As Cold As Ice

Everyone is talking about the UK's cold weather. I am no exception. I have been marooned indoors  in minus temperatures and icy roads for a week, a now unusual but not unknown sequence of the natural cycles of weather. This is a real old fashioned British winter; when postmen trudged through six feet of snow, milk bottles froze solid to the doorstep and trains came to a halt in snowdrifts, not because of rail strikers.

I have been trapped in our north facing away from major roads cul-de-sac where the sun don't shine and gritters never venture.

Gritter

With plans for ringing and birding literally "on ice" and when standing around invited hypothermia I managed a couple of trips out Pilling way and then Knott End on Sea Ice.

At Pilling where I went to top up the supplementary seed - quick and rough counts of 30 Shelduck, 40 Teal, 50 Mallard, 180 Wigeon, 45 Lapwing, 40 Curlew and 15 or so Redshank. 

Of the small birds I found 10 or more Skylarks and 5 Meadow Pipits braving the elements but nothing else save for Blackbirds, Robins, Reed Buntings, Chaffinches, Dunnocks and a few Blue Tits. All were busy inspecting and devouring our offerings of millet, rape seed, niger and Luxury Picnic Mix. Moorhens, forced off the frozen water, joined in the feast.

Dunnock

Blue Tit

 

On a good bright morning I reckoned to have better luck with the tide and waders at Knott End where the ice and semblance of snow covered the beach, foreshore, walkways and the jetty. It didn’t take long to find a good but not especially numerous selection of waders either roosting or feeding, but I was careful not to disturb them nor venture too far onto the treacherous icy surfaces.

Ringed Plover
Knot, Turnstone
Grey Plover, Redshank, Dunlin, Turnstone, Knot
Redshank
Turnstone
Knot
Redshank

For the record my counts were 30 Turnstone, 1 Grey Plover, 48 Redshank, 22 Knot, 14 Ringed Plover and 3 Oystercatcher.

A few Shelduck in amongst the ice floes sailed past the end of the jetty, as they looked for food at the tide edges.

Shelduck

Also along the foreshore were the now annual visitors, approximately 45 Twite and a single Rock Pipit.

Twite
I’d spent an hour or more taking pictures and I was pretty much frozen to the core so headed home for a hot drink and a sit down next to a radiator.
It looks like the two week cold snap will end today with a return to the more normal wet and windy for Christmas.
Here's  wishing a Happy Christmas and a Successful 2023 to the many readers of Another Bird Blog.
Linking today to Anni in Texas and Eileen's Saturday.

Sunday Monday

Sunday morning. Even in the half-light the garden trees and bushes stood motionless against the clear sky. I grabbed a piece of toast, stuffed some fruit into a bag and set off to have a few hours out Pilling Way.

There were 50 or 60 Swallows around with possibly the remnants of an overnight roost in nearby reeds. I made a mental note to keep any eye on the possibility. The Linnet flock is always dependable and although the numbers on the move, 70/90, didn’t approach recent counts, seven more found their way into the single panel mist net in the seed plot.

That’s 30 Linnets ringed here since June, twenty nine of them juveniles of the year and just one adult. Those thirty give us a head start for the bigger numbers of later autumn and winter with better catches. We just wish that ringers nationwide would try and catch more Linnets so as to gather more data and thereby help this Red Listed farmland species.

Although the soft-focus juveniles present no problems in assigning male or female because their size, the respective plumages are different.

Linnet juvenile/first summer

Linnet male

Linnet female

The overnight clear skies and morning produced little in the way of other new birds except for singles of Robin, Wren and at last, a juvenile Reed Warbler.

Excitement came in the form of the now regular juvenile Peregrine, this time carrying small and dark prey beneath its belly, possibly a Starling.

Not to be outdone, along came a “cream top” Marsh Harrier heading purposely south towards Pilling Village and beyond in the direction of The River Wyre. It was 27 July when we recorded the first of Marsh Harrier of the autumn on the same north to south east trajectory, a route that the species seems to always follow.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Monday was a day with grandkids M and S. We drove up to Knott End village to await the tide dependent ferry for the two hundred yards journey across the Wyre where they could sample again the delights of the ancient fishing port of Fleetwood Town - 2p slot machines followed by a picnic and ice creams. The midday high tide would stay around long enough to take the return ferry in a few hours’ time. Missing the last ferry back to Knott End would entail a tortuous 18/20 miles never ending bus journey.

