Gone Sunning

Henry The Labrador and daughter Joanne are in charge of the house. Alarm at 2 a.m. Next stop Manchester Airport and a 7 a.m. flight. 

Sue and I set off for Skiathos Greece on Wednesday looking for a break from the British weather, the coldest spring for many a year. The average UK temperature in April was just 8 degrees Celsius, or 1.6 degrees colder than the usual monthly average. 

On a sunny Greek day the sight of JSI runway splitting the landscape gladdens the heart and brings a lump to many a Boomerang's throat. We circled Mamma Mia island (Skopelos), passed close by Skiathos Town low enough to look in cafes and tavernas lining the harbour and then hit the football pitch runway to a roar of air brakes. If we overshot we’d land on Xanemos beach on top of a taverna, shaken but not stirred. 

Skiathos, Greece

Less than an hour later we loaded cases and bags into the Jimny and set off to Spiti Oneiro, Dream House, our base for a day or two. Kostas, Efi and baby Vagelis greeted us with cold beers and a welcome hug. Xenia, Greek hospitality at its best. We strolled to Maistrali our favourite taverna, more hugs, an early night, and an unwelcome but fortuitous thunderstorm. Kosta's Breakfast  set us up nicely for the day ahead.

We hit the road north in the Suzuki Jimny, the best car to ever leave Japan. The island has a roundabout under construction this year, an interesting addition to the perils of driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, especially since according to local gossip it won't be finished until October. 

Jimny

The storm had done the trick with a huge flock of Bee eaters some 200 birds strong which tucked into the plentiful flying insects. Grey skies and into the light didn't make for the ideal morning but the best was yet to come with shrikes, Black-headed Buntings, Red-rumped Swallows, a European Roller and a simply superb Little  Bittern. Several hundred clicks later the camera batteries needed a top up.

Bee eater

Black-headed Bunting

European Roller

European Roller

Little Bittern

Red-rumped Swallow

Red-backed Shrike

It's not all about birding. Here are few pictures of the other Skiathos until I get around to going through the hundreds of pictures so far. 

Goatherd and goat

From Plakes

Spring Jimny

Black Swan

Boatyard

Towards Skiathos Town

The Bourtzi

Plakes Skiathos

More soon from Skiathos. Now go back and click the pics for a break from the UK weather.

 

Good Start 2023

Insightful readers will see that Another Bird Blog has been out of action again. 

This enforced sabbatical came about through the twin perils of Christmas & New Year coupled with the predicted back end of North America storms that landed on Britain’s doorstep. The result was birding and ringing on the back burner and two morning’s ringing throughout December. It’s a sorry picture but one that I hope to remedy and not repeat in 2023. 

New Year’s Day 2023 saw the thirteen strong family at home for the sometimes traditional Meat and Potato Pie with Mushy Peas, a dish that even picky kids might eat if bribed with a promise of cheesecake to follow. Washing the pots took more time than eating the food. 

New Year's Day

After the week’s marathon binge a morning in the January sunshine was called for so I struck out north out Rawcliffe/Pilling way on Monday January 2. The sun shone warm at 0900, so balmy that the BBC are already claiming that 2023 is the hottest year on record due to man-made climate change. 

Eyes peeled and cap pulled low I drove with care to avoid the prowling year listers with crazed looks in their eyes, out in force for Chase The Bird 2023. However their whereabouts are both easy to predict and to then avoid via a perusal of WhatsApp and the use of tried and tested alternative locations. Originality of thought or deed is not their collective strength. 

On the route to Rawcliffe came a super start to the year when I spotted a “shortie”, a Short-eared Owl, approaching from the left and heading my way. Electric windows are a great invention, and as ever the switched on camera lay on the passenger seat for a rapid fire. It’s been ages since I saw a shortie, a largely nocturnal and crepuscular (dusk and dawn) hunter, but still one of the most active British owls during daylight. 

Short-eared Owl

 

Exhilarated by this sighting I stopped at another farm I know well but didn’t anticipate the double whammy of another owl, this time a Little Owl, a species increasingly difficult to locate. Data shows that Little Owl numbers have shrunk by 65% over a 25-year period through a combination of the usual suspects; over development of their sought after farming landscape combined with shrinking populations of certain prey items like beetles, crickets and the humble earthworm.

