That Elusive Owl

Regular blog readers may remember the Little Owl on the garden fence at daughter Joanne’s home. 

The owl still makes regular but unpredictable appearances except on the two or three occasions a week Sue and I go round to let Holly the black labrador outside for her essential requirements.  I’ve still to get my 400mm properly trained onto the elusive owl, with the best garden bird I could manage a Mallard. 

So Joanne borrowed my old Canon and bog standard 300mm lens then took some photographs. The owl seems to be a juvenile of the year judging by the eye colour and hint of downy feathers still visible on its breast. Looks like Joanne doesn’t need any photography lessons from Dad? 

Little Owl

Little Owl

Mallard

I was out Conder Green way this morning where the most obvious change was the increase in numbers of Little Egrets to nine birds now that their breeding season is over. Two were feeding in the roadside creek when a loose party of seven arrived from the north to drop into the area of the pool. The birds fed for a while before scattering off in various directions and over towards the Lancaster canal which is located just over the back of the pool. 

Little Egret

Two Grey Herons were about the creeks and the pool, one lording it over the marsh, stopping to preen and have a good old scratch. 

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

No variation with the waders and wildfowl - 1 Little Grebe, 2 Wigeon, 10 Tufted Duck, 12 Shelduck, 55 Redshank, 15 Oystercatcher, 1 Curlew. 

The numbers of passerines varies little at the moment with 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Whitethroat and 1 Meadow Pipit still in song from the marsh and hedgerow, together with brief snatches of Chiffchaff from the car park. Otherwise, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 6 Linnet, 2 Tree Sparrow, 1 Greenfinch and more than 1 Robin. I’m pretty sure the juvenile Robin had two legs, but the photo looks like there was just one. 

Robin

At Glasson a Great Crested Grebe was new on the water to join with a handful of Coot, Mallard and Tufted Duck. I watched a Lesser Black-Backed Gull have breakfast, a dead fish left behind by the weekend anglers. Some birds just have no table manners do they?

Great Crested Grebe

 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

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Linking today with Theresa's Run A Round Ranch .

A Little Willy Morning

When I arrived at Fluke Hall this morning it became obvious that some overnight rain had dropped in a few migrants. 

The trees and hedgerows fairly dripped Willow Warblers and there was a Sedge Warbler in loud and steady song from a very un-Sedge Warbler like spot. It is mornings like this when you wonder as much about the birds you are not seeing as the ones you are. 

Willow Warbler

 Willow Warbler

“Bush bashing” revealed at least 12 Willow Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 4 Lesser Redpoll, 2 Greenfinch, 1 Sedge Warbler and 15 Linnet. On the nearby ploughed field were 2 Wheatears, and on the local circuit 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, and 24 + Blackbird. 

Blackbird

Blackbird

The Willow Warbler theme continued at Conder Green with birds present at the pool hedgerow, the car park and then at Glasson Dock, with total sightings of 8+ more. Also at Glasson Dock, a Wheatear on the towpath plus 2 Blackcap and 2 Chiffchaff in song. 

 A Lesser Black-backed Gull was also in good voice with its territorial song of sorts. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull

The stop at Conder Pool gave 200+ Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 18 Tufted Duck and 8 Oystercatcher. Non-waterbirds included 1 Raven, 2 Reed Bunting and 2 Whitethroat. 

Common Sandpiper

I stopped at Cockerham and found 2 Buzzards near the sea wall. The pair of Buzzards were together and fence-hopping, feeding along a path, a rough area of grass and in a midden. (midden - a word used by farmers in Britain to describe the place where farm yard manure from cows or other animals is collected). 

The Buzzards remained unmolested by other birds until one of them decided to fly off, prompting Carrion Crows, Lapwings and six or seven Swallows in turn to give them a good send off. 

Buzzards

Buzzard and Lapwings

Carrion Crow and Buzzard

Although the wind had picked up yet again I thought to give Lane Ends a try for Wheatears. It was no good as although there were 2 Wheatears they weren’t interested in stopping for a meal worm and I quickly gave up. 

Out on the marsh were still 160+ Pink-footed Geese, birds destined for Iceland, as were the 4 newly arrived Whimbrel I saw feeding quietly and not too far out from the sea wall. A cursory glance from a local Pilling person might invite the identification of “Curlew” but birders know that the Whimbrel is a rather special member of the curlew family. 

Whimbrel

In the plantation/pools here, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap 2 Jay, 1 Reed Bunting and 2 Little Grebe. 

Willow Warbler

It was a very enjoyable morning of birding again, and new pictures for blog readers to enjoy. 

Don’t forget to “click the pics” for close up views, and log in to Another Bird Blog soon.

Linking today to The Run "A" Round Ranch's Good Fences.

Grey Surprise

The morning started grey, drizzly and breezy - one of those mornings when optimism for finding birds and taking photographs doesn’t come easily. But by 11am when the sun finally broke through the clouds the morning hadn’t been too bad after all, and for readers who stay the course there are a few pictures of an uncommon grey goose for these parts. 

