Showing posts with label Oystercatcher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oystercatcher. Show all posts

Saturday, June 10, 2023

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.


 

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Another Martin

Last week was Sand Martins, this week it’s their blue and white cousins House Martins. While it’s relatively easy to catch Sand Martins that nest in waterside tunnels or quarries, House Martins that build mud nests under the eaves of buildings present a more difficult proposition. 

That is the main reason why over the years since the early 1990s our own Fylde Ringing Group has captured just 43 House Martins but more than 1326 Sand Martins. 

The latest Birds of Conservation Concern report of late 2021 reveals that more than 1 in 4 UK species, including Swifts and House Martins, are now in serious trouble. The UK has lost over half of its House Martin population (-57%) since 1969 and the species is now “Red-listed” and in need of further and immediate study. 

On Tuesday morning an hour's drive took us to Dunsop Bridge, Bowland and a building owned by the water company United Utilities where House Martins nest under the low slung eaves just 12ft off the ground. The building sits alongside the rocky and free-running River Dunsop that hosts piles of insect food and also places where the martins can collect mud to build their homes. 
 
House Martin

We didn’t expect to catch many and knew that it would be adults only until late June and beyond. We estimated 10 active nests and managed to catch 9 House Martins. We’ll return later in the month and into July, August and September to see how the breeding season progressed and gather more data when we catch youngsters of the year plus more adults. 

Thanks are due to United Utilities for allowing access to their works compound and to the chaps on site who put up with us for a few hours at their place of work. We all enjoyed the sights and sounds of good numbers of Pied Wagtails, Common Sandpipers, Grey Wagtails, Swallows, Mistle Thrushes. Most of all we enjoyed seeing House Martins at close quarters.

House Martin

Mistle Thrush

By the time we drove back towards the coast the Trough of Bowland road was busy with cyclists, walkers and other vehicles. There was a roadside juvenile Curlew that posed for a photo but the sun was not in the best situation. Lots of Meadow Pipits were in evidence together with Oystercatchers, a few Lapwings, but sadly very few Redshanks. 

Meadow Pipit

Oystercatcher
 
Curlew
 
Back soon with more news, views and photos. The next ringing will be those Kestrels and a look in  the Barn Owl nest box. 

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




Thursday, April 21, 2022

This And That

Tuesday 19 April - There was no traffic on the road when in the semi darkness a Barn Owl drifted across the road ahead. It’s a regular spot for Barn Owls and best visited when there’s a little more light. I pulled up, clicked a few shots and then motored on to my real destination. 

Barn Owl

When I arrived at the Pilling ringing site, all was quiet and the temperature gauge showed -1.5°C so I elected to employ just two nets, one at a time, so as to warm my hands in between. I reckoned that there would not be too many new birds around following the clear frosty night. 

I was right. Just 4 birds caught, 2 Blackcaps (male and female), 1 Reed Bunting and 1 Willow Warbler. 

Blackcap

Blackcap

Reed Bunting

Willow Warbler

There was little else to see or to hear during the “one bird an hour” session. Although local reports mention other insectivores like Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Grasshopper Warbler , Redstart, Sedge Warbler, Whinchat and Swallows, the numbers are low, and those same species have yet to appear at our ringing site. 

Still, it wasn’t too bad sitting in the now warming sun, coffee and hot-cross bun at hand,  day dreaming of birds yet to come in May, home or away. 

Email news arrived of adult male Lesser Redpoll APN5870 caught at our ringing site Oakenclough, Nr Garstang on 14 April. It was another of the regular south to north movements that we have come to expect with our redpoll captures. 

In this case APN5870 was first ringed 62 days before in a suburban garden in Bracknell, Berkshire on 11 February 2022. This redpoll may have wintered in south-east England however I tend to think that it had more likely wintered across the English Channel and in February it was already migrating north to its eventual destination some way north of Oakenclough. 

Lesser Redpoll - Bracknell to Oakenclough

Perhaps the redpoll was looking to join with the huge numbers of Lesser Redpolls in the birch woods of Scotland. 

While not strictly “garden birds” Lesser Redpolls will visit bird feeders at certain times of year when their natural foods become scarce. The species seems to prefer niger seed (aka thistle or Nyjer), but the seed must be fresh and aromatic when they are more likely to find it and to return day after day. The species’ natural food is the seeds from birch, alder and spruce.

Lesser Redpoll
 
Like most finches, the redpoll family are susceptible to salmonellosis because of their flocking behaviour, therefore garden feeding enthusiasts must have a scrupulous bird feeder cleaning regime. 

