No Merlins Thank You

On Friday the catching and ringing of Sand Martins didn’t go too well; but then in 10 years of working this quarry site, a morning often doesn’t go to plan when Sand Martins have alternative ideas to combine with their instincts for survival. Before this latest visit and since 2015 we had caught 997 Sand Martins here, not a huge number considering that in most years the colony can hold up to 400 individuals on any given day at peak periods  April to August. 

The quarry and its exposed face is of varying degrees of often loose material – sand, gravel and stones of all shapes and sizes where the returning Sand Martins excavate in situations that suit their own requirements rather than those of bird ringers. Mostly the birds choose a high elevation to minimise disturbance and to deter predators. This year’s nesting chambers are high on the quarry face. The positioning of the holes is such that the ground yards below and upon which we have to erect nets is treacherous underfoot and not ideally placed to catch many of the 250+ martins returning to or leaving the nest holes some 20 yards above. Sand Martins also have incredible eyesight that combines with their unerring accuracy to fly above, below or parallel to a mist net placed to intercept a flight path. 

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

 

After three hours we called it a day but delighted in just 5 new Sand Martins to take us over 1000 captures here. Hard work but someone has to do it. The bonus is a few photos when the martins rest up between bouts of hawking insects from the surrounding farmland. 

Sand Martin

 

We had visits from both Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel, the Kestrel hovering directly above the quarry face so as to spot unwary birds around entrance holes and thus vulnerable to attack rather than hiding in the darkness. The martins saw both raptors off by a noisy rush of wings and in the case of the hawk, chasing it into the near distance whilst giving out warning calls. 

Kestrel

Other birds seen consisted of Buzzard, 4 Common Tern, Pied Wagtail, Grey Heron, Tree Sparrow. 

Buzzard

 

Grey Heron

In other news and thought for the day I am told that the popular magic eye/ear of the Merlin App for lazy birders is not all it is cracked up to be. This piece of whizz-bang technology struggles to ID the quiet squeaky birds like Robins, Flycatchers, the Regulus family and probably others too. 

Earlier this year the app caused a local frenzy by telling a user that a Blackbird was a much rarer Golden Oriole. The AI software will surely struggle with bird mimicry from species like the Common Starling, thrashers, catbirds and the aptly named mockingbirds (family Mimidae, Latin for mimic). I also doubt that the technology is advanced enough to analyse a song/call in conjunction with the relevant season of the year and/or a location's habitat  so as to give useful advice or reach meaningful conclusions.  

The “magical” Merlin app requires access to a user’s location and to a phone's microphone where the software employed may be more advanced than the listening device already installed, rarely turned to "off" on most Smartphones. 

I know of people who take their Smartphones literally everywhere, allowing the machine to track and listen in to their sometimes very personal daily activities and conversations wherever they may be. Go to “Settings” and click your buttons to “off”, preferably "FO". 

Rather than signing up to more of Google’s Big Brotherly love it may be better for budding birders to learn their birds another way. Find the bird then ID it through watching & listening in conjunction and comparison with the entries in a book? 

Books, remember those? 

Back Soon. Don't go away. I will be tracking you.

 

Raptorous

Wednesday morning at Cockerham began ok. Not perfect but a cool 10mph southerly wind. A couple of sheltered nets meant ringing might be possible. By Wednesday early evening the heavens opened to a downpour and my decision to go ringing had been absolved. 

As usual the morning target was Linnets and anything else that might stray into the catching area. It’s a seed plot/game cover, although in this case the farmers are not shooters but people who have to make a living, but where possible farm with an eye on maintaining their land for animals, birds and wildlife in general. 

Ten birds caught - 8 more Linnets to add to eight of last week, 1 Willow Warbler and a House Sparrow. Of those 16 Linnets, twelve have been juveniles and four adults, a healthy enough ratio to suggest that 2021 has been a decent year. 

Linnet - juvenile/first summer

Willow Warbler - first summer/juvenile

House Sparrow - adult male

The morning turned into something of a raptor fest with four species seen - Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, a Merlin and then two sightings of a Peregrine (or two individuals.) 

