Fishy Tales

I returned to Conder Green today where I found much the same species but with a little variation to recent counts. 

For a week or more I suspected there might be more than one Spotted Redshank, confirming it today with one in the main channel and a second one in the channel nearest to the Stork. More Snipe today, with a count of 18 a possible underestimate, plus 5 Greenshank when a flight of three arrived from the west calling loudly to join the two already counted. Still 2 Common Sandpiper around plus the regular 50+ Redshank and 300+ Lapwings roosting in the creeks and on the secluded margins and islands of the pool. 

Wildfowl numbers remain similar with 10 Teal, 6 Wigeon and 3 Little Grebe. Three Pied Wagtail around the water margins, a couple of “tacking” Whitethroats, a “ticking” Robin and handfuls of both Goldfinches and Linnets proved to be the only passerines. A single Raven was an early fly over. 

Little Grebe

Pied Wagtail

Recent high tides and the resulting water inflow seem to have increased aquatic life/tiny fish stocks in the pool, as suggested by the appearance of more Cormorants, the grebes hanging around the inflow and the regularity of the Kingfisher. There were two Kingfishers this morning, the birds travelling together across the pool and then back towards the creek and the road bridge, their regular spot. 

Kingfisher

This morning I watched as a flight of 9 Cormorants came from the direction of the Lune, twisting and turning, whiffling down to the pool, looking for all the world like a gaggle of geese landing on a winter’s day. They then proceeded to fish the water as a pack, their black bodies disappearing below the surface before one by one they resurfaced briefly before dropping below again. After a while the Cormorants flew back out to the Lune, singly or in twos or threes. 

Cormorants

Cormorant

The Cormorant is another bird which is very good at catching fish but which is not as popular as the Kingfisher or the supreme angler the Osprey. Unfortunately, unlike that of the Kingfisher and Osprey, the fishing prowess of the Cormorant is not universally admired, anglers in particular being jealous of the Cormorant's expertise. 

Most people are familiar with Cormorant fishing, an age-old art practiced in China, Japan, and a few other countries, which today exists largely due to the tourism industry. It is not so generally known that a similar method was once practiced in England. 

The ornithologist Francis Willughby (1635-1672), quoting Faber’s Annotations of Rechuss says ‘It is the custom in England to train Cormorants to catch fish. While conveying the birds to the fishing grounds the fishermen keep the heads and eyes of the birds covered to prevent them from being alarmed. When they have reached the rivers, they take off the hoods and having first tied a leather strap loosely around the lower part of the neck that the bird will be unable to swallow down what fishes they catch, throw them into the water. They immediately set to work and pursue the fish beneath them with marvellous rapidity. When they have caught one they rise to the surface, and having first pinched it with their beaks, swallow it as far as the strap permits, and renew the chase until they have caught from five to six each. On being called to their master’s fist, they obey with alacrity and bring up one by one the fish they have swallowed, injured no farther than that they are slightly crushed. The fishing brought to an end, the birds are removed from the neighbourhood of the water, the strap is untied and a few of the captured fish thrown to them as their share of the booty are dextrously caught before they touch the ground.” 

Cormorant

More unlikely tales soon from Another Bird Blog.

Why Menorca?

There’s no birding today, it's grandad duties looking after Isabella. So for blog regulars and “Menorca” Internet searchers here are some photographs from our recent holiday to that beautiful island. 

Sue and I go to Menorca because we adore the island scenery, admire the style, grace and friendly nature of the islanders, love exploring the countryside and the quiet little inland towns or perhaps visiting the historic cities of Mahon and Ciutadella. Two weeks of almost guaranteed sunshine plays a part too.

As ever, click on the pictures for a colourful slide show. 

Ciutadella 

 

 Mahon harbour

Es Mercadal

A bistro, Es Mercadal

While birding there takes second place to the actual holiday, any bird watching we do is a part of the relaxing time we have and the seeing afresh of common Mediterranean birds. Some years we pick up  new species for our island ”list” - this year Corncrake, Spoonbill and Glossy Ibis.

But bird watching is never easy in Menorca. Many of the regular species like Cetti’s Warbler, Nightingale, Firecrest, Purple Heron, Squacco Heron, Golden Oriole and Quail hide themselves away or stay distant whereby actually setting eyes upon any one of them becomes something of an occasion. Even the legendary and sought after Hoopoe is actually very shy in Menorca, more often heard as a distant 'oop-oop-oop' rather than seen well. Luckily I know of a regular breeding spot where both birds accept the busied click of the shutter button just once a year. 

