Birding Back To Normal

There’s a new header picture for the blog, an Egyptian Vulture I photographed in Menorca on the fine sunny morning of 13th May. Here’s another one for David in Canada. He’s more used to seeing Turkey Vultures. 

Egyptian Vulture

After two weeks of shirt sleeves and shorts Birding Menorca Style I’ve been itching to bird the local patch wearing similar attire but when it rained all Sunday night and into most of Monday morning I wasn’t too hopeful. Soon after lunch the sun came out although it remained cold and windy so I set off for Pilling wearing a scarf, winter jacket and a warm hat. The dashboard temperature showed 11⁰, a major reduction on the 25⁰ of the Mediterranean a week ago. 

Via the telephone Andy had told me of the failure of our two Skylark nests the previous week. One had failed at the chick stage with 3 tiny, dead youngsters in a saturated nest; the other nest reached the stage of 3 eggs before it too was abandoned, a victim of the unsettled, cool and often wet month of a not untypical UK May. Both pairs of Skylarks were still around today and showing all the signs of starting all over again very close to their original nests. But the strong wind blowing along and over the sea wall made it impossible to properly study what these two pairs and a number of others were doing. 

I found 3 Little Egrets feeding in the drainage ditch and along the fence line a single Wheatear and a couple of Linnets. 

Wheatear

I’d missed the highest point of the high tide but the water was still well up near the sea wall. This explained the large numbers of Dunlin and Ringed Plover roosting in the ploughed field, approximately 800 Dunlin and 70 Ringed Plovers, all hunkered down in the deep furrows the farmer had left for his potato crop but where the height of the furrows gave some protection against the cold wind. It was a sight I don’t think I have ever seen before during many years of birding and not one I would expect to see in the supposedly warm month of May. 

As I shaped to take a picture of this unusual spectacle the whole lot spooked and flew off over the sea wall as the reason came into sight, a male Peregrine taking a dive or two into the flock. Its attempts at a meal a failure the Peregrine flew south and out of sight. 

Peregrine

A number of Swallows and House Martins fed over windswept Worm Pool but no more than twenty in total with just one or two Swifts overhead. 

I moved closer to the shelter of the woodland where I clocked 2 Buzzard, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Song Thrush and any number of Blackbirds. In song - 3 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff and 1 Lesser Whitethroat together with 1 Greenfinch and a good number of Goldfinches. 

On the car park fields: 20 Shelduck, 12 Lapwing, 2 Oystercatcher, 2 Pied Wagtail.  

There's more rain and wind forecast for tomorrow. Now where’s that holiday brochure?

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Friday/Saturday And A Fishy Tale

On Friday the rain didn’t stop until close on 1pm. That left just a couple of hours for birding because by 3pm and five weeks to mid-winter, the sun is well down in the sky. So I made it a short and familiar route along the sea wall at Pilling and then back via the trees at Fluke Hall. 

There was a Reed Bunting calling from the hedgerow and as I pulled on boots still damp from recent days I could hear a Song Thrush in full voice just along the lane. The sudden sun had given us both a lift and I set off with a spring in my step to view the wet fields. 

Reed Bunting

It was a good start with a useful selection of 44 Redshank, 65 Oystercatcher, 6 Curlew, 24 Lapwing, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Stock Dove and 1 Snipe. Along the sea wall - 8+ Little Egret, 18 Whooper Swan, 2 Mute Swan, 22 Shelduck and a Kestrel. 

I was drawn by intense activity on the distant shore and watched a Peregrine create the usual mass panic amongst the waders and wildfowl. In just a couple of passes the Peregrine had grabbed what looked from a distance to be a Redshank and then landed on the shore with the wader still flailing about. The Peregrine barely had chance to begin its meal before a Great Black-backed Gull arrived with the obvious intention of grabbing a piece of the action. Very quickly the Peregrine gave way to the threats and let the huge gull take over, but not without a protest as it took to the air and dive-bombed the robber several times in the hope the gull might relinquish the prize. No chance, the Black-back quickly swallowed the meal and left the Peregrine to find another. 

Peregrine

It’s almost impossible to follow such fantastic birding and what came next proved something of an anti-climax to a hunting Peregrine in full flow. Fluke Hall wood produced single Nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Buzzard, Pied Wagtail and Song Thrush. 

Song Thrush

Saturday dawned with yet more cloud and a trip to Conder and Glasson Dock. 

At Braides Farm were the 2 regular Buzzards on the regular fence near the midden. These two really are the most consistent Buzzards I know of at the moment although it would be foolhardy to try and approach them for a closer picture; they would definitely fly off into the distance. Three or more hours later and on my way back from Conder Green the two were still fence sitting but if anything they were further away and the light worse. 