I have intermittent sighting of Sparrowhawks here as they do not breed on site but probably do so nearby. The Sparrowhawk did the usual trick of hanging around in an area where small birds were likely to show. As soon as the hawk spotted me, it flew through the nearest clump of trees and carried out the customary disappearing act. 

Kestrels have been pretty scarce this year perhaps as a result of the dearth of small mammals in the early year and during the frosts of May. Until this Wednesday I’d seen very few Kestrels, the one hovering close by my ringing station proved a welcome sight. 

Kestrel

In the distance recent heavy rains have left a flash flood in good shape to welcome a huge concentration of hundreds of crows, gulls & Greylags, dozens of Woodpigeons and Stock Doves, and dozens of assorted waders, including Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit. 

So many potential items of food pulled in a Peregrine from out on the salt marsh. The reaction of the massed birds could only be Peregrine, the fastest bird in the world. The panic was almost instant as wave after wave of birds took to the air in what appeared to be sheer terror. No other bird has quite the same effect as a hunting Peregrine. It’s as if the hunted share a common warning call for this major killer of birds large and small, a predator so efficient that the targeted one faces certain death. 

The falcon was so fast through the flocks that I lost track of it more than once and didn’t see it take anything. An hour later it, or another, came back for a second go. In fact it’s not unusual to see Peregrines hunt in pairs or even threes, especially in early autumn when families may still be partly reliant on siblings and parents finding food. 

Peregrine

I imagine that Peregrines have done quite well during lockdown. Free from the normal and continuous disturbance by moorland tourists, fell walkers, landowners & their gamekeepers, our upland Peregrines probably made hay for 18 months and more. 

Peregrines breed in rugged uplands and feed in the open countryside surrounding such sites. Whilst the breeding populations of Peregrines in many areas of England have shown a general pattern of increases in recent decades the same trend is not evident in northern uplands. Here marked losses in the range and population have been experienced and continue to this day. In particular, breeding productivity at sites on or near driven grouse moor estates is half of that found on non-grouse moor habitats. 

There are now significant gaps across the northern uplands where Peregrines previously bred and where overall numbers are lower compared to the 1990s and 2000s, for example in the Peak District, Bowland Forest and the North Pennines. 

The Merlin is also an upland breeder primarily restricted to heather moorland that too relies heavily on open country prey. Although Merlins are generally no longer directly persecuted, their breeding habitat, much of which is on moorland primarily managed for Red Grouse, is vulnerable to change of land use. The decline in farmland bird populations like Linnets is also likely to have an impact on survival of Merlins that winter around the Lancashire coast. 

As I watched Linnets flit around the seed plot a Merlin appeared, flying low towards me, inches off the ground and alongside the 3ft high vegetation. At first, and as seemed the most likely, the brown head probably belonged to a Sparrowhawk. Then as the bird drew near the flight pattern was not the flap glide of a “sprawk” but the characteristic hurrying flight of fast wingbeats with mildly undulating progress. Some birders liken the Merlin’s flight to that of the similarly sized Mistle Thrush. 

Merlin

Again, as soon as the little falcon spotted me, it lifted, veered off and flew out of sight over nearby trees. 

There was a small but visible migration of Swifts and Swallows, 4 Swifts together and then a loose party of 20/25 Swallows hugging the ground so as to make fast progress on their way south. I watched them disappear over the fields and into the distance - visible migration. 

Other birds seen during my three hour session – 35 Linnet, 2 Goldfinch, 5 House Sparrow, 8 Stock Dove, 45 Woodpigeon, 2 Grey Heron, 5 Little Egret, 7 Teal, 28 Curlew, 2 Little Grebe.

Grey Heron

 

The weather is looking unhelpful for a few days but as ever I will be looking for a window through which to explore. Stay tuned to Another Bird Blog.

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

Merlin And Mipits

The slightly murky start to the morning produced some obvious autumn migration by way of an influx of Swallows, some visibly heading south, a number of landfall Meadow Pipits, and my first Merlin of the autumn. 

