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. 

 

Food For Thought

Saturday was cool, blustery and showery just like the week gone by when there was no birding and no ringing. Hopefully the showers would not turn to rain and I could at least get a little birding done. 

With so few Swallows of late one could be forgiven for thinking they had all left for Africa with a cold arctic wind up their backsides. Not so, because at Conder Pool many hundreds of mainly Swallows converged on the morning hatch of insects. My approximate count was of 450 Swallows, 40 Sand Martins and 30 House Martins which swarmed along the north bank in the lee of the hedgerow, across the water and over the island’s vegetation for two hours or more. 

This feeding frenzy is a regular autumn occurrence now the waterside hedgerow is mature enough to hold large numbers of midge and mosquito type insects - little critters that we call ‘gnats’ or ‘flies’, some of which are actually mosquitoes. 

Yes, I heard them this morning and “mozzies” are definitely in Lancashire. I’ve seen, heard and then squashed enough mosquitoes in Africa, Asia and the Med to recognise the sound of their landing approach.  It was so satisfying to hear the snap of the Swallows’ bills as another enemy bit the dust a yard from my face and to watch as thousands more perished in the birds’ onslaught. 

Swallow

 

Buoyed up by the merciless carnage I periodically turned my attention to other birds present and their less obvious need to eat at the pace of early morning hirundines, creatures who spend dark nights balancing on draughty reed stems. 

In 1981 in North Lancashire I saw my first Little Egret, a species that very quickly found a niche, swelled in numbers and is now so ubiquitous that it can be seen 365 days of the year, winter, spring, autumn and summer.  This species should by now be renamed as Common Egret, rather like Common Man - the average citizen, as distinct from the social, political or cultural elite. 

These delicate little diners eat mainly fish, with at times amphibians, small reptiles, mammals, crustaceans, molluscs, insects, spiders and worms. There were three egrets today, and as I watched they seemed to prefer the tiny fish that inhabit the pool, but mostly the prey would be swallowed in the blink of an eye before it could be named. 

Eight Little Grebes took their prey under water but when one emerged carrying a ready meal it was invariably the same minnow the egrets take. 

 “Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the family Cyprinidae.” 

Little Egret

 

To their credit, our local Mute Swans appear to be vegetarian. But, like many a “veggie” they occasionally, and entirely by accident, when no one is looking, have been known to sneak the odd meaty mollusc or worm. 

Mute Swan

 

Waders and wildfowl were of the usual variety and numbers with 40 Lapwing, 20 Redshank, 15 Curlew, 3 Common Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 6 Tufted Duck and 40 Teal. 

Those Curlews can be missed when they feed amongst this year’s grasses, grown tall and lush in record rains. I suspect that beneath the puddles lay soft soil containing goodies that curved, probing bills could easily find. 

Redshank

 

Common Sandpiper

 

Curlew

It was good to see a flock of 50/60 Goldfinches feeding in both the marsh grass and on the dandelions and thistles. Good to see because Goldfinches have been strangely absent from my own garden for weeks, not unexpected when there is much natural food about. 

Goldfinch

That’s all for now.  I’m off to prepare a chicken tandoori with salad. There's more food for thought soon on Another Bird Blog. 

 

Green For Go

Wednesday morning - “The Met Office has issued an 18-hour warning for strong winds in Somerset as Storm Ellen batters Britain and the West Country. The storm contains the remnants of Tropical Storm Kyle and will bring gales as it hits Ireland, before striking the rest of the UK all week.” 

With that gloomy forecast in mind I set off for a spot of birding and maybe even a ringing session if the wind held off long enough. 

I was an early bird at Conder Green where the sun shone and the threatened storm seemed far away. The shy and wary Green Sandpiper is one of those species we often hear before we see. Their unmistakable, sharp, high pitched crazy calls alert us to their presence, like someone stepped on their toes and made them fly off cursing. Often, all you see is their pure white rump disappearing into the distance. Listen to their call to hear the wildness within.

          

I saw at least two ‘green sands' but thought there may have been three because one flew off calling loudly towards the creek and didn’t return. 

