Don’t Bank On It

A dry start at last, so I drove to Out Rawcliffe hoping for a spot of ringing, and while the catch was poor, the in-between birding was more than OK. 

There wasn’t quite the 7mph wind promised by the BBC, more like a 10-15, enough for a single net in the ride which is sheltered but least favoured by the finches who prefer a more open aspect when feeding. There were a good number of Chaffinches about together with a much smaller number of Bramblings, probably 50 and 5 respectively, together with 20+ Goldfinches, but not all at the same time. It’s not a large, mixed feeding continuously flock, but more of a stop off point for birds roving the area. 

Just 6 Chaffinches caught until I packed up when the breeze increased and a light drizzle began. I had to remember to change the IPMR ageing codes this morning as from 1st January first calendar year birds become second calendar year birds, and for all six of the birds caught today the age code is now “5” - a bird born last year. Chaffinches are a doddle to age at all times of the year and below is a second calendar year female with worn, pointed tail feathers and worn, bleached edges to the tertial feathers. 

Chaffinch

Chaffinch - 2nd calendar year female

Birding wise and in-between the quiet net rounds came 1600 + Woodpigeon, with at one point a smaller flock harassed by a male Peregrine. After a few half- hearted passes the Peregrine appeared to lose interest and went on its way south. Other raptors - 1 male Sparrowhawk , 1 Buzzard and then 3 Kestrels, the now closely bonded pair and a single male some distance away. Nearby wet fields held 17 Whooper Swan, 200+ Lapwing and 500+ Black-headed Gull. 

Peregrine

There were thrushes about this morning, and in addition to the now regularly singing Mistle Thrush were 50+ Fieldfare and 18/20 Redwing. Other passerines included 20+ Reed Bunting, 4 Skylark, 50+ Tree Sparrow, 12 Corn Bunting and a single Chiffchaff close to the ringing station. 

No, there are no exotic, colourful flowers out on Rawcliffe Moss, the picture was taken in the sunshine of Lanzarote just twelve months ago. Wish I was there now. 

Chiffchaff

I’ll have another try at the finches in a day or two if the promised high pressure system and resultant settled weather appears. Don’t bank on the Met Office getting it right though; just rely upon Another Bird Blog to report in with more news, information and pictures quite soon.

Someone in Saudi Arabia found my blog by searching the Internet for a sketch of a Kestrel. All anyone has to do is ask. Sorry it's a day late my friend, but doing a watercolour took a little longer.

 Kestrel - Fotosketcher

Sunday's Best

Sunday proved a quiet morning with not a great deal of new stuff following a couple of hours trawl around local spots. 

When I arrived at Knott End the tide was in but hadn’t brought much in the way of variety: 700 Oystercatchers, 190 Redshank, 6 Turnstone and 4 Knot the sum of the waders, unless you count a Grey Heron wading through the water. When all the birds panicked, the Oystercatchers running back towards the safety of the water’s edge and the Redshanks flying off upriver, I knew a Peregrine was about. The Peregrine appeared from the Preesall direction then made a single pass and turn above the beach before thinking better of it and heading north. Best photo I could get into the sun and in the ten seconds the bird gave me.

Peregrine

Passerines were even harder to find, the Pied Wagtail with a gammy leg first noted here last winter, and 2 Goldfinches on the Niger seed I’d left recently in the hope of keeping the Twite happy, but no sign of them. 

I decided to give the Fluke Hall environs a try and it proved quite productive in terms of species if not numbers. Towards Ridge Farm the Greenfinch flock has expanded to 100+, the Skylarks and Meadow Pipits to 15+ and about 10 respectively, with 4 Reed Bunting, 2 Pied Wagtail, 10+ Tree Sparrow and a Little Egret. 

Greenfinch

In the wood I heard the call of a Brambling from the tree tops, couldn’t locate the bird in the autumn leaves, but did manage to see a single Mistle Thrush, 2 Fieldfare, 12 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Nuthatch, a Song Thrush, 200 Jackdaws and 50+ Wood Pigeon. For anyone unsure of a Brambling’s autumn contact call, click on the Xeno Canto button to hear one. For those who wonder why birders seek out Bramblings, there’s a photograph below from a year or two back. 