I stopped at Braides Farm to look along the fence line and across to the sea wall. The local Grey Heron and Buzzard were in situ along the fence line and seemingly nothing else. When I looked closer there was a single Wheatear sat motionless on a fence post, probably easy to overlook except for its rather bright appearance on such a dim morning. 

Wheatear

I spent very little time at Conder Green where a large wagon with blacked out windscreen greeted me at the layby. The driver had spent the night there but very soon he started up the diesel engine to warm the cab, so goodbye the few birds that were about; 14 Little Grebe, 1 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Stock Dove, 2 Wigeon, 1 Grey Heron and 3 Little Egret. Loud “cronk-cronks” told me Ravens were about and when I looked up it proved to be a single one heading south. 

A quick look at Glasson showed about 300 Swallows around the marina with 7 Tufted Duck and 18+ Coots on the water. The sky was beginning to clear with the first signs of some promised sunshine. 

I settled down to go through the wagtails on Bank End Marsh when someone stopped to tell me that the whole road was closing for maintenance in 30 minutes time and that it would remain so until midnight. I don’t mind spending an hour two at Bank End but not a whole day thanks. Luckily by then I’d seen 45+ Pied Wagtail, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 15 Linnet and 2 Little Egrets. 

Yellow Wagtail

Grounded and flighty Meadow Pipits numbered 15 +. I also met an old friend here, a one legged Curlew I first saw a couple of years ago and in exactly the same spot. This bird is a real survivor even though adult Curlews have few predators except man and the wily old fox. 

Curlew

I made it back to the main road and headed to Cockersands where a steady but not enormous stream of Swallows flew in off the river, over the silage field and then headed quickly south. There’s a nicely developing set-aside plot here where I counted 3 Reed Bunting, 3 Whitethroat, 8 Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch and 10 Linnet. Very noticeable was a group of 15+ active and excitable Meadow Pipits along the roadside and where the pipits joined the other birds in taking advantage of the set-aside. 

Meadow Pipit

I was turning the car round when I spotted a Merlin fly low over the marsh and land on the roadside fence. Within seconds the Merlin was gone, over the fields and out of sight. 

Our UK Merlin is often linked to the Meadow Pipit. Meadow Pipits breed in good numbers in upland Britain where they share the landscape with the Merlin and other species. The dashing Merlin preys extensively on Meadow Pipits and the small birds’ ability to produce two or even three broods of young, a ready supply of food for a growing family of young Merlins. It’s an inter-specific relationship of the two species, so well connected that it is thought the Merlin as a species times its autumnal dispersal south to coincide with that of the Meadow Pipit while the pipit resumes the role of a meal ticket. I am positive this theory is true as many times in the autumn and winter I have seen a Merlin target Meadow Pipits, often ignoring other possible meals. 

Merlin - USFWS - CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

There was time for a quick look at Lane Ends, Pilling; 18+ Little Egrets scattered across the marsh and 80+ Swallows feeding low over the marsh.

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

It’s Magic

This morning dawned grey and breezy so I finished a few chores, rescued the lawn mower from hibernation then cranked it up for the first cut of grass in 2015. Things are warming up for a day or two, then next week there’s more cold weather to let the lawn go back to sleep. There’s nothing quite like the delightful and mysterious British climate to keep a birder or a gardener on their toes. 

By midday there was sun and a spot of birding beckoned. While a.m. birding is mostly more productive than p.m., I set off for a few gentle hours at Pilling. 

The fields at Fluke Hall Lane seemed strangely empty with just 45 or so Lapwing including some paired birds and tumbling display. The hundreds of Golden Plovers of Wednesday had mostly gone with less than 30 remaining and even the Redshanks and Oystercatchers in single figures. A single Snipe rose from the wet stubble, calling as it flew out to the marsh. 

Then I spotted the possible cause of the almost deserted meadows, a tiny, bright-as-a-button Merlin sat motionless, quite high and partly hidden in a tree which overlooks the marsh. The falcon let me take a few shots from the car window before it shot away across the fields in pursuit of a meal, scattering a Skylark or two in the process. Merlins have been pretty scarce this winter with this one almost certainly a migrant heading north for the coming Spring. 

