Pesky Peregrine

I couldn’t get out birding on Monday morning so settled for a few hours at Pilling after lunch and a walk along the sea wall to hit the incoming tide. 

After a period when there was hardly any activity I think the local Kestrels have finally produced a family. I saw two juveniles close together along a barbed wire fence at Fluke Hall and then soon after there was an adult bird about 150 yards away. 

The wood was quiet again apart from a Great-spotted Woodpecker calling from deep in the trees and a good deal of noise and activity around a number of Tree Sparrow boxes. The cool and wet spring has been one of poor productivity for many species, including Tree Sparrows. Recent weather is a little warmer and Tree Sparrows have the ability to produce youngsters until quite late in the season as long as there are insects with which to feed the chicks. 

Tree Sparrow

 

I set off for the sea wall in time to see a Buzzard take off from the fence ahead of me and then circle around calling before flying into the trees above the road. 

As the tide began to flow in there was lots of activity along the distant shore but the gulls and waders didn’t settle for long because of the almost constant attentions of a Peregrine beating up and down the tideline. 

Peregrine

In the course of an hour the Peregrine made at least eight forays into the birds along the shore from left, right and above, each time scattering the groups in all directions. After each attempt it would soar slowly at some height as if gathering strength and then launch itself into another headlong dash along the shore where it panicked the roosting birds into the air again. How can one raptor cause such pandemonium? 

Peregrine

Peregrine

Wader counts here are often approximate but made more so today by that determined Peregrine - 600 Oystercatcher, 350+ Curlew, 85 Golden Plover, 190 Lapwing, 60+ Dunlin, 30+Ringed Plover, 4 Black-tailed Godwit and 1+ Whimbrel. 

Curlew

I didn’t see the Peregrine catch a meal and think it flew off to try its luck elsewhere because the noise and activity subsided just as the tide began to ebb. Most of the shell-shocked waders had gone too and I was left to study the gulls. 

 Peregrine

There were good numbers of Black-headed Gulls left on the water, perhaps 400+, 2 Teal, 4 Little Egret and 2 Grey Heron. Two Sandwich Terns lifted off from a patch of marsh and then headed west towards Knott End, calling as they went. 

Sandwich Tern

“Bits and pieces” totted up to 18 Linnet, 4 Skylark, 1 Pied Wagtail, 20+ Swallows. 

The summer holidays are here so it’s child minding Olivia and Isabella tomorrow with no birding until Wednesday on Another Bird Blog. Tune in then for more news, views and pictures of birds.

Until then I'm linking to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

What's The Weather Back Home?

Here are a few more pictures from Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain where the temperature hovers around the 21°C mark, just the job to shift those winter blues. 

Birding here isn’t the easiest in the world with a limited number of species, some of which are difficult to find and none provided on a plate but it all makes for interesting and often exploratory days. This all works quite well as it leaves time for Sue and I to enjoy the touristy parts of the island or simply relax on a sunbed around the hotel pools. 

The tourists don’t hit the beaches too early after sampling the nightlife of Purto del Carmen the previous night so a morning walk surveying the deserted beach while looking for a coffee stop provides an agreeable morning. 

Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote

Not too far from the promenade, the shops and the lines of sunbeds there’s an area of rocks and sand which hold Yellow-legged Gulls, Turnstones, Sanderlings and maybe one or two Whimbrel. 

Whimbrel

Sanderling

In the old and very picturesque part of the harbour Little Egrets and Turnstones search through the fishing boats hoping to grab a bite to eat. There are lots of gulls and at the harbour mouth a number of Sandwich Terns loafing away their time until a passing boat sends them back out to sea looking for a meal. 

Puerto del Carmen

Turnstone

Little Egret

Sandwich Tern

The waters off the Canary Islands are rich in Atlantic breeding seabirds, including large numbers of Cory's Shearwaters, Manx Shearwaters, the rare Barolo's Shearwater, White-faced Storm-petrel, Madeiran Storm-petrel and European Storm-petrel, while the list of other regularly-occurring pelagic seabirds includes Wilson's Storm-petrel. 

Watching the sea along the southerly coastline here can result in sightings of whales and dolphins including the Short-Finned Pilot Whale and Common and Bottlenose Dolphins, and it is said that Hammerhead Sharks and Loggerhead Turtles are present. The Canary Islands were also formerly home to a population of the rarest pinniped in the world, the Mediterranean Monk Seal. 

From the hotel I have seen distant whales in past years so keep a look out although I’m more likely to see one of the many ocean going yachts moored locally. 