On Thursday morning I checked out our Sand Martin colony to see how many had arrived and so as to guess when might be the first visit for ringing purposes. A stiff easterly wind blew dust and sand across the face of the colony as about 15-20 Sand Martins circled around. 

Sand Martin colony

None seemed interested in returning to old excavations but it was rather a cold morning for builders. I pencilled mid-June into the memory hole. 

Nearby were two pairs of Oystercatcher and a pair of Pied Wagtails, both of them probably a little further on with their year than the Sand Martins; especially since the Oystercatcher tried to see me off site in case I found his partner sat on eggs. 
 
Oystercatcher

Back soon with more this and that. Don’t go away. 

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


Sunday, August 8, 2021

A Tern For The Better

Friday morning proved too breezy for ringing so with the little sun I headed for Knott End village and the viewpoints of the jetty and promenade. From here are vistas across Morecambe Bay to the English Lakes, Barrow and on suitable days, The Isle of Man. There are many birds to be seen in most seasons except for high summer when grockles appear. 

It was just here on Monday that a lady and her dog were rescued after getting stuck in mud off the end of the slipway. I’m on safe ground in saying that because she had a dog with her, the lady was probably not a birder. 

Monday 2 August - Knott End, Lancashire - @LancsLive

The poor lady was pulled unceremoniously from the sticky mud by members of Knott End Coastguard with help from the crew of the Knott End/Fleetwood ferry. She was fortunate that a fast tide was not rushing in and that local people spotted her plight, as without their help, the seemingly innocent  walk could have ended in tragedy. 

The tides and sands of Morecambe Bay are incredibly dangerous but there is no accounting for stupid when warnings are clear and abundant.  

Knott End slipway - "Beware of sinking sand and mud. Check tides and weather"

My own walk along the river path was less eventful but dictated by the incoming tide which flooded the mud, sand and mussel beds. As the land disappeared about 450 Oystercatchers flew upstream to their roost. There was a steady flow of 55+ Sandwich Terns, their breeding season at an end with many now journeying to winter off the south and west coasts of Africa. 

Out of our own UK season of Sandwich Terns from March to September I have seen the species in the winter warmth of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gambia, West Africa, but wherever it is, Sandwich Terns seem to always retain their fear of man and keep a safe distance. 

This fear is not surprising when many past recoveries of ringed Sandwich Terns are from hunting in West African countries like Ghana, Senegal, Angola, Ivory Coast , Liberia and Sierra Leone. Here the trapping of terns for food is carried out by children setting noose traps on the beach baited with dead fish. Although this practice may be less prevalent than say the 1960, 70 and 80s, it is apparently still widespread in some areas. 
 
Sandwich Terns

Sandwich Tern

Oystercatchers
 
The best and certainly the rarest birds I saw were two other terns, Little Terns, on the beach and close to a gang of a dozen or more Sandwich Terns. Soon, the two smaller terns followed their cousins out over the incoming tide. 

Little Terns used to be much more common in Autumn in the days before the familiar story of falls in their UK population.    

Factors contributing to this low productivity include predation of chicks and eggs by, Kestrels  Foxes and the crow family. other losses from nest loss due to bad weather, food shortage, and, most significantly, disturbance by humans. Most Little Terns nest along the east and south coasts of England, adjacent to some of the most densely populated areas of Britain, although many sites are now guarded in an attempt to limit disturbance.

Little Tern

Early August is the best time to see Little Terns in Lancashire. Many years ago I counted more than 100 gathered on the shore at Cockersands on a single August morning.  Sad to say it is highly unlikely such a high number will be seen again in these parts but instead the norm becomes a count by fingers of one hand. 

There seemed few other species alongside the river and the edge of the golf course except for a handful of Greenfinches, Linnets and that rarity the House Sparrow.  A good number of Collared Doves look as though they have enjoyed a successful breeding season. There's been up to a dozen around our local gardens this last week. And of course the shore and the river provide lots of gulls.  

Greenfinch

House Sparrow
 
Collared Dove

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Near Sea Dyke Cottage (1754) two Grey Herons flew upriver, croaking in flight as the tide engulfed their feeding patch. 

Knott End, River Wyre

Grey Heron
 
Our summer weather is looking pretty poor to at least Monday. I’m thinking that Wednesday 11th might be my next birding and/or ringing day. Fingers crossed the experts have got it wrong again. 


Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Wader Worries

Today I took a drive in the direction of Cockerham where a few wader chicks would be ready for ringing. There might be wader chicks at Conder Pool too, mostly Avocets, but Conder is another ringer’s domain. Ringers operate within geographical areas and specific sites so as not to tread on the toes of others or to complicate the wider ringing scheme. 

I found a brood of 3 Lapwing chicks alongside a ditch where they had become a little wet through feeding in the waterside grass. All three were of a good size, probably too big for avian predators, and therefore they should reach adulthood. 

Lapwing chick
 
Lapwing
 
Meanwhile a pair of Oystercatchers had just one fairly big youngster left from the original hatch with this single survivor also big enough to flourish; how and when the siblings vanished must remain a mystery. 

Oystercatcher
 
Oystercatcher
 
Another pair of Oystercatchers had two youngsters, the whole group so far out in a large field as to make them almost impossible to approach. I made a mental note to leave them for another day when they might be closer. 

There was a single Little Egret today, along with 3 young Grey Herons still sporting their stripy neck and chest markings. Two pair of Tufted Ducks remained wary as hell and undecided if to fly, drift upstream or hang around. They flew. A single Buzzard flushed from the base of a tree, most unusual – probably it had found carrion. 

Grey Heron
 
A Roe Deer stared me out for fifteen seconds, a humanoid head in a car window, but then it figured out the puzzle, leapt the fence and bounded off over the fields. 

Roe Deer
 
At Conder most of the chicks on view were those of Avocets with just one pair of Oystercatchers and two young. I watched the Avocets chase away any waders that got too close to their chicks, Redshanks, Little Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers all had a dose of the Avocets’ aggressive ways. 

Redshank
 
Avocets are the frauds of wader world. They trade on their photogenic looks, the striking black & white, the gentle sweep of that shiny upturned bill and the trendy long grey legs. Fluffy little chicks with a tiny copy-bill. Butter wouldn’t melt in their innocents as they pose for the next photo to a phalanx of birders carrying the latest photo gear. All together now - “aaaah”! 

My friends, be warned. Avocets are the bullies of the bird world, con merchants in the pay of the RSPB so as to flog binoculars and telescopes to unsuspecting punters. Quite soon you will tap your credit card onto the machine at Minsmere or Leighton Moss. 

See what I mean? 

Avocet
 
Avocet
 
Avocet
 
Avocet

Don't say you haven't been warned!

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


 

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Monday Monday

There was a good turnout for the Sand Martins on Monday. Bryan and Alice joined up with Phil and Andy in the hope of a decent catch that might include birds of the year - 3Js as we label them for data input. Where Sand Martins are concerned, four pairs of hands are better than two and infinitely better than one when the catch size is often unpredictable. Four pairs of hands make short work of setting nets too where speed is important so as to minimise disturbance to the colony. 

When we arrived our estimated count of Sand Martins milling around was of 200+. From those we had a decent enough catch of 30 Sand Martins, 25 new ones, 4 from our last visit and one from 2020. We expected a number of newly fledged young so were somewhat surprised when all thirty turned out to be adults. 

On Sunday when I checked the colony I saw twos and threes of young birds at a good number of entrance tunnels, birds that looked ready to go. There’s no doubt that the unusually cold months of April and May slowed down the breeding season to a virtual stop. 

Spot the Sand Martin
 
Sand Martin
 
Spot the Sand Martins

When we met up at 0700 hours a pair of noisy Oystercatchers greeted us and barely shut up all morning; we assumed they had youngsters close by. Not so, as eventually and after periods of watching and waiting we realised they had no young in tow and that their constant protests were designed to make us move from their territory. Oystercatchers can be pretty persistent about chasing off both bird and animal predators from their patch, so why might we be any different? 

As one bird settled down head tucked into its scapulars and the other close by in watching mode, we may have found their proposed egg laying depression in the ground a foot or so from the water’s edge. A consolation prize of a real nest could be in the offing next time we visit. 

Oystercatcher
 
The Sand Martin colony remained active through the morning as birds arrived and left on their searches for food. With about 60/70 active nests we pencilled in a return fairly soon so as to see how the breeding season has progressed. 

Other birds seen on Monday were just Pied Wagtail, Grey Heron and Common Tern. The tern would be a wanderer from the small colony at Conder Green less than a mile away.

Common tern

Back soon folks. There will be yet another bird book review of one that you cannot buy just yet except for placing an order. Another Bird Blog - always ahead of the game.




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