Little Owl

My own thoughts are that part of the problem for Little Owls is that they mostly share habitat with introduced game birds like Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges, non-native birds released in vast numbers throughout the autumn and winter by the shooting industry. Historically this is especially true for this part of Lancashire where the loss of Little Owls began around the same time as the large increase in the numbers and locations of shoots, time-on-their-hands shooters and the release of many thousands of game birds into new locations.

Pheasants especially are known to hoover up huge areas of land of the same prey upon which Little Owls and other birds depend. 

Here’s some recommended further reading about a serious ecological problem, some might say "disaster" being allowed to take place in the British countryside. 

http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/5078605686374400

It was tempting to stick around and enjoy the owl, even though it did little but sit around watching and waiting for the next meal, a bit like the Christmas we just enjoyed.

I drove towards Pilling along the Lancaster Road where a large flood gave indication of recent rains. Distant across the field/lake were circa 250 Lapwings, 130 Black-headed Gulls and many thousands of Starlings. There was a shoot nearby with loud bangs that sent the flocks wheeling into the air a couple of times although they mostly all came back, if to a slightly different spot on the expanse of water. 

 

Lapwings

New Year Floods

Further along the main road I saw two Kestrels that may have been paired where neither of them were up for a photo and in any case the picture would have been into the light. Better luck next time from a mental note, a different time of the day, and a more accommodating moment. 

By now I was headed towards Cockerham and Braides Farm where Whooper Swans have hung around off and on since arriving from Iceland in September. Counts have been up to 400 when maxed out, more like 250 today. Golden Plovers, Lapwings and Curlews were dotted across the more distant fields with a rough count of 300, 250 and 250 respectively. 

Whooper Swans

Our ringing site is yet to receive a visit in earnest and there's no the prospect in sight by looking at the latest forecasts. When I visited to top up the supplementary food all was quiet with single figures of the regulars but a distinct lack of Linnets, the main focus of our project. 

All we can do is hope that the forecasters get it wrong! Keep looking in folks.

In Like A Lion

“Comes in like a Lion, goes out like a Lamb.” - attributed to Thomas Fuller’s 1732 compendium, “Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings”.

Thomas - I am not amused by your witty saying.  Another week of weather watching has seen a couple of pencilled in days scrubbed from the ringing diary as March roars like the proverbial Lion. Thursday was looking good, Thursday moved to Saturday and now that too looks unlikely. And there’s little sign of lambs gambolling in spring sunshine.

So friends, it’s back to the archives today with a few pictures of Bramblings and others from December 2012 when there was something of a “Brambling Winter” and our ringing group processed more than 70 Bramblings between September 2012 and April 2013.          

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Did last week’s blizzards in Eastern Europe, dubbed “The Beast From The East” cause Bramblings to head west? This morning I caught 4 new ones in the plantation at Out Rawcliffe, making nine this week. It’s not a huge number in the grand scale of the millions in which Bramblings can flock in Europe, but it could mean many more are heading this way soon. 

Bramblings can be overlooked in apparently single species flocks of very flighty Chaffinches, the Bramblings giving away their involvement by the slim, white rump. Very often a Brambling will give out a nasal contact call but sometimes not, when the unremarkable chattering flight call can be overlooked in the calls of accompanying Chaffinches.  Click on the "xeno canto" button to hear Brambling calls.

Brambling

I think the attraction at Rawcliffe is the nyger feeders and the small amount of mixed feed on the ground, a mixture which contains sunflower seed. During the last large influx of Bramblings in 2010/2011 many took to using garden feeders. As a species they were very dominant in the feeding hierarchy by chasing off most interlopers.

Brambling

Brambling 

It was a short session, a late start only when the sun warmed the air, followed by a hasty pack up when a strengthening easterly wind blew through leafless trees and billowed the nets. 

So, 4 Brambling, 4 Chaffinch and a Goldfinch with no recaptures of the Bramblings from Tuesday. 

