Saturday, September 2, 2023

A Boiling Kettle

Saturday 2 September with the full team out at Pilling, Will, Andy and Yours Truly. Better still, and after another breezy week, the wind had dropped and the sun shone bright for our 0630 start. 

In the week I dropped additional seed and windfall apples into the varied seed plot where I thought the natural is not quite ready. A flock of more than 70 Goldfinch testified that their favourite sunflower seed needs more time but that they are well prepared by warming up on the lesser stuff. 

Goldfinch
 
Along the sea wall were eight Little Egrets, two Grey Heron, a couple of Pied Wagtails, a single Kestrel and 2 Wheatears. The chats avoided the steady north westerly wind and found hiding insects by ducking in and out of the sea defences.

Wheatear

Wheatear

The Saturday session came with a small mixed bag, one that once again lacked both numbers and the warbler species that are simply not around this autumn. The Experts have no evidence as yet but there is a real possibility that avian flu virus has passed in some degree to passerines via the known and now well documented death toll upon many sea bird species during 2022 and 2023. 

Our catch of 14 birds comprised 3 Linnet, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Wren, 2 Reed Bunting, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Blackbird and 1 Sedge Warbler. 

Goldcrest

Sedge Warbler

Linnet

Reed Bunting

During the morning we saw 20 or more Swallows on the move south but little else obvious in the clear blue sky save for a couple of Meadow Pipits plus a number of finches we didn’t catch. 

As we packed up the ringing gear about 1100 hours Richard, Eyes-Like-The-Proverbial, drew our attention to a number of Buzzards at great height and slowly moving west. 

In all we counted sixteen, yes 16 Buzzards taking advantage of thermals of the warm morning by “kettling” together, swirling and spiralling like objects being stirred or boiled in a pot. 

Such a large number of Buzzards together represents an autumnal dispersal of sorts. Some Buzzards, probably younger and less experienced individuals, move south and west from their northern strongholds into more favourable areas for the winter before returning north in the early part of the following year. 

Buzzard

A few minutes later a Marsh Harrier flew west, spotted by six Ravens who drew noisy attention to the large predator in their midst. It was a good morning for raptors and where we had seen both Kestrel and two Sparrowhawks during our ringing session. 

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday

 

10 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello Phil,
Love the capture of the Buzzard in flight. The Wheatear, the Goldfinch and Goldcrest are a few favorites too. The raptors kettling is a cool sight to see. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.

Jo said...

Hi Phil, I'm amazed that a bird as small as a Goldfinch prefers the larger seeds, like sunflowers. And is that Goldcrest stunning or what! Thank you for always sharing interesting LBJ's and other birds. And thank you for your comment on my blog I also imagine that the bird I saw was a captive species. Have a great day. Jo

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

You had a good day! And it's always amazing the birds you see when you are packing up to leave! It never fails! Enjoy your day!

Lowcarb team member said...

Also a joy to see your bird photographs Phil, and that is a very nice photograph of the Buzzard in flight.

Enjoy your September days.

All the best Jan

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Beautiful photos - love the Goldfinch. It looks like you had a great morning.

NCSue said...

Your goldfinches and ours are totally different. I like ours best (at least in their summer garb) - they're bright yellow on a larger percentage of their bodies - but yours has a splash of red that is rather dapper.
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/09/some-capital-photos.html

Diane said...

I love that little Goldcrest, I have only ever seen one here.
Sorry, I am far behind with blogs as the garden is taking all my time with figs, apples, quinces and the vegetables. Everything seems to have arrived in double quantities this year.
Take care, Cheers Diane

Wally Jones said...

Favorable weather! Enjoy it while it lasts.

Although your mixed bag was small, it was filled with some lovely jewels. Once those Goldfinches spread the word that there are appetizers available ahead of the main course your future trips will no doubt consist of bulging nets.

Any morning with that many raptor sightings is a good one. We haven't seen any raptors from the north yet, although a friend reported a Merlin yesterday. More and more warblers are appearing, so that's a good thing.

All here is very good. We continue to keep our heads down and pretend there is a functioning government.

Gini and I hope you and Sue have travel plans in place and know you're looking forward to more sunny days. Take care.

Veronica Lee said...

Awesome shot of that Buzzard in flight, Phil 👍👍

Happy September!

Linda said...

Lovely birds! I rarely get a close look at the tiny ones, so it is nice to see pictures of them.

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