Good Stuff Birding

After being delayed by early morning rain I drove across Stalmine Moss towards Pilling and really didn’t expect to see a Barn Owl, especially not at 0920. Things have quietened down on the Barn Owl front just lately. After many reports of daylight owls through January, February and March lesser numbers are now being reported on local blogs and web pages. Maybe the local voles have produced early season young from one of the several litters they have each year and after a lean winter provide much needed raptor food? 

The owl gave a good start to the morning’s birding but I was keen to get moving and see what else was about. 

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Weeks have passed since I stopped at Wrampool and as expected the local Linnet flock has dispersed to leave just 10 individuals. Lapwings were displaying in the next field with singing Skylarks above and a Reed Bunting alongside the overgrown ditch. 

Linnet

Linnet

More Lapwings displayed at Braides Farm where a flock of about 800 Golden Plovers were very vocal as well as colourful, the majority in at least partial summer plumage. When I returned this way a couple of hours later the plovers were down to less than a hundred and I suspect than many had already set off to continue their journey north. 

At Conder Green Sand Martins were on the move with 20+ heading noticeably north plus a single Swallow stopping off to feed briefly over the pool. There appeared to be at least 6 pairs of Oystercatchers on scattered territories around the pool but apparently no Lapwings. A single Canada Goose, 4 Tufted Duck, 15 Teal, 30 Curlew,  2 Shelduck, 1 Wigeon, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Little Egret and 1 Grey Heron completed the pool count. 

More Teal were in the creeks together with 10 Redshank and singles of Snipe and Spotted Redshank, the latter now beginning to acquire a hint of its summer plumage. A Chiffchaff sang from the hedgerow and a Meadow Pipit from the marsh. 

Meadow Pipit

I’d promised to call and see farmer Chris and count his returning Sand Martins. A Buzzard soared over the quarry while on the ground two pairs of Oystercatchers displayed. A count of 50+ Sand Martins followed with some of them already visiting last year’s nest holes. Not all will stay as Sand Martins are drawn to visit known colonies during their migrations.

Chris had forewarned me that the soggy winter had taken its toll by producing a couple or more landslides down the quarry face. He was right. Many of last year’s nest tunnels had gone. The martins need to get busy with major excavations soon if they want to produce youngsters. 

Sand Martin

Chris is keen to have nest boxes for both Barn Owl and Kestrel as well to expand his Tree Sparrow colony. Looks like more work for Andy when he’s back from ringing in Gibraltar. 

Tree Sparrows were active at Fluke Hall with much chattering and heads poking from nest boxes. 

Tree Sparrow

There was a Chiffchaff in song and as I stopped to search I heard Siskins then saw three or more in the tree tops. I then watched a Great-spotted Woodpecker drumming out a beat on a dead branch. Fifteen Shelduck in the wet field with 6+ Blackbirds, 2 Pied Wagtails, 2 Stock Dove, following which my morning was done. Good stuff. 

There’s more Good Stuff son with Another Bird Blog. Don’t miss it.

Linking today to Run-a-Round Ranch and World Bird Wednesday.

Sunday's Birds

Sunday morning began with an early drive to the edge of The Forest of Bowland at Oakenclough where the ringing site is topped up with bird food twice a week, even when the weather prevents any ringing there. In addition to enabling a study of birds on site the supplementary feeding station adds to natural foods available to birds in the leaner winter months. Studies have shown that giving wild birds’ additional food on a regular basis can assist their survival and enhance breeding success in the following spring. 

All seemed quiet around the feeding spot with no sign of the 40+ Goldfinch from earlier in the week and just two or three hanging about near the Nyger seeds. Goldfinch flocks are highly mobile so I hope the birds weren't too far away, especially as it was last November and into December which produced very good catches of the species.

With the preponderance of conifer trees here Coal Tits are ever present as their small bills allow them direct access to the tiny holes of the Nyger feeders. Meanwhile the Great Tit, Blue Tits and Chaffinches stay around so as to take food from the ground. We avoid the use of peanuts or mixed seed feeders and instead use Nyger feeders and ground feeding as a means of targeting the several species of finches which occur in this area. 

Coal Tit

Great Tit

Additional birds seen this morning included 8 Blackbird, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Nuthatch, 2 Raven and 2 Pied Wagtail. 

Meanwhile there was notification of the recovery of a Lesser Redpoll ringed here on 19th October 2015. A first year male ring number Z652570 was recaptured by other ringers some 16 days later on 4th November 2015 at Woolston Eyes, Warrington, a distance of 61kms from Oakenclough. While the distance involved isn’t tremendous the recovery does once again demonstrate the southerly autumn dispersal of this species, and because the bird is still in circulation it could provide more life history information at a later date. It is probably in France or Belgium right now until the early spring when Lesser Redpolls begin their return migration. 

Lesser Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll - Oakenclough to Woolston Eyes 

From the A6 at Garstang I took a leisurely drive home via the mosslands of Rawcliffe, Pilling and Stalmine where I counted at least 11 Buzzards spiralling over the fields, with at one point six quite close together in a single kettle of air. I suspect that this morning was one of the few in the last four weeks where the sky was both clear and calm enough for Buzzards to soar. 

Buzzard

The fields alongside Lancaster Road are well flooded and it was on just a couple of fields here that I counted 1500+ Lapwing, 30 Golden Plover, 260 Black-headed Gull, 45 Common Gull, 40 Curlew and 6 Skylark. 

Nearer to Stalmine was a roadside Kestrel as well as a feeding party of half-a-dozen Redwings and 50+ Fieldfares. The autumn berries are disappearing quickly leaving the Fieldfares to live up to their name and search for animal food in the soft ground rather than concentrate on a dwindling supply of berries in the hedgerows. 

Kestrel

Redwing

Fieldfare

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In the meantime take a look at more birds Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.