Out For The Count

There's is a lot of rain due today following a rather "lively" week. Lively as in  mixed and unpredictable rather than intellectually stimulating, a week of windy days and restricted activities.

So for now I’m stuck in at the computer and able to answer a question posed by a blog reader recently - “How are you at counting pickles in a pickle jar and candy in a candy jar...guess that would make for good practice. How do you get your numbers anyway...had to ask?”. 

I’d never thought that counting pickles in a jar could be similar to counting birds but in actual fact the same principles apply. 

Here is a summary of bird counting techniques methods which I and many other birders use when out in the field. I dotted the text with photographs of groups or flocks of birds for readers’ on-going practice and consideration. 

Many birding projects ask participants to count birds, and most birders I know enjoy keeping a count of the birds they see whenever they are in the field. Counting each individual bird seen can be challenging, but it can also provide valuable information for scientific research. As populations of birds change, mostly downwards, fluctuations in counts at the same locality at the same time of year may indicate shifts in pollution levels, habitat loss, migration timing and more. 

One is simple even if it does fly off as soon as the shutter activates. After that things become more difficult.

Little Egret - One

Woodpigeons - How Many?

Annual projects such as the Breeding Bird Survey, Common Birds Census, Garden Bird Survey, BirdTrack, Wetland Bird Survey or the Ringing Scheme are different types of bird census projects which over several years accumulate a massive amount of data about numbers of birds in different locations. The data would be impossible to gather without the help of every participant. However the more accurate a count is, the more useful the data is for conservation projects and ornithological research. 

There are various ways to count birds depending on the birds present, the size of the flock and how the flock is behaving. Techniques include: 

Individual Counts: When just a few, recognisable birds are present, each individual bird can be easily counted without fear of major miscalculations. This basic one-two-three technique works best when the birds are clearly seen and slow moving so that individual birds will not be counted multiple times.

Grouping: Counting birds in numeric groups is an easy method for totalling small or medium-sized flocks. With practice birders can easily learn to count birds not one by one, but five by five, ten by ten, and with practice, fifty by fifty. This allows for a faster count while still keeping the increments small enough for precise numbers. 

Oystercatcher - 240/260?

Grids or Counting in Blocks: This counting system is most often used with larger, single species flocks where the birds are relatively stationary. The field of view is divided into a grid or block of even sections where the birds in one section are counted as close to individually as possible. Multiplying this count by the number of grids or block sections in the flock can give a reasonable estimate of the total number of birds. 

Whooper Swan - circa 65/70?

Selective Counting: When a large flock of birds has some obvious mixed species, it may be possible to selectively count all the birds easily. First, pinpoint the more unusual birds in the flock and count them individually, then use the grid/block technique on the bulk of the birds. This provides not only a good count of the flock size, but also represents the diversity of the birds present. 

Proportions: When a mixed flock has too many species for selective counting, a good estimate can be made by counting proportions of the species present. Similar to the grid/block technique, only one section of the flock is counted, but each different species is noted individually, and the proportions are used to calculate the total number of birds of each species in the entire flock. This technique is best when a flock is heavily mixed and each species is spread throughout the flock. 

Timing: When a flock is moving quickly, it can be impossible to create a grid/block or to count birds individually, since the movement will obscure other birds and make any estimate less accurate. A timing count can be used by focusing on a fixed point the flock is passing, and counting the number of birds passing that point in a certain period of time, such as a few minutes. Then the entire amount of time it takes for the whole flock to pass is noted, and the count is multiplied by the number of increments in that overall time to gauge its full size. This system can also be employed during times of visible migration or massed flight e.g. Swallows, Meadow Pipits or finches passing overhead or through a fixed point. 

Wigeon - circa 70?

Photographs: A digital photograph can be used for an accurate count if the entire flock can be photographed. The photo is then manipulated on a computer or printed out and individual birds are marked off as they are counted. This is a time-consuming method but can be very precise for a reliable count when high levels of accuracy are necessary. 

Sanderling - 65/70?

Practice is essential to develop and refine bird counting skills. The more frequently someone counts birds, the more comfortable they will be with each count made while knowing the data collected is accurate and therefore more valuable. Other ways to enhance the methods of counting birds include: 

Maintaining a notebook at hand to write down a record of birds counted, particularly when counting over a longer period of time. With notes there is less need to “guesstimate”. 