Merlin

Most birds are an anti-climax after catching sight of a magical Merlin, but I left the car behind and set off to walk the lane and shore in search of more birds. A silent Buzzard appeared overhead and flew towards Lane Ends but I know both birds are back on territory now. Likewise the Kestrels; the female hovered above the edge of the wood and then further along the lane a male lifted from the grass and carried a vole to a more convenient dining table. 

Buzzard

Through the wood a Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Song Thrush, a pair of Long-tailed Tit, 4 Tree Sparrows and an all too brief Sparrowhawk. The Twite flock of Wednesday was no longer in the car park field, just 190 Pink-footed Goose, 8 Curlew, 2 Pied Wagtail and a pair of Oystercatcher. 

Long-tailed Tit

More Pink-footed Geese were crammed into the fields at Braides Farm, the suspicious flock not daring to come closer than 200 yards from the road. Maybe the recent cold northerly winds have held back their migration because their numbers today were something like 10/12,000, a good number for March when by now many should be on their way to Iceland. The only interloper spotted was a single Barnacle Goose. 

Also there - a single Buzzard, 2 Little Egret, 14 Linnet and 7+ Skylark. 

It’s not an awful lot to show for an afternoon in the sun but a Merlin sure makes any day a special one. If only that Merlin could work its magic on the weather to make Winter vanish and Spring appear? 

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Ne’re Cast A Clout

There came a nasty surprise this morning. 

Spring snow and sleet.

Since when did a little sleet and snow put paid to a spot of birding? The screen wipers quickly disposed of the offending material, I donned hat, scarf, gloves and heated seat then set off north to Pilling. 

There was a cold wind blowing too but it didn’t deter a Chiffchaff singing from the trees at Lane Ends; 5 Little Egrets had not left the roost but instead lounged around the sheltered-from-the-wind edge of the pool. A single Lesser Redpoll flew over seemingly heading north - my first redpoll of the Spring. 

I battled West against the wind to check out Pilling Water hoping for a Wheatear or two. A single bird hunkered down in the shelter of the rocks below the sea wall. I wondered if it could be the one I ringed on Wednesday but very unlikely with so many Wheatears beginning to appear along the coast before heading into the hills and The Pennines. So it proved, another second year female lured by a mouth-watering mealworm. 

Northern Wheatear

Northern Wheatear

A Little Egret, 40+ Redshanks and a Green Sandpiper on the pool but no further reason to hang around in the bitterly cold morning so I headed back to Lane Ends and then to Braides Farm. 

There’s been an influx of Pink-footed Geese this week, birds from Norfolk stopping off for a feed before continuing their journey with another pause in Scotland before their final destination of Iceland. 

Quite huge numbers greeted me - perhaps 5/6000 birds crowded into the several fields close to the sea wall. I spent an hour or more with the geese hoping some might come closer but they are all still highly wary of passing traffic or brightly coloured cyclists passing by. Leaving the car would be a recipe for disaster by sending the geese into a frenzy of flight and stopping them feeding, so remaining in the warmth of the car seemed a good option. 

Pink-footed Geese

Pink-footed Geese

I counted 30 Lapwings scattered across the wet fields, almost all of them distributed as to suggest that winter flocking is over and territory is the name of the game. Not so with the Golden Plover as large flocks are moving through the area and one of 350+ here today. 

A female Merlin paid a brief visit to the fence, staying long enough to take a look around before dashing off towards Lane Ends. It was a long way off along a line of posts!

Merlin

A couple of Little Egrets, a couple of Skylarks before a tractor and a dismounting driver sent the pinkies over the sea wall and out of sight. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. 

Oh yes, I almost forgot. 'Ne'er cast a clout till May be out' is an English proverb. From "Phrases UK"

"The earliest citation is the rhyme from Dr Thomas Fuller 1732, although it probably existed in word-of-mouth form well before that. Since at least the early 15th century 'clout' has been used to mean 'a blow to the head', 'a clod of earth or 'a fragment of cloth, or clothing'. It is the last of these that is meant in 'cast a clout'. So, 'ne'er cast a clout...' simply advises not to discard your warm winter clothing. 

