After The Deluge

We’ve had a lot of rain. On Thursday we had a month’s average rainfall in less than a day. Fifteen miles from here the River Conder burst its banks just south of Lancaster and flooded the village of Galgate. The story made the national TV news. 

When I set off birding this morning I ran into still partially flooded roads that criss-crossed acres of waterlogged fields. Three miles south of Lancaster and on the other side of the River Lune the fields surrounding Cockersands Abbey (circa 1184) were some of the worst. That’s the tiny ancient abbey in the centre of the picture with Mute Swans installed on the flood. 

Slack Lane, Cockersands

B&W of Slack Lane

 Cockersands Abbey

As might be expected the floods held lots of birds looking for food washed from the ditches, dykes and already saturated ground following historic summer rain. Too many to count and scattered far and wide were Starlings, Lapwings, Golden Plovers, Curlews, Redshanks, Mallards, and a couple of Grey Herons. 

A stop and look found 40 Meadow Pipit, 14 Goldfinch, 8 Tree Sparrow, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Chaffinch, 3 Pied Wagtail, 2 Reed Bunting and 2 Skylark. The Golden Plovers spooked at nothing and then wheeled around, twisting and turning in unison before they settled again among Lapwings, Redshanks and paddling Starlings. The morning sun lit up the plovers' pale bellies against the shower filled sky.

Curlew

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Grey Heron

Golden Plover

The herd of Whooper Swans picked a well-drained field in which to spend their days. They are more scattered across the field but still in excess of 400 individuals and ever wary to passing cars that slow or stop for photographs. The now well-trodden field grows muddier by the day but the swans’ method of feeding leaves them looking less than white. 

Whooper Swans

 

After the Deluge

I called at our Linnet field, waded along the net ride and dropped seed into the nearby vegetation. With a little luck the 140+ Linnets will stay around and we’ll get a ringing session when it stops raining and our seed stops washing into the adjacent ditch. 

Linnet

Back home I was greeted by a calling Nuthatch, one of the few birds in the garden just lately. 

Nuthatch

Even the Goldfinches have mostly deserted us after weeks and weeks of cascading water.

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

Wednesday 2nd August

The forecast for Wednesday wasn’t good. Dry, dull and cloudy for the morning before yet more rain. Luckily I managed a couple of hours birding before dark clouds rolled in from the West and rain spotted the windscreen. It was just eight-fifteen so I was home in time for morning coffee after clocking up an agreeable list of birds in short time. 

I stopped first at Gulf Lane where Linnets in the wild bird seed crop numbered more than fifty. We plan a ringing session on the first suitable morning to kick off Linnet Project 2017/20018. The latest forecast points to next Tuesday or Wednesday before the weather becomes anything like. 

A feature of the last few weeks has been the number of Sand Martins at Conder Green. This morning I again noted a large number of martins feeding over the water and along the hedgerows. Mixed in with the martins were lesser numbers of both Swallows and Swifts, a mass of fast moving birds that I estimated at 140 Sand Martins, 40 Swallows and 10 Swifts. This appears to be an early morning phenomenon linked to the post-dawn emergence of many thousands of insects from the immediate area. A visitor later in the day will see very few of the same bird species. 

A mile away is the now highly successful Sand Martin colony at Bank Lane where on Monday I counted 350 Sand Martins but today less than 50. If I were a Sand Martin I too might be tempted to head for Africa rather than persist with an English summer. 

Meanwhile, and back at Conder Green  2 Common Terns continue to loaf around the floating pontoon where the species bred this year. Whether some three weeks after breeding these two birds are the self-same pair is anyone’s guess; probably not, as the species is both widespread and as common as the name implies. 

Four Goosanders floated across the water and took turns to dive for fish. As is often the case here, autumn sightings consist of a female and three or four offspring but rarely a male. 

Goosander

Wait long enough and Lapwings that roost on the island show themselves by “spooking” at something unseen. The Lapwings seemed especially nervous and took to the air several times before returning to the island a minute or so later, their worries over for now.  I counted 160+ today.

Other waders and wildfowl today: 22 Redshank, 14 Curlew, 10 Oystercatcher, 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin, 5 Little Grebe, 3 Little Egret, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Cormorant. 

Common Sandpiper

“Bit and bobs” were few and far between and limited to 6 Linnet, 4 Goldfinch, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Stock Dove, 1 Tree Sparrow and 1 Willow Warbler. 

