Old Pictures, Old Tales

More wind and rain promised this week doesn’t bode well for much birding or photography but I live in hope of some extensive sunshine later in the week when I will have time to get out. Anyway, today is babysitting and I wouldn’t want to miss that.

So for this evening I’ll post a few aged pictures coupled with a few ancient stories.

When I looked up the date of the first two pictures by referring to some old bird reports I was amazed by how old the transparencies were, how long I held onto them and how they managed to survive the ravages of time. I suppose it helps they were stashed away in the dark in little plastic boxes, and despite a few moves of home and the clearouts that came with pleas of “throw out that old rubbish”, which I resisted on the grounds of preserving vital historical information for future generations, they survived.

The first two show a Grey Phalarope from 26 years ago, September 1983 that turned up at Fairhaven Lake after rough weather. What was fairly remarkable about this bird was how confiding it proved to be, allowing close approach to within feet away as it sailed around the edge of the lake and took to wandering over the grassy areas. Within a few days of its arrival a Red-necked Phalarope was also blown in after a storm, as together the two species entertained the assembled watchers for a day or two. If I remember correctly, the new arrival wasn’t quite as obliging as its counterpart, probably the reason I don’t have a picture of the red-necked, but I do remember seeing them within a foot or two of each other feeding in the detritus of the lake’s surface. Even now I laugh about the somewhat garbled phone message I received at the time "Red-necked Fallahawk on Fairhaven Lake", still something of a household joke.

Maybe there is someone out there who has old slides of them both together. What a furore the same event might cause nowadays, but the resulting multitude and quality of digital pictures would be phenomenal in comparison with my tired old ex slides.

Recently there was a lot of interest shown in a Long-billed Dowitcher found locally near Cockersands and there were also a few others in the UK, but the next picture is of a Short-billed Dowitcher. I took this old photo slide in Ontario Canada in May 1989 where I became fairly familiar with the look and call of the species in the month that I spent there.



Later that year in September 1989 a dowitcher sp turned up at Marton Mere, Blackpool spending its initial time on the northern bank of the mere from where I and one or two others heard it call as it flew around a couple of times. From the diagnostic call, there was no doubt that this bird was a Short-billed Dowitcher, the dull, staccato but fastish Turnstone like “tuttuttut”, quite unlike the high pitched call of Long-billed Dowitcher.

The bird soon relocated to the mere island opposite the south bank where it was not only further away, but where it remained silent until it left later in the day. At its time on the island other observers convinced themselves, perhaps by default as the more common species to occur on this side of the Atlantic, that the bird must be a Long-billed Dowitcher. I believe that the bird was later “accepted” as a Long-billed Dowitcher which really didn’t concern me as I knew what I had seen and heard.

It was in subsequent years, especially in the 1990s, that separation of autumn long-billed and short-billed firmed up, but as they say, “Short-billed Dowitcher, it’s on my list”.

However for anyone with a particular interest in these two species I recommend the following read:

http://www.surfbirds.com/ID%20Articles/dowitchers1005/dowitchers.html

My thanks to Eurico Zimbres for the fantastic picture below of Short-billed Dowitchers, wow, what long bills short-billed have.

And my thanks to http://www.naturespicsonline.com/ for the equally stunning picture of Long-billed Dowitcher.



There was some reaction to my Bardsey memories of a few days ago from fellow Bardsey buffs, so just for them, here is another picture, Yellow-browed Warbler, instantly recognisable as being taken on Bardsey for them that know.

Long Distance Dowitcher

Too windy for ringing today but when I go birding there are just so many places I want to get to early morning that I often make the mistake of not spending enough time at any of them. And then unfortunately tempus fugit a bit too fast and I am left wondering what happened to the day.

So it was today when I started off at the sea wall west of Fluke Hall to find Chaffinches, Siskins and Greenfinches going over. Within 15 minutes of arriving I counted 48 Chaffinch in groups of eight to ten coming along the wall from the direction of Knott End before they continued into the wood beyond. Two flocks of Siskin, a seven then an eight also came from the same direction to disappear into the wood. Several Greenfinch were along the hedgerow, together with three Reed Bunting plus three or four Blackbirds that chased up and down. Below the ramp to the sea wall a Grey Wagtail and a Rock Pipit quarrelled a little but the wagtail won by chasing off the pipit further along the wall.

As usual, three Little Egrets were on the immediate marsh, as were several hundred Starlings newly arrived from a roost. I walked along Fluke Hall Lane through the wood where I saw and heard more Chaffinch and Siskin, potentially some of those I saw ten minutes earlier, but probably at least some of them extra. There was a large tit flock, numbering at least 20 Long-tailed Tit with several Great and Blue amongst them as I also disturbed a Sparrowhawk from the fence in the first cottage garden.

So ended my first mistake, as I motored on north to Conder Green instead of spending more time “vis migging” and/or “bush bashing” to find out more about what was happening.

But Conder was ok with plenty to look at by way of 8 Tufted Duck, 2 Snipe and 4 Little Grebe on the pool, the Grey Heron in the creek and a Spotted Redshank close by, even though it was playing at phalaropes and not wanting to show me its red legs.





A Reed Bunting hung about the hedge at the screen, as did the Robin and Wren. The Kingfisher appeared from just below and beyond the parapet wall where it seems to have an out of sight perch, then flew out across the pool in a semi circle to avoid the screen hide before heading back towards the creek. As I passed The Stork pub a single Redwing flew from the car park trees and across towards Galgate but I didn’t see any others today. Also up here nearer Lancaster I didn’t see any of the evidence of passerine movement I saw at Fluke Hall earlier on.

Up at the Victoria I counted over 1000 Lawing on the estuary together with 1400 Knot as they packed together prior to the incoming tide but the wagtails on the bowling green were flushed into the distance by a party of passing walkers.



At Cockersands I bumped into SP outside Lighthouse Cottage where he surveyed the mixed waders whilst hoping to find the dowitcher again. We both watched as the tide filled the channel but although there were plenty of Dunlin, Knot, Redshank and Ringed Plover, there was no sign of the dowitcher. In the way of passerine migrants, there were four Reed Buntings together in the field opposite the cottage and two others flew up from the marsh grass as the tide filled over it.

I should have known that if anyone could find the dowitcher it would be SP since he has eyes like the proverbial. So while I tootled around the fields of Jeremy Lane to see sweet FA, he more wisely spent some time up at the caravan park where he located the distant Long-billed Dowitcher across the still incoming tide. Eventually I joined him (thanks for the message SP) to have very long distance views of a pea on a drum as the bird made its way down to Bank End with roosting Redshank and Golden Plover. Not to worry however as I saw plenty of dowitchers in Canada, even if they were the short billed variety, and I have seen a few of the long billed in Britain. But if this bird stays around for the winter, it looks like high tide at Bank End may be an alternative to a low tide at Cockersands in being able to see it.



Meanwhile back at the car park by the caravans yet another Kestrel chose to pose obligingly for me today and although the light was far from perfect the picture does show how expertly the bird perched on the few available twiggy branches of the tree.



I just had time to call in at Lane Ends where the tide was full. Just enough time to clock 23 Whooper Swans out to the left at distant Pilling Water with 18 Black-tailed Godwit in the tidal pools not far out from the car park.