Back to Wheats

Conder Green has gone really quiet, struggling today to equal anything near July’s purple patch, but afterwards I was to find that after a quiet couple of weeks Lane Ends almost came back to form. 

Daisy Moo Cow with her head through the hide screen didn’t augur well this morning. After a couple of prods from the sharp end of a tripod she took the hint and sloped off, perhaps miffed she wasn’t the object of my attention. 

The list of usual suspects is short, to the point and unsurprising - 2 Little Grebe, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Little Egret, 1 Stock Dove, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Shelduck, 28 Redshank and 35 Lapwing. No sign of Spotted Redshank or Greenshank this morning but that doesn’t mean they’re not around. 

Common Sandpiper

Carrion Crow

An early bundle of Swifts and hirundines took their toll of insects along the hedgerow again - 12 Swift, 20+ House Martin, 15 Swallow and 2 Sand Martin. At the bridge I found a Chiffchaff by its loud slurring call, I think the same one which attempted a snatch of song in the car park just ten minutes later. A few Linnets, Goldfinches and Greenfinches whizzed about, but otherwise zilch. 

Glasson had a good number of Swallows perched about the bridge and the tied up boats with a Grey Heron in the customary position, but it was generally so quiet I high tailed it to Pilling. Calling at Hillam Lane I found 20+ Sand Martins at the colony and a flock of 25+ Linnets. 

Barn Swallow

Three noisy Jays were in the trees at Lane Ends, another one at Pilling Water a little later, and in the intervening walk, a Peregrine over the marsh. The trees at Pilling Water produced a Buzzard and a Great-spotted Woodpecker, and on the pools, 2 Grey Heron plus single Greenshank, Green Sandpiper and Snipe. 

At last I saw 2 Wheatears of autumn proper, having gone the whole of July without seeing a single one. I managed to trap one of the two, the bird an obvious juvenile in fresh post-juvenile plumage. Afterwards both birds flew together towards Fluke Hall. 

Wheatear

Wheatear

Wheatear

Another day done on Another Bird Blog. Join me soon for more birding news and birding views. 

Trying Hard

I wasn't too hopeful about birding this morning as early and mid-June can be hard going. It's when  when migration stops, breeding adults stay glued to nests and generally keep a low profile until their nestlings emerge. In the end the morning proved quite productive by way of a few new pics and another Lapwing chick to add to the tally of recent weeks. 

Conder Green was first stop and where a good selection wildfowl awaited in the shapes of 2 Pochard, 2 Wigeon, 2 Teal, 16 Tufted Duck and a single Great-crested Grebe. Waders were the expected ones of Oystercatchers and Redshanks, with no sign of Little Ringed Plovers, an omission which doesn't mean they are not around but simply out of sight and keeping quiet, the latter if true an unusual occurrence for LRPs. 

Pochard

Passerines were sparse here with a singing Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Buntings and a Song Thrush also in song with flyover Linnet and Goldfinch in ones and twos. There seemed to be good numbers of House Martins zipping around River Winds, with a fly-through of a Sand Martin perhaps from the tiny colony at Cockerham. More worrying is the lack of Swallows I count at the moment; following a couple of poor breeding seasons, their normal losses in wintering quarters and then on migration I fear their population is on the low side for now. Such are the risks of their strategy of summering in the Northern Hemisphere.

It was Pilling next for the compulsory walk to Fluke and back, accompanied by the cries of Lapwings, Redshanks and Oystercatchers. Yes, the Oystercatchers definitely have young now, but hidden away in a sileage field, the adults providing a running commentary and all the time trying to lead me in the opposite direction to their chicks. 

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

There was yet another single Lapwing chick with a pair of adults, and from the size of it I thought it could be one and the same bird from Friday. But no, when I went to where the chick crouched it turned out to be a new one with the flight feathers half-grown. 

Lapwing

Lapwing chick

 

Five Grey Herons today as breeding birds and new young leave their inland haunts for the coast. Two Little Egrets was more difficult to explain unless they too have completed their breeding season. A single Greenshank again today out towards the tideline. 

Carrion Crows have hatched and fledged young on Hi-Fly's set-aside area - now there is a surprise. The young crow won't remain so approachable for long and will surely learn to flee the sound of gunfire.

 Carrion Crow

Otherwise things were quiet although a dashing Peregrine gave a brief but brilliant flying display while attempting but failing to catch a feral pigeon. A good try - hard luck Peg, but thanks for ending my morning in such spectacular fashion.

