The week has been warm but breezy and showery with few chances for meaningful birding so there isn’t a lot of bird news. A couple of visits out Pilling Way produced poor catches with just eight to show for several hours in the field.
After a very cold dry spring and a dry, warm, occasionally hot summer, there's a dearth of small birds this year which seems especially so here in our little corner of North West England. Only now in September am I beginning to see more normal numbers of insects. It could be that the unusual but not unknown weather and food availability factors, coupled with the ongoing decline of a number of especially farmland bird species is more evident this year to those who spend time outdoors with eyes and ears open.
Citizen Scientists and bird ringers in particular have a vital part to play in feeding their thoughts and observations into systems of data collection. Incomplete and short-timescale data sets are increasingly being used to fit the false narrative of anthropogenic climate change.
With Will unavailable and Andy packing for his holiday the Friday Barmy Army was me alone. The early morning arrival disturbed the local Buzzard that promptly flew down the field to continue its ground hog watch a safe distance from me, the potential predator. Sometimes I just want to shout out to Buzzards and many other species - “Hey, don’t worry. I mean no harm I just want a photo”. But of course their experience and inbuilt suspicion of the human race tells them otherwise.
Buzzard
The week produced two birds new to the site, Treecreeper and a Spotted Flycatcher, the first we captured, the second admired from a distance when it stayed out of net range.
Treecreeper
Spotted Flycatcher
Meadow Pipits are now on their way south after what appeared to be a reasonable breeding season; when I journeyed into the Bowland Hills during the summer I saw good numbers of roadside pipits scatter ahead of oncoming vehicles. We are still a week away from Meadow Pipit peak migration but I will not be here to see the numbers passing through. I will be in Greece where I may see Red-throated Pipits or the occasional Richard's Pipit.
Meadow Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
And of course September mornings of half-light inevitably start with the plaintive song of autumn Robins, a species which is highly migratory across Europe and into Africa. How often do we hear our neighbours say that “their” Robin is “back in the garden”? In fact a Robin, or more correctly a European Robin, has a very short life span of two or three years so the Robin in an average suburban garden is most likely to change on a regular basis.
European Robin - Erithacus rubecula
No visit would be a complete without a couple of Linnets. And although the post breeding dispersal seems over for now the regular 30/40 continue to give us new birds and zero recaptures. Once again, if only more ringers south of Lancashire would catch Linnets we might be able to add to existing knowledge.
Linnet
That’s me done for a day or two. Back soon with news, views and photos from here, there and everywhere.
Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.