At Conder Green I watched 5 Little Grebe fishing the pools, taking the tiny minnows the Kingfishers and Cormorants have been after lately. No sign of a blue streak though, and just one Cormorant and 8 Teal. There rest of the usual stuff proved pretty sparse with just 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Curlew and 2 Spotted Redshank, all enlivened by 11 Snipe plus a single Ruff with head tucked in, roosting and hiding amongst the 20 or so Redshank in the creek. 

I drove through drizzle up to Knott End where hopefully the 1015 tide might bring in a few goodies and a change of weather. I think I missed the bulk of the Oystercatchers heading up river to roost as there were only some 140 left on the incoming tide, other waders 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Ringed Plover, 22 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, 2 Lapwing, 10 Curlew and 7 Grey Plover. 

Also on the incoming tideline were 9 Eider, 8 Cormorant and a single Grey Heron. The heron was having a bad day, being chased from the shore by a Lesser Black-backed Gull. 

Grey Heron and Lesser Black-backed Gull

The poor overnight weather and gloom of the morning had brought lots of terns to the shore where they roosted in between the "dreads" - 450 Sandwich Tern plus several Common Tern. 

Sandwich Terns

Sandwich Terns

Along the river was a Brent Goose, preening almost continually as it floated downstream. I thought maybe it had got slightly oiled to be cleaning itself up so systematically, but eventually it came ashore and fed a little before passers-by caused the bird to drift out to the channel again. Brent (or Brant) Geese are fairly scarce around here and it is quite unusual to get such good views and pictures from what is normally a very wary species, especially when they mix with winter Pink-footed Geese.

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

From Wiki.

"Brent (or Brant) Goose is divided three subspecies:

• Dark-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla bernicla 
• Pale-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla hrota (sometimes also known as Light-bellied Brant Goose in Europe, and Atlantic Brant in North America) 
• Black Brant Branta bernicla nigricans (sometimes also known as the Pacific Brant in North America) 

 Some DNA evidence suggests that these forms are genetically distinct; while a split into three separate species has been proposed, it is not widely accepted, with other evidence upholding their maintenance as a single species.

The body of the dark-bellied form is fairly uniformly dark grey-brown all over, the flanks and belly not significantly paler than the back. The head and neck are black, with a small white patch on either side of the neck. It breeds on the Arctic coasts of central and western Siberia and winters in western Europe, with over half the population in southern England, the rest between northern Germany and northern France.

The Pale-bellied Brent Goose appears blackish-brown and light grey in colour. The body is different shades of grey-brown all over, the flanks and belly are significantly paler than the back and present a marked contrast. The head and neck are black, with a small white patch on either side of the neck. It breeds in Franz Josef Land, Svalbard, Greenland and northeastern Canada, wintering in Denmark, northeast England, Ireland and the Atlantic coast of the U.S. from Maine to Georgia."

More birds and sunny days from Another Bird Blog soon. Stay posted.    

Sunday Spot And Finch Finds

There's a little news from Conder after a quick but quiet visit, followed by details of recent ringing recoveries. Just 3 Common Sandpipers today as the species' onward migration continues. Two Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 50+ Redshank, 18 Lapwing, 15 Oysterctacher, 3 Grey Heron. Usual counts of Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Goldeneye etc. Here's an Oysterctacher I surprised at Conder - too close for a full framer, plus a handsome gull pictured at Glasson Dock. 

Oystercatcher

Lesser Black-backed Gull  

From the BTO there are three ringing recoveries concerning birds of the finch family captured at Out Rawcliffe, Lancashire and a fourth one of a Siskin captured in Will's Garstang garden. All four records show typical springtime movements of the species concerned. 

2012/2013 was a “Brambling winter”, when wintry conditions on the Continent forced many Bramblings westwards and into the UK, providing bird watchers and ringers a chance to observe or handle these handsome birds. Y461678, a first winter female Brambling I caught on 13 December 2012 was later recaptured by ringers at Grasbakken, Ringsaker, Norway on 4 May 2013. The latter is an interesting date since by May 4th the Brambling may have been still on migration or with more distance to travel within Norway, north and east to Finland or even further east to Russia. The distance between Out Rawcliffe and Ringsaker, Norway is 1134 kms, the elapsed time 142 days.

Brambling - Lancashire to Norway

Female Brambling

In addition to this recovery there is still an outstanding record of a male Brambling bearing a Stavanger, Norway ring ED8766, the bird captured at Out Rawcliffe on 2nd March 2013, the original ringing details yet to be notified.  

The next record concerns an adult male Lesser Redpoll Y461490 I trapped on spring passage at Out Rawcliffe on 25 March 2012. This was a period of intense Lesser Redpoll migration when many were very noticeably heading north but only a small proportion trapped. The bird was later later found dead, the victim of a domestic cat the following year on 25 May 2013 at Beith, North Ayrshire, Scotland, a distance of 238 kms from Rawcliffe Moss. By late May 2013 the bird was almost certainly breeding in the Beith locality after spending another winter many miles south of there. 