The 'till May be out' part is where doubt lies. On the face of it this means 'until the month of May is ended', but there is another interpretation. In England, in May, you can't miss the Hawthorn. It is an extremely common tree in the English countryside, especially in hedges. Hawthorns are virtually synonymous with hedges. The name 'Haw' derives from 'hage', the Old English for 'hedge'. The tree gives its beautiful display of flowers in late April/early May. It is known as the May Tree and the blossom itself is called May. Using that allusion, 'till May is out' could mean until the hawthorn is out in bloom."

Stay tuned to Another Bird Blog where the true warmth of Spring may eventually arrive and you can share it.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday, Anni's Blog, Camera Critters and Eileen's Saturday Blog .

Early To Blog

Play was abandoned on Saturday morning after hardly a bird was noted whereby the current spell of daily wind and rain outdoes even an Englishman’s capacity for jesting about this island climate. 

I set off north with good intent. The sky was bright at Pilling where I stopped at Lane Ends car park to survey the marsh. Out on the marsh there’s a remnant of a tree from the recent storms, the bare branches a perfect vantage point for a Merlin, that most patient of watchers. The tree is a good way out maybe 500/700 yards at a guess, and in the bright light even at that distance I could discern the tell-tale jizz of a Merlin. 

Merlin

I scoped the raptor whereupon it became a female/first winter but other than that it faced me head on and being a Merlin it would give a flying display when it was ready, maybe that very second or at any time within the next hour or two. 

The Merlin did neither so I turned my attention to the geese coming off their overnight roost and the Little Egrets with their heads poking up from the shelter of the tidal ditches where they scratch a winter living. 

Little Egret

The geese were flying directly inland, not parachuting into nearby meadows as they sometimes do. There was no point in counting the skeins, I’d missed the main post dawn thrust of early risers, and these were the stay-in-beds who’d miss the early worm but instead join those already at the breakfast table of the inland fields. 

Pink-footed Geese

There was nothing much doing at windswept Braides Farm where plovers are strangely absent this year, the Lapwings and Golden Plovers seeming in recent months to prefer the nearby Lune Estuary.

From the gate I counted several hundred Starlings on the wet fields and in the distance 2 more Little Egrets flying behind the sea wall. Before driving to Conder Green I paused to chat with the farmer and Kes his Border Collie, the black & white breed the obligatory but highly intelligent working dog of these parts. I made a mental note to clean Kes’ muddy paw prints from the car window and door when out of sight. 

Border Collie

Maybe Kes was an omen for the real Kestrel I spotted alongside the road at Cockerham village, or a Buzzard which circled the trees at Higher Thurnham? The latter is now a regular spot to see our shy local Buzzards. 

At Glasson Dock the relative shelter of The Victoria pub afforded some protection from the rapidly increasing wind where my attempted counts were frustrated by almost constant “dreads” of the waders on offer. Birds are much more easily spooked on windy days; all that extra movement keeps a bird on its toes against potential predators, even a tiny branch from a tree or a Tesco plastic bag blowing across the landscape will send the birds into panic mode.

I eventually arrived at (very) rough counts of 6000+ Lapwing and 2000+ Golden Plover, any wildfowl hard to count in the choppy waters of the tide. 16 Goldeneye on the yacht basin was a pretty good count and 50+ Tufted Duck a middling total. I was to find more Goldeneye and Tufted Duck just along the road at Conder. 

Goldeneye

At Conder Green the wind blew directly into the “hide” where my combined counts creek and lake reached 1 Grey Heron, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 Shelduck, 175 Teal, 32 Wigeon, 2 Little Grebe, 5 Goldenye, 2 Tufted Duck, 22 Redshank and 140 Lapwing. 

Nothing for it but to pack in early and here we are at 1400 hours blogging again.

This may well be my last post before Christmas, so Best Wishes of the Season to all my blogging friends and followers. May all your birding days be productive, instructive and entertaining.

Linking today to Stewart's Gallery.

See you all soon.