Green Sandpiper

In total contrast the Common Sandpiper can be quite amenable, just bobbing along the water margins without a care in the world. I saw two Common Sandpipers. In these parts it is most unusual to see more Greens than Commons in a morning’s birding. On the other hand the Common Sandpiper is an early migrant both coming and going with the peak of their autumn migration in early July whereas the Green Sandpiper is later by two or three weeks. 

Common Sandpiper

Early doors saw the Lapwing roost on and around the islands as 150 plus departed noisily for the River Lune at some unknown prompt. In the creeks were 3 Greenshank together and just singles of both Curlew and Redshank. 

Lapwing 

Teal are back in small numbers with 25 in the roadside creek as a Kingfisher flew through. The Kingfisher, or another, was on the pool soon after where it used the level marker from which to hunt the shallows below. Apologies for the long-distance shot; 600mm is as near as the Kingfisher comes when water levels remains low, even after the voluminous rains of June, July and now August. 

Kingfisher 

Little Grebes numbered eight with Tufted Duck the same. Two Stock Dove and 8 to 10 Pied Wagtail fed around the pool margins. One Grey Heron and one Little Egret completed an hour or so of looking before I headed for Cockerham and Sand Villa. 

By now 1000 the breeze was too stiff for a net through the seed plot. I birded for a while. Fifty or more Linnets along the sea wall joined with a gang of Swallows to mob a passing Sparrowhawk while in the copse a Willow Warbler, 3 Greenfinch and 4 Goldfinch. Richard’s midden with its puddles, rotting vegetation and hive of insects is popular with Pied Wagtails. 

At least ten wagtails around today but no sign of the recent Corn Bunting or the Grey Wagtail of late. 

Pied Wagtail

On dear. Looks like I won't be going anywhere on Thursday. Or Friday.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blogspot and Anni in Texas.

Wood You Believe It?

Wednesday morning was too windy for ringing so I grabbed the camera bag and set off birding. 

Conder Green provided a good selection of species and some very good counts, much better than my last visits. I guess the “star” bird of the morning was a single Wood Sandpiper, a species best described as “uncommon” in these parts. In most years I would see them in their teens on the annual visit to Menorca in May, but not this, 2020 The Year of the Virus. 

The Wood Sandpiper breeds in subarctic wetlands from the Scottish Highlands across Europe and then east across the Palearctic. They mostly nest on the ground but also use an abandoned old tree nest of another bird, such as the Fieldfare. The one this morning didn’t come terribly close as can be gleaned from the record shot below. 

On a couple of occasions it fed with both Redshank and Common Sandpiper when the comparative sizes of each became more marked. In fact, the common Redshank (Tringa totanus) is the closest relative of the Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola). 

Wood Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper 

Common Sandpiper 

Other waders this morning - 21 Redshank, 7 Dunlin, 6 Greenshank, 5 Common Sandpiper, 3 Curlew and 4 Avocet – two adults and two half- grown chicks. Not to mention the 200+ Lapwings roosting when I arrived on site but which dispersed out to the estuary in bundles of tens and twenties. 

Lapwing

Avocet 

Many birds were drawn into the early morning’s hatch of flying insects, such a swarm of both insects and birds that it proved hard to estimate numbers. Let’s try 65 Pied Wagtail, 60+ Swallows, 40 Sand Martin, 8 House Martin and 10 Swift. The wagtails brought along a single Meadow Pipit that joined in a feeding frenzy that had all but subsided just an hour later. 

What’s that about the early bird? The Robin joined in too.

Robin

For students of moult, here’s a picture of a Starling from which to sort out the new feathers from the old ones. 

Starling 

Wildfowl and Odds & Sods – 4 Common Tern, 2 Little Egret,4 Little Grebe, 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Stock Dove. 

I just looked at the forecast for tomorrow morning’s pencilled in ringing. Would you believe it? Yes, more rain is likely between 0700 and 1000.

From The Archive

There’s no local news today. I’m not getting out birding and unlikely to do so whilst this foul weather hangs around. Instead I robbed the archives from a winter holiday that Sue and I took to sunny Lanzarote, the Canary Islands almost five years ago. 