Allow for density when counting flocks, particularly when using grid or timing techniques. Birds are often less dense on the outer edges of the flock, and if grid sections are not balanced a count can be significantly off. 

Work to be as accurate as possible, but when necessary, choose to underestimate rather than overestimate the numbers of birds seen. This will help correct for any inadvertent errors, such as birds that were counted more than once. 

Counting birds can add a new dimension to birding, by not only keeping track of the numbers of birds seen but also making the birding so much more purposeful and useful for conservation science. 

Remember that counting birds may not be an exact science but it is a highly enjoyable one. 

Pink-footed Geese - +500? 

Meanwhile, and in view of the parlous state of  many bird species, I think that very soon there will be very few birds left for anyone to count.

For those of a certain age. Does the Joni Mitchell song from 1961 ring a warning bell?

Insert the word "birds" in place of "trees"

Don’t it always seem to go

That you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot.

They took all the trees
Put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see 'em 

Please log in to Another Bird Blog soon - I'm counting on it.

Blog Post

I suddenly realised I had not blogged for ten days or more and mentioned to Floridian friends that I currently lacked inspiration for the task. It’s OK for them living in a 365 day sunshine state where a single nature reserve like Withlacoochee River State Forest consists of nearly 60,000 acres to explore! If there is anywhere here in the UK with a spare 60,000 acres, brown paper envelopes change hands and the said acres disappear under concrete in the blink of an eye. 

Gini who is wise in all things, advised me to “just slap the keyboard until a few words pop onto the screen, call it a “blog post” and her and Wally would supply the enthusiasm.” Here we go then Gini. 

The week began with good numbers of Swallows on the move. On Tuesday, an overcast mizzly morning, we drove to Garstang for food shopping and bacon butty day when it became quickly apparent that Swallows had hit their pathways south. They whizzed back and forth, left to right, feeding like mad but with a certain southerly slant. Four hours later and on the same road back there was hardly a Swallow and by this Saturday morning’s patch visit, none. Autumn had begun in earnest. 

 

Swallow

Most, about 90-95% of those migrating Swallows off to South Africa would be birds of the year, born this summer and now heading off into the unknown with just their DNA and the company of others to guide them. Magical. 

There was no ringing this week. Sidekick Andy was indisposed and mostly windy days meant that camera days came into play. 

The Common Kingfisher is an autumn and winter visitor to this part of coastal Fylde where sheltered ditches and dykes sustain a surprising number of easily missed birds. A flash of disappearing pale blue is often the view that many people experience. I snapped one midweek on a habitual gate post that is located alongside said dykes. 

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

I photographed a Little Egret in a couple of unlikely poses. Maybe it was drying out in the sunshine rather like a Cormorant or simply watching the water and reeds below and hoping for a meal? 

Little Egret

Little Egret

A young Yellow Wagtail quite liked the farmer’s midden, one of a number of wagtails on the move this week.

  

Yellow Wagtail

More than a couple of Marsh Harriers came my way. A once scarce migrant the harrier is now well established in parts North, South, East and West of here and from where its spring and autumn migrations mean it is now regularly spotted. I hear that this year a pair bred in the uplands of the Bowland Hills, an area more famous (or infamous) for the trials and tribulations of the persecuted Hen Harrier. 

The young Marsh Harrier seen here was hunting fields close to 13th Century Cockersands Abbey.

Marsh Harrier

Cockersands Abbey

 

It’s a good spot to see a Marsh Harrier or watch Wheatears using the ancient rocks as look out posts or listen to the wild cry of Curlews, much like the monks of old in around 1200AD. 

Wheatear

Saturday morning saw large numbers of Buzzards kettling as they dispersed south, a not unknown phenomena in the Fylde but made noticeable in recent years by the downturn in our local and somewhat persecuted population of Buzzards. 

The Buzzard is not a species ringed in any great numbers and one that in a dead or dying condition is probably unlikely to be reported, more so if the finder is a person with a mind to harm the species.; therefore we know little about these individuals but it seems likely they originate from less populated parts of Northern England & Scotland and disperse south & west for the approaching winter. 

Buzzard

 

Although Buzzards are known to eat mammals, birds, carrion, even earthworms and large insects when other prey is in short supply, their propensity for taking leverets and game birds released for shooting makes the species unpopular with some communities. 