Blog Tour - Crossley Raptors UK - Free Book Draw

Yes this is it folks, and if you reached here today via Princeton University Press Blog or Birdfreak.com you will know what this is all about. For regular readers of Another Bird Blog today’s post is a little different in the form of a whistle-stop on a transatlantic blog circuit organised by Princeton University Press, a tour of Internet birding and featuring Richard Crossley’s new book The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors. 

Readers will remember Richard’s Crossley’s innovative and highly successful book The Crossley Guide:Eastern Birds, reviewed here on 27th January 2011. The post became the most visited page on Another Bird Blog with more than 1200 hits to date. The book became a huge success and Richard is now following it up by joining forces with Brian Sullivan and Jerry Liguori to co-author this new volume which takes a detailed look at North American raptors.

The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

As part of Another Bird Blog’s contribution to this circuit and further down the page there is a draw whereby two lucky people will each receive a copy of The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors. All you have to do to be in with a chance is answer a simple question. So read on but don’t skip the middle bits which may give a clue as to the answer to my question. 

This new book may be produced in the US but let’s not forget the UK and the US share not only chunks of our history and culture but also a number of birds of prey and occasional transatlantic passerine and wader vagrants.  There’s a healthy interchange of bird watchers too, with US birders heading to Europe as well as many UK birders visiting US raptor watching stations and bird observatories or taking birding holidays.

I looked through the The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors to find the species common to both nations, the familiar birds which UK birders might see over in the US, and the regular species a US birder might well see in the UK. We share species, but we often like to name them slightly differently, a whimsy of our respective ornithological systems, so I will list the species and include both name versions where appropriate, US version first followed by the UK name and then finishing with the Latin name:

• Merlin Falco columbarius
• Northern Harrier/Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus
• Rough-legged Hawk/Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus
• Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus                         
• Gyr Falcon Falco rusticolus 
• Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis 
• Osprey Pandion haliaetus 
• Golden Eagle Aquila chrysatos 

There may be several thousand miles of ocean separating the US and the UK, but there are subtle variations as well as the obvious similarities, with just a few of those detailed below.

In the tiny landmass of the UK our Merlin is the singular species of Falco columbarius. In the vast continent of the US with its huge variety of habitats the Merlin has evolved into three sub-species differentiated mainly by the darkness of their plumage. There is a dark form, the so called “black” Merlin of the Pacific Northwest, a pale “prairie” Merlin of the northern Great Plains, and the intermediate “taiga” Merlin of open forest. It’s the latter type which is equal to our familiar UK Merlin.

Merlin - from The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

Following a number of variable plumages seen in the UK autumn time, there’s been discussion here about the possibility of Northern Harrier/Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus being two species, a North American one and a slighly different European/UK type. The jury, in this case the International Ornithological Committee, examined the evidence and decided not to split as the genetic differences between the two are very low in comparison to many other Eurasia/North America disjunctions. 

Northern Harrier/Hen Harrier - from The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors

Happily both of our Peregrine populations are in a healthier state since the ban on DDT of the early 1970s which led to a recovery in numbers. This has been supported by large-scale protection of nesting places and a reintroduction programme in the many parts of the US. In both our countries the Peregrine has reoccupied former haunts and they now breed on human artefacts in our city centres. There are three subspecies of Peregrine Falcon in the US, tundrius of the north, anatum found mainly in the Rocky Mountains, and pealei which is found in the Pacific Northwest. Peregrines introduced into the eastern and other states are of mixed races. Here in the UK our Peregrine Falcons are from the nominate (first named) race Falco peregrinus peregrinus.  

Rough-legged Hawk/Rough-legged Buzzard Buteo lagopus is but a very irregular winter visitor to the British Isles, spreading here from continental Europe, generally during times of intense cold weather and/or shortage of their lemming/mammal prey. This situation rather simplifies separating out our everyday UK Common Buzzard Buteo buteo, unlike the US landmasses where 10 species of Buteo occur, all of which feature in The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors.

