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

 

More Pics

A few weeks ago I related the tale of my new Canon 90D camera which has been itching to get out and earn its keep but remained mostly at home because of the constant poor weather. Rain and poor light are the arch enemies of cameras, especially those with a Sigma 150-600mm lens attached. 

Sunny mornings together with a bird rich location near Pilling tempted me out on a couple of occasions. Almost all of these pictures were shot at ISO 800 or even ISO1000 at f7.1, a setting which seems to be the combination’s sweet spot. The extra megapixels of the 90D give a better result than my old 80D in allowing a bigger crop and an overall finer image. Some of the images are finished via GIMP, others treated to a touch of Microsoft Photos filtering. 

Click the Pics for the best effect.

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

The adult male Reed Bunting is undergoing a post breeding moult as can be seen in the median coverts and the upper tail. Meanwhile a second Reed Bunting is a juvenile i.e. born this year. 

A juvenile Sedge Warbler was very obliging for a second or two only before hopping along the fence and diving into the vegetation that meets the fence line. 

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Rain during the last few weeks has meant that wagtails stay around, but still no Grey Wagtail, just Pied Wagtail and Yellow Wagtails, both species 90% juveniles of the year. 

Pied Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

 

Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Even when ringing autumn Meadow Pipits it is not too often that an adult bird is encountered in the hand. The birds below are juveniles of the year where it is possible to see the remnants of the nestling yellow gape.  

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

And now for a couple of juvenile Linnets, a species to which our attention will be turned in the coming weeks. The annual seed plot is coming on a treat thanks to the amount of July rain and its (very) intermittent sunny spells. 

Linnet

Linnet

 

Wagtails and pipits are not the only birds to find muddy pools attractive. As anticipated there have been Redshanks and Oystercatchers, and today a Common Sandpiper. 

There are limits to the reach of a digital camera and 600mm lens, more so when reflections from bodies of water seem to interfere with how the camera sensor interprets the scene. Best I could do with the small sandpiper 50 yards away. 

Common Sandpiper

 

Likewise the buck Roe Deer, some 100 yards away but in good sunny light. 

Roe Deer

More news, views and photos soon at Another Bird Blog. 

 

Out And About

Blackbirds took every single cherry in garden and didn’t bother waiting until the fruit was red ripe. And then they came back for the next tree along, the rowan berries just turning from green to orange, nowhere near the final glossy red that completes a winter landscape. 

Blackbird

Thursday evening was warm and sunny in our sheltered back garden. I watched a male Blackbird drop down from the rowan tree into a dried up patch below where thirsty berry trees had made for a  dusty piece of ground. 

The Blackbird spread its wings and tail, opened its bill and settled down into the dusty ground and began to sunbathe and perhaps to also “ant”. I have seen this behaviour on a number of occasions from different species of birds and this time managed to both observe and to photograph the activity. 

Blackbird

Blackbird

Blackbird

Birds in various climates all around the world indulge in sunning. This can be anything from simply standing with their backs to the sun, with feathers rustled up to expose the skin below, to a full sunbathing posture with wings and tail feathers spread out to maximize the area open to the sun. Obviously, in many cases the birds get warmth from the sun, which reduces the amount of metabolic energy they have to expend in order to maintain a constant body temperature of around 40 degrees C. However, some birds sunbathe in spots which can be quite hot. In such circumstances, sunbathing appears to leave them over-heated as they can be seen panting. 

From Wiki - “Anting is a maintenance behavior during which birds rub insects, usually ants, on their feathers and skin. The bird may pick up the insects in its bill and rub them on the body (active anting), or the bird may lie in an area of high density of the insects and perform dust bathing-like movements (passive anting). The insects secrete liquids containing chemicals such as formic acid, which can act as an insecticide, miticide, fungicide, or bactericide. Alternatively, anting could make the insects edible by removing the distasteful acid, or, possibly supplement the bird's own preen oil. Instead of ants, birds can also use millipedes. More than 200 species of bird are known to ant " .

This week has been quite windy with no chance of a ringing session. During Thursday a quick runaround a local patch resulted in a few expected birds and a Green Sandpiper.  Green Sandpiper is a shy species, one of the earlier returning migrant waders and can be seen in a variety of muddy margined places like ditches, farm middens and similarly secluded locations.  For these early returnees from north and east it is autumn, even though for us in England it is still summer.

 

Green Sandpiper

 

The same stream held 3 Little Egrets, a Grey Heron and 2 Redshanks. 