It was a little too breezy for the regular Kingfisher to sit around so I drove up to look on Glasson Dock where the water is protected from the wind by buildings, tallish boats and the walls of the dock. My luck was partially in with a brief view of a Kingfisher on mooring ropes and a Grey Heron fishing the shallow edges. A small fishing boat gave out voices and then an outboard motor sparked into noisy life to ripple the water. Both birds fled the scene and I cursed that I hadn’t been there earlier. 

Grey Heron

 

Grey Heron

Kingfisher

Lesser Black-backed Gulls

On the larger expanse of water I saw a Great Crested Grebe, a second Grey Heron, a Common Tern and four Cormorant.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

First The Fish

Thursday morning – a fish day. So I called at Jamie’s shop at Knott End for supplies of brain food - haddock and salmon then spent a while birding around the shore and the jetty. 

Knott End and Fleetwood

Oystercatcher numbers are in decline as many move north and inland to breed, but still 220+ on the incoming tide with a single Curlew and a few Redshank for company. Nine Turnstone fed below the jetty with 32 Shelduck and 15/20 Black-headed Gull on the shore. The wintering Black Redstart was in the usual spot, darting around the area of the residential flats where it seems to find plenty of food and not too much competition from aggressive Robins. 

Black Redstart

Turnstone

At Fluke Hall the local Tree Sparrows are getting a little noisy and very active around the nest boxes in the trees. I clocked the Grey Wagtail that has wintered in the paddock amongst the horses and their churned up ground and where there’s always two or three Blackbirds; a least a couple of Goldfinch singing, plus 2 Song Thrushes also in good voice. 

Along the roadside was a single Stonechat and in the still flooded field, 24 Pied Wagtail, 8 Meadow Pipit, more Blackbirds, a couple of dozen Curlews and displaying Lapwing. 

Curlew

Near the wood I disturbed a Buzzard from the trees where a Grey Heron played doggo until the Buzzard flew at it. The heron flew off complaining loudly and left me with half a picture. 

Grey Heron

The Linnet/Avian Flu saga continues with still no ringing allowed despite two ringers desperate to mark a few Linnets that will soon go elsewhere. I put out more seed in the hope of a ringing session soon and where with luck we may just catch one or two of the Skylarks that are sticking around. 

Skylark

I stopped at Braides Farm where wader numbers are down but where 34 Teal, 2 Shoveler and a single Grey Heron linger. Skylarks were in good voice and very visible here with upwards of 10 around. It has been a very mild winter where the inconspicuous Skylark can pick a living and hopefully come back strong in the coming weeks. 

At Conder Green the incoming tide filled a good half of the creeks and where the wintering Spotted Redshank is always to be found in exactly the same spot. The “spothank” begins to acquire a little colour, mostly in its primary feathers. Soon it will be off north towards Northern Russia and Scandinavia where it will breed. 

Spotted Redshank

The Spotted Redshank was first described in 1764 by Peter Simon Pallas, a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between about 1767 and 1810. A number of animals and birds were described by Pallas, and his surname is included in their common names e.g. Pallas' Glass Lizard, Pallas' Viper, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Pallas’ Reed Bunting, Pallas’ Leaf Warbler. 

The current high water level makes the pool hard going for birds and birders alike. But still to be found – 2 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, 95 Teal, 24 Shelduck, 18 Oystercatcher, 22 Redshank, 18 Wigeon, 3 Snipe and 2 Little Grebe.

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

Catching Up

Apologies first for yesterday posting again a duplicate post from last week. This was a bungled attempt to update the blog and Google wasn't very forgiving of my blunder. Doh!

What with one thing and then another I’d not been out birding or ringing for a good few days. Finally today I attempted a few hours out in the less than ideal conditions of yet another cloudy, grey morning. 

A drive along Backsands Lane at Pilling revealed the grand total of three Pink-footed Geese and a far cry from the many thousands of recent weeks. There’s not been the same numbers of geese in fields close to home, towards the river at Stalmine or even flying to and from the direction of Pilling, their usual route overhead. I get the distinct feeling that the mild weather of late has sent many pinkies heading back to Iceland. 

And just this week I have noticed a gang of 30+ newly arrived, noisy Goldfinches coming to the garden, plus the usual garden birds in song. I suspect that at least one pair of Blackbirds, a pair of Greenfinch and a pair of Song Thrush nest building in the thick hedgerows and conifers of some neighbours’ gardens. Spring is almost here.