Rough-legged Hawk/Rough-legged Buzzard - from The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

The Gyr Falcon is incredibly hard to see in the UK, and just like the Rough-legged Hawk the pale Arctic falcon is a very irregular visitor to the UK mainland. As Crossley has described its status in the US, “a loner with a huge territory”, an accurate portrayal for a bird which spends much of its time hunting across the northern oceans.

In the US the Northern Goshawk is a widespread but scarce breeder of forested areas. It's a status replicated over here in the UK, whereby spotting a Goshawk makes for something of a birding Red Letter Day.

Northern Goshawk - from The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors

Ospreys are a common sight in in many parts of the United States, whereas in the United Kingdom the species is confined mainly to Scotland with just a small number of pairs breeding in the more remote parts of Wales and northern England. In the English counties Ospreys are a regular sight on migration during both spring and autumn periods.  

Last but not least on my list is the magnificent Golden Eagle, a species which in both the UK and the United States breeds only in the more remote northern forests and mountains. Here in the UK our Golden Eagles are confined to the inaccessible parts of Scotland and rarely venture south across the border into England. 

And now without further ado the prize draw - at last you say. There is a small, colourful  raptor featured in The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors which has occurred in the UK on less than a handful of occasions, in fact just two accepted records, so few that while it belongs on the Britsh List of birds as maintained by The British Ornithologist's Union's Records Committee (BOURC), I didn't include it in my summary of shared species above. The last occasion this raptor appeared in the UK as a vagrant was during the late 1970s, over 35 years ago. What is the species? Please post your answer as a  comment to this post before 27th March 2013. Two winners will be chosen at random, and due to logisitcs, one from the US and one from the UK. The winners will announced on Another Bird Blog on 28th March and requested to send me (in confidence) their postal address. In due course each winner will receive a copy of The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors courtesy of Princeton University Press.

As part of this two-week blog tour raptor enthusiasts are invited to join in a live Shindig video chat event on Friday 22nd March - "Raptor ID Happy Hour" from 6pm to 7pm EST at  Shindig's Raptor Event. Two of the participants are the authors themselves, Richard Crossley and Brian Sullivan - sounds like a good place to be on a Friday evening with a glass of beer close to hand.

Next stop on today's blog circuit is a trip to Radd Icenoggle in Montana USA where Radd's Blog is looking back at the Montana State recovery programme which rescued the Peregrine Falcon from the verge of extinction in that region. Following on from Radd the Magnificent Frigate Bird web site will feature Barred Owl and Cooper's Hawk and there's another chance to win copies of The Crossley ID Guide:Raptors.

Visit the Blog Tour Schedule

Finally and before you head off to Montana with Radd, don't forget to enter today's prize draw on Another Bird Blog and then come back soon to find out the winners of the fabulous prizes.

A Silhouette Day

Another one of those grey, uninviting mornings which promised no camera time, but at least today it wasn’t raining so instead of staying home thinking about birding I set out to do a little. Pilling was the venue again where a high tide was due at 11am. 

Two raptors greeted me, first a rather small, grey Peregrine flying west towards Fluke Hall, which I lost when it dived into the Broadfleet gully and panicked thousands of birds into flight. I’d walked up towards Pilling Water when a Merlin flew towards the sea wall, this time in the direction of Lane Ends itself, where it dipped over the sea wall and then over the adjacent fields. The Merlin was flying with that clipped, almost “bouncy” action they sometimes show, reminiscent of a Mistle Thrush. Such a flight pattern may imitate the flight of their prey, disguise their falcon outline and so allow a closer approach: it has been called “masked hunting”. Merlins also indulge in persistent chasing of their prey where they seek to exhaust the target, combining the chase with spectacular vertical stoops where they either grab or knock down the victim. Who’d be a tiny bird in Merlin territory? 

Merlin 

There were lots of Dunlin this morning, at least 1500, and a wader which is a favoured target and a handy sized meal for a Merlin. Other waders - 40+ Snipe, 270 Redshank, 450 Lapwing, 70+ Curlew. 