Little Egret

 

The waterside margins seemed quiet except for a couple of Sedge Warblers and a single Reed Bunting both of which have been in their same spots for weeks now without any sign of having youngsters out of nests. Not so the pair of Moorhens with 5 youngsters in tow and probably their second brood by now mid-July. 

Moorhens

Reed Bunting

Sedge Warbler

 

I recently heard that the dry spring and lack of moisture of 2023 has not been good for egg production or breeding success of both Barn Owls and Kestrels. Whether this is the same for other bird species we do not know: it is a subject for research probably beyond the average birder, me included. My own observations at least are that local Swallows have had a better year, and not before time. There was a single youngster on a gate, waiting for a parent to arrive with food. 

Swallow

 

I called at our Sand Martin colony to see 100+ Sand Martins still around, despite the quarry face suffering from a degree of natural erosion, a combination of the Sand Martins’ own constant toing & froing combined with the vagaries of weather. The gulley left of centre formed by water run-off from above is a concern for the remainder of this year and next year when the martins return from their winter in Africa.  Imagine having to move home every 12 months! 

Sand Martin colony

Sand Martin

 

Friday morning. Rain arrived bang on the XC Weather forecast of 1000. The decision to leave the Sand Martins for another day was the correct one. 

Join Another Bird Blog soon to find out what happened next. 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Anniversary Blog.

Goldfinch To France

News arrived of juvenile Goldfinch ALP8579 we caught and ringed at Oakenclough on 17 August 2022, when according to this blog : ‘Nothing much happened except for visible migration of more than 120 Swallows heading west in small groups together with several House Martins and a single Sand Martin. Invisible migration/new arrivals consisted of just 11 captures - 3 Blackcap, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Meadow Pipit, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Chaffinch.’ 

Well something certainly happened later because one of those two Goldfinches was recaptured by French ringers on 7 January 2023 at Montmorillon, Vienne, some 143 days and 873 kms after our first capture. 

Goldfinch to France 2022 - 2023

  

Juvenile Goldfinch (3J)

 

Goldfinch migration - migrationatlas.org

 

From https://migrationatlas.org “Ringing recoveries identify three main connections between breeding populations and wintering regions. Birds from the British Isles move to the continent in a S or SE direction, with most winter records from the Netherlands to Spain (a few in Morocco). Birds from West, Central and East Europe move to the SW, though population from northern Italy, the Balkans up to Poland and the Baltic states move either to South West or to South East Europe. Birds recovered in North Africa (mainly Morocco) originates from South West but also West Europe.” 

Our UK Goldfinches are more migratory than many people realise, perhaps more noticeable when a garden that is usually full of Goldfinches becomes less crowded at the onset of cold weather. Our Goldfinch ALP8578 conformed to the migration behaviour and routes shown above. As a young bird born in the summer of 2022 it was just a matter of weeks before its inherited genes and DNA kicked in and sent it flying to the south of France many miles from its birth place. 

Log in again soon bird lovers. I think we are catching Sand Martins later in the week if winds stay low and from the east. 

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday.

Good Start 2023

Insightful readers will see that Another Bird Blog has been out of action again. 

This enforced sabbatical came about through the twin perils of Christmas & New Year coupled with the predicted back end of North America storms that landed on Britain’s doorstep. The result was birding and ringing on the back burner and two morning’s ringing throughout December. It’s a sorry picture but one that I hope to remedy and not repeat in 2023. 

New Year’s Day 2023 saw the thirteen strong family at home for the sometimes traditional Meat and Potato Pie with Mushy Peas, a dish that even picky kids might eat if bribed with a promise of cheesecake to follow. Washing the pots took more time than eating the food. 

New Year's Day

After the week’s marathon binge a morning in the January sunshine was called for so I struck out north out Rawcliffe/Pilling way on Monday January 2. The sun shone warm at 0900, so balmy that the BBC are already claiming that 2023 is the hottest year on record due to man-made climate change. 

Eyes peeled and cap pulled low I drove with care to avoid the prowling year listers with crazed looks in their eyes, out in force for Chase The Bird 2023. However their whereabouts are both easy to predict and to then avoid via a perusal of WhatsApp and the use of tried and tested alternative locations. Originality of thought or deed is not their collective strength. 

On the route to Rawcliffe came a super start to the year when I spotted a “shortie”, a Short-eared Owl, approaching from the left and heading my way. Electric windows are a great invention, and as ever the switched on camera lay on the passenger seat for a rapid fire. It’s been ages since I saw a shortie, a largely nocturnal and crepuscular (dusk and dawn) hunter, but still one of the most active British owls during daylight. 