Fornells bay

 Fornells

Bee Eater

Purple Heron

The Hoopoes weren't as far on as last year. This time I saw only the male as every fiftenn minutes or so he brought in food for the female's inspection, she sitting tight on the nest as he passed the food over without entering the concrete cavity.

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

 

Hoopoe

In ten visits to the island I have yet to meet a Menorcan birder and whilst there may be a small number, I imagine they could be counted on the digits of both hands and more probably one. Bird watching seems not to figure in the Menorcan culture. There are hardly any visiting birders either, the more substantial list and reputation of nearby Majorca ensuring that most foreign birders head there instead of its smaller neighbour. There is no bird news service on Menorca, word of mouth being the only means of relating news between the transient population of mainly European bird watchers who spend a week or fourteen days there before returning to the colder north. 

Screen Hide at Es Grau

View - Es Grau, Menorca

Spotted Flycatcher

Little Egret

Little Grebe

Whiskered Tern

Ses Salines - Menorca

Black-winged Stilt

In other words, and for those who appreciate such things, bird watching Menorca Style is rather old-fashioned by allowing discovery of birds alone, unencumbered by the annoying bleeps of pagers and mobile phones or car loads of hyped-up folk dashing between one bird-hit and the next. OK, at the end of a week the list in your notebook won’t be long but there will be a wonderful selection of Mediterranean species, a number of common birds and a few “goodies” thrown in, all of them with no pressure involved to the bird or the birder. 

Turtle Dove

Booted Eagle

Bee Eater

Stonechat

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

Kestrel

It wasn't just birds. We saw good numbers of European Swallowtail Butterfly on a couple of days - flying too fast and frequently to get pictures. We also came acrosss a few large grasshoppers - up to 3 inches long - the migratory Egyptian Grasshoper I think. Insect experts help required please.

Egyptian Grasshopper?

And at the end of another stress free day there’s always a quiet bar to while away the time, watch the sunset and spend quality time, planning another day of discovery and hoping that tomorrow’s Roller may be a lot closer. If not, there's always next year and an excuse for a return visit.

Bar at Es Grau

European Roller

Menorca Sunset

Please log in soon to Another Bird Blog for more news and views. I'm linking this post to Stewart's Gallery - World Bird Wednesday  in Australia- take a look for more bird pictures.

There’s A Surprise

Yes I know the best birders get up early to catch the worm but sometimes a lie-in just seems a good option, especially after a run of icy mornings with not much doing. So waiting until lunch time I set off for Pilling hoping to see a freshly arrived Wheatear, perhaps hear a Chiffchaff, or watch a Sand Martin or Swallow hurrying north - anything really which might indicate the arrival of Spring. 

Not much at Lane Ends itself, just a pair of Canada Geese and a pair of Greylags seeing who could make the most noise above the trilling of the Little Grebe pair on the smaller west pool. The morning must have warmed up. I disturbed a Peacock Butterfly from the grass and it rested on the path momentarily before flying off; my first butterfly of the year before my first Wheatear or Swallow - now there was a surprise. 

Little Grebe

European Peacock 

All the bird action seemed to be nearer Pilling Water with several Meadow Pipits, leftovers from the morning rush hour I’d perhaps missed. There was no sign of any Wheatears ready for the pepper pot of meal worms stashed in the camera bag. The pools proved quite rewarding with singles of both Greenshank and Spotted Redshank, two species which could be the most unapproachable bird species on the planet, bettered only by our Common Redshank. 

 Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Greenshank

There was a good selection of wildfowl too, refugees from the shooting season but still as wary as ever and giving a sporting chance of a picture when they flew about the pools expecting a volley of shots from guns not a camera. I counted 18 Teal, 8 Pintail, 6 Shoveler, 4 Shelduck and just 2 Mallard. 

Pintail 

Teal and Pintail

Pintail

Shoveler

On the marsh there are still 300+ Pink-footed Geese perhaps reluctant to head north without a following wind. More Shelduck too, another 40+. 

One singing Skylark, 1 Little Egret and a few more Meadow Pipits highlighted the stroll back to Lane Ends, otherwise little sign of true April. 

More news and surprises on Another Bird Blog soon. In the meantime take a look at Anni's Skimmers .

New Header Required

There have been a few days without new postings on Another Bird Blog because whilst I’ve been out birding there has been little to report. This morning proved a little better when I found a few fresh-in migrants, one of them the bird in the recently changed blog header. 

I kicked off at Damside, Pilling where the puddled field is beginning to hold a few birds to study, providing birders can beat pedestrians and cyclists to the lay-by. No gulls there today, just 80 Lapwings and a Stock Dove. At Lane Ends a check of the pools and surrounding trees saw 2 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Cormorant and 2 Sparrowhawk, with a Lesser Whitethroat giving itself away by its constant warning calls. 