Lanzarote is well known as a fairly windy island. Part of the reason the climate is so good is because of the Atlantic wind which blows there on most days; without it temperatures would be much higher and the island would effectively become a desert, like the nearby Sahara, 125 kms away. Maybe it was the Sahara dust, the fluctuations in the daily temperatures caused by the winds or some other factor, we don’t know. But we always came home with the Lanzarote Sniffles or a full blown cold.

In 1993, the island of Lanzarote was declared a Biosphere Reserve as it conserves one of the most exceptional ecosystems and volcanic landscapes in the archipelago. Lanzarote was born through fiery eruptions; the solidified lava streams and extravagant rock formations bear witness to that.

The island along with others in the Canary Islands emerged about 15 million years ago after the breakup of the African and the American continental plates. The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736 in the area now designated Timanfaya National Park. This is an area where most tourists head to in order to see the spectacular displays of cold water poured onto the ground turning immediately to a spout of steam. As we drive along stopping here and there to explore it is impossible to pause without taking pictures of the dramatic and often deserted landscapes.

Timanfaya

Camel Ride at Timanfaya

 Lanzarote

Lanzarote

The number of bird species is quite low in Lanzarote, even more so during the winter, so anyone arriving here expecting to add a few dozen new species to their list might be sorely disappointed.

The tiny Berthelot’s Pipit is endemic to the Canary Islands and is very common on Lanzarote, almost impossible to miss until its grey-toned plumage melts into the rocky backdrops.

Berthelot's Pipit

The common gull around here is the magnificent Yellow-legged Gull, looking all the more stunning against the volcanic shorelines.

Yellow-legged Gull

The vineyards of La Gería with their traditional methods of cultivation, are a protected area. Single vines are planted in pits 4–5 m wide and 2–3 m deep, with small stone walls around each pit. This agricultural technique is designed to harvest rainfall and overnight dew and to protect the plants from the winds. The vineyards are part of the World Heritage Site as well as other sites on the island.

 La Geria, Lanzarote

 

We always planned at least a couple of visits to the salt pans and tidal lagoons at Janubio in the south west of the island where we hoped for a good variety of very common waders. Almost guaranteed here are scarce UK birds like Black-winged Stilt and Kentish Plover mixed in with the everyday Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Greenshank and Grey Plover of home.

Saltpans - Janubio, Lanzarote

Kentish Plover

Black-winged Stilt

We always stayed at Hotel Costa Calero where along the nearby beach and rocky shore were found Common Sandpiper, Turnstone, Sanderling, Whimbrel, and a steady stream of Sandwich Terns fishing the clear waters. 

Hotel Costa Calero

Common Sandpiper

Turnstone

Near Calero

Near the hotel were residential streets with large gardens and decent amounts of shrubbery with common birds like Collared Dove, Chiffchaff, House Sparrow and Desert Grey Shrike. The shrike, part of the "Grey" shrike complex and formerly known as Southern Grey Shrike, is now considered to one of the several sub-species of  Lanius elegans, the North African Desert Grey Shrike.

Desert Grey Shrike

Desert Grey Shrike

Where avenues petered out into the typical dusty, dry Lanzarote landscape Linnets and Berthelot’s Pipits appeared, and with luck, a few Trumpeter Finches or Lesser Short-toed Larks. The related Short-toed Lark (the one with the unstreaked breast) is but a rare visitor to Lanzarote.

Lesser Short-toed Lark

Trumpeter Finch

Sunny wind free days were spent looking on the plains in the area of El Jable and Teguise for Houbara Bustard and Cream-coloured Courser, never easy to find but two of the real speciality birds of Lanzarote.

Cream-coloured Courser

Houbara Bustard

Near El Jable

The Alfa didn't drive nearly as good as it looked. A sluggish, noisy and polluting diesel engine.

Alfa Romeo

It's looking like Tuesday before the weather here improves enough for birding or ringing.

Meanwhile, over at Gulf Lane a Linnet flock has numbered anywhere between 120-200 birds. Andy and I cut a square of vegetation down to soil in readiness for a session with a whoosh net. All we need now is for a half decent morning to have a crack.

Linking today to Anni's birding blog and Eileen's Saturday Creatures.