Lesser Redpoll - Lancashire to Ayrshire

Male Lesser Redpoll

Goldfinch D130275 a juvenile female travelled from Wigan, Greater Manchester on 14th October 2012 to Out Rawcliffe, Lancashire on 30 April 2013. The months of both October and April are classic migration times for Goldfinch. There's no way of knowing where D130275 spent the intervening time, except to surmise that it probably travelled south of Manchester in the autumn of 2012 and north of Rawcliffe in the following spring. 

Goldfinch - Wigan to Out Rawcliffe

Female Goldfinch

A male Siskin D204043 captured and ringed at Boyton, Suffolk on 6th April 2013 was recaptured near Garstang, Lancashire on 27th April 2013. Almost certainly this bird had wintered across the English Channel and was on its way north to Scotland or beyond when intercepted. The elapsed time is just 21 days, the distance involved 343 kms. 

 

  Siskin - Suffolk to Lancashire

Male Siskin

More news, views and pictures soon from Another Bird Blog.

Spitting Images

Thursday morning dawned grey with rain. Definitely not ringing or photography weather but after calling at Jamie’s Fish Place I took a look up at Knott End shore, knowing there would be more than a few birds to look at. 

With camera under wraps I took a walk about the jetty and then alongside the river as the rain spit and spat, barely enough to damp my enthusiasm, but a prelude to heavy rain promised for later in the day. Almost everyone has been seeing good numbers of Pied and White Wagtails in the last week or two, either reporting them on visible migration counts or as grounded birds. It was the turn of Knott End today with at least 15 Pied/White Wagtails counted flitting about the sea wall, the jetty and the car park area. At least 12 grounded Meadow Pipits too, but no Rock Pipits that I could find yet, the pebbly shore of Knott End being ideal habitat and a regular winter haunt of the species. 

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Just a lowish tide didn’t bring the waders or wildfowl too close with approximate counts of 2250 Oystercatcher, 70 Redshank, 32 Turnstone, 100+ Knot and 24 Sanderling. Shelduck numbers are really building with 220+ today, in contrast to the Eider with 4 hard-to-find birds out in the grey water of the estuary. 

Redshank

A walk up river produced several more wagtails and Meadow Pipits, and on a telegraph pole 2 Mistle Thrushes, a bird now so uncommon that a sighting becomes noteworthy; possibly they were morning migrants or alternatively a pair or two may be residents of the golf course. There were Chaffinches on the move, just a few crossing the river from the direction of Fleetwood and heading east. 

Back at the car the camera was set on ISO800 for the grey light, with a few pictures of pipits and wagtails searching the sea wall for insects. Someone came with a bag of bread and the gulls arrived as if by magic and the tiny birds flew off to a safer spot. 

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull

Black-headed Gull

Herring Gull

 

The forecast is better for weekend with sun and showers on the cards. Let’s hope the experts are right. If so Another Bird Blog will be out and about and reporting it just here.

Oyks Galore

Before the babysitting I grabbed a few hours birding at Knott End this morning with the highlights being a high-for-August count of Oystercatchers followed by a smattering of newly arrived Willow Warblers deposited by last night’s thunder and lightning. 

As the tide came in and filled the mussel beds the waders split in different directions, when 1100 Oystercatchers stayed roosting on the beach with about 40 Curlew and just 2 Shelduck and an increase to 14 Eider and 9 Cormorant. When the tide filled 8 Sandwich Terns arrived, choosing not to stay around but instead heading up-river in a southerly direction. There was also a steady but small movement of Swallows in the same direction, about 30 in two hours. 

Oystercatcher

More than 110 Redshanks flew out of sight, upstream towards Arm Hill and when I walked alongside the golf course to the sailing jetty I found 4 Common Sandpipers, a single Turnstone and 2 Grey Heron. The golf course held 3 Pied Wagtail, 2 Greenfinch, 15 Linnet and 4 Goldfinch and 2 calling Willow Warblers - Later on at home I was to see a Willow Warbler in the garden with a small flock of Long-tailed Tits, and looking on a few web sites and blogs I see a number of other sightings of Willow Warblers this morning. 

Willow Warbler

Common Sandpiper

In the car park at Knott End I noticed a Lesser Black-backed Gull, one of the regulars which targets car arrivals hoping for hand-outs and leftovers, but when I looked closer it had the remains of beach or landfill detritus firmly wrapped around its bill. Nothing much to do for the animal except think that it seemed in good condition and had arrived looking for another meal despite the handicap inflicted upon it by the human race.

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull 

 

Another quiet day so let’s hope thing pick up soon on Another Bird Blog. Tomorrow’s forecast is “a bright morning, followed by rain from midday”. We’ll see, but in the meantime I changed the header to a Spotted Flycatcher to bring more luck,.so thanks to all those who enjoyed the Bee Eaters.