Goldfinch

Today at Gulf Lane the Linnet flock was down to 35 only, a major drop from the 300+of late January and as late as 3rd February. 

The still flooded and ever distant flood at Braides Farm held 200+ Curlew, 120 Lapwing, 30 Wigeon, 15+Redshank and a couple of Shelduck. 

Curlews

At Conder Green I watched a Great White Egret hunting the water’s edge and to then take a fish. Intent on watching the egret I hadn’t spotted a Grey Heron close by. But as the egret grabbed a fish from the water the heron launched an immediate ambush and flew at the egret in trying to snatch the fish or intimidate the egret into dropping its meal. 

I was somewhat pleased when the slightly smaller egret reacted very fast and managed to swallow the fish in one motion before the heron could win the contest. I don’t recall ever seeing the two species so close together before so it was quite instructive to see the size comparison, even at some distance. 

Great White Egret

Great White Egret, Grey Heron (and Blackbird)

Otherwise the pool and creeks were comparatively quiet by way of 25 Wigeon, 15 Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 60 Teal, 10 Curlew and 1 Little Egret. There now seems to be 4 pairs of Oystercatchers on territory with 15+ Oystercatcher  in total.

A swimming Redshank

Storm Doris is on her way across the Atlantic Ocean and due to hit us overnight. Tomorrow may be a day for reading in which case I’ll take a look at my review copy of a new field guide due out in March. 

The book’s is entitled “Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East”, an entirely photographic guide by Frédéric Jiguet & Aurélien Audevard at http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10983.html  

 

Birds of Europe, North African and the Middle East

Read about it soon on Another Bird Blog. Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday and Anni, who would rather be birding. 

Dead As A Dodo?

The Dodo Raphus cucullatus is extinct. But is the Latin I used there a dead language? Well if you’re a birder the answer is a resounding “No”. Read on. 

On this blog I sometimes include the Latin name/scientific name of a bird species. This is to add interest for the reader or to illustrate a particular feature of the bird. But for many birdwatchers the Latin names of birds found in books is a waste of space or a puzzle to be ignored. I rather like studying the scientific names I encounter, wondering about their origins and then often find myself Googling for an answer to satisfy my innate curiosity. 

A reader recently thanked me for explaining the use of the Latin name when relating my sighting of a Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus, the scientific name that means “a rusty coloured hawk which flies in a circle”. So for Sallie in Canada and other readers who may be intrigued, puzzled, or simply curious about scientific names, here is a brief explanation of their usage and beginnings, mostly in relation to birds. 

Circus aeruginosus

Think back many years, before modern communications like the Internet, the telephone, widely available books, newspapers and magazines, or beyond that even, when the spoken word was the only way to describe a bird, plant or animal and when many names might be in use for the same thing. 

A solution was proposed by the Swedish biologist Carl van Linné, usually known by the Latin version of his name Linnaeus. He proposed that all species of plant and animal should be identified by a unique Latin name in a standard form. Linnaeus’ Systema Naturae was first published in Latin in 1735. The most important version, the tenth edition of 1758 is still considered as the starting point for modern day zoological nomenclature. Linnaeus helped future research into the natural history of man by describing humans Homo sapiens just as he described any other plant or animal. The question of the origin of man may have begun with Linnaeus and later continued by Alfred Wallace, Charles Darwin and others in the early 1800s. This later culminated in the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859. 

Linnaeus’ naming system consists of two parts: the name of the genus, or group of organisms, followed by a name identifying the species within the genus. So for example the Mallard is allocated to genus Anas “fresh-water duck”, and is called Anas platyrhynchos - broad-billed duck. The Latin generic name is a noun and the specific name an adjective, just as in English, except that in Latin the noun comes first. 

Anas platyrhyncos

In the written form we italicise scientific names so as to separate the species from the common name and also to show we are using Linnaeus’ system. Using the Latin or scientific name in text, discussion or debate avoids ambiguity between different continents, cultures and languages. For instance, and by using a familiar species to illustrate the point, in Great Britain Pluvialis squatarola is known in modern English as Grey Plover. In North America the exact same species is known as Black-bellied Plover but retains the Latin/scientific name. 

A few scientific names are original Latin as used by the Romans for their everyday birds. These are usually their Latin generic names, such as Cygnus (swan), Columba (pigeon), Passer (sparrow) or Ardea (heron). In Roman times people were familiar a few dozen species of birds only, but over the next hundreds of years bird names both stuck and became more specific by the use of the Latin genus together with Latin identifiers - e.g. Ardea cinerea, Grey Heron, Columba palumbus, Wood Pigeon, or Passer domesticus House Sparrow. 

