Golden Times

There are more pictures from the hill country today. Birding is more than a little quiet and the weather so perfect that I took to the upland roads with camera at the ready. 

Noticeable today was the reduction in numbers of waders with many already gone for the coast, mainly Lapwings, Redshanks and Curlews but to a lesser extent Oystercatchers. In fact I struggled to get pictures of Curlew and Redshank and managed just one Lapwing. Despite that a number of Snipe continued to both sing and display and to show themselves on dry stone walls and fences. 

Lapwing

 

Curlew

Like me, the Oystercatcher below was searching the skies for the Golden Plover singing unseen. I didn’t see the plover but the unmistakeable melody rung out loud and clear across the open fell. 

Oystercatcher

Maybe the Oystercatcher didn’t recognise the song as the Golden Plover is now extremely rare in Bowland. Amazingly, and to the eternal shame of the United Kingdom, the Golden Plover is still classed as legitimate “quarry” for shooting from September 1st to January 31st except in the Isle of Man where it has full protection. 

Golden Plover -courtesy of luontoportti.com

There are still lots of wagtails around, both Pied and Grey varieties, and of course many dozens of Meadow Pipits which now include fresh juveniles. 

Pied Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

I did see a Cuckoo today as it dashed over the tree tops “cuckooing” as it went and then calling continuously on a circuit of the hillside and back to the start. 

It’s amazing what Photoshop can do. One minute there’s a barbed wire fence; the next minute the fence has gone! 

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Common Snipe

Common Snipe

Common Snipe

Oystercatchers

There are a couple of things to notice in these Snipe pictures, things that aren’t too apparent with the often poor views of this secretive species; the upper part of a bill has a subtle node end and is also marginally longer than the lower half of the bill. Note also the very long toes, an adaptation for wading birds which spreads the bird's weight over a large surface area and thus facilitates walking on soft surfaces where such species both breed and feed. The marsh loving Snipe is a prime example. 

Common Snipe

Snipe 

Wader foot

Apart from the everyday hazards faced by all birds the upland environment presents a particular danger to waders which breed in amongst the sheep - wool. The loose wool that lies on the ground is a special hazard to chicks that can quickly accumulate large amounts of the tough wool around their feet and legs. It sometimes leads to the loss of toes or feet and can also cause entanglement in fences or other everyday objects.  The bottom Oystercatcher has several strands of sheep wool around both legs and may haave lost part of a toe.

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

There's more sun tomorrow and then the weather is going downhill once more. Oh well, never mind there's always something to do and it's been good to see so much sun.

Linking today to Anni's Blog, Stewart's World Bird Wednesday and http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.co.uk/
 

Thrush And Goose

Lots of Fieldfares were on the move today. And later there was a bonus bird in the shape of a Greenland White-fronted Goose. 

I’d started off as usual with a drive north towards Pilling and Cockerham. The flood at Braides Farm was partly frozen where my distance-impaired counts still realised approximately 250 Lapwing, 140 Golden Plover, 180 Curlew, 40 Black-tailed Godwit, 20 Redshank and 40 Teal. There was a very tightly packed flock of about 400 gulls, mainly Black-headed, but also some Common. A black mass of birds was immediately recognisable as a post-roost huge flock of Starlings, and as they slowly dispersed left, right and centre in smaller feeding parties I counted 600+ and still some left on the ground. 

Starling, Golden Plover, Lapwing

There was very little doing at Conder Green where the recurrent high water level made for a poor show on the pool. Best I could manage here were 40+ Wigeon feeding across the bund at the back of the pool, a few dozen Teal, a couple of Little Grebe, several Curlew and the obligatory Little Egret. But, 200+Teal in the creeks and the wintering Spotted Redshank.

There had been a few Fieldfares flying over Conder Green but a drive along the lanes of Jeremy and Moss suggested something of a new influx, precipitated perhaps by the overnight drop in temperatures and the overnight frost. 