Fluke Hall

Brambling

On the extremely wet fields between Fluke and Lane Ends I counted 40+ Redshank, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 800 Lapwing and 18 Whooper Swans. There’d been a lot of Whooper Swans flying either inland towards the mosses or back out to the marsh. As I arrived at Lane Ends, JR told me of 300+ whoopers from a dawn start, together with a count of 10,000+ Pink-footed Geese. Good work Jean. 

That was the end of my morning apart from heading back via Pilling Moss where I noted 3 Kestrelwhich included a pair together, 900 Woodpigeon, 2 Yellowhammer and some of the Whooper Swans out on a distant flood. 

Whooper Swan

Kestrel

Back home and picking up apples from the garden for freezer storage and hopefully garden thrushes, I noticed a hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus snuffling through the fallen leaves. I’m not sure when hedgehogs are meant to hibernate but soon I guess. Me I’ll just hibernate to somewhere warm for a few weeks in January, better than spending two or three months under a pile of old logs. 

European Hedgehog - Erinaceus europeus

Back soon on Another Bird Blog with more spikey tales.

This week Another Bird Blog is linking with Anni and Stewart again, plus Weekly Top Shot

Friday News

There aren’t many new pictures on offer with this post but there’s a good list of birds following an afternoon out Pilling way. Yes, the wind and rain finally gave way to a half-decent few hours of bright weather for a  circuit of Lane Ends/Pilling Water. 

Less Pink-footed Goose in evidence than of recent days with a count of just over 2100, but the birds were reluctant to fly into the maize and wheat fields due to the steady stream of human activity, me included, along the sea wall. I had a good count of Teal and Pintail today with 750 and 110 respectively, together with just 90 Wigeon, although in most years the Wigeon do tend to appear in higher numbers during the depths of winter. 

Shelduck numbers may be building after a count of 60+ today as birds return from their moult migration. Many UK and Irish Shelduck fly east to the Helgoland Bight in the Waddensea, an intertidal zone in the south eastern part of the North Sea, where they join birds from Scandinavia and the Baltic, and there complete their moult before returning to the UK and form the large winter concentrations we expect. 

Shelduck

Two Peregrines were active today, both out on the marsh and over Hi-Fly fields, one in particular actively hunting any Red-legged Partridge foolish enough to take to the air, and while I didn’t see the raptor catch a partridge, it came very close. Peregrine was the only raptor seen, with seemingly the recent Buzzards and Marsh Harriers having moved elsewhere. An expected count of 7 Little Egret and 2 Grey Heron. 

Peregrine

Passerines etc: 120+ Swallow in the area but none specifically engaged in visible migration, although it was afternoon time. Also, 5 Skylark, 8 Meadow Pipit, 15 Goldfinch, 20 Linnet, 1 Pied Wagtail and 2 Wheatear. 

Wheatear

The BBC say the wind is dropping overnight with probably a morning frost after a clear night. So there’s signs of  a ringing session tomorrow if the early morning alarm call does the trick. If so, log in tomorrow for more news and pictures on Another Bird Blog.

Another Gold Top And A Flying Display

It wasn’t the most encouraging morning for a walk along Pilling sea wall when soon after setting off the grey sky turned to a steady drizzle, but within 15 minutes I seen a Kestrel, another “Gold Top” Marsh Harrier and a Wheatear. 

The harrier was another tideline job, just like the one of Thursday, last seen heading south and west close to Fluke Hall. This morning’s bird did just the same, flew over the marsh in a south-westerly direction then over the sea wall and out of sight. The wildfowler’s pools should hold a harrier in thrall for a while but I spent a couple of hours near the pools and the marsh without the harrier reappearing. I’m happy it’s a different bird from Thursday and there’s no doubt that each autumn sees a considerable movement of Marsh Harriers through this area, not all of them noticed by birders. 

Marsh Harrier

The Marsh Harrier was distant but I got a bit closer to the Wheatear, another juvenile bird with a wing length of 99mm. Is it really true that the name Wheatear derives from an old descriptive name of “White Arse”? 