Buzzard

Conder Green gave a good selection of species on both the pool and the in the creeks. A Kingfisher obliged with a brief fly past as I watched 14 Little Grebe, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Goosander,1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Cormorant, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 1 Little Egret fish the pool. There’s obviously good feeding at the pool right now for species that dive for their fishy food. 

Red-breasted Merganser

In the creeks and at the roadside - 1 Ruff, 125 Teal, 15+ Redshank, 3 Pied Wagtail, 3 Goldfinch and 1 Rock Pipit.

Pied Wagtail

At Glasson Dock I was busy noting the 48 Tufted Duck, 4 Goldenye, 2 Grey Heron and a Kingfisher when I spotted an angler landing a Northern Pike or pike (Esox lucius).

I abandoned the birding to see the haul, an 8lb beauty. It proved more of a handful than weighing your average warbler. The chap was in fact a Water Bailiff on a sort of day off and he told me how there had been a lot of poaching in the area lately, especially by East European immigrants who have a taste for eating pike.

No thanks, I'll stick to Pilling Plaice and battered haddock.

 Weighing In

Pike at Glasson Dock

More tales and tails soon from Another Bird Blog. In the meantime linking to Anni's Blog and World Bird Wednesday.

Birding Saturday 27th September

There were a number of old friends at Conder Green on Saturday, species I’d not seen for 3 weeks whilst otherwise engaged by a fortnight in Greece and other essentials of life. 

The Kingfisher was predictable enough on such a calm and sunny morning but apart from 15 Little Grebe, a single Tufted Duck and the regular 2 Wigeon, most of the birds were found in the creeks. The Kingfisher turned its back on me and then after trying its luck elsewhere came back for another go but in a more camera friendly pose. Two Grey Wagtails tried to get in on the act as the camera focused on the main attraction. 

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

The Little Grebes here are so wary that it’s almost impossible to get any sort of picture, and although I counted fifteen of them, they are scattered across the water and mostly distant. 

Little Grebe

As I stood at the roadside a couple of Reed Buntings dropped into the hedgerow making their characteristic autumnal call; and there seemed to be a few Meadow Pipits on the move. A few hours later would see a major rush of pipits and Skylarks heading south over Cockersands. 

The creeks provided a really good selection of waders by way of a single Ruff, 12 Snipe, 4 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 65 Redshank, 8 Lapwing, 6 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Common Sandpipers. That’s an impressive assortment by any standards and a huge improvement on one Dunlin in Skiathos. 

One Goosander and 50+ Teal represented the wildfowl while 5 Little Egret and 1 Grey Heron scored for the heron team. 

A walk along the old railway proved useful for finding a flock of Goldfinch, 140+ birds feeding on the saltmarsh, the finches using the tree line as a sanctuary from their sudden and as far as I could see unjustified panics. However you can be sure that a Sparrowhawk won’t be too far away from so many meals on offer. 

The Goldfinch looks pretty puffed-up but then there was quite an autumn nip in the morning air which required three layers for this bush bashing birder. 

Goldfinch

Otherwise, a Great-spotted Woodpecker, 8 or 10 Greenfinch disappeared quickly from view, a number of House Martins congregated around their homes and 20ish Swallows headed clearly south without lingering. 

These dark September mornings leave only an hour or two before the weekend’s fluorescent joggers and Day-Glo cyclists emerge to blight the countryside, so as they materialised in unison I headed to hopefully quieter Cockersands. 

Just before the cottage and in the roadside trees I found a flock of 20+ Greenfinch. That must be some sort of a record of recent years for the once abundant finch?

By now it was 0945 with Meadow Pipits pouring off the river from the direction of Sunderland Point, over my head and beyond and then heading south. There were Skylarks too. I stayed for 30 minutes and as cloud rolled in from the south so the pipits and larks stopped as suddenly as they seemed to begin. A snapshot in time of approximately 120 Meadow Pipits and 30 Skylarks. 

Meadow Pipit

At the distant lighthouse a gang of crows gave stick to a Peregrine which unconcerned at the furore took up its spot on the old hand rails to survey the scene. "Click the pic" to Spot the Peregrine if you can, and needless to say there are no waders in sight after the Peregrine's sorties.

 Cockersands Lighthouse - Spot the Peregrine

So, a rewarding three hours of birding and not bad for a Saturday morning. There's more birding soon on Another Bird Blog.

A Double Day

There wasn’t much time for birding on Monday however I did manage an hour or so at Knott End on either side of the 1 p.m. high tide. 