Linking today to  Stewart's Photo Gallery.

Monday Meanderings

The Buzzards were calling and circling high in the blue when I arrived on the moss. The dry weather and resulting farming activity had probably caused the birds to investigate the disturbance from a safe distance. Our local Buzzards are not ones to stay put and so pinpoint the nest if there are potential villains around, but many farmers about here don’t notice Buzzards and have better things to do than go out of their way to harm the birds. Rough shooters might, the danger being that many of them can’t tell arse from elbow, their knowledge of birds other than their precious “game” being infinitesimal. 

I think the weather of the last six months has also caused problems for Buzzards just as it has for many other resident species. This has resulted in low populations for the start of the breeding season, with just two pairs in an area I know well compared to 4 pairs in recent years. The nests are at the top of the tallest conifers in each wood, the shy adults departing the wood via the back door long before an intruder nears the livestock-proof ditch and fence. I found evidence of a recent meal, the Buzzards having left tufts of fur from a bunny or a hare on a plucking post. I couldn’t find proof that the raptors might have brought game birds here and they’d struggle to bring in a native Grey Partridge as that species is almost certainly locally extinct, competing as it must with thousands of released pheasants and red-legs for four months of the year. 

Buzzard

Buzzard plucking post - bunny fur

The woods proved quite productive in other ways, the other species tolerating the Buzzards’ presence. There was a Blackbird nest in a tree hole, a calling Nuthatch, a Great-spotted Woodpecker feeding a noisy family hidden away in a holy tree, singing Blackcap and singing Garden Warbler. I checked a Carrion Crow nest and found 3 healthy young, so torn between being conservationist or ringer I slapped rings on each then wished them luck for the winter shoots. Boy that chick is ugly but I’m sure his mum loves him. 

Great-spotted Woodpecker

"Woodpeckered" Tree

Carrion Crow chick

The plantation was full of singing birds - 5 Willow Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 6 Whitethroat, 1 Reed Bunting and 2 Blackcap. On a recently seeded field were 12 Stock Dove and a couple of Lapwings plus 2 singing Corn Bunting along the margin. And Yellowhammers were in full song today, their “little bits of bread and cheese” going a good way in the calm conditions. 

At the barn Pied Wagtails were feeding young, the nest in a pile of cut and stacked wood, and from the size of the meals the chicks were receiving I reckoned they wouldn’t be too far from fledging. A Little Owl was hanging about the building, the wagtails not entering until the owl was safely in the roof spaces.

Pied Wagtail

My cue to head home for a bite to eat too. More news and views soon from Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Stewart's Photo Gallery .

Another Bad Barn Owl Day

This is in danger of becoming an unwelcome habit, but after Saturday's road casualty I found another dead Barn Owl yesterday. This one wasn’t a victim of a road accident as I found it in a partially wooded area at Out Rawcliffe. When I turned the body over for a closer look there was with a single large hole in its body, so readers of a squeamish disposition may wish to look away now. 

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Not a pretty sight. It looks as if one of the crow family, and probably a Carrion Crow as there are plenty of them about here, found a freshly dead Barn Owl then pierced the carcass to take out the best bits, the heart and liver. It has been documented in the past that crows do this and they are not labelled “Carrion Crows” without good reason. 

Carrion Crow

The Carrion Crow is one of the cleverest, most adaptable of our birds and although this seems a particularly gruesome habit it is an example of nature in one of its rawest moments. So now there are two dead Barn Owl to pass on to Lancaster University where they will be tested as to cause of death (known in one case), but also for any secondary causes and/or remains of rodenticides/pesticides. 

The coldest months of January to March are known as a time of year when many birds have  difficulties finding food whereby many literally starve to death. The days and nights have been very cold of late, the coldest March for 50+ years. Barn Owls have been especially active recently suggesting that they are having to spend longer hunting in order to sustain themselves through the cold but to also build up reserves in readiness for the breeding season. 

With the nesting season due to start this may be an opportune time to remind readers of the law regarding Barn Owls, particulalry as a number of bird watchers and photographers choose to ignore or "forget" the rules in their preoccupation with Barn Owls and other birds with special protection.

Barn Owl

Most bird species have some protection by law, Barn Owls and their nest sites are specifically protected. The Barn Owl is specially protected under Schedules 1 and 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is illegal to kill, injure or take a wild Barn Owl or to take or destroy its eggs. It is also illegal to check nest sites or even to disturb a Barn Owl while it is at or near a breeding site - unless you hold a special licence. (Usually March to October is considered the breeding season, but they might breed at almost any time of year). 