Little Grebe 

Cormorant

The Cormorant is considered a pest by hobby anglers and commercial fisheries. It might be said that fisheries managers are mostly to blame for failing to protect their stock, and that for a Cormorant a well-stocked water is "like putting out nuts for a Blue Tit". My own experience of Cormorants is that they are difficult to photograph and very unapproachable, mainly because of the persecution suffered at the hands of the human race. 

The walk to Pilling Water proved uneventful save a for single Skylark, a landside Wheatear, and a good flock of 90+ Goldfinch and 4 Linnet feeding on this year’s abundant thistles. 

Hi-Fly man arrived to the wildfowlers pools and proceeded to flush from the pools 2 Pintail, 2 Teal and a single Snipe. There have been 150+ Teal in recent days but if disturbed too much they head off to the marsh where they hide in the gulleys. I was watching the hirundines, 30+ Swallow and 4 House Martin, hawking over Broadfleet when I spotted a Spotted Flycatcher moving between the fence of the sluice gate and the sheep pen which by default also holds lots of insects. Now so scarce in the Fylde, this was my first sighting this year of a bird that locally is now just a spring and autumn passage migrant and consequently something of a prize to listers. Sitting to watch the flycatcher feed I made a mental to change the blog header more often, perhaps back to Bee Eater soon? 

Spotted Flycatcher

After Hi-Fly man hastened back to Fluke a couple of raptors appeared from the direction he headed, first a Buzzard and then soon after a very streaky juvenile Peregrine. The Buzzard hung around long enough to get a few distant shots and discover it as a moulting adult. 

Buzzard

Next came a couple more Grey Herons, a single Little Egret and finally the unmistakeable calls of a Northern Raven louding it south.  

Stay tuned, more soon from Another Bird Blog.

Catching Up

Before this morning my last notebook entry for Pilling was 26th April, so there was a lot of catching up to do after missing three weeks of birding there. 

Looking at blogs and web sites for the period I was on holiday, it seems I didn’t miss much at Lane Ends, but then not a lot of people bird properly there to find much; a sit in the car park, telescope the tide in, a bit of chat, and maybe a cursory walk to the gates 50 yards either way, but no searching of the trees before heading off to a target bird. Seems there was a Cuckoo a week ago but not much else throughout the whole of May! 

Two pairs of Lapwings had young this morning, two big “runners” and then two smaller ones with another pair of adults, the little ones too far away and too public for a ringer’s pursuit. In song in the plantation was a very loud Blackcap, with 2 untiring Willow Warblers and a Reed Warbler. Overhead a late presumed (Lesser) Redpoll flew over calling with a couple of Chaffinch giving “nest-nearby” warnings, plus a Great-spotted Woodpecker. The pair of Little Grebes still trill on the water while nesting Greylags control the island. 

Little Grebe

Pilling Water to Fluke was I admit fairly uneventful, save for 5 Wheatears, 2 Linnet and several pairs of Lapwing, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Skylark. I guess by now the Wheatears must be Greenland types, the one I managed to photograph a big and bright male. 

Wheatear

With seeing the young Lapwings At Lane Ends I decided to check out Braides Farm where I have permission to roam and where the RSPB carried out some ditching work in an effort to reinstate breeding waders. After a couple of dry, unproductive years re-profiling a few ditches this year has worked in the Lapwing’s and other species' favour; I found at least five broods of Lapwing chicks, 4 or five displaying Redshank, a couple of territorial Oystercatchers, 6+ singing Skylarks and a displaying Meadow Pipit. It’s not a good idea to search for Lapwing chicks to ring when inquisitive cows follow in your footsteps, so I left well alone content that here at least Lapwings are doing well. So full marks to the farmer and the RSPB that Braides is a now a shining example of wildlife conservation to this stretch of coastline and much of the Fylde. 

 Lapwing chick hiding

Lapwing

When I viewed west along the RSPB’s ditch to see the number of flowers growing in the meadow I thought for a moment I was back in Menorca, but I couldn’t see Cattle Egrets or hear Bee Eaters, just a Mute Swan on a nest. 

 Braides Farm

 Mute Swan

Cattle Egret

The illusion lasted a moment, broken by the sight of the herd of Belted Galloway cattle, a breed which originates in the harsh upland climate of the Galloway hills in beautiful south west Scotland. The “Beltie” as it is affectionately known is one of the most visually distinctive breeds of cattle, its many merits lie not only in its unique appearance and good nature, but also in its hardiness and top quality beef. 

 Belted Galloways - Belties

If I don’t get out birding tomorrow I’ll post pictures of breeding Hoopoes from Menorca.