The highlight was a juvenile Marsh Harrier seen from the promenade about 1230, the harrier quite high above the tideline but heading purposefully west towards Fleetwood. Like many one-off migratory birds here, it probably flew up river towards the extensive marshes either side of the river and where it would avoid the Fleetwood conurbation. Marsh Harriers are very much passage migrants in this part of Lancashire and where they occur in fairly small numbers April/May and then again from July to September/October. 

Marsh Harrier - Photo credit: Ferran Pestaña / Foter / (CC BY-SA 2.0)

A reasonable only count of 110 Oystercatchers, but otherwise just 9 Dunlin, 1 Whimbrel and 1 Redshank completed the waders. Four Sandwich Terns on the beach, with 4 Pied Wagtails at the jetty and 2 Shelduck up river. 

Tuesday dawned bright and clear so I hit the road north to Conder Green and Glasson Dock. 

The numbers of Swallows flitting around the Glasson yachts was down to about 150 today. It could be that the Swallows are actually spending these warm nights roosting amongst the shelter that the boats provide and where the Swallows would be fairly safe.

Glasson Dock

 

 Swallow

When birds settle down to sleep, it’s called “roosting” and the place they choose to sleep at is called a “roost”. The main things birds are looking for at a roost are safety and warmth but also to minimise the danger from predators. Predators could be ground or avian predators like birds of prey, owls, foxes, mink, stoats, rats, cats, dogs or man. Dense cover, foliage, reeds or even farming crops can serve as a secure roost for small birds. Bigger birds have more options and can sleep on the water, on a branch, or even just right on the ground. 

Birds using communal roosts probably benefit by gaining access to food supplies: an individual that found insufficient food one day might, on the next, accompany others leaving the roost, and so be led to a new food source. So a roost is a sort of information and meeting centre, Facebook for birds. 

At one point a number of Swallows took off noisily to see off a Peregrine they’d spotted, the Peregrine coming in from the estuary and flying strongly in non-hunting mode in the general direction of Cockersands. It’s getting to that time of year when a Peregrine becomes an almost guaranteed sighting for a birding session along local coasts. Getting a decent image of one is another matter altogether. 

Peregrine

At Glasson I parked on the “wrong” side of the dock whereby 70 yards away the tiny Kingfisher was fishing the dock waters again from a huge mooring rope. I was just about to drive the wheeled hide around for a closer look when from under his nose an oblivious early morning dog walker sent the Kingfisher packing. 

One Common Tern was also fishing the dock with 2 Grey Herons waiting their turn. There was a Grey Wagtail on the dockside and then along the towpath 2 Pied Wagtails, a Willow Warbler and a Blackcap. No sign of Saturday’s Tawny Owl. 

Grey Heron

Conder Green was quiet again with little new to report except for consistent counts of 135 Redshank, 9 Common Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin, 1 Snipe, 2 Little Egret and 1 Grey Heron. 

 I checked Bank End, Cockerham to see how many wagtails were about after last Thursday gave a count of 130+ feeding on the marsh. Just 58 Pied Wagtails today, a more than reasonable number. There were a few Lapwings on the marsh, 2 Little Egret and a one legged Curlew struggling to make a living. 

Pied Wagtail

Curlew

The sun hadn’t lasted long. The clouds rolled in, it was backwards to ISO800 and at 10am I headed home, just in time to see a familiar Barn Owl heading for a familiar building near Pilling. 

He’ll be out again soon and so will I.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Mostly Wheatears

After yesterday’s flurry of migration this morning seemed a much quieter affair, enlivened only by a number of Wheatears finding my traps and then a last gasp Peregrine. 

When I arrived at Lane Ends 2 Chiffchaffs were in song again, the Little Egrets were about the pool and a Jay scuttled through the trees. The forecast was for the easterly wind to pick up followed by rain later so I hurried to Pilling Water in the hope of Wheatears and other migrants. 

Tiny numbers of Meadow Pipits hung about the shore and the gullies, and unlike Wednesday no obvious movement north of pipits or much else. After a month or more without the shooting season the Pink-footed Geese become more tolerant by the day, with a flock today of 800 or more in a tight sandwich between the sea wall and Backsands Lane - an impossible sight until recently. 

Pilling Water held a single Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Redshank and 2 Little Egret. Carrion Crows gave noisy chase to something I assumed would be a Buzzard but when I looked more closely the larger bird proved to be a lone Raven. It’s bad enough having Carrion Crows decimate the local Lapwing population without rapacious Ravens joining in. It’s been shown quite recently that Ravens from their expanding populations on farmland use their high vantage point nests to target the eggs of ground nesting Lapwings. 

