Hobby Times Two

The Hobby is still something of a scarcity in this part of coastal Lancashire known as The Fylde. The sighting of a Hobby adds more than a smidgeon of excitement to an often mundane day. Even better when a single sighting of the will o’ the wisp raptor becomes a double whammy. 

The Hobby, a Schedule One Species, breeds inland not too many miles away, just a car ride away, a location already subject to  interest from too many bird listers.  It would be easy to add to the database  of visitors and potentially draw attention to a breeding locality but how much better is it to meet and to enjoy a Hobby or two in the course of a normal day's birding?  

  

My latest encounter of this pacy raptor came about today while Andy and I were out bird ringing over Pilling way, catching the bits and pieces of a normal day.  A quiet spell had us sitting in the sun watching Meadow Pipits surveying a walk-in trap placed about 40 yards away on the farm track. We’d had some success with eight Meadow Pipits caught but frustrated by the sight of two Yellow Wagtails not finding their way into the metal maze while pipits had no such problems.

From the north and east came two Hobby (is that Hobbys or Hobbies?) in close unison, playing in the breeze like the juveniles they were as they drifted over the nearby sea wall and continued their leisurely way west. It was yesterday evening when the farmer Richard told me of his sighting while tending livestock of a “large swift” - “going like the clappers”, one of those sightings that goes into the memory hole to often resurface another day. 

Hobby

 

We caught other species in a single, slightly blowy mist net and ended up with 14 ringed – 8 Meadow Pipit, 3 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Whitethroat and 1 Pied Wagtail. 

Meadow Pipit

Reed Warbler

Whitethroat

Pied Wagtail

Birds that got away or didn’t come near the nets included 70 or more Swallows,40 Meadow Pipits, 4 Wheatear, 25 Pied Wagtail, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 8 Goldfinch, several Linnets, Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper. 

Linnet

Wheatear

Wheatear

Goldfinch

Yellow Wagtail

Swallow

Swallow

Yes, it was a very young Wheatear that has quickly joined in the action, already setting off  on the long journey to Africa. 

While the sun shines I’m making hay too.

Weekend is not looking good but two more days of bright weather means more news, views and photos on Another Bird Blog. Don't miss it folks.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

 

Purple Patch

I was unavailable for Tuesday’s ringing session when Andy ringed another 35 birds at Oakenclough. He caught the first Siskins and Lesser Redpolls of the autumn and another couple of Tree Pipits but then excelled by catching an adult Spotted Flycatcher, the first full-grown “spot-fly” for a number of years. 

Not to be outdone I met up with Andy for another 0630 start on Wednesday. Oakenclough’s recent purple patch continued with 42 more captures of 12 species. There was an exciting morning of birding too, topped off by an adult Hobby about 11 am. 

We caught steadily from the off as finches provided the numbers while “others” provided the “star” birds: 14 Goldfinch, 9 Chaffinch, 4 Great Tit, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Blackcap, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Siskin, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Coal Tit. 

Both of today’s Blackcaps, a male and a female were birds of the year (juvenile) with the female showing faint fault bars on the tail. Fault bars are pale bands sometimes seen on wing and tail feathers and which are probably due to reduced metabolism with less melanin deposition during the growth of feather, typically during days when food is scarce due to natural causes or poor weather. We have seen few fault bars on young birds’ tails this year, almost certainly a consequence of the best year ever of UK weather as a whole and the best since 2006 in the North West. 

Blackcap 

 Blackcap- juvenile/first year female 

Today’s single juvenile Tree Pipit had a tiny mite attached to its face at the bottom of the right eye. We occasionally find such things around the eye and head of a bird but without specialist knowledge we can do little if anything to help. However, it is said that such ticks drop off when the ticks are finished feeding without any long term effect on the bird. 

Tree Pipit 

Tree Pipit 

Meadow Pipit 

I hope everyone spotted the difference between Meadow Pipit and Tree Pipit? 

Chiffchaffs have been strangely absent this summer and autumn, today’s recently moulted adult the first since 26th March. 

Chiffchaff 

In recent years we are finding a number of juvenile Goldfinches in full primary moult (replacing all of their primary feathers) in late/summer early autumn. These are juveniles from the earliest broods of April/May and June whose plumage is well worn by late summer. In the picture below the outer feathers are the browner and worn ones; the darker, blacker ones and the short, still emerging feather are the new “adult type” feather. However, the bird is still classed as a first year/juvenile until 1st January 2019 when of course it becomes a second year. 

Goldfinch 

It’s good to welcome back Siskins and Lesser Redpolls even though we caught just one of each - both adult females. 

Lesser Redpoll - adult female

 Siskin - adult female

Siskin - adult female 

Tail feathers

The birding was pretty spectacular this morning, even with the limited time between rounds. There was an early arrival of 150+ Swallows which arrived so soon after dawn that we thought to be from a local roost. As the morning progressed their numbers increased at the same time as a large influx of House Martins and a handful of Sand Martins. Our estimate of the numbers involved in both visible migration and those lingering while feeding was 375 Swallow, 260 House Martin and 10 Sand Martin. 