Dunlin

Two other raptors this morning, a Kestrel and a Buzzard. The Buzzard was hanging about at the wildfowler’s pools and stubble where there are still lots of Red-legged Partridge for nabbing, hence the regular sighting of a Peregrine over the site too. When sportsmen started to gather for the Wednesday afternoon shoot the Buzzard headed off inland towards the mosslands. On the pools themselves, 50+ Teal, some of the 700+ out on the marsh, together with 250 Wigeon and 300+ Shelduck. Two Grey Herons today, outnumber as ever by the 11 Little Egrets on show. 

The only chance for a photograph came when I settled down to watch about 15 Meadow Pipits feeding in the shore rockery, one or two coming within camera a range but at ISO800. As the tide came in the Meadow Pipits disappeared over the wall to be replaced by 2 Rock Pipits appearing on the high tide with 18 Linnets and 15 Skylark flying in too. 

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit

Ravens are a bit of a mystery bird out here, appearing and disappearing without any apparent pattern, just like today when four appeared over the marsh from the Cockerham direction and then proceeded to fly noisily south west. There’s a rubbish and distant photo, not taken in black and white, just “silhouette” mode on a grey day, but Ravens are very noisy birds which are impossible to miss. Click on the xeno-canto button to hear the Ravens.

Raven

Let's hope for a more colourful day tomorrow on Another Bird Blog. Stay tuned just in case.

Merlins And Moles

I squeezed a few hours birding in despite the cold, grey, breezy start, a brighter middle and then more drizzle to end on, so there’s not a lot to report – again. 

As I drove along Burned House Lane I glanced sideways at a Buzzard descending amongst corvids where I guessed a dead rabbit was about to be claimed, but the double white lines here preclude any stopping to bird watch. Between Lambs Lane and Fluke hall Lane I added 4 Kestrels to the note book, two separate pairs hunting their territories, then along Fluke Hall Lane I thought there was another Kestrel atop a telegraph pole. On closer inspection it turned out to be a Merlin; a pity about the grey light, the necessary overexposure and ISO 800 followed by Photoshop. Stop making excuses! 

Merlin

I know one or two of my blog readers have an aversion to Merlins and perhaps birds of prey in general, but a Merlin is my favourite bird of prey, so completely fearless, dashing and spectacular is it when hunting. Some regard the North American and Eurasian Falco columbarius populations as two distinct species, a bird with a long-standing presence on both sides of the Atlantic, as demonstrated by the degree of genetic differences between Eurasian and North American populations. Right now the splitters, in particular the Scilly tickers (or is that Silly Tickers?), argue the Merlin might be considered two distinct species, with gene exchanges probably having ceased at least a million years ago. 

The Merlin sped off across Hi-Fly’s now partly ploughed fields, setting to flight the several Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Skylarks. 

In the village Woodpigeons, Collared Doves and Jackdaws prowled around the Golden Ball’s beer tables looking for crumbs of Golden Wonder or Uncle Albert’s Pork Scratchings. Funny how normally shy birds are less fearful when there may be food about. Now there’s a tricky exposure – black and grey bird, half of it against the grey slate roof, the other half against a grey sky – well done Canon. 

  Jackdaw

The Pilling Water/Fluke walk proved to be mainly that, a walk, with no sign of fresh springtime birds just winter ones or recent arrivals: 2 Little Egret, 2 Little Grebe, 3 Tufted Duck, 3 Jay, 14 Chaffinch, 1 Reed Bunting, 2 Meadow Pipit, 3 Skylark, 7 Teal, 1 Greenshank. 1 more Kestrel and now 250 Pink-footed Goose. 

 Kestrel

I came across a trophy wire of freshly killed moles – European Mole Talpa europaea. 

 European Mole Talpa europaea.

A mole's diet is mostly earthworms and other small invertebrates found in the soil. Mole runs are in reality 'worm traps', the mole sensing when a worm falls into the tunnel then quickly running along to kill and eat it. Moles cause damage and alarm to gardeners and green keepers when they appear unexpectedly leaving a trail of mole hills in their wakes. 

Killing and then displaying the pathetic little corpses is a throwback from the days when gamekeepers had to display dead "vermin" to justify their employment and show how efficient they were. Surely In this day and age it is both unjustified and inexcusable that anyone still does this?