Warbler on 6 August 2020 at Fleetwood Marsh just 20 miles away in a south
westerly direction.
“Well what's so great about that” you might say - “It just
followed the coast”.
Not so much is the answer except that in the intervening period of ringing at Fleetwood and recapture at Cockerham, the Reed Warbler had flown to Africa and back.
Last August and setting off at dusk from Fleetwood this bird
found its way to sub Saharan Africa where it spent the winter of 2020/21. Don't
forget, this bird was born in Britain and had never been to Africa before
attempting this perilous, unknown adventure.
In early May 2021 it headed back to England, avoided Border
Control checks and found it's way to Cockerham.
A little off target for Fleetwood but not a bad effort don't you think?
Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday and Anni in Texas.
.jpg)
11 comments:
That Lapwing Photo Was Incredible - So Soft, So Cute - The Reed Warbler Is Rather Beautiful - Stay Strong
Cheers
Love the lapwings and that little chick is just too gorgeous.
Hope you get some good days to get out we are just having continual rain.
Keep safe and well. Cheers Diane
As birders (and bird ringers) often lament: "Didn't see as much as hoped today."
That will always be true even if we had a banner day afield.
However, a day which includes holding a Lapwing and a warbler in my hands - well, that is a good day, indeed!
What an impressive journey ALJ4078 completed!
Wishing us all good weather and good birding!
Lovely Lapwing chick.
Hello Phil,
Quick thinking, saving the Lapwing chicks. I am glad the tractor could not run them over.
They are adorable! The Reed Warbler is a handsome bird. I feel like I missed the spring migration along the shore here, the weather prevented me from making a trip to see the migrating shorebirds. Great photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
Hello Phil.
Interesting post. ALJ4078 is a little bird that likes to fly :)
Take care.
Always interesting reading your posts. The warblers are cute little birds. Quite a flight range as well! Hope you are having a nice weekend.
Those little ones are precious! Glad you were there! And it's so nice to have different places to go as day trips. That's what we do here...just go out for a morning or afternoon!
I admire the work you do Phil. I would love to be more active than I am but I have left it too late, I have trouble walking round my garden.
Stay safe.
Mike.
What a cute little chick!
Phil - sometimes I think it is a wonder that any wildlife survives at all with the many challenges that face them. Glad the lapwing chicks had at least another day!
Post a Comment