Brambling

Brambling

The dullish female pictured above had very visible fault bars. 

Brambling - fault bars

There were a good number of birds to take note of this morning, with 2 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and a Little Owl before I even reached the farm.  The owl had puffed up to keep warm air in those feathers. 

Little Owl

Buzzard

In between the bit of ringing I clocked up 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Snipe, 35 Fieldfare, 22 Redwing, 32 Skylark, 15 Reed Bunting, 250+ Lapwing, 1500+ Woodpigeon, 1 Mistle Thrush and 2 Raven. 

Fieldfare

There’s more news from North, South, East and West pretty soon from Another Bird Blog, so log in soon to find out just where. 

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Fingers crossed that I get out soon. Maybe a Brambling or two from the supplementary food dropped at Cockerham.

Thursday 10 March 2022.

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

A Bad Case Of Wind

Storm Dudley is here, closely followed by Storm Eunice, the two courtesy of westerly gales  from the Atlantic Ocean. Thank you America, but don't send us any more, we have  plenty of wind generation from our UK politicians. 

Oh how we laughed when in Wales and at the first puffs of Dudley, a 2 megawatt 300 ft wind turbine fell over like a fading Welsh daffodil.   A two megawatt windmill is made of 260 tons of steel that require 300 tons of coking coal, all mined, transported and produced by hydrocarbons. A windmill could spin (but only on windy days) until it falls apart and not generate as much energy as that invested in building it. Some things never add up do they? 

Windless Turbines

Regulars will by now have guessed that bird ringing news is non-existent, waiting as I am for the weather to subside and for APHA/DEFRA to pull fingers from their collective backsides and allow us bird ringers to collect urgently needed data.  

There's little to report from this week's grey affairs. A trip with pal Andy to a new Linnet site down South and out of the 10Km zone centred on Pilling produced a whacking count of 500/600 Linnets and permission from the farmer to catch said birds whenever we liked. We explained that time is of the essence and that as early as 1st March many Linnets will be heading back from whence they came.  Andy followed up a day or two later by cutting rides through the seed plot for the day that warming sun-spots might allow us a visit. 

The day we visited there was a Kestrel targeting the field, perhaps not entirely for the Linnets which move pretty fast at the sight of any raptor. More likely is that the Kestrel sat motionless in the tree was on the lookout for mice and voles. 

Kestrel

Farmer P showed us the Barn Owl's barn and then pointed us in the further direction of low buildings where Swallows and even Little Owls return year after year. 

Barn Owl

Little Owl

Mr P shared our view that the cold spring of 2021 had resulted in less Swallows than normal but agreed that Spring 2022 could hardly be colder and more unsuitable for insect eating Swallows than the last.  

     

Swallows

This is a traditional farmyard with oily rags and rusty tractors where the daily traffic of cattle plus gallons of now standing rainwater creates an insect rich sludgy mess irresistible to wagtails.  Two or three Pied Wagtails and a single Grey Wagtail flitted around the yard, not minding our close proximity when so much food was on offer. 

Pied Wagtail

Tractor

A winter farm hereabouts pretty much guarantees Pied Wagtails will be around with the occasional bonus of a Grey Wagtail. As an early breeding species the Grey Wagtail will likely head off in March whereas Pied Wagtails will nest on the farm in more than one or two pairs.    

Grey Wagtail

Even now I’m reading of bird watchers, probably new to the game, who confuse Grey Wagtail with Yellow Wagtail. But while Grey Wagtails are present all year round in the UK, Yellow Wagtails spend the winter in deep Africa and not the cold wet windy days of Lancashire.   

There's a reminder here here of the differences in the two species. 

Back soon we hope. Stay tuned.

Linking today with Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.

Happy New Year

Too much food, too much booze and too few birds - that about sums up my last fortnight. It’s not for the want of trying when a number of trips out in less than ideal weather brought scant reward.  Or, from recent Australia but in England cricket parlance, “little to report and even less to trouble the scorers”. 

In recent days Buzzard, Kestrel and Merlin provided the raptors, but a few sightings only of Barn Owl or Little Owl where mild but windy weather with zero frosts meant no requirement to feed in daylight hours. 