Short-eared Owl

 

Exhilarated by this sighting I stopped at another farm I know well but didn’t anticipate the double whammy of another owl, this time a Little Owl, a species increasingly difficult to locate. Data shows that Little Owl numbers have shrunk by 65% over a 25-year period through a combination of the usual suspects; over development of their sought after farming landscape combined with shrinking populations of certain prey items like beetles, crickets and the humble earthworm.

Little Owl

My own thoughts are that part of the problem for Little Owls is that they mostly share habitat with introduced game birds like Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges, non-native birds released in vast numbers throughout the autumn and winter by the shooting industry. Historically this is especially true for this part of Lancashire where the loss of Little Owls began around the same time as the large increase in the numbers and locations of shoots, time-on-their-hands shooters and the release of many thousands of game birds into new locations.

Pheasants especially are known to hoover up huge areas of land of the same prey upon which Little Owls and other birds depend. 

Here’s some recommended further reading about a serious ecological problem, some might say "disaster" being allowed to take place in the British countryside. 

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5078605686374400

It was tempting to stick around and enjoy the owl, even though it did little but sit around watching and waiting for the next meal, a bit like the Christmas we just enjoyed.

I drove towards Pilling along the Lancaster Road where a large flood gave indication of recent rains. Distant across the field/lake were circa 250 Lapwings, 130 Black-headed Gulls and many thousands of Starlings. There was a shoot nearby with loud bangs that sent the flocks wheeling into the air a couple of times although they mostly all came back, if to a slightly different spot on the expanse of water. 

 

Lapwings

New Year Floods

Further along the main road I saw two Kestrels that may have been paired where neither of them were up for a photo and in any case the picture would have been into the light. Better luck next time from a mental note, a different time of the day, and a more accommodating moment. 

By now I was headed towards Cockerham and Braides Farm where Whooper Swans have hung around off and on since arriving from Iceland in September. Counts have been up to 400 when maxed out, more like 250 today. Golden Plovers, Lapwings and Curlews were dotted across the more distant fields with a rough count of 300, 250 and 250 respectively. 

Whooper Swans

Our ringing site is yet to receive a visit in earnest and there's no the prospect in sight by looking at the latest forecasts. When I visited to top up the supplementary food all was quiet with single figures of the regulars but a distinct lack of Linnets, the main focus of our project. 

All we can do is hope that the forecasters get it wrong! Keep looking in folks.

Down To Zero

“Crisp” might be the best description of the start to Wednesday's birding.  At -3º a layer of white frost covered everything in sight at 0730. The several forecasts all agreed, sunshine by midday. This was another day for five or more layers of gear. 

There was a good start to the morning with a ghostly Barn Owl along the farm track and then a Great Egret that left the roost with 15/20 Little Egrets. 

Barn Owl

The three of us set about our usual routine as we tick-boxed the extra work we now carry out as precautions against HPA1 avian flu - disinfection of all of equipment: nets, bags, pliers, weighing scales and clothing. 

The chances of us handling a small passerine with avian flu seem quite remote, especially since the prevalence of HPAI in asymptomatic birds is currently unknown. However, while minimising the risk of transmission should diseased birds be encountered, our continued ringing activities carried out with suitable precautions provide a net benefit in terms of data collection and spotting anything untoward.

As we erected nets we flushed a couple of Snipe from nearby wet areas. This Snipe rush continued through the morning as 20 or more Snipe arrived in ones, twos and threes to feed in areas of grass that remained unfrozen from the overnight temperatures. 

The Snipes' arrival coincided with the incoming tide out in Morecambe Bay where the secretive Snipe are common but mostly unseen feeding in salt marsh ditches and pools. The ones we saw had arrived to roost where they would likely stay until the tide receded and darkness fell. 

Snipe

Not surprisingly the ringing was off to a slow start with just a couple of birds every now and again. We finished with 14 birds of 7 species: 4 Chaffinch, 3 Linnet, 2 Robin, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Wren, 1 Reed Bunting,1 Greenfinch, 1 Blackbird. 

Reed Bunting

Greenfinch

In addition to the earlier Barn Owl and white egrets more to look at arrived in the form of a 'cream top' Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, and good numbers of Golden Plover, Lapwing & Whooper Swans. 

Buzzard

When I went yesterday to drop supplementary seed I counted approximately 400 Whooper Swans out Cockerham way. 

Whooper Swans

Stay tuned folks. There's more to come and we are due to get real snow. We'll see.

Linking this week to Eileen's blog and Anni in Texas.