With so many hirundines about, we speculated about the possibility of a Hobby. About 11 am Bryan cottoned on to a raptor that arrived from the west and shot quickly through where the Swallows and House Martins were feeding. We had less than a minute as the Hobby circled and then flew directly over our heads where we were able to identify it as an adult rather than a bird of the year. 

Hobby - Falco subbuteo 

Other birds – 8 Grey Wagtail, 6 Pied Wagtail, 7 Buzzard, 2 Sparrowhawk, 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Nuthatch. 

Purple Patch

Conder Green has its detractors, including those who complain they “never see anything there”. Perhaps it’s the same people who visit just periodically, expect to see the scarce birds that sometimes turn up there but who neglect to take an interest in the common birds that are always around? 

Anyway the old place is going through something of a purple patch at the moment with a pair of Common Terns breeding for the third successive year, and now this year a pair of Avocets. Both events have caused visitor numbers to increase and it’s good to see the interest shown. 

The Common Terns and the Avocets are both nesting on the same distant island of the pool where the water levels are currently ideal for species that wish to nest. A pair of Oystercatchers had two good sized youngsters this morning with three or four other pairs looking as though they might do similar. 

Oystercatcher

Avocet

A few lingering Avocets Recurvirostra avosetta were in Menorca just a few weeks ago where my pal Javier told me that the Spanish name for Avocet is “cusisacs”, which means “sack-sower”; the curved shape of its bill being similar to the traditional darning needles used to repair sacks. 

It has taken Avocets a good number of years to adopt Conder Green considering the recent healthy populations in Morecambe Bay and on the Ribble Marshes, plus the fact that the species is now a regular rather than a spasmodic spring migrant in these parts. Not so on 1st April 1983 when I discovered one feeding along Pilling shore, following which the sighting was met with some scepticism by those who thought it an April Fool prank. Birders don't design wind-ups about rare birds.

The pool was quite busy, especially so when a Barn Owl appeared to jolt others from their parental duties. A number of birds joined in the mobbing to see the owl off site, including both terns, the male avocet and a couple of Oystercatchers but the owl wasn’t for lingering as it had food to deliver. It’s a rubbish shot but tells the story of how birds react to predators on their patch.  I saw a second or the same Barn Owl an hour or so later, this time from the road bridge. 

Common Tern and Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Also on the pool/creeks - 15 Shelduck, 15 Redshank, 2 Wigeon, 6 Tufted Duck, 3 Lapwing, 1 Curlew, 3 Greylag, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron and a flying visit from 12 Black-tailed Godwit. 

That’s a pretty good list by any standard but it’s not done yet as a walk around the area discovered 3 Stock Dove, 15 House Martin, 12 Swallow, 4+ Linnet, 2 Goldfinch, 3 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Reed Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 4 Greenfinch, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Meadow Pipit and 1 Blackcap. 

Sedge Warbler

House Martins were collecting mud from the creeks, definitely building at Four Winds and trying to do so at Café De Lune where of course the proprietors have declared the martins to be persona non grata and made great efforts to keep the birds at bay. 

It was while watching the martins that a number of Redshanks exploded noisily from the nearby creeks as a Hobby shot through my vision and disappeared over the trees behind. Thoughts of the martins forgotten I looked for the Hobby without much hope, elusive creatures as they are.

Hobby

That was a pretty eventful and productive morning on the old patch. I should do that more often.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday and  Run A Round Ranch.

An Ill Wind In Skiathos

The weather is not too good for birding or ringing for a day or two so for today’s blog post there’s a tale from recent Skiathos. "Click the pics" for a clearer view of Greece.

Our first week in Skiathos saw glorious weather, constant temperatures between 28 and 30⁰ and endless clear blue skies. The photograph below shows part of Skiathos and in the right-hand background the neighbouring and larger island of Skopelos as viewed from the Kanapitsa peninsula of Skiathos. 

View from Kanapitsa, Skiathos

The scorching weather broke on 22nd and 23rd September with thunderstorms of historic proportions. The Greek mainland and the island of Skopelos bore the brunt of the storms with at times wind and rain reaching tornado strength. In Skopelos the torrential rain created flash floods which poured through the narrow streets and alleys into the harbour below the town. Reports at the time suggested that 10.5 inches of rain fell in the first 24 hours and that 70 or 80 vehicles had been washed into the harbour. Many businesses were destroyed by the ferocity of storm. Thankfully we heard that there was no loss of life and that both islanders and tourists managed to stay safe. 

Skopelos

While all this was going on we spent a day and more in our hotel in Agia Paraskevi listening to the thunder, watching the lightening and hearing the rain beat on our patio roof. When we once ventured out during what seemed a lull we found ourselves stuck for an hour or more in a stationary line of traffic at Kolios when a tree crashed across the road ahead of us and brought down power lines. 