Little Owl

Buzzard

Supplementary feeding areas gave counts of up to 180 and 80 Linnets at two places respectively while Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Reed Buntings and titmice added to the bulk.

Chaffinch

Redwings and Blackbirds provided the thrush interest while a single Fieldfare asked questions about where they all fled to during November.

Redwing

After five weeks we expect to be notified any day now that the 10km ringing ban is lifted; then  we can return to favoured ringing sites out Pilling and Cockerham way. In a previous post I remarked that shooters are also banned from their activities in Avian Flu areas. 

After this week seeing wildfowlers in our often shared haunts and engaging in conversation, it seems that I was mistaken. The guys were quite open about their shooting, two were not even aware of our local outbreaks of Avian Flu. This when Covid alone dominates news outlets and normal conversation.  

"BASC (British Association for Shooting and Conservation) is advising members that an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) has been implemented across the UK." 

“In addition to the requirements of the AIPZ, housing measures came into force on 29 November 2021. The Chief Veterinary Officers for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have brought in housing measures across the whole of the UK to protect poultry and captive birds from avian influenza following a number of confirmed cases across Great Britain in recent weeks. The housing measures mean that it will be a legal requirement for all bird keepers across the UK to keep their birds indoors and to follow strict biosecurity measures in order to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease.” 

“Shooting is not restricted as part of the conditions associated with this Prevention Zone. Neither is shooting directly impacted by the implementation of 3km and 10km control zones at sites where Avian Influenza is currently identified. However, BASC urges members to be vigilant and aware of the symptoms of the disease and to follow the latest biosecurity advice and measures required in the zones.” 

"Anyone attending a shoot should follow good personal biosecurity and regularly cleanse and disinfect clothing, footwear and vehicles – this is particularly important if they have any contact with game birds, poultry or other captive birds. There is, however, a possibility – albeit remote - that wild birds shot or culled in pest and predator control could be infected with bird flu at any time of the year, so it clearly makes sense to avoid actions that could spread infection from killed wild birds into any kept birds, whatever their species. Do not use the same vehicles and storage facilities for shot and live birds without thorough cleansing and disinfection in between. Keep all shot or culled birds well away from any kept flocks. Likewise, wash or sanitise hands and wash clothing well after handling dead birds and before any contact with kept flocks to minimise spreading infection. Gundogs are not at any particular risk from bird flu but as a precaution do not allow dogs to eat any dead wild birds and do not feed uncooked shot or culled birds to animals." 

Just as witnessed in early 2021 UK wide lockdowns because of Covid, the rules applying to people following outdoor pursuits are different whereby shooting has a lower level of control than bird ringing, bird watching or even walking in the countryside. 

To paraphrase George Orwell, 'All countryside pursuits are equal but some countryside pursuits are more equal than others'.

Follow the money.

A Happy New Year to followers of Another Bird Blog, past, present and future.

Linking today to https://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com and http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com.

 

Now’s The Time

A Tawny Owl hooted from the trees in the next door neighbour’s garden: it was very dark with little time to look, but the owl was very close. The owls breed in a nearby copse, our garden on the edge of their territory. 

This morning was my first ringing trip to Oakenclough for 2019; ahead lay a forty minute drive. Near Out Rawcliffe there was a roadside Little Owl and then 500 yards further on, a Tawny Owl on overhead wires, but there was no point in stopping in the half-light of 0700. 

I met Andy at 0725 and noted how the mornings are getting lighter but not necessarily any warmer at a finger tingling 3°C. Some folk might consider mid-Feb to be still winter but birds don’t have a calendar taped  to the kitchen cupboard, only instinct to tell them when the time is right, just as those early morning owls announced. 

Little Owl 

Visits here at Oakenclough in 2018 provided 870 captures, 767 new birds and 103 recaptures. Once autumn migration was over we packed up in early November when the weather took a turn towards winter. The site at some 550ft/168 metres above sea level doesn't hold many midwinter birds. The decent catches are in spring and autumn as our results show e.g. 151 Goldfinch, 98 Chaffinch , 88 Redwing, 58 Meadow Pipit, 14 Tree Pipit, 52 Lesser Redpoll, 19 Blackcap and 39 Goldcrest. 

