Drown Your Sorrows

I hoped the blows and rain of the last couple of days might have left behind a few waifs and strays at Knott End and Pilling, but nothing of the sort. In fact at Knott End the weather was still kicking up a bit of storm making it difficult for birds and birders. With the strong north westerly at my back getting up river was fine, it was the coming back into the teeth of the wind and frequent showers which took the time. 

Not much to show for my efforts on a ‘bins only’ morning when ‘scopes become redundant. Turnstones are back in better numbers now, both here and across the river at Fleetwood, but I couldn’t see any of the leg-flagged ones of recent years in my count of 19. Not many Oystercatchers on the beach, less than 200 and obviously many had gone upriver to escape the windswept beach. Similarly small numbers of Redshank, a count of less than 20 being pretty pathetic, a total surpassed today by a count of 70 Lapwings sheltering in the clumps of marram grass on the beach. On the sea/in the mouth of the estuary were 15 Eider and 2 Red-breasted Merganser. 

Turnstone

Oystercatcher

Amongst the tide wrack below the promenade I found a Rock Pipit, 8 Twite and a single Pied Wagtail. 

 

Rock Pipit

Fluke proved equally quiet where half way along the sea wall I didn’t escape a drenching from a heavy shower. Just 14 Whooper Swans today, some definitely new arrivals in the shape of two family parties with brownish young, four of the young so coffee coloured that I expect their departure from Iceland was delayed until the whole family could make the long flight safely. Good numbers of 120+ Shelduck out there on marsh and on the wildfowler’s pool, with 12 Black-tailed Godwits and 4 Little Egret. 

“Small stuff” fighting into the wind - 3 Meadow Pipit, 11 Skylark, 6 Tree Sparrow and 8+ Chaffinch. 

Tree Sparrow

Finally, there’s a very sad news story from Yahoo Finance 28th of October 2013, totally unrelated to birds but almost certainly of interest to one or two birders I know who enjoy a glass of wine after a windswept day in the field. 

“On Monday global drinks giant Treasury Wine Estates faced a class-action lawsuit from Australian shareholders after oversupply issues forced six million bottles of wine to be poured down the drain. Law firm Maurice Blackburn and class action funder IMF Australia said they were preparing a shareholder lawsuit against Treasury, the wine business spun off from Australian beverages giant Foster's in 2011. The glut-hit wine company, which owns major brands including Penfolds, Rosemount Estate and Wolf Blass, shocked the market in July when it unveiled Aus$160 million (£95 million) in write-downs related to oversupply problems in the United States. "The impairment included a Aus$33 million provision to pour six million bottles of out-of-date wine down the drain," IMF said in a joint statement with their lawyers”. 

A Glass of Wine

I shall leave blog readers to contemplate this wretched and depressing story while I go and drown my sorrows, but there’s cheerier news from Another Bird Blog very soon.

Linking today to Stewart's Bird Gallery in Australia. Hey Stewart, try and rescue some of that wine. 

The Early Bird…..

Didn’t catch the worm, just the 0815 tide and an hour or two at Knott End before the domestic arrangements took over. Waders and wildfowl: 900 Oystercatcher, 80 Redshank, 90 Turnstone, 230 Knot, 18 Sanderling, 6 Curlew, 30 Shelduck, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret and 1 Eider. Where are the Eider ducks this winter? And as a possible answer to the question, we normally experience a wintering Eider overflow from the colony centred across the bay at Walney Island, with maybe a few of our own birds which breed not far away along the River Wyre. So as pure speculation let’s blame the appalling summer again, as even an Eider’s down couldn’t afford much protection to an egg or  duckling from the cold and wet of June, July and August. 

There are often comments from blog readers about the actual numbers of waders in these parts, perhaps incredulous of the hundreds or thousands of a particular species. It is explained by the fact that just here on the Fylde coast and where I am so lucky to live, is the southern expanse of the Internationally Important Morecambe Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). I am afraid that most birders, and probably me included, rather take for granted the truism without necessarily appreciating and enjoying the splendour for themselves.  What's that old saying which starts "familiarity.... "?