Ardea cinerea

Other scientific names come from classical Greek where the choice of names gives the impression that Linnaeus used Latin as much as possible and then resorted to Greek when the Latin ran out. Linnaeus and other early naturalists used these mainly Greek words to apply to otherwise anonymous birds, having turned the Greek into a Latin form. In the case of harriers, and to return to the second paragraph above, the Greek “kirkos” became the Latin “circus”. The word was applied to a hawk which flew in a circular manner, Circus aeruginosus, the Marsh Harrier, as well as to a similar but blue-coloured hawk Circus cyaneus, the Hen Harrier. Both species were probably familiar to Linnaeus and other naturalists of the time who recognised the need to differentiate these two as well as many other birds. 

Nowadays there are about 10,000 bird species on Earth, plus millions of other forms of life, either now extinct, very much alive, or yet to be discovered. All need classification through a naming system able to identify them as uniquely separate and where with a little invention, imagination, and knowledge of the species, Linnaeus’ system comes into its own. 

Here are just a few birds that readers will recognise together with the species’ scientific names, meaning and a brief explanation of its origins. 

Birds named for their appearance:

• Common Coot  Fulica atra  - a black coot
• Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca  - a dusky black duck

Birds named for their behaviour: voice, display, feeding preferences or habitat, etc: 

• Hoopoe Upupa epops - the Latin is onomatopoeic, a bird named for its repetitive call of  “hoop-hoop-hoop-hoop” 
• Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus - a mistletoe-eating thrush

Bird names based on geography:

• Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica - Lapland godwit 
• Fulmar Fulmaris glacialis - a northern seabird, an icy fulmar 

Birds named after or people, usually the person, mostly an ornithologist, who first identified the species to be scientifically different from a closely related one: 

• Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris  bairdii - a grey-coloured waterside bird named after Spencer Fullerton Baird a 19th century naturalist
• Hume’s Warbler Phylloscopus humei - a "leaf watcher" named after the ormithologist Allan Octavian Hume 

Upupa epops

Taxonomy, the branch of science that encompasses the description, identification, nomenclature, and classification of organisms is a large and varied topic full of sometimes complex ideas. It’s a subject that will crop up from time to time on Another Bird Blog but Wikipedia is a good and recommended starting point for readers who wish to explore further.

Now forgive me. I'm off to Greece for a while where I'm hoping to brush up on my Greek, grab a few birds and to top up my sun tan.

Present And Correct

This is getting to be a habit from my travels, reporting an absence of species. Last week it was a scarcity of Swallows, a blog story that struck a chord with more than one reader. Today was the absence of our UK Common Kestrel a lack of which caused me to think back to the number seen in recent months. The answer was “very few”. 

Driving over Stalmine Moss I passed a farm that is a traditional Kestrel location. Sure enough there was a single Kestrel on duty and sure enough, as this one always does, it flew off over the farm buildings as soon as the car slowed to a stop. I know of at least four or five locations in Pilling/Stalmine and Cockerham where there might be Kestrels, and at this time of the year, evidence of breeding in the form of flying youngsters. This year there are none, giving one more reason to worry about the state of our local bird populations. After all, maybe it’s important that birders should note the birds and the numbers they see but also vital to report what they don’t see when they are normally present and correct?

Kestrel

Many local farms are taking a long overdue cut of their crop of silage. Silage is made either by placing cut green vegetation in a silo or pit, by piling it in a large heap and compressing it down so as to leave as little oxygen as possible and then covering it with a plastic sheet, or by wrapping large round bales tightly in plastic film. The fermented silage is later used to feed the many sheep and cattle which crowd the fields in this area. I found a few potato fields in recent days but the rearing of sheep and cattle for supermarkets or export is widespread. This is both easier and more financially rewarding for farmers than growing labour intensive, time consuming and weather dependent spuds or carrots. In this part of Lancashire it now unusual, even rare, to see a field of crops other than grass. This all-encompassing grass monoculture has a damaging effect upon wildlife as a whole, and not just birds. 

 Silage

As I passed Crimbles I slowed to note 450+ Curlews feeding in a field cut just yesterday, the waders taking advantage of the still soft ground and short sward. Had I stopped the car rather than slowed the always shy Curlew would have flown over the sea wall and back to the marsh just 50 yards away. 