Raven

There didn’t seem to be many birds on Hi-Fly’s stubble, I’d see why later.

Wheatears were about the sea wall, a loose party of 7 or 8 birds moving along both flanks of the sea wall. It was a bit chilly and slightly windswept, not too good for making mealworms wriggle invitingly but I set a couple of traps with fingers crossed. Thirty minutes later I’d caught and ringed 5 Wheatears, 3 second year males, an adult female and a second year female. They must have been hungry from their journeys.

Northern Wheatear

Northern Wheatear

The remiges of a second year male are quite brown and worn, an adult male's would be much darker.

Northern Wheatear

 

Northern Wheatear - Second year female

Northern Wheatear - adult female

Every year at Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) time there are new and enquiring blog readers who perhaps haven’t read previous explanations about the origins of the name “Wheatear”. So here it is again, this time courtesy of Wiki.

"The name "wheatear" is not derived from "wheat" or any sense of "ear", but is a 16th-century linguistic corruption of "white" and "arse", referring to the prominent white rump found in most species of wheatear. 

Oenanthe is also the name of a plant genus, the water dropworts, and is derived from the Greek oenos (οίνος) "wine" and anthos (ανθός) "flower". In the case of the plant genus, it refers to the wine-like scent of the flowers. In the case of the wheatear, it refers to the Northern Wheatear's return to Greece in the spring just as the grapevines blossom". 

I checked the trees at Fluke Hall for little reward, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Siskin, 1 Stock Dove and 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker. It was time to call it a day (or a morning) with a last look on the still flooded maize where a number of Lapwings and Shelduck were all I could see. 

A brute of a Peregrine arrived and appeared to be hunting Lapwings, sending the lot into a frenzied panic as it stood briefly on the distant stubble. Within seconds the raptor lifted off and was gone. 

Peregrine

Time for me to leave too, but there’s always another day, another birding session on Another Bird Blog. 

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog

Two Hour Slot

The weekend weather was shocking, meaning two blank days for the blog, so apologies for readers who looked in for recent news - there wasn’t any. More rain throughout this morning but brightening skies after lunch gave me a couple of hours out at Pilling for a brief posting. 

I walked from Fluke in time to see a number of Whooper Swans coming to land on the marsh - yes the sun was out briefly for the 14 Whoopers and 40+ Shelduck on the stubble/marsh. Also 170 Jackdaw, 400+ Starling, 120 Woodpigeon and 3 Stock Dove. Three Reed Buntings and 8 Tree Sparrows at the gate with 10+ Skylarks and 2 Chaffinch on the cut maize. 

Whooper Swan

Something stirred the Starlings, Crows and Jackdaws from the marsh. It was a Peregrine giving as good as it got when a couple of the Carrion Crows dived at it, the Peregrine calling loudly, twisting over and showing the crows sight of its talons before in an effortless split second it cruised away, leaving the crows in the distance. Sorry, it’s the usual view and image of our local Peregrines, a glimpse at the background landscape shows the distances they can cover in almost the blink of an eye. 

Peregrine

I walked up to Pilling Water in time to catch the last of the tide and wildfowl heading back out to the marsh - 400+ Teal, 70+ Pintail, 180+ Wigeon, 4 Cormorant. Eight Little Egrets, 4 Snipe, 1 Grey Heron and 1 Kingfisher at Pilling Water. Just a couple of Goldfinch, 3 Meadow Pipits, 1 Pied Wagtail and another 18/20 Skylarks at the rapidly receding tideline. 

I watched some 40+ Black-tailed Godwits coming and going from the marsh and the wildfowler’s pools. Dark cloud threatned again and I switched to ISO800 and tried for a few pictures. 

Black-tailed Godwits are such distinctive, striking waders that they can’t be mistaken for any other species. I just love watching them coming in to land, their black & white shapes twisting and turning through the sky, whiffling down to the water looking for all the world like oversize Snipe. 

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Fingers crossed for sunshine, birding and more news very soon on Another Bird Blog.

In the meantime linking to Paying Ready Attention Gallery . Pay a visit for more birds from around the world.

Saturday’s Selection

I started at Lane Ends this morning where as I arrived a Barn Owl was caught momentarily in the car headlights as it hunted over the sea wall; the owl paused on a fence post before flying off west towards Pilling. In the half-light I counted 42 Little Egrets out of the island roost but didn’t hang around to watch the pink-feet leave. Counting the geese off the marsh can be a couple of hour’s job, especially when there are so many. 

When I returned later after a quick look at Conder Green there were still 7 or 8 thousand geese about, so goodness knows what the total numbers are at the moment, but enough to attract the shooter’s cars to Gulf Lane. 