Even as the tide runs in Sanderlings and Turnstones continue to feed as long as possible, but while the Oystercatchers are content to sit it out on the sands or a convenient rock, they keep a watchful eye open.

Sanderling

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

Passerines: 6 Goldfinch, 5 Pied Wagtail, 4 Meadow Pipit and 2 Rock Pipit 

Here in coastal North West England Meadow Pipits are numerous passage migrants in both spring and autumn and also a species which winters in small numbers. Until recent years they bred in good numbers, but more lately the number of breeding pairs is much reduced. In contrast our Rock Pipits are both spring and autumn migrants, but mainly winter visitors in small numbers during the months of November to March. A Rock Pipit differs from the similar and closely related Meadow Pipit in that it has darker legs, rather broad streaks down its breast and overall dark plumage. Just to confuse, both species habitually spend time in both rocks and meadows.

Rock Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Yet again the forecast isn’t too good for birding on Sunday or even Monday, but as ever Another Bird Blog will keep a watchful eye on proceedings and be out there in there thick of it as soon as possible. So log in soon. 

In the meantime Another Bird Blog expands its horizons for the next seven days to Weekly Top Shot, I'd Rather Be Birding and Paying Ready Attention Photo Gallery - give them all a visit for a new experience and lots of photographs.

A Silhouette Day

Another one of those grey, uninviting mornings which promised no camera time, but at least today it wasn’t raining so instead of staying home thinking about birding I set out to do a little. Pilling was the venue again where a high tide was due at 11am. 

Two raptors greeted me, first a rather small, grey Peregrine flying west towards Fluke Hall, which I lost when it dived into the Broadfleet gully and panicked thousands of birds into flight. I’d walked up towards Pilling Water when a Merlin flew towards the sea wall, this time in the direction of Lane Ends itself, where it dipped over the sea wall and then over the adjacent fields. The Merlin was flying with that clipped, almost “bouncy” action they sometimes show, reminiscent of a Mistle Thrush. Such a flight pattern may imitate the flight of their prey, disguise their falcon outline and so allow a closer approach: it has been called “masked hunting”. Merlins also indulge in persistent chasing of their prey where they seek to exhaust the target, combining the chase with spectacular vertical stoops where they either grab or knock down the victim. Who’d be a tiny bird in Merlin territory? 

Merlin 

There were lots of Dunlin this morning, at least 1500, and a wader which is a favoured target and a handy sized meal for a Merlin. Other waders - 40+ Snipe, 270 Redshank, 450 Lapwing, 70+ Curlew. 

Dunlin

Two other raptors this morning, a Kestrel and a Buzzard. The Buzzard was hanging about at the wildfowler’s pools and stubble where there are still lots of Red-legged Partridge for nabbing, hence the regular sighting of a Peregrine over the site too. When sportsmen started to gather for the Wednesday afternoon shoot the Buzzard headed off inland towards the mosslands. On the pools themselves, 50+ Teal, some of the 700+ out on the marsh, together with 250 Wigeon and 300+ Shelduck. Two Grey Herons today, outnumber as ever by the 11 Little Egrets on show. 

The only chance for a photograph came when I settled down to watch about 15 Meadow Pipits feeding in the shore rockery, one or two coming within camera a range but at ISO800. As the tide came in the Meadow Pipits disappeared over the wall to be replaced by 2 Rock Pipits appearing on the high tide with 18 Linnets and 15 Skylark flying in too. 

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit

Ravens are a bit of a mystery bird out here, appearing and disappearing without any apparent pattern, just like today when four appeared over the marsh from the Cockerham direction and then proceeded to fly noisily south west. There’s a rubbish and distant photo, not taken in black and white, just “silhouette” mode on a grey day, but Ravens are very noisy birds which are impossible to miss. Click on the xeno-canto button to hear the Ravens.

Raven

Let's hope for a more colourful day tomorrow on Another Bird Blog. Stay tuned just in case.

Bird News, Book News

Early rain gave way to a breezy, bright morning, with time to visit the birding patch at Pilling. No sooner had I arrived at Fluke Hall than I saw SP readying himself for a walk along the wooded road. On Sunday afternoon he located a Yellow-browed Warbler here, a species which is now found almost annually in this part of Lancashire, in some years there are three, four or more records, but it’s still a worthy find and one which requires good birding skills.