Wheatear

Next came a Greenshank, 2 Grey Heron and 5 Little Egrets leaving the wildfowler’s pools. That was just  before the sun came out when I settled down to watch the tide run in, while some 20 miles away over Morecambe, the Red Arrows did their inimitable stuff. 

Red Arrows

There were more flying displays from the assembled waders: 600 Curlew, 200 Lapwing, 15 Black-tailed Godwit, 20 Golden Plover, 20 Ringed Plover, 40 Dunlin and 3 Snipe, not to mention 250+ Teal, the unsurpassed fliers of the duck contingent. Other birds out there: 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 7 Cormorant, 14 Shelduck, 20+ Wigeon and 6 Pintail. 

Lapwing and Golden Plover

Not to be outdone by Red Arrows or tiny ducks, the resident Peregrine made an appearance by scattering the waders and wildfowl in all directions, just as a second Peregrine flew in. In the autumn time it’s quite common to see two Peregrines out here, sometimes three, birds of the same family which tolerate and even interact together. Not today, the second bird was an interloper, soon chased off in noisy aggression by the resident male, the two clashing almost over my head until the trespasser flew off south. 

Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon x 2

Not many passerines to report today with the resident Goldfinch flock sticking at 80+, 4 Linnet, 1 Pied Wagtail and then 3 Wheatear on the walk back to Lane Ends, these in addition to one ringed. 

Wheatear 

More from Another Bird Blog soon.

Never Give Up On A Good Thing

Eno didn’t give much hope of decent weather this morning. In fact I nearly didn’t go to Pilling except that about 0930 the spots of rain gave up and sun came out instead. 

 Eno's Warning

"Don't go birding"

At last, a guest appearance by Wheatear with just a single juvenile along the sea wall so chance to give the meal worms a day out in the sunshine, and ten minutes later the bird was literally in the bag, then ringed and measured at 93mm wing length. 

Wheatear - juvenile

Wheatear - juvenile

The wildfowlers' pools held a good number of duck today with more than 150 Teal, 4 Wigeon and many Mallards, most of the latter ex-layers now put out to grass. The Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper of late are still about, unlikely to be seen in the deep ditches unless startled into flight by spooked Teal. A number of the Teal flew back and forth to the marsh where 2 Peregrine awaited them, and I watched one of the pegs return to the edge of the sand after taking a half-hearted dash at a group of the duck. Teal have such tremendous flying ability, fast, twisting and unpredictable changes of direction that for photographs it’s a case of point and shoot then hope for the best. 

Teal

Peregrine

 Little else to report: 15 Shelduck, 450 Curlew, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Skylark, 4 Linnet, 10 Goldfinch, 30 Swallow heading south. 

It proved a short outing because to be fair to Eno and the BBC, the rain came back, enough to wet me through on the return walk to Lane Ends where I finished on Little Grebe, another Sparrowhawk and 2 Pied Wagtail.

Reach for The Umbrella

Yes, it was Pilling today, where although it proved fairly quiet I came away with a half decent list of birds which included the first autumnal Dunlin, thirty or so birds out on the incoming tide at 11am. The Redshank count at 50+ was slightly up today when extra Redshanks joined the local post-breeding birds which stayed on the marsh through May and June. Completing the wader count were 80 Curlew, 110 Lapwing, 22 Oystercatcher and 2 Common Sandpiper. 

Dunlin

Other birds out on the tideline - 220 Black-headed Gull, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Grey Heron, 44 Shelduck and 11 Cormorant. 

A Peregrine flashed over the shore early on heading towards Cockerham, and then 15 minutes later came back from that direction and briefly overhead. Although the sun was out briefly, the camera wasn’t set for an overhead Peg so it was point and hope for the best, or fiddle with the settings and lose the bird. 

