Diary Dates

How soon spring turns to summer, by the calendar that is, not the actual weather. May 2021 has been both the coldest and wettest on record up here in the Frozen North. Thursday morning was fairly warm by recent standards and I took the opportunity to visit a couple of spots out Pilling way. 

There was an Oystercatcher to check in the field where last week we ringed three Lapwing chicks. There may be more Lapwings to come from distant adults when they bring their young towards the coast via the path. And perhaps young Oystercatchers from the three egg nest located today.  Oystercatcher incubation is around 25 days, therefore, allowing for the uncertain days of laying, the date of egg hatching should be close to 13 June. I marked my diary with “Oyks Pilling”. 

Oystercatcher nest - May 27

 

A pair of Oystercatchers has just one breeding attempt each year. It is said that if at first they don’t succeed they do not try again, but as long lived birds, up to 30 years, they have lots of time to make up for unproductive years. 

Oystercatcher

 

Meanwhile and not too far away a pair of Pied Wagtails was busy feeding young, the nest hidden in a thick tuft of grass alongside a watery ditch. Both birds had hung around the same spot for weeks without giving much away.  The young were pretty big so were quickly ringed and put back in their nest, and then covered with a cloth for a couple of minutes so as to settle them back in their dark hidey hole. 

 

Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Along the same waterway was the now regular Great Egret, destined perhaps to spend the summer here out of sight and out of mind. Two Grey Heron but no Little Egrets.  Not far away was a single Wheatear, a remnant from recent migration and not likely to breed hereabouts. 

Part of the day's task was to find Skylarks, and plenty there were, upwards of 8 singers in several hundred linear yards so potentially the same number of pairs. Skylark nests are difficult to locate and May has been so cold and wet that the chances of finding active nests was close to zero. However I chanced upon a pair in the early stages of nest building below a fence post and entered another marker in the diary “Skyla East End 15 June.” 

In nearby reedy pools and scrapes were 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Little Grebe and many active Sedge and Reed Warblers zipping around the reeds and in and out of the vegetation. Like other species this year, the “Acros” were late to arrive, late to start but now seem intent on making up for lost time. 

 

Sedge Warbler

Reed Warbler

The Tufted Ducks involved themselves in some sort of group courtship behaviour which consisted of males sailing off over the water, closely followed by a noisily quacking female. That guy looks a little henpecked.  Maybe the picture is worthy of a caption contest - “Don’t be long. And what time will you be back?” 

Tufted Ducks

 

That reminds me. I have a few chores to finish.  Back soon.

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

More Smarties

On Tuesday morning I left the builders to finish off our bathroom upgrade and went in search of another set of British Builders, the Sand Martins at our Cockerham gravel pit colony.

Sand Martins build their nests at the end of tunnels up to four feet in length, the passages bored into sand or gravel by using their beak, feet and wings. Sand Martins are very sociable in their nesting habits whereby anywhere between a dozen and several hundred pairs nest close together in the likes of sandy river banks, cliffs or gravel pits. 

This species is unusually difficult to monitor, because active and inactive nest holes are hard to distinguish, and because whole colonies frequently disperse or shift to new locations as suitable sand cliffs are created and destroyed by natural causes, occasionally by interference or even on occasion by predation. 

Sand Martin colony

Although the Cockerham colony is not huge it is certainly the biggest in the local area. On preparatory visits for 2015 in the latter part of May we estimated 100+ nest holes and approximately 200 Sand Martins in the immediate area. A week or two later and in early June Andy, Craig and I went on to catch 85 mostly adult birds during a ringing session. Tuesday was the follow-up visit and Andy and I reckoned there could be a good number of fresh juveniles ready to be ringed plus a chance of capturing more adults. 

Sand Martin

Today we totalled 88 birds comprising 62 new birds, 5 birds previously ringed elsewhere (controls) and 21 recaptures from our previous visit of 12th June. Of the 62 new birds, 18 were juvenile birds and 44 adults. The five “controls” all bore rings beginning Z401, the similar numbers far from coincidental as we are sure they were ringed by other ringers at Sand Martin colonies about 20/25 miles to the north along the River Lune. 

Sand Martin

Catching and processing 88 Sand Martins kept the two of us busy but in between times the other birds we saw included 2 Common Terns overflying the water plus resident Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot and a number of breeding Oystercatchers. One pair of Oystercatcher has a late nest containing 2 eggs in a very busy part of the farm where only time will tell if their gamble pays off. 

Oystercatcher nest

Oystercatcher

The approximately 250 Sand Martins on site vastly outnumbered the few Swallows in residence around the farm buildings.

 

Swallow

More news and views of birds soon. In the meantime I'm linking to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Rain Stopped Play

There was time for a quick look at Pilling and Conder Green early on but when the wind and rains arrived I was back home for a late tea-and-toast breakfast. Too soon maybe as the sky then cleared leaving a bright but very windy and still showery day.

Near Lane Ends were a good number of post-breeding Lapwings, 25+ adults together with a small number of obvious juveniles, spiky-crowned and brightly edged feathers, but birds now well on the way to adulthood. I checked out a pair of Oystercatchers which seemed to be doing the business again after the original nest was rolled by Hi-Fly's farming operations; three eggs again in the sprouting maize crop so the oyks should be fine this time providing the Carrion Crows or mammal predators don't intervene. 

Lapwing juvenile

Oystercatcher nest

Oystercatcher

I stopped briefly at the plantation where 2 Reed Warblers, a Blackcap and a Reed Bunting were in song and 2 Grey Herons out on the marsh. 

At Conder Green the cool, windy conditions meant good numbers of hirundines and Swifts were dashing about the hedgerow again to give counts of 25+ Swift, 20+ House Martin, 15 Swallow and 6 Sand Martin. Late June can be when waders begin returning to coastal haunts and there seemed to be higher numbers of Redshank today with 30+ noted, although just 2 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Curlew was consistent with recent sightings here. Fifteen Oystercatcher and 6 Lapwing was also normal. 

Wildfowl - 3 Wigeon, a Shelduck with 5 small chicks, 14 Tufted Duck and the unseasonal Goldeneye again. The origins of the latter is a matter of some speculation as Goldeneyes normally feature in this area between October and March, the likelihood being that this immature male did not return north last autumn. Immature males do not attain their full black and white male plumage until their second winter. Whatever, the bird certainly appears wild enough and loafs about the pool with the tufties.

Goldeneye

Another returnee this morning was a Little Egret feeding amongst the Redshank and Mallards in the Conder channel. Unfortunately our UK Little Egrets are not as accommodating towards photographers as the species is in other parts of the world, in this case Fuerteventura. 

Little Egret

Passerines this morning - 2 Tree Sparrow, 1 Pied Wagtail, 2 Greenfinch, 4 Goldfinch. 

Another Bird Blog links today to Camera Critters and Anni's Blogspot .