Any study or disturbance of Barn Owl nesting sites requires a “Schedule 1 Licence” which can only be obtained through official government bodies or agencies - usually Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales, Scottish Natural Heritage or Northern Ireland Environment Agency or British Trust for Ornithology. The Schedule 1 scheme monitors where the observers are operating, and tries to ensure that no site is visited by more than one group of observers 

It has been a bad few days for Barn Owls, at least for me, so I hope the breeding season is a good one for them. 

In the meantime stay tuned to Another Bird Blog for both bad and good news about birds or take a look at Stewart's Photo Gallery from Australia where there could well be a Barn Owl or two.

What A Circus

There’s nothing more annoying and frustrating than having to take nets down because of wind or rain very soon after you’ve spent time and effort putting them up. 

That’s what happened this morning after I’d gone to Rawcliffe at 7am on the strength of the BBC’s forecast for an 8-10mph wind all day. By 0855 I was taking the nets down because the wind had suddenly increased to 15-18mph making catching impossible. By then I had caught just 8 birds, 4 Reed Bunting, 3 Chaffinch and a Blackbird. 

Numbers of the target species around my feeding spots were down on recent days, with just 2 Brambling, 15 Chaffinch, 15 Reed Bunting, 20 Goldfinch, 2 Yellowhammer, 20+ Woodpigeon and 55 Fieldfare/180 Starlings in an adjacent field. 

At this time of the year and on an initial glance some male Chaffinches can have the superficial appearance of adults. There’s one below but a closer look at the wing and tail feathers tells a different story - pale and worn tertial feathers and last year’s badly holed and fault lined tail. 

Chaffinch - second calendar year male

Chaffinch - second calendar year male

Chaffinch - second calendar year male

Today’s 4 Reed Buntings takes the February tally here to 16 new ones and something of an early spring movement of the species I think. 

Reed Bunting

Soon after dawn there were the usual unsatisfying views of the male Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus as it arrived from the west, did a fast and distant circuit of the stubble, all the time pursued by a crow, before then hurrying off towards Lancaster Lane again. One of these days….. 

Carrion Crow and Hen Harrier

In such a short visit there’s not much more to relate except for 2 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 14 Corn Bunting and 1 Little Owl. 

Not the most productive or satisfying two hours I have ever spent out on the moss. As Calamity Clegg or Disastrous Dave might say of Eastleigh around midnight of Thursday next - “Things can only get better”. 

Log in soon to see if Another Bird Blog’s next performance is any better.

The Other Patch

The bright and breezy morning dictated a birding morning on the other patch at Pilling, a spot neglected of late, when several decent, wind-free mornings meant we could catch finches and pipits out on Rawcliffe Moss. I began at Fluke Hall looking and listening out for overhead birds but where little was happening, perhaps odd Chaffinches, Meadow Pipits, and Skylarks, but no obvious or substantial movement. If there is a morning diurnal migration taking place at Fluke it is usually quickly apparent, and in a south-easterly like today can sometimes involves a heavy movement of birds flying west to east along the sea wall.

Out on the marsh I counted over 400 Lapwing, 40+ Linnet and a Little Egret but the woodland was pretty quiet apart from a Great-spotted Woodpecker and a party of titmice. The Carrion Crows found a couple of Buzzards in the tops of the trees and they proceeded to harry the raptors until they left the woodland to head off towards the sea wall but still pursued by the persistent crows.

Buzzard
Buzzard and Carrion Crow

The walk from Lane Ends then back towards Fluke Hall began quietly, picking up as I persevered and then improving as the tide ran in. From the stile I counted 11 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Kestrel, 140+ Linnet, 60 Goldfinch, c2500 Pink-footed Geese, 2 Wheatear, 1 Peregrine and 2 Sparrowhawks.

Sparrowhawk
Pink-footed Goose

The incoming tide shifted lots of pipits and Skylarks from the by now flooded marsh, and I ended up with counts of 70 Meadow Pipit and 32 Skylark, many finding their way onto the inland fields via the countless fence posts along here.

Meadow Pipit

High water revealed more waders and wildfowl: 900 Shelduck, 40 Redshank, 70 Pintail, 600+ Teal, 2 Snipe, 40 Golden Plover and 35 Dunlin, with 17 Swallows also arriving with the tide and then heading quickly south-east.

