The week has been warm but breezy and showery with few chances for meaningful birding so there isn’t a lot of bird news. A couple of visits out Pilling Way produced poor catches with just eight to show for several hours in the field.
After a very cold dry spring and a dry, warm, occasionally hot summer, there's a dearth of small birds this year which seems especially so here in our little corner of North West England. Only now in September am I beginning to see more normal numbers of insects. It could be that the unusual but not unknown weather and food availability factors, coupled with the ongoing decline of a number of especially farmland bird species is more evident this year to those who spend time outdoors with eyes and ears open.
Citizen Scientists and bird ringers in particular have a vital part to play in feeding their thoughts and observations into systems of data collection. Incomplete and short-timescale data sets are increasingly being used to fit the false narrative of anthropogenic climate change.
With Will unavailable and Andy packing for his holiday the Friday Barmy Army was me alone. The early morning arrival disturbed the local Buzzard that promptly flew down the field to continue its ground hog watch a safe distance from me, the potential predator. Sometimes I just want to shout out to Buzzards and many other species - “Hey, don’t worry. I mean no harm I just want a photo”. But of course their experience and inbuilt suspicion of the human race tells them otherwise.
Buzzard
The week produced two birds new to the site, Treecreeper and a Spotted Flycatcher, the first we captured, the second admired from a distance when it stayed out of net range.
Treecreeper
Spotted Flycatcher
Meadow Pipits are now on their way south after what appeared to be a reasonable breeding season; when I journeyed into the Bowland Hills during the summer I saw good numbers of roadside pipits scatter ahead of oncoming vehicles. We are still a week away from Meadow Pipit peak migration but I will not be here to see the numbers passing through. I will be in Greece where I may see Red-throated Pipits or the occasional Richard's Pipit.
Meadow Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
And of course September mornings of half-light inevitably start with the plaintive song of autumn Robins, a species which is highly migratory across Europe and into Africa. How often do we hear our neighbours say that “their” Robin is “back in the garden”? In fact a Robin, or more correctly a European Robin, has a very short life span of two or three years so the Robin in an average suburban garden is most likely to change on a regular basis.
European Robin - Erithacus rubecula
No visit would be a complete without a couple of Linnets. And although the post breeding dispersal seems over for now the regular 30/40 continue to give us new birds and zero recaptures. Once again, if only more ringers south of Lancashire would catch Linnets we might be able to add to existing knowledge.
Linnet
That’s me done for a day or two. Back soon with news, views and photos from here, there and everywhere.
Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.
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10 comments:
Hi Phil, Interesting your notes on the absense of birds. I have been noting that here in Sussex for more than a year. I am lucky to see a small bird (sparrow) in a month. My feeders remain untouched for many months at a time. Our usual flock of swifts arrived on time and within a week had disappeared. When I first moved here 8 years ago the place was alive with many species, a heaven for people like us. All we have now are gulls, corvids and pidgeons.??????
Take care. Nice post
Mike.
Hello, Phil
It seems the birding is slow here too, not sure why. You have a beautiful collection of bird you did see on your outing. My favorites are the Buzzard, Treecreeper and the cute Robin. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend!
The Robin is very colorful and pretty. I hope the weather improves for more outings. It's exciting to enter a migration season! I'm seeing more small birds on my hikes! YAY!
There were hundreds of starlings gathering here last evening and small groups of our American Robins seem to be moving through on their way south probably to Florida. My Chimney Swifts have been gone for a few weeks now and I miss their evening antics.
Hello Phil, :=) Lovely bird shots. I'm glad you were able to get captures of the wary Bussard and nearby Spotted Flycatcher. I have also noticed fewer small birds this year. The Flycatcher, and Black Redstart are just two of the ones I usually see more of, but I have also seen very few Sparrows.
All the best.
When the "Balmy Army" consists of only a single trooper, one might expect less than normal results. Thank goodness the stalwart warrior was exceedingly expert at observation and capture!
It seems bird migration, much like all else in nature, happens at its own pace instead of conforming to our human penchant for adhering to a schedule. If only we could teach those birds to read a calendar!
Your image of the European Robin evoked a fond memory. When Gini and I visited Germany and saw our first robin, it became our favorite bird. Quite a difference from our American Robin, which, of course, is in an entirely different family.
Our condolences on the passing of The Queen. She represents a significant chapter in the history of the United Kingdom and, indeed, the entire world.
All is well here in the colonies. Our green season lingers, thunderstorms dampen the land daily, migration is apparent in dribs and drabs and the two of us continue to wake up each morning which seems to make the day better.
The creeper definitely has the profile!! It's a very attractive bird. Love the buzzard out in the field.
Sorry for my late visit. A computer glitch yesterday! Thanks for sharing & linking in.
Oh really, dear Phil,
Robins have such a short lifespan? I didn't know that either. We haven't seen robins here for a long time... It's a shame, such pretty birds. Otherwise, we had a relatively large number of great tits, sparrows and blackbirds in our garden this year - but maybe that's because the new neighbour cleared all his bushes and the birds therefore had to move to us with their nesting sites...
All the best,
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/09/juli-august-2022-teil-2-und-weiter- geht.html
I'm not a birder but definitely enjoy your posts and photographs. Thank you.
I didn't know that robins had such a short life span.
They are one of my favourite birds :)
All the best Jan
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