Stuart moseyed off east to look in the same place the bird was last seen. I wandered off east towards Ridge Farm where the best I could muster in 15 minutes was cracking views of a male Merlin, 20+ Greenfinch, 12+ Skylark, several Linnets and 15+ Meadow Pipits. The phone rang, he’d re-found the warbler, still about the same spot three days later, so I strolled back to the trees to see and hear the bird in the ash and sycamores next to the road. The warbler was very vocal, calling almost constantly as it moved through the trees, the distinctive call somewhere between a Coal Tit and a Pied Wagtail to my ears. Knowing the call is as good if not the best way to locate a yellow-browed.

There’s a very old pre-digital photograph here from Bardsey Island sometime in the dim and distant past.

Yellow-browed Warbler

I decided to head up to Lane Ends for the incoming tide. If anything the tide was too high, with no obvious roosting spots, causing most of the waders to fly constantly around. For what it’s worth a few observations and a couple of counts: 1 Peregrine, 1 Kestrel, 40 Snipe, 420 Dunlin, 180 Redshank, 250+ Lapwing, 8 Little Egret, 12 Whooper Swan, 800 Wigeon, 700 Teal, 110 Pintail, 15 Meadow Pipit, 15 Linnet and 2 Rock Pipit.

Pintail

Rock Pipit

And now for some interesting book news, more especially for blog followers in the US but also UK birders who travel to North America and/or those who like to twitch the occasional US bird on this side of the Atlantic.

Readers of Another Bird Blog may remember the review here of Richard Crossley’s ID Guide to Eastern Birds (North America), a book acclaimed for its pioneering approach to bird identification. And here’s the good news, Princeton University Press are preparing a new Crossley guide for release in April 2013, The Crossley Guide to Raptors, this latest volume co-authored by Jerry Liguori and Brian Sullivan.

The Crossley Guide to Raptors

For the new volume I’m quoting from a sneak preview sent to me by Princeton University Press.

“Part of the revolutionary Crossley ID Guide series, this is the first raptor guide with lifelike scenes composed from multiple photographs - scenes that allow you to identify raptors just as the experts do. Experienced birders use the most easily observed and consistent characteristics - size, shape, behaviour, probability, and general colour patterns. The book’s 101 scenes - including thirty-five double-page layouts, provide a complete picture of how these features are all related. Even the effects of lighting and other real-world conditions are illustrated and explained. Detailed and succinct accounts from two of North America’s foremost raptor experts, Jerry Liguori and Brian Sullivan, stress the key identification features. This complete picture allows everyone from beginner to expert to understand and enjoy what he or she sees in the field. The mystique of bird identification is eliminated, allowing even novice birders to identify raptors quickly and simply. Comprehensive and authoritative, the book covers all thirty-four of North America’s diurnal raptor species (all species except owls). Each species is featured in stunning colour plates that show males and females, in a full spectrum of ages and colour variants, depicted near and far, in flight and at rest, and from multiple angles, all caught in their typical habitats. There are also comparative, multispecies scenes and mystery photographs that allow readers to test their identification skills, along with answers and full explanations in the back of the book. In addition, the book features an introduction, and thirty-four colour maps that accompany the plates. Whether you are a novice or an expert, this one-of-a-kind guide will show you an entirely new way to look at these spectacular birds”. 

I’m told this book will sell for about $30 only, so all I can suggest is that you visit your bookstore and reserve a copy now or keep watching the Princeton University Press Blog for more info and regular previews of plates from the book.

 The Crossley Raptor Guide

Another Bird Blog will review the book as soon as a copy is received; in the meantime stay tuned for more bird news and bird pictures whether home or abroad.

KE, Recaptures And Fingers Crossed

An hour or two at Knott End (KE) this morning proved very rewarding for seeing a good selection of birds, but not for photography on the grey, overcast morning.

A walk up river and then near the jetty produced 9 Red-breasted Merganser, 15 Eider, 30+ Wigeon, 4 Grey Heron, 2 Little Egret, 6 Pied Wagtail, 1 Rock Pipit, 4 Cormorant and 1 Kestrel.