For readers who do not know our northern Fieldfare Turdus pilaris, it is a highly gregarious but intensely shy member of the thrush family of the Northern Hemisphere. It is very different from, but immediately separatedfrom our native UK thrushes by way of its mobile tendencies, loud ‘chacking’ call and flocking behaviour both when feeding and during its autumn migration from Scandinavia. 

Fieldfares

It was hard to count the Fieldfares as flocks of them moved continually inland by following the hedgerows of Moss Lane and then across the A588 towards Thurnham Hall and beyond. There seemed to be few Redwings amongst the approximately 300 Fieldfare and of course the two species do not always coincide in the timing their migration. 

Fieldfare

At Cockersands I located more than 20 Tree Sparrows, 30+ Goldfinch, 12 Collared Dove and a Pied Wagtail before I hit the road again and back towards Pilling in search of more. 

I checked out a potential new ringing site offered by a local farmer where I found 40+ Linnets in attendance but using a very narrow and extremely long strip of land which might rule it out as a workable project. Not to worry, it is a useful place to keep an eye on and I did see more Fieldfares in roadside hawthorns, plus a watchful Buzzard which scattered the Fieldfares as well as feeding Woodpigeons. The farmer tells me that Buzzards wiped out all his leverets this year, which if true doesn't help the raptor's already dented reputation in the tight-knit farming and shooting community. 

Buzzard

The many thousands of Pink-footed Geese have been incredibly difficult to pin down this autumn, due mostly to disturbance from autumnal farming activities, shooting pressures and disturbance from busy roads in sometimes semi-rural locations. Despite this continuous daily disruption the geese seem to find and use new and different fields in which to both feed and hide, bringing a truism to the old saying about the wisdom of undertaking a “wild goose chase”. 

At last near Lane Ends today I got sight and sound of the pinkies and with them was a single adult White-fronted Goose of the Greenland race – Anser alibfrons flavirostris, in the company of c500 Pink-footed Geese. The appearance of European or Russian White-fronted Goose of the race albifrons and Greenland White-fronted Goose of the race flavirostris differ in a number of ways. 

White-fronted Goose - Greenland race

The Greenland White-fronted Goose always appears darker than the European White-fronted Goose at rest and in flight. The belly-barring on adult birds is on average more extensive on flavirostris than on albifrons. The bill of adult Greenland White-fronts are orange-yellow at the base, but can be more pinkish-yellow on the outer-half, thus close in colour to European white-fronts on some individuals. 

I spent a while with the geese before brightly clad and slow moving cyclists caused the predictable flight to pastures new, all of the geese and yours truly back home for a warming coffee.

Linking today to http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.co.uk/, Eileen's Saturday and Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

The Right Decision

At last a morning without wind and rain so I decided to try my luck not far away. A bright, frosty start saw me head east and over Stalmine Moss towards Pilling. 

Pilling Moss

In the half-light I saw a Sparrowhawk glide slowly along the road ahead of me two before it turned a sharp right through farm buildings. Near the next farm two Buzzards flew from roadside telegraph poles and then landed on different ones further along. Leaning out of the car window and at ISO3200 there was no way a photo would turn out well. 

Buzzard

Luckily the camera was still on the passenger seat as I rounded the next corner where a Barn Owl had interrupted its hunting for a look around. I grabbed a few pictures before the owl continued on its path across the fields and then out of sight. Again the picture is at ISO3200 and far from ideal. 

Barn Owl

I stopped at Gulf Lane where I found just 25 or so Linnets on the set-aside. It’s a count well down on recent ones and it could be that the hundreds of Linnets of recent weeks have moved on. Andy is back from Spain today to be greeted by the news of reduced numbers plus a not so good weather forecast of rain and wind to frustrate our plans to catch more Linnets. 

At Sand Villa and Braides Farm I combined counts to give approximates of 800 Lapwing, 700 Golden Plover and 170 Curlew but 12 Whooper Swan, 4 Teal, 2 Buzzard and 1 Merlin were accurate enough. I make it 34 Golden Plover in the picture below but it is very difficult counting a fast flying flock twenty or thirty times that size, especially when they finish off by landing in a distant rough grass field where they mix with several hundred Lapwings. 