The week ended badly on Friday as wine o’clock drew close we realised that the Portuguese bottle on the dining table had a cork stopper and our trusty waiter’s friend had gone missing. Panic set in until we found an Italian screw top bottle. We followed on with a quick search on Ebay to find and order a bright yellow replacement friend just in case we require a bottle opener later in the week.  

Waiter's Friend

Sue and I are not fans of most screw tops, metal closures invariably found on cheap wines with meaningless, made-up labels that try to hide the fact that it is bulk wine sloshed around in a rusty container for months on end to be eventually bottled at a Warrington post code adjacent to the Manchester Ship Canal. No thanks. 

Cork has centuries-old tradition behind it, a little like us. 

How did I do Gini?

Back soon if Wally and Gini OK this post.

 

Half Day Wednesday

A 0730 start is as late as it gets now. Next weekend we turn the clocks back an hour and head into winter. At seven-thirty Thursday it was still pretty dark and we hoped to catch a few early morning Redwings. 

We got the nets up in double quick time with the help of headlamps however the Redwings didn’t arrive and we settled for a couple of migrant Blackbirds. In fact the whole morning’s ringing turned out quiet with just 11 birds caught – 3 Blackbird, 4 Linnet, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Goldfinch. 

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Our four Linnets proved disappointing when the combined count of a number of flocks totalled over 250 finches, a count that included a number of Goldfinches and Greenfinches, the latter not easy to pick out amongst fast flying gangs of small birds. 

All four Linnets showed features of Scottish birds and as usual all new birds, with a slim chance only of capturing a recent Linnet or a Linnet from elsewhere.

"Scottish" Linnet

  

Goldfinch

Linnet

There was a Sparrowhawk in attendance and then brief views of a “ringtail” Hen Harrier over the nearby marsh. 

 

Hen Harrier

 

Female and juvenile Hen Harriers, are known colloquially as “ringtails”, both look very similar, with brown on top, almost checkerboard brown and beige underwings, a white rump and a bearded tail. However, females are larger than males at 400-600g, compared to 300-400g. They're smaller than buzzards, but larger than crows. 

Storm Babet made little impression here on the west coast, a few windy days and nights but we are rather accustomed to that scenario and take it in our stride.

Keep an eye on the weather folks. And then come back here to Another Bird Blog for the latest news, views and photographs.

Linking today to Eileen;s Saturday blog.

 

 

One Of Each

On Tuesday morning Will and I met up to have a go for Linnets and anything else in the offing. Firstly I stopped off along the A585 main road and checked on the small group of Mute Swans, a couple of Whooper Swans and egrets that have spent a number of days on a single field. 

Two days before I saw two small, crouching white egrets that upon closer views were Cattle Egrets and not the usual Little Egrets that frequent these fields. There was Little Egret too, picking through the recently cleared crop of maize.

Cattle Egret

Little Egret

 

Our catching was extremely quiet even though there seemed to be lots of birds on the move in the way of 30+ Skylark, 15+ Pied Wagtail, 30 Greenfinch, 3 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 8 Redwing, 10 Reed Bunting, 8/10 Tree Sparrow, 12 Chaffinch and a dozen or more Meadow Pipit. 

Meadow Pipit

 

So many birds around attracted the usual raptors looking for a meal with single sightings of Merlin, Sparrowhawk and a fine “cream head” Marsh Harrier. 

Linnets came and went in their usual frustrating fashion, dipping in and out of the target area without staying long enough to be caught. The number of parties noted added up to 150+, therefore a catch of just two proved how difficult it can be to catch Linnets in any numbers when the species is so wary and flighty. Hardly surprising considering the attention their flocks receive from raptors looking for a snack. 

A Chaffinch and two Linnets was the sum of effort however both Linnets proved to be of the “Scottish” type, our eyes now well trained to pick out them out in a crowd. Look at the example below, a female with a very dark, almost black streaked cap with equally dark grey ear coverts and general dark streaked appearance. 

Scottish Linnet

 

Unexpected came two new Cetti’s Warbler that we were able to age and sex as both birds of the year, one male and one female. With wing and weights of 62mm and 15.3 gms; 56mm and 10.8 gms, the two displayed no overlap, unlike Cetti’s Warblers that remain unsexed in the winter months when biometrics fit into both camps, male or female.

Cetti's Warbler

 

Cetti’s Warbler first appeared in this area known as the Fylde in the early 1990s at Marton Mere, Blackpool. There then followed a series of sightings of single birds and ones or two through the 1990s and into the new millennium whereby the species became well established but never numerous in a small number of mainly coastal or near coastal wetland localities. 