The incoming tide pushed waders and wildfowl to the shore, with 1900 Oystercatcher, 1400 Knot, 145 Redshank, 28 Turnstone, 140 Dunlin, 40+ Curlew and 35 Shelduck. A Peregrine dived once or twice at the assembled Knot before the tide ran in so quickly that I didn’t get to accurately count the many birds which flew either up river to the Wyre roost or along the sands to the Preesall/Pilling roost.

Turnstone
Rock Pipit
Shelduck

It rained later so I turned my attention to trying to answer a question from a blog reader from the US who asked about ringing recaptures.

I keyed WILWA into our Fylde Ringing Group IPMR database and came up with the example below to illustrate how full life histories are gleaned from multiple recaptures of the same individual, in this case a small migratory warbler, the Willow Warbler. British Willow Warblers spend the summer here before migrating to central Africa for the winter.

IN1795 was first captured as a juvenile (age code 3) in July 1990, almost certainly a bird whose parents bred within the ringing site. It spent its first and subsequent winter somewhere in Africa, returning to exactly the same UK location in years 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, and 1997, when we recaptured and identified it as a breeding male (code 4M) in most years. The bird was almost certainly present during the summers of 1993 and 1996, the reason for the non-recapture being that it simply escaped us ringers that year. In 1997 it went off the radar and may have died from old age, an unknown cause, or possibly on migration south during the autumn of 1997, in its Africa winter, or even on the way back to the UK in the spring of 1998. Willow Warblers, indeed most small birds are not especially long lived, but in its 6+ years the recapture history of IN1795 provided lots of valuable data.

Age 3, First ringed - 14/07/1990 Inskip, Lancashire
Age 4, Recaptured - 20/04/1991 Inskip, Lancashire - 280 days
Age 4M, Recaptured - 18/05/1991 Inskip, Lancashire - 308 days
Age 4M, Recaptured - 14/05/1992 Inskip, Lancashire - 1 year 305 days
Age 4, Recaptured - 01/05/1994 Inskip, Lancashire - 3 years 291 days
Age 4, Recaptured - 14/04/1995 Inskip, Lancashire - 4 years 274 days
Age 4M, Recaptured - 06/05/1995 Inskip, Lancashire - 4 years 269 days
Age 4M, Recaptured - 03/05/1997 Inskip, Lancashire - 6 years 293 days

Willow Warbler
The forecast isn’t looking too bad for a ringing some new birds tomorrow, and maybe even a few more recaptures. Fingers crossed.

Finding Finches

1300 hours and the rain has set in for the rest of the day, so I might as well blog for a while; it’s just as well that I got out this morning, paid a few visits, and got a picture or two.

Thursday morning is my trip to the shops, and the compulsory detour along the Esplanade where come autumn, even boring old Knott End may have a few tricks up its sleeve. There had been sightings of Twite back in town, so with a bag of Black Magic, nyjer seed, I checked out last year’s spots at the slipway and below the walkway where I emptied bags of the feed. Someone had beaten me to it, I think I know who, but what the heck it worked already with 4 Twite in attendance, plus a Rock Pipit and a Pied Wagtail. We’ll see what happens this year compared to last when 3 months of ice and cold kept the Twite coming back for more and almost certainly helped them survive the hard winter.

Twite
Rock Pipit

I decided to give Pilling a miss this morning, but instead pay a visit to Farmer John, and check on his finch flock at Cockersands. One of these days there may be a ringing session there if ever the wind drops to something equal to or less than 5mph because on anything more the mist nets would be exposed. Ringers, they are so demanding.

PW and JB saw a lone Brambling with the Greenfinch yesterday. I saw the Brambling today and even managed to take a picture of it amongst the 100+ Greenfinch, 8 Linnet, 10 Chaffinch and 2 Reed Bunting. The Greenfinch proved difficult to photograph as they work on the principle of “one flies, we all fly” and they also favour flying up to the overhead wires when cars pass by.