 Golden Plover

The tide was in at Conder Green but it didn’t matter too much as bird numbers there are much reduced now that autumn is gone. Highlight was a good count of 190 + Teal in perhaps one of the best local areas to study our smallest UK duck. Otherwise - 22 Redshank, 15 Snipe, 10 Little Grebe, 4 Goosander, 2 Shelduck and 2 Little Egret. 

Alongside the farm buildings the warm sunshine encouraged a few Starlings into winter warbling as half a dozen Goldfinch fed on seed heads and the usual Pied Wagtail searched the tideline. 

Starling

A mooch around Moss Lane and Jeremy Lane revealed a mixed flock of circa 100 Fieldfare and 30 Redwing plus several Blackbirds which may or may not be migrants. As might be expected, the thrushes were concentrated in roadside hawthorn bushes, from where they scattered far and wide as cars rushed past but soon returned to gorge on the bright red berries. I found a little spot to wait for them to return but couldn’t get a Redwing to pose, especially as their number was quite low. 

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

It’s not looking good for weekend birding or ringing. But you know what? Weather forecasters are just like pollsters and very often get their predictions totally wrong. 

In that case, log in soon for more news and views from Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday, Anni's birding and Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Hare Today - Sorry

28th April. This was the sight that greeted me on the driveway. Not the most enticing start to a spring morning. 

Spring in Lancashire

Birders don’t give up that easily. I scraped the screen and set off over the moss roads. Needless to say there was a hunting Barn Owl but I’ve so many Barn Owl pictures of late that I clicked a few shots and then carried on driving. 

Barn Owl

At Wrampool Creek the farmer has ploughed the weedy set-aside and already there’s a pair of Lapwings showing an interest. As the female looked on the male was busy with his “scrape display”, tilting down into his proposed hollow and then showing his rear end to the female. If she is impressed by his skill and devotion she will join him in completing this or one of a number of other scrapes nearby, but she has the final say. 

Lapwing

There was a single Stock Dove on the same field, plus a few Woodpigeons, a Pied Wagtail, 4 Linnets and 4 Goldfinch along the wire fence. A Kestrel flew off from near the farm buildings. 

Goldfinch

Linnet

I found the resident Buzzard at Braides Farm. It was in the usual spot about 150 yards away sat atop a fence post. I counted 20 + Lapwings scattered across the fields where a number of them clearly have young as shown by their desire to chase not only crows but other Lapwings that strayed into the wrong territory. There are still Golden Plovers to be seen with circa 75 today, many of them wearing full summer, spangled plumage, a wondrous if somewhat distant spectacle. 

Lapwing

Golden Plovers

Golden Plovers

I came away from Conder Green with a good list of birds but not a single photograph of waders and wildfowl which totalled 10 Black-tailed Godwit, 18 Redshank, 14 Oystercatcher, 3 Common Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, 10 Shelduck, 2 Tufted Duck and 3 Little Egret. 

House Martins are back on territory with two about the café rooftop and the under eaves. The nesting Pied Wagtails remain very close by. In the immediate area I clocked up Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Linnet, all of them in song. 

House Martin

A drive up and around Jeremy Lane and Moss Lane proved to be hare raising with large numbers of Brown Hares both visible and highly active. In one field alongside Jeremy Lane were 8 of the animals with 5 or 6 of them at a time taking part in chasing around the field at high speed. I saw more hares towards Cockersands where my final count of 18/20 was if anything, on the conservative side. 

From Wiki - Nocturnal and shy in nature, Brown Hares change their behaviour in the spring, when they can be seen in broad daylight chasing one another around fields and meadows. During this spring frenzy, they can be seen striking one another with their paws ("boxing"). For a long time, this had been thought to be competition between males, but closer observation has revealed it is usually a female hitting a male, either to show she is not yet ready to mate or as a test of his determination. 