The species remains very difficult, almost impossible  to see in the field, often the only clue to its presence the rattling burst of loud song that emanates from a patch of unkempt scrubby growth or reeds adjacent to water. 

Stay tuned folks for my look at a stunning new bird book sure to appeal to birders, everywhere, here in UK and for sure the United States.

Terns of North America by Cameron Cox

I have a copy of Terns of North America. A Photographic Guide. Coming soon on Another Bird Blog. This one you will definitely want. 

Mixi Maxi

What a mixed up week! Two days of wind and rain, a one day window for a ringing session followed by even more rain. And then for Friday the Met Office promised another cloudy, showery, and unsummery day. They were wrong (again) of course as I sat outside in 22°C at 1430 while Julie the mobile hairdresser trimmed what’s left of my thinning hair. 

It was Tuesday when Will and I met up for the single ringing session of the week, hoping mainly for juvenile warblers. The catch of 15 proved slightly disappointing through the lack of variety that the 15 birds gave us -  6 Reed Warbler, 5 Sedge Warbler, 1 Willow Warbler and 3 Blue Tit. 

Sedge Warbler

Reed Warbler

Three of the Reed Warbler were recaptures, two from this year and one from 2022. Reed Warblers are perhaps on of the most site faithful bird species, whereby individual birds will return to the same patch of reedy habitat year after year after spending their winter in middle Africa. 

Our single Willow Warbler was a very welcome bright and lemony individual after a poor spring of catching this species. 

Willow Warbler

It seems that many other ringers are reporting the dearth of Willow Warblers this autumn with little in the way of theories or evidence as to the reasons of the species’ scarcity. It is perhaps related to the very dry spring of April/May followed by the sun-baked month of June, all of which resulted in an apparent lack of insects. But now the month of July has been intensely wet, following the weather pattern of recent years, four weeks good followed by four weeks of bad and masses of insects. 

Disappointment arose because of the lack of other species around - no Whitethroats, Blackcaps or Garden Warblers when we might have expected at least a single representative of each of their species. Instead, 15 Pied Wagtail, 1 Meadow Pipit, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Little Egret, 1 Buzzard, 4 Goldfinch and 15-20 Swallows. 

Grey Heron

Little Egret

Pied Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

 

Compensation for the slow ringing came by way of sight of a young Yellow Wagtail mixed in with the pied variety, this an early date for a now uncommon species’ autumn dispersal. 

The three species of UK wagtails, Yellow, Grey and Pied can cause intense discussion amongst less experienced bird watchers, mainly because all three of the youngsters of each are “grey”. Below is the Yellow Wagtail subject of this post, quite grey above but with a pale yellow wash to the underparts. 

Yellow Wagtail

While the Pied Wagtail is fairly easily sorted, and leaving aside for now the pitfalls of spring and autumn White Wagtails and Pied Wagtails respectively, the ID differences between Grey Wagtails and Yellow Wagtails causes discussion, not least amongst followers of Another Bird Blog. 

In August 2016 and again in July 2021 I decided to remedy this with the post “Yellow Or Grey”, a posting that has since proved to be the most read post in 15 years blogging.  Yellow or Grey

Enjoy the weekend everyone, be it grey, yellow, pied, or better still, sunny,

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Sunny Days

Here in coastal Lancashire we’ve had no rain for four weeks and the summer is beginning to look like an old-fashioned one but where the inevitable thunderstorms are due this evening and into Sunday. This should remind us that this is Britain and not the Sahara Desert. 

It’s similar across the country where millions of people are out enjoying the weather, despite the UK Nanny State who think that the public cannot understand a weather forecast so choose to bombard us with Health Heat Alerts to ramp up the global warming scare at every bit of sunny weather. They really do take us for fools who they can continually scare, manipulate and thus control. 

On my Pilling travels on Friday it was hard to miss the dried out landscape and the lack of rain puddles in familiar places. Birds were laying low, many feeding young and others simply hard to find. Along a track lined with reeds and vegetation I found Common Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler, both still in song and seemingly yet to reach the stage of collecting food for nestlings. 

The breeding year was slow to start, an April and early May of cold northerlies and late arrivals of African migrants. Even now there appears to be a shortage of Reed Buntings, House Martins, Swifts, Swallows and even Wrens. Those of us close to the action think that there could be Avian Flu in passerines and small birds. But how would we know when millions of small birds die of both natural and unnatural causes and then simply go missing never to be found? 