Pink-footed Geese

Pink-footed Geese - "pinkies"

Conder Green has certainly gone off the boil with just 4 Snipe, 55 Teal and 2 Little Grebe this morning. An overflying Raven seems to be something of a regular sight just here lately. Two Reed Bunting, 2 Pied Wagtail and 7 Meadow Pipits added to the meagre haul. 

It was then back to Pilling for a walk to Pilling Water and Fluke Hall. There are good numbers of wildfowl on the wildfowler’s pools, a good spot to wait for the Teal spooking off, to watch their flying abilities and maybe get a picture of them. I didn’t get much of a chance today when all I heard was the rush of wings in hurried flight as hundreds of Teal came over my head, the ducks pursued by an equally rapid and determined Peregrine. 

The Peregrine didn’t catch, at least not in the few seconds I glimpsed it before it shot over the sea wall and out towards the marsh. I saw it again later getting a taste of its own medicine from Carrion Crows. Peregrines are a daily occurrence about here with the views for birders mostly distant and fleeting, the raptor sticking to the distant marsh and tideline where most of its food is found. 

Teal

Carrion Crow and Peregrine

Other wildfowl/waders - 300+ Wigeon, 3 Golden Plover, 400+ Lapwing with other raptors being a Sparrowhawk and a circling Buzzard. Small stuff today came in the shape of a Kingfisher fishing Broadfleet, 40+ Skylarks, 2 Linnet, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Wheatear and a tiny number of Meadow Pipits, less than ten. 

The pipits and the chats are both near the end of their autumnal movement, the Skylarks perhaps continuing for a while yet. The Meadow Pipit picture I took earlier in the week, the Wheatear today, in the spot where both species can consistently be found. 

Meadow Pipit

 Wheatear

Wheatear

Another Bird Blog links today to Camera Critters and Anni's Blog. Check them out for more birds and All Creatures Great and Small. 

More Fishy Tales

The fishy bit comes during post-birding grandparent duties, but first the bird news from a couple of hours Wednesday, later than desired due to BT being down on Wednesday afternoon. 

I don’t know why the sign warns of ducks crossing at Conder Green because the road is far too busy for birds to walk across the road. Mostly they fly above the road to and from the creeks, the pool and the more distant Lune marshes. 

Ducks crossing?

There were lots of Lapwings, a combined count of 300 on the creeks and pool but more like a couple of thousand out on the marsh beyond the railway bridge. I was walking the old railway track when it became obvious a Peregrine was about from the mass of Lapwings suddenly in flight, but it’s not always easy to spot a hunting Peregrine which might fly below, above or through the flocks of birds it panics into flight. Eventually I picked it up, the anchor shape cruising down river towards Lancaster and moving steadily away. Oh well, there will be other days with the magical raptor when wintering Peregrines are an almost daily occurrence in these parts. The Lapwings are very wary at the moment but I managed a half decent shot of a juvenile bird at the poolside. 

 Peregrine

Lapwing

The railway path was quiet with a single Whitethroat seen, a rather loud and emphatic “hweeting” Chiffchaff from the trees at the car park and a couple of overflying Goldfinch. Near the pool I at last found a decent flock of Goldfinches with 35 or more feeding on the extensive clumps of thistles, the number of plants enough to support a much bigger number of finches if only they were about. There was an addition to the regular waders with the appearance of a Ruff, too distant for a picture and constantly in and out of view as it walked behind a grassy bank. Two Spotted Redshank again plus 3 Greenshank, 10 Snipe and 40+ Common Redshank. 

Redshank

Spotted Redshank

A Kingfisher put in a brief appearance by flying at head height across the pool from direction of the canal and off towards the road bridge of the A588. Just one Little Grebe and 2 Cormorant, 12 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck and 2 Wigeon. 

Time allowed a quick look at Glasson where Coot numbers are now circa70 and Tufted Duck close on 15. Swallow numbers are down everywhere now that September beckons and I could find less than 10 here and similar numbers at Conder Green. 

There was a Buzzard circling over Thurnham on my journey back south and lunch time. 

Buzzard

Grandparenting duties took us to Knott End with Theo and to Knott End Chippy, a friendly little establishment which also happens to serve probably the best traditional fish and chips in the Fylde. 

The pictures of Knott End are for blogging pal Kay, a lady who enjoys Adventurous Travel yet has never visited the village of Knott End. Shame on you Kay. 

 

Knott End

 

 The Esplanade at Knott End

 

GranPa's Toy Shop

Knott End Chippy

 Haddock, Chips and Mushy Peas

More tales and more birds soon from Another Bird Blog.