Brown Hares

Brown Hares

Birds on this circuit – 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whitethroat, 10 Skylark, 10 Tree Sparrow, 8 Linnet, 2 Reed Bunting. 

Reed Bunting

Log in soon for more hair raising adventures with Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Anni's Blog and Eileen's Saturday.

A Golden Morning

The run of early morning starts dictated a lie in on Friday. That’s not to say there isn’t birding to do, just that it started later to take in the 1115 tide at Knott End. So there isn’t a great deal of news in today’s post but there are at last on Another Bird Blog, pictures of the shy Golden Plover. 

By late July there should be signs of returning waders and terns using the beach for feeding and resting, and although there weren’t huge numbers today, the variety is improving. The tide brought in end of summer terns, 20 Sandwich Terns to be exact, the terns all settling on the beach after a couple of noisy fly-arounds. 

Sandwich Terns

After a good number flew up river or towards Pilling it still left 160 Oystercatchers on the beach as the 8.4 metre tide failed to cover the flat sands. I added 3 Redshank, 2 Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover and 1 Whimbrel to the list although I could hear both Ringed Plovers and Dunlin in flight somewhere. 

I turned my attention to a juvenile Golden Plover which called as it flew onto the beach from the west. I’ve always found our UK Golden Plovers extremely difficult to approach, partly due to the species innate wariness of man. Amazingly, and to our shame as a civilised nation the very fine-looking Golden Plover is a “quarry” species, i.e. it can be legally shot. 

It really is time that conservation organisations campaigned to have the Golden Plover removed from the list of quarry species when it continues to decline as a breeding species. And whilst they are thinking about the Golden Plover it would be useful to consider other declining species like Snipe and Woodcock. 

I kept still and quiet, clicking away and holding my breath as the plover relaxed and fed before the incoming tide sent it flying off west.  I asked myself what justification there could be for shooting such a beautiful bird?  I have a good idea what Knott End Annie would have thought about it. 

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Annie's Log - Knott End 

The River Wyre at Knott End

Up river I found a single Eider, a Grey Heron, a Pied Wagtail and several Linnets and Goldfinches. 

There will be more news and pictures from Another Bird Blog soon but no guarantee of photos of Golden Plover.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni's Blog.

Taking A Break

Migration seems to have come to a stop up here on this part of the North West coast. I was out this morning doing my usual circuit with nothing much to report on yet another cool, cloudy and quite windy morning. 

Still a good number of very vocal Golden Plovers at Braides Farm, over 250 again today. Occasionally some take a fly around, and had the sun been in evidence this morning I may have gotten a better picture of their synchronised but distant fly-past. 

 

Golden Plovers

Up at Conder Green the overwintering Spotted Redshanks are beginning to acquire their summer plumage, more than can be said for yours truly kitted out in almost full winter garb again. On the pool - 28 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Oystercatcher, 15 Redshank, 1 Little Egret and 9 Tufted Duck. 

Black-tailed Godwit

Signs of Spring at Glasson Dock comprised 4 Swallows hawking the water and 2 Chiffchaffs singing from roadside trees. 

At Pilling on the flood and behind the sea wall I found 600 Pink-footed Goose, 1 Green Sandpiper, 255 Redshank, 8 Shoveler, 10 Teal 1 Dunlin, 15 Skylark, 1 Pied Wagtail and 4 Linnet. I couldn’t find any Wheatears today, my traps made redundant as the mealworms took a well-earned break. At Lane Ends, 3 Little Egret, Chiffchaff, 2 Little Grebe and 2 Reed Bunting. 

There seems to be a few bits and pieces in the garden back home with in the last week several Goldfinches, a number of Chaffinches, a Chiffchaff, a Lesser Redpoll, local Starlings, and that major rarity a Song Thrush. I did a little ringing and photographing of Goldfinches in between Granddad duties.

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

 Starling

Visit Another Bird Blog soon for more news and views.