The Whitethroat is pictured against a green background of newly growing maize crop, the Sedge Warbler against a freshly cut and now parched field of silage. The bokeh of the Sigma lens is really good at most times.

Sedge Warbler

Whitethroat

A couple of Lapwings inspected in turn a newly sown seed plot and then a two inch high maize crop. The Lapwings may have failed their first attempt at raising a family so may return and lay in what appears ideal and now undisturbed spots. If we get rain both crops will thrive and grow like giant beanstalks so it’s a hard decision for the Lapwings. 

 

Lapwing

Little Egrets have been thin on the ground just locally until one appeared below my slowly moving car hide. Along another ditch a Buzzard stood sentinel and then took off to circle and find the rising thermals. 

Little Egret

Buzzard

The cut silage field had half a dozen Curlews scratching a living on the rock hard ground. Even in the height of summer it is not difficult to find handfuls of upland waders that return quickly to the coast when their upland adventures turn sour. Soon there will be masses of both and it will be interesting to see how the inland wader season fared. Just last week Curlews gave me a hard time and something of the run-around when I tried to picture them in their other world, the uplands of the Pennine Hills.

Curlew

I found a couple of Oystercatchers hanging around on gate posts where they seemed unconcerned at my being close by as if they had no young in tow.

Oystercatcher

Once the rain leaves us there's a visit to the Sand Martin colony planned mid week. We need a light easterly and not much sun that will light up our mist nets. 

Log in soon folks. And enjoy the sun. Winter will come soon enough. You know it makes sense.

Linking today to Eileen's Blogspot.

 

Return Leg

We’re back from Skiathos - eventually. More of that little saga later. Two weeks of unbridled sunshine left us browned off in the normal way with a healthy outdoor tan from our favourite holiday destination. 

As ever and due to unrelenting sunshine, clear skies and temperatures in the high twenties the birding was pretty poor. Nonetheless most would be happy with seeing raptors like Eleanora’s Falcon, Hobbies and Buzzards. Daily sightings of Spotted Flycatchers, wagtails, Whinchats, Sardinian Warblers and the ubiquitous Red-backed Shrike added to the feeling that a day spent in the beautiful countryside of Skiathos was equal to if not far better than a day of burning on Koukounaries beach. 

I returned with very few new bird photos but lots of scenes of Skiathos, the most photogenic of destinations. I am now catching up with two weeks post, business, news, and household jobs like gardening. And there are two new bird books to unpack and then review here on the blog. 

In the meantime here is a selection of photos from Skiathos September 2022. Sorry there aren’t too many birdy pics but I’m sure that regular readers will know how I like to take holiday snaps too. 

Enjoy the pics and don't forget to click for a better view.

Woodchat Shrike

Sardinian Warbler

Goats at Aselinos

Agia Paraskevi

Pomegranate

Morning Flight

A Spot of Rain

Milos Taverna

Bus Stop 

Dry Dock Time

Loading Up

Spotted Flycatcher

Grey Heron

Little Egret

Shop Window

Net Repairs

Windswept Tree

Unloading

The Bourtzi

Yammas

Red-backed Shrike

Feta

Skiathos Carob Tree

Waiting for The Ferry

Boat Repairs

Skiathos

The Bells

Hee Haw

Mini Sub

The Bourtzi

Plane Watchers

Skiathos Rainbow

Day Trip?

Waterline

Sunny Skiathos

And now for a rant about TUI, our flight provider. 

We arrived in plenty of time for our 1345 flight back to Manchester on Wednesday. We learnt that the flight was over two hours late in setting off from Manchester after early morning fog. Fair enough but this “ferry flight”, empty and solely to take a plane load of people back to Manchester then took one and a half hours to turn around. 

Tui

Worse was to come when the pilot announced to already grumpy passengers that our journey to Manchester needed for a “splash of fuel” that would entail a refuelling stop at Dusseldorf, a German hub of TUI where fuel is probably cheaper than topping up in Greece. A sceptic might say, “follow the money rather than TUI's customer service”.  

The “splash of fuel”  added two hours to the flight time and we eventually arrived at our front door over six hours later than anticipated. The joys of travel. This unexpected addition to our holiday rather took the gloss off our wonderful time in Greece. 

Back soon with local birds, ringing, birding and a couple of new book reviews. 

Linking at weekend to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.