Peregrine

Peregrine

Other birds: 20+ Skylark, 2 Corn Bunting, 6 Pied Wagtail, 14 Goldfinch, 3 Linnet, 5 Greenfinch, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Blackcap, 2 Meadow Pipit, 1 Reed Warbler, 4 House Martin, 8 Swift. There still aren’t many Swallows about the normal places with many people reporting a lack of nests with slow plus low productivity. I did see a family party of 8 birds at Pilling Water which included newly fledged juveniles, posing in the usual location, 

Barn Swallow

Now it’s official, the wettest June since records began and more of the same promised for this week. Never mind, Another Bird Blog will be out somewhere, with an umbrella if necessary - stay tuned.

News With Views

Just birding this morning, beginning at Knott End where the time of year begins to dictate a few visits, particularly when early morning rising tides push waders and hopefully terns in from Morecambe Bay. 

No terns this morning although Oystercatcher numbers are building with 220+ today as they leave inland breeding haunts to congregate on the sands and the mussel beds. It was mostly Oystercatchers today, with just a couple of Redshank, 35 Curlew and several Shelduck. From the jetty I counted 9 Eider and then a fly past from a visiting Peregrine again. It’s just a glide across the River Wyre to Fleetwood where the Peregrines have bred again this year, rearing one youngster. Alongside the golf course I could see 3 Pied Wagtails along the first fairway and in the nearby conifers a Whitethroat was busily feeding a fledged youngster. 

Pied Wagtail

Peregrine

Eider

I noted a couple of Swift and House Martins then motored on to Pilling. Lane Ends car park was quiet, just the 2 regular Blackcap and a newly singing Chiffchaff but no sounds from the patches of reeds where Reed Warblers have been noisily singing of late. On my travels yesterday I checked two nests, one of Whitethroat the other of Goldfinch and both of them had been washed out, two nests better placed to survive the lashing from wind and rain that a typical Reed Warbler nest must have endured this past week. 

A walk to Pilling Water found 2 Common Sandpiper,105 Curlew, 30 Redshank, 14 Oystercatcher, 15 Goldfinch, 4 Linnet, 5 Greenfinch, 3 Swift, 8 Swallow, 3 Pied Wagtail, 16 Skylark and 4 Corn Bunting. The Corn Buntings are definitely making a breeding attempt here, confirmed as I watched a bird collect nest material from the sea wall and then accompanied by a second bird, drop with the material into the silage. I now think there may be two pairs in this field with others in similar silage fields towards Cockerham. As Corn Buntings are now so scarce in this area of Lancashire it’s good that they may be utilising this habitat, but more than a little risky if their timing coincides with silage cutting.

Corn Bunting

Down at Fluke I chatted with a HiFly guy who’s looking forward to the shooting season in 9 week’s time, if only the maize would grow and the silage become dry enough to cut. Its odd how according to our own particular interests we all take a different view of how things should turn out.! But over the recent controversy about Buzzards we agreed on one thing - Buzzards are too lazy to take game birds, they prefer to sit around and wait for a spot of road-kill or other carrion.

Tune into Another Bird Blog again on Sunday for more news and maybe a few views.

Spring Swallows, Year Round Peregrine

 Yesterday was a day off birding but grandparenting instead, later in the day joining all the other Nans and Granddads waiting outside the school gates. Frank said they had negotiated time off for good behaviour and were off to warm and sunny Portugal this week where they hope to see White-rumped Swift and Black-shouldered Kite – Good luck Frank. 

In this morning’s cold north-easterly wind the nearest I could get to those two exotica was a single Peregrine and 12 more spring Swallows heading north in ones and twos. I’d gone to Pilling equipped with spring traps and meal worms, hoping for more Wheatears but I saw none in place of those here a few days ago. From Lane Ends to Pilling Water and in pretty cool unspring like weather I counted 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Kestrel, 2 Little Grebe, 70 Shelduck, 300 Pink-footed Geese, 12 Greylag Goose, 3 Little Egret, 4 Linnet and 6 Meadow Pipit.

I was watching 8 or 9 Skylarks, sorting out territories near Fluke Hall when the Peregrine sailed over but heading out to the marsh. The Lapwings and Oystercatchers on the stubble field didn’t seem to react; neither did the Skylarks, perhaps because the Peregrine wasn’t in true hunting mode but as it passed by glanced over at me sat on the stile by the gatepost. 