We try to filter out the tit family, mainly because in general they provide little information or data over and above that already known; but as a bi-catch we still managed 60 Blue Tit, 48 Great Tit and 18 Coal Tit. 

Andy’s dozen or so birds on Monday spurred our decision to have another go this morning but the catching proved slow and unproductive apart from ever-dependable Goldfinches. We caught just 10 birds - 6 Goldfinch, 3 Blue Tit and 1 Chaffinch. Many of the Goldfinches are in fine fettle, the silvery bills of the older males elongated enough to sex the bird without additional features. 

Goldfinch 

The most unusual occurrence came with the realisation that a Blue Tit AKC5385 had not been ringed by ourselves but by another ringer – “probably just down the road in Garstang” we remarked ungraciously, knowing that Blue Tits are not renowned itinerants. 

Blue Tit 

As the morning warmed signs of spring came by way of singing Mistle Thrush (2), Song Thrush, Great Tit and Coal Tit with a drumming Great-spotted Woodpecker providing the backing track. 

Mistle Thrush  

We saw fly-overs of Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Raven. It was a Sparrowhawk over the nearby reservoir that sent 150+ Lapwings into the air, a number of which carried on into the nearby hills where some, but sadly not enough, will stay to breed. Likewise, flights of piping Oystercatcher flew across the water to nearby fields for their own early spring rehearsals.

Linking today to Anni's Birding and Eileen's Saturday.

Going Nowhere

The breeze was just too strong for a ringing session. Even at 10 mph we are blown off course at Oakenclough.  I set off instead for a spot of birding in what would prove to be a quite productive and eventful morning. 

At Lane Ends Pilling I was early enough to see the Little Egrets depart their island roost. The site is now so overgrown that it’s impossible to see the egrets from any direction, the only option being to count them in at dusk or count them out at dawn.  In the morning they signal their imminent departure by their barking calls after which they fly in ones, twos and threes from the trees to the marsh below. I counted 28 heading out and landing on the marsh before they gradually scattered in all directions to later spend their day in Morecambe Bay. 

Little Egret 

There was a flight of Greylag Geese off the marsh and heading south over my head. I counted 70+ in just ten or fifteen minutes. By the time I reached Braides Farm Greylags were still on the move with another two parties of 40+ birds, they too heading south. There was a Kestrel here, a young bird and one of very few juvenile Kestrels I've seen this year. 

There was a very good selection of waders at Conder Green by way of 270 Lapwing, 44 Redshank, 7 Greenshank, 4 Dunlin, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Curlew, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Snipe and 1 Oystercatcher. 

Dunlin 

Other “water” birds appeared as 12 Little Grebe, 3 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Shelduck, 1 Common Tern and 1 Kingfisher. The Kingfisher didn't come close and I was forced to watch it hovering and then plunge-diving across the pool and in front of the far island. This where the grebes hang out and where there are lots of small fish to be had. 

Little Grebe 

A single Whitethroat and 6 Goldfinch was the sum of the passerine count although 120+ Swallows was a welcome sight. 

At Glasson the Tufted Duck numbers are building with 22 there today plus a single Great Crested Grebe, but otherwise a decent number of uncounted Common Coot and a single Grey Heron. 

Tufted Duck 

There were more Swallows along Jeremy Lane where the good folk of Gardner’s Farm seem not to mind their roof and TV aerial being decorated by Swallows and House Martins. 

Swallow 

Swallow 

House Martin & Swallow 

Further up the lane I had to turn around and head back. A recovery truck was on its way to rescue an Asda delivery van from the roadside ditch. Someone near Cockersands would wait in vain for their Internet shopping bags. 

Going Nowhere 

Asda Delivery 

The lanes up here are often single track where a driver unfamiliar with local niceties like giving way to large tractors may find they are off-road with nowhere to go. 

Back near Pilling again I found 4 Buzzards in the air and a Little Owl sat in the sun but sheltered from the now stiff northerly wind. 

Little Owl 

More soon. Stay tuned to Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Anni's Birding Blog.