The mornings after the storm saw huge numbers of birds on the move, displaced by the bad weather systems which stretched across many hundreds of miles. Sitting with my pre-breakfast cup of tea I watched thousands of Barn Swallows, Red-rumped Swallows, House Martins, Common Swifts, Pallid Swifts and Alpine Swifts circling in the grey clouds above. Two parties of Bee Eaters flew over as did a group of 8 Hobbies, several Lesser Kestrels, a couple of Eleonora’s Falcon, at least 3 Marsh Harriers and a number of Ravens. The grey skies allowed time to test the theory that the Hobby has a silhouette like a large swift - it does. Eleonora’s Falcon has a call remarkably similar to Ring-necked Parakeet, a fact which I remembered when searching the sky for a green parrot with a long tail but instead seeing a medium sized falcon! 

 Hobby

On the third day Sue took the bus to the delights of shopping in Skiathos Town. I made off in the Jimny for Aselinos where the cool of the morning meant that no one wanted to sunbathe. Pools newly created by the recent storms held many Yellow Wagtails as well as Whinchats, Wheatears, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and the ever present shrikes. 

Aselinos Beach

Aselinos

Whinchat

Red-backed Shrike

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Wheatear

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

I found a couple of Richard’s Pipits too, a species which according to various sources, may or may not be scarce in Greece but is one that I’ve seen in the same place two years running. There are no Magpies or Jackdaws on Skiathos where apart from the scarce Raven, the representative of the crow family is the ubiquitous Hooded Crow. 

 Richard's Pipit

 

Hooded Crow

 The Road From Aselinos

As that old proverb goes - “It’s an ill wind that blows no good.” That certainly applies in Skiathos where the normally quiet bird watching of September becomes rather different when bad weather drops migrant birds onto the island. 

I just looked at the latest forecast and it looks like there will be a ringing or birding day soon. Log in then for more news, views and photos.

Linking today to Anni's Birding Blog and Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Honey Honey

As you may have guessed we’re still in Greece, headed today for the old harbour in Skiathos where we took a leisurely boat trip to the other main islands of the Northern Sporades - Skopelos and Alonnisos. 

The town of Skopelos is very picturesque, previously honoured as a Traditional Settlement of Outstanding Beauty in 1978 by The President of Greece. The building code for new construction and renovation within the village stipulate that no new buildings shall be of more than two stories, there must be a sloped ceramic or stone roof in the traditional style, and doors, windows and balconies be made of wood. 

Skopelos

Agriculture is widespread on Alonnisos, predominantly mixed farming and vineyards. The main products are almonds, grapes, figs and olives, with a splash of the local speciality honey. Honey hereabouts is mainly pine honey from conifer trees and flower-honey from the nectar of fruit trees and wild flowers, the product forming a large constituent of the famous Greek sweets such as Bacalava. 

Alonissos

Baclava -  Photo credit: Steve Koukoulas / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Housing traditionally consists of closely constructed houses with stone walls, which, until 1965, were centred around the capital. A small fortress protected against enemies and pirates. The island and the village were heavily damaged in the 1965 earthquake. Many inhabitants returned not to the village of Alonnisos, but to Patitiri.

The old village has been restored in recent years, with rebuilt houses now utilised for tourism. The Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus-Monachus) is common around the island, and in 1992 the Alonnisos Marine Park was created to protect these seals and other animals.

The boat trip proved quite eventful for birds, with sightings of Eleanora’s Falcons alongside the cliffs near the village of Glossa with several Gull-billed Terns close inshore as we approached Skopelos harbour. Gull billed Terns pass through this area about now on their way to winter in the Arabian Gulf. Yellow-legged Gulls hung about the jetty as we docked, no doubt waiting for hand-outs from the tavernas and restaurants dotted along the tiny waterfront.

Gull-billed Tern - Photo credit: barloventomagico / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Yellow-legged Gull

With an hour or more to kill, we took a coffee and a piece of honey soaked cake before heading for a stroll through the village towards the pines beyond.

We did see a Honey Buzzard gliding over the hills behind the village, and it’s not surprising as there were lots of large flying insects for them to feast on. Honey Buzzards are specialist feeders, living mainly on the larvae and nests of wasps and hornets, although they do take small mammals, reptiles and birds. It is thought that Honey Buzzards have a chemical deterrent in their feathers that protects them from wasp attack.

Honey Buzzard - Photo credit: Sergey Yeliseev / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

The Hobby is a common raptor here and like the Eleanora’s Falcon, the smaller Hobby spends lots of time in the sky looking to grab a passing hirundine or a large insect. 

Hobby -  Photo credit: markkilner / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA 

As we waited for the boat back to Skiathos I noted a Common Sandpiper along the stretch of pebble beach. 

It’s not all milk and honey in Skiathos as there are more common birds too - Yellow Wagtail, Sardinian Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Collared Dove, Hooded Crow, and even our UK garden birds, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and  the humble House Sparrow.

Keep your comments coming as the house-sitter will be updating the blog with comments and I'll catch up with blogging pals very soon.