Curlew

At Conder Green the Avocet pair has a single well-grown young but the Common Terns appear to have left. The single Common Tern I later noted at Glasson Dock flew across to the River Lune rather than follow the canal back to Conder Green. 

Also on Conder Pool/creeks - a single Green Sandpiper again, 5 Common Sandpiper, 2 Stock Dove, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Teal, 2 Little Grebe, 1 Little Egret, 15+ House Martin, 4 Swift. 

Lapwing

Little Grebe

At Glasson was evidence of a post-breeding gathering of Swallows with 70+ congregated around the assembled boats where they rested on the masts and rigging in between bouts of hawking insects over the water. 

Glasson Dock

Otherwise was a single Common Tern, 1 Grey Heron, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Pied Wagtail and a further 8+ Swift hawking over the dock buildings and the village itself. 

Grey Heron

Tufted Duck

 Lesser Black-backed Gull

I’d enjoyed a useful couple of hours birding but now the other “b” my life beckoned in the form of babysitting. 

More birding soon with Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday.

Out For The Count

Today the rain finally stopped, the wind took a break and there was a chance to do some birding. 

I started off at Conder Green. After a week of rain the pool was pretty full and the River Conder rushed to the estuary at a fair old rate. It’s easy to forget that this normally lethargic stretch of water begins at Littledale in Bowland, drops down through Quernmore, Ellel and Galgate before meeting the Lune estuary at Conder Green. By the time the water reaches the coast it is usually little more than a puddle, and only when the tidal Lune rises does the Conder swell with estuarine water. 

The name of the river was recorded in the 13th century as Kondover and Kondoure with the meaning "crooked waters". There has been a watering place here for many a year next to the twisting creeks where Grey Herons, Kingfishers and others search for food. The inn dates from the late 17th century when storks and herons were one and the same and birders a rare sight. 

Grey Heron

 The Stork - Conder Green

Conder Green

In the creeks this morning were waders and wildfowl - 75 Teal, 2 Goosander, 6 Snipe, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 20+ Redshank, 4 Curlew, 1 Spotted Redshank and a single Little Egret. On the swollen pool I counted just 12 Little Grebe and 4 Wigeon. 

Redshank

Curlew

Snipe

The road towards the bridge had handfuls only of House Sparrows, Chaffinch and Greenfinch plus a single Pied Wagtail. I searched for the wintering Common Sandpiper but didn’t see it this time. 

I was soon heading for Fluke Hall but stopped at Braides Farm thinking that the fields there might be flooded after recent rain. A distant flash held bathing Starlings and a couple of Curlews but otherwise nothing except for a watching Buzzard along a fence. At Sand Villa were 2 Kestrels, one hovering beside the road with another gliding low over the field play-acting as a Sparrowhawk. 

At Fluke the midday tide was starting its plan to cover the marsh as huge flocks of mainly Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin and Redshank joined in the roost flights. The brief sun had gone to be replaced by the usual grey stuff and I wasn’t for counting. Let’s just say “many thousands”, especially the Knot. 

 Mainly Knot

There was a Mistle Thrush calling from the tree tops of Fluke Hall while down below a Kingfisher flew across the woodland pool and then out of sight. This particular Kingfisher seems to be a regular whereas the many autumn sightings at Conder Green and Glasson have dwindled to zero. Also in the wood I found 12-15 Blackbirds and 15+ Chaffinch. 

It was here in the wood that I observed two Robins in a very physical territorial dispute, going hammer and tongs at each other for a minute or so. At one point both birds were splayed out on the ground kicking and pecking at each other, rolling over and over until one broke off and flew into the undergrowth but pursued by the other. It’s not unknown in these disputes that one Robin should actually kill the other. The Robin is a good looking but pugnacious fighter and not to be taken at face value. 

Robins

Robin

In flooded stubble at Fluke Hall were approximately 23 Pied Wagtails and a handful of now wintering Meadow Pipits. It was difficult to be more precise with numbers as the birds were constantly flying across the field and then dropping into the lines of peaty stubble where they might disappear from view. 

Pied Wagtail

Towards Ridge Farm a flock of 70/80 Twite proved very mobile between the sea wall and the hedgerow until they eventually flew off towards the farm and out of sight. 

An enjoyable morning’s birding. There’s always something to see with Another Bird Blog so please visit again.

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