Swallow

On the subject of Swallows, we have only just heard of a Swallow recovered during the early part of 2010. Ring number V971589 was first captured on Rawcliffe Moss as a juvenile bird of the year on 8th August 2009. On April 27th 2010 the Swallow, now sexed as a female by the length of its tail streamers, was caught by other ringers in Canton Magistris, in the Alpine region of Italy; the young bird had managed to journey to Africa and was now on its way back to the UK.

While British Swallows migrate to and from Africa through the area of the Mediterranean Sea in both autumn and spring, many take a more easterly route for the April/May journey, a direction which can take some through the Alpine regions of Italy. The interval between ringing and finding in Italy was 262 days and the distance involved 1198 kms.

Out Rawcliffe to Italy

There looks to be more breezy days ahead but amazingly it’s almost a shirt sleeves Indian Summer for a few days more.

Rush Job

The blog post is a bit of a hurried job this evening because I promised to push the boat out and take the better half for a meal at the exotic and expensive Knott End Steak House. So while Sue locates the bus passes, here‘s a quick summary from Pilling today and a few new, but not very good photographs.

At Lane Ends: Tufted Duck with 5 young, 3 Little Grebe, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler and Willow Warbler. The 3 Kestrel siblings from recent days were moving between here and Pilling Water, with much interaction between them.

Lane Ends to Pilling Water: A surprise bird at PW was a Great-spotted Woodpecker frequenting the fence posts along the sea wall for a while before it flew off towards the distant trees of Lane Ends. Otherwise, 3 Little Egret, 5 Common Sandpiper, 40 Swallow, 3 Sand Martin, 12 House Martin and 5 Swift.

Sand Martin
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Swallow
Kestrel

The finch, lark pipit and wagtail count today: 45 Linnet, 18 Greenfinch, 6 Goldfinch, 14 Skylark, 6 Meadow Pipit and 14 alba wagtail, all seemingly Pied Wagtails.

Linnet
Wader and “others” count: 485 +Curlew, 15 Redshank, 120 Lapwing, 8 Oystercatcher, 18 Shelduck, 10 Cormorant, 1 male Sparrowhawk.

Lapwing

I ringed the latest brood of Skylarks yesterday, that’s 11 youngsters now from 3 nests. Let’s hope the the Evil Operator, Carrion Crow doesn’t find those nests before the youngsters fledge.

Carrion Crow
Skylark nest

Tomorrow looks like a bit of a ringing morning and an early start – I hope the last bus from Knott End is on time tonight.

A Mixed Bag

Will and I met at Out Rawcliffe for the final ringing effort of September after the 18 hours of rain on Wednesday eventually petered out to leave us with a fine, wind free start. We got the nets up pretty quick then headed back to base camp for a coffee in the half-light, in time to see an early riser Marsh Harrier drift over the distant stubble fields, harried as ever by Carrion Crows. Not a bad start to the day, but the harrier continued south from its roost and we didn’t see it at all later.

Carrion Crow and Marsh Harrier

Initially our catching was slow, but improved as the sun came out. We caught 55 birds of 12 species, a good selection of 54 new birds, mainly finches but with the one recapture a Dunnock.

New birds: 26 Chaffinch, 3 Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch,1 Lesser Redpoll, 5 Reed Bunting, 5 Meadow Pipit, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Blackbird, 1 Dunnock, 1 Wren, 6 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Coal Tit and 1 Willow Warbler. It’s getting fairly late now for Willow Warblers but if there’s going to be one or two “phylloscs” about they are often with a gang of “lottis”.

Overhead movement of both Chaffinch and Meadow Pipit was less pronounced this morning, with probably less than 100 pipits and possibly 200 Chaffinch, but both species were dropping in from a good height again, just as on recent clear mornings. Other obvious “vis” came in the shape of at least 10 Lesser Redpoll, 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 alba wagtail and 8 Snipe, but our net rounds were busy, which restricted the pure birding intervals.

Song Thrush
Song Thrush - juvenile tail
Song Thrush - juvenile wing
Greenfinch
Willow Warbler
Other birds seen this morning: 7 Reed Bunting were extra to the ones caught, 5 Swallow, 2 Grey Partridge, 55 Skylark, 3 Jay, 4 Tree Sparrow, 18 Goldfinch, 8 Linnet, 1 Kestrel, 3 Buzzard, 1 Peregrine and 2 Raven.

On my way off the farm I stopped to grab a photo of one of the Buzzards enjoying the warming air.

Buzzard