Greenfinch
Greenfinch
Brambling
Greenfinch
Chaffinch
Chaffinch

I dodged round to Conder Green where I hoped I might get a few more photographs; but things have gone very quiet and all I could muster were 6 Little Grebe, 1 Tufted Duck, 2 Wigeon, 1 Little Egret, 4 Snipe and several Redshank. I really shouldn’t forget the 80+ Teal which if disturbed by passers-by always put on a fabulous flying display. Remember the plaster flying ducks that grannie had over the mantelpiece; you know, the ones the family threw in the rubbish skip when the old dear passed away?

Teal
On the way back home I passed the entrance to Lane Ends, and I heard the Chiffchaff in full song; I resisted the temptation for a quick look but decided to save it for another Pilling day.

More Twittering

It was 4pm and I had to nip to the shops at Knott End so called in at the Twite spot to see if I could improve on my last lot of photos. Despite the constant traffic of people along The Esplanade 15 Twite kept returning to where I waited so I got a few pictures of them, plus a half decent shot of a Rock Pipit before the sun gave up on me.

Twite
Twite
Rock Pipit
I spent most of the earlier afternoon walking on the moss where it was quiet but sunny and I saw the normal early March fare. Buzzards were obvious again today, calling from the vicinity of the woods or overhead as they drifted high in all directions, and I put 4 in my notebook together with 2 Kestrels, the other regular raptor around here.

Buzzard
“Small stuff” consisted of 22 Tree Sparrow, 4 Yellowhammer, 16 Linnet, 4 Goldfinch, 5 Skylark, 2 Reed Bunting and 14 Corn Bunting, most of which fed on the old tailings again. At least 5 Tree Sparrow boxes had activity around them but as usual the birds moved off when I approached too near. Not to worry, all will become clear when the boxes are opened.

Tree Sparrow
Corn Bunting
“Others” today were 4 pairs of Grey Partridge, 2 Little Owl, a single Jay, a return of the Woodpigeons with a count of 64 and 3 Shelduck flying back out towards the coast. Brown Hares were very active today as I witnessed more than one bout of sparring and tearing across the open fields. Four Roe Deer put in an appearance again today as they ran from a wood I approached, making me feel guilty about disturbing them but they are just so hard to spot in a wood and will always see or smell us first.

Roe Deer

Better Knott End Than Never

There were two apt birds this morning. Firstly chicken because when I looked out at the frost covered car that’s what I became, and then secondly a duck by dipping out of any immediate birding to postpone it until later in the day when I hoped the weather might become a bit more finger friendly.

Later we did some gentle shopping at Knott End then checked out the usual spots. Knott End can get a bit busy with people but the cold had certainly kept plenty indoors with virtually no one pounding the Esplanade, but while it was still cold at least the thick frost had cleared.

The tide was on the ebb and although it was only 1pm, the best of the sun had gone, replaced with indifferent light, 50% cloud and our familiar friend Spotty Rain. Oh well, we get used to making the most of what there is.

Ebb Tide - Knott End

I found 25 flighty Twite along the shore next to the jetty feeding in the tide wrack, but at each person that came along the top of the walkway, the Twite took off to the back of the Bourne Arms, only to return and do the same again ten minutes later. About 30 Turnstone feeding in the same detritus were more obliging, but mixing in with Redshank causes even the most confiding of waders to be skittish, so at the behest of the Redshank they all went for a fly round on more than a few occasions. The first picture is from today, the second from the Rossall location that lends itself better to Turnstone photos.

Turnstone - Knott End

Turnstone - Rossall

From the jetty on the flat but ebbing tide I counted 23 Shelduck with 33 Eider further out where they were easily countable today without their usual bobbing up and down in and out of the troughs that even slightly more windy days bring.

Shelduck

Of waders I counted a minimum of 80 Redshank today, with some searching out food in the frosted green marsh while others fed on the edge of it, with more than 60 Lapwing, 30 Sanderling, 22 Ringed Plover, 1400 Oystercatchers and 24 Bar-tailed Godwit, with the inevitable Little Egret scratching round the frosted ditches. I even found a couple of Sanderling feeding on the concrete apron below the walkway, also a Rock Pipit and a Pied Wagtail! That’s how few grockles were about today.

Lapwing

Sanderling

Redshank

Rock Pipit

Pied Wagtail

A very satisfactory couple of hours after a lazy, unpromising start. Must do better!