 Peregrine

 Peregrine

 Peregrine

 

The Skylarks did a lot of chasing each other about with odd ones rising up to sing while others stayed on the ground. With the grassy areas yet to sprout any real growth it’s very unlikely the Skylarks have started nest building just yet. 

Skylark

Skylark Nest

Along Fluke Hall Lane and Backsands Lane I counted 16 Lapwings and 10 Oystercatchers but sad to report that I saw more Carrion Crows than I did waders, the corvids outnumbering the Lapwings and Oystercatchers by two to one. Maybe one or two pairs of Lapwings and Oystercatchers will succeed but the odds are clearly stacked against them. Redshank numbers are similarly low with one or two pairs displaying out on the marsh but none on the inner fields. 

Redshank

Nothing much else to report apart from a Robin carrying food near Fluke Hall where I saw 50+ Woodpigeon still flocking, 4 Stock Dove and 3 singleton Swallows heading east. 

Double Pegging

A fine, warm but somewhat breezy Sunday morning meant a few hours birding and breathing space around local spots before the hordes hit the streets.

Conder Green lost its attraction to me in recent months, but I called in for a quick look this morning to see what I’d been missing. Not a lot it seems, the pool as deserted as ever it was with just a single Little Grebe on the whole expanse of water. There were 5 more Little Grebes in the creek, along with 95 of my favourite duck the diminutive Teal. Whatever a Teal may lack in size it certainly makes up it in character, flying ability, wildness and simple beauty. A quick look on the Lune revealed 22 Goldeneye.

Teal
Teal

I tried my luck down Hillam Lane, where an improvement on CG saw 375 Curlew, 1 Pied Wagtail, 2 Little Egret, 15 Chaffinch, 8 Tree Sparrow, 5 Blackbird, 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Kestrel.

At the old faithful sites of Lane Ends, Pilling Water and Fluke Hall where there was a bit more activity. On the outer marsh at Lane Ends were 4 Barnacle Geese of dubious origin, well apart from several thousand Pink-footed Geese and 22 Whooper Swans of impeccable pedigree, with at least 9 Little Egrets and 2 Grey Heron. Also out on the marsh was a big, bright male Peregrine which sat unmoved for at least an hour, even as I walked to Pilling Water then back to Lane Ends. At one point an even larger Peregrine, this one a female flew close to and above the male before then flying over the sea wall and south west towards Preesall, but it’s not unusual to see two or even three Peregrines here given the abundance of food.

Peregrine courtesy of USFWS
Small stuff in the planation - 1 Jay, several Blackbirds and 1 Reed Bunting.

Pilling Water produced 1 Buzzard heading off towards Fluke Hall plus the now inevitable Green Sandpiper. Also, 1 Kestrel, 1 Meadow Pipit, 2 Skylark, 2 Snipe and 2 Linnet.

At Fluke Hall, a single Goldcrest and a silent Chiffchaff.

Chiffchaff

We’ll Wheat Again

OK I know it's a corny old post title and rather gives the game away that I am older than I look, but you try thinking of new post headers several times a week.

It’s been a week or two since more than ones and twos of Wheatears hung about in the usual Pilling location but this afternoon there were eight of them. Torn between photography or ringing I decided to have a shot at both, results below of catching an adult male and photographs of a bird I took to be an adult female. The immaculate, just moulted male had a wing length of 102mm, top of the range for the nominate race.

Wheatear
Wheatear

In total I spent an hour or two with the Wheatears in between sunny-day grockles chasing the birds back and forth along the sea wall, until eventually the birds came back to where I waited at their favoured spot. It was late afternoon and the sun was strong from the wrong direction making “noise” in the background of the images.

Wheatear

Birding wise I totted up 70 Teal, 1 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, 1 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron and 1 Peregrine. The warm day had brought in numbers of Swallows and I estimated 300+ over the fields and the shore. After a quiet couple of weeks for the finches their numbers had built up today with at least 70 Goldfinch and 45 Linnet.

Peregrine
Linnet
Let's hope for more news, a longer post and a better title from tomorrow's Another Bird Blog