There are lots of pics below with little or no commentary. Click the pics for a bigger and better trip to West Lancashire.

Follow the fun starting at Knott End, crossing the River Wyre on the ferry, a walk in Fleetwood including the two penny slot machines and then take the journey back to Knott End. The morning was grey with later drizzle and rather spoiled the photos but not the fun.

LS Lowry and Knott End Café

The jetty

Knott End slipway

Here it Comes

The Excitement Builds

Cleaning tidal mud

First Arrivals - Off to Explore Knott End on Sea

Health And Safety 

Emergency Exit

Little And Large

Fleetwood Esplanade

Kingfisher

Herring Gull

"Welcome Home" for the trawlermen

Fleetwood fish

Slots

More Slots

Even More Slots 

The Sands of South Morecambe Bay

Back on dry land

Riverside Walk - Knott End 

Riverside Walk - Knott End

Grilled Plaice with veg

What better way to finish the day with a couple of grilled Plaice fresh from those Morecambe Bay sands?

Back soon with more news vies and Lancashire treats.

New Wellies, New Birds

It was no coincidence that I decided to buy a new pair of wellies. Last week saw day after day of mizzle, drizzle, rain and cloud, the ultimate manifestation of an English “summer”. Hardly surprising then that the number of birds ringed during a week of rained off and blown away could be counted on the fingers of one hand - four Linnets. And then the old boots leaked, but Ebay came to the rescue with a pair of Dunlop “Blizzard” thermal wellies - perfect for the coming days and weeks of summer. 

New Wellies

 

Monday 23rd began with more drizzle but the forecast was OK so I set off for a ringing session. By the time I reached Cockerham village there was no rain, the grey sky had fizzled out and there was zero wind. Just the job. 

From the off Linnets began to move west and south in small parties of anything between 5 and 30 so that by 1030 when I packed in at least 140 had passed through the area. 

The catch of birds was better, 8 additional Linnets, 2 more Reed Warbler and an unexpected but very welcome Garden Warbler. These young, silky smooth and immaculate Garden Warblers are simply beautiful to behold. 

Garden Warbler

 

Garden Warbler

Linnet

 

Reed Warbler

 

Brown Hare

Birding was unspectacular and highlighted by a persistent Sparrowhawk that soared around for a while and took a special interest in the groups of Linnets knocking about. The Linnets plus a handful of Swallows were having none of it as they took it in turns to harass the hawk until it fled the scene without a meal. 

There does seem to be a number of Sparrowhawks around at the moment, perhaps another species to benefit from humans being locked away for months where they can’t harm, birds of prey, intentionally or not. 

Sparrowhawk

 

Birding consisted of small numbers of Goldfinch and Greenfinch and one or more Sedge Warblers, none of which got caught. Two Grey Heron and a single Little Egret completed the scene apart from a single Whimbrel that flew over calling its seven whistles. 

The weather is looking ok for the rest of the week. It’s probably Wednesday for me as tomorrow is a day out with two of the grandkids . Wish me luck. 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni's Texas Blog.

PS. Here are a couple of photos from our day with the grandkids  - Knott End to Fleetwood. Click the pics for the journey. 

L.S. Lowry and his dog in a hurry to catch the ferry.

Knott  End

There was a lack of tidal water in the channel but sufficient for the ferry’s first trip of the day where slippery mud has to be cleared from the jetty before passengers embark.   A pair of wellies might be better than boots?

Knott End Jetty

Knott End Slipway

There's a reason for the name "slipway".

Across the water

The price of fish – a Fleetwood family wait anxiously for the return of their bread winner from a week or more fishing trip in the Irish Sea and beyond. 

Welcome Home

In Memoriam

On the ferry

Close that door

Close that door

Mmm! Wallings Ice Cream

Back soon with more birds and birding.