Yacht at Puerto Calero, Lanzarote

Back at our hotel there are a couple of walks across the often parched landscape might provide Houbara Bustard or Cream-coloured Courser. Oases of greenery including gardens can turn up the goods like Trumpeter Finch, Desert Grey Shrike, Collared Dove, Lesser Short-toed Lark, Berthelot’s Pipit and Spanish Sparrow.

Calero, Lanzarote

Spanish Sparrow

Trumpeter Finch

Desert Grey Shrike

Hotel Costa Calero

This week I found nesting Desert Grey Shrike, breeding Stone Curlew, Houbara Bustards and a pair of Trumpeter Finches yards from the hotel.

It’s back to normal in the UK very soon on Another Bird Blog. Stay tuned.

Bank Holiday Blues

There’s a little part time birding and a few pictures from Saturday morning, it’s all I could manage, and if I’m honest Bank Holiday Weekend birding fills me with dread. 

It rained overnight and into the morning, so much so that my trip to Knott End for a spot of soft-core birding was delayed until 0815. The sun was breaking through, rain clouds headed south up The River Wyre and ahead of a hint of northerly, a recipe which often leaves a glorious morning light to fill the estuary. 

Not for the first time I paused to survey the scene, clicked the shutter button and thanked my lucky stars that I live in such a beautiful part of the UK. I walked in the direction of the dark clouds safe in the knowledge that the morning would remain fine and that I would see a good selection of commonplace birds.

Double click your LH mouse for a slide show of Wyre, Lancashire and just a few of the county's common birds. 

The River Wyre looking North West

The River Wyre looking South East

From the car park I’d noted masses of Oystercatchers on the mussel beds at the mouth of estuary, the rocky islands just beginning to flood and the Oystercatchers to leave. It’s quite a spectacle to see and hear hundreds of oyks “kleep-kleeping” to their up-river roost, not en-masse just a steady stream of tens and twenties until an hour later you’ve counted 450+ and there’s still some left on the shore. Redshanks and Curlews were on the move too, flying up river in their small exclusive groups which never mix with the numerous and noisy gangs of Oystercatchers. 90+ Redshank and 42 Curlew went in the notebook. 

Redshanks

I didn’t find many birds up here but the antics of the weekend golfers make for alternative entertainment. And to be fair they often send a fairway feeding wagtail in my direction as they did today, plus an autumn Meadow Pipit. Half a dozen Goldfinch, a few Dunnocks and Robins in the willow/hawthorn stretch and then it was time to head back down river where the incoming tide would fill the shore. 

At the ferry jetty I noted 2 Pied Wagtail, on the tideline 2 Grey Heron and a Little Egret, a good number of small and scattered waders which the tide should concentrate, and the screeches of Sandwich Terns. 

Sandwich Tern

There was a good selection of waders with a few more northerly species making a “welcome” comeback. A question - why do birders wish the seasons and their lives away to see birds that they are only too familiar with? 

I mustered 6 Turnstone, 68 Dunlin, 27 Ringed Plover, 6 Grey Plover, 7 Sanderling and 17 Sandwich Tern 

Turnstone

 Sanderling

There was horse rider on the beach who decided to drive her mount fast along the tideline. She stopped to scan her mobile phone before charging off again and so scattering the birds to the far horizons and sending me back home. Yes, this part of Lancashire is rather special, mostly. 

The River Wyre, Lancashire

There’s more birding soon on Another Bird Blog if you decide to return, Bank Holiday or not.

Linking today to Our World Tuesday and Stewart's World Bird Wedesday .

A Golden Morning

The run of early morning starts dictated a lie in on Friday. That’s not to say there isn’t birding to do, just that it started later to take in the 1115 tide at Knott End. So there isn’t a great deal of news in today’s post but there are at last on Another Bird Blog, pictures of the shy Golden Plover. 

By late July there should be signs of returning waders and terns using the beach for feeding and resting, and although there weren’t huge numbers today, the variety is improving. The tide brought in end of summer terns, 20 Sandwich Terns to be exact, the terns all settling on the beach after a couple of noisy fly-arounds. 

Sandwich Terns

After a good number flew up river or towards Pilling it still left 160 Oystercatchers on the beach as the 8.4 metre tide failed to cover the flat sands. I added 3 Redshank, 2 Dunlin, 1 Ringed Plover and 1 Whimbrel to the list although I could hear both Ringed Plovers and Dunlin in flight somewhere. 

I turned my attention to a juvenile Golden Plover which called as it flew onto the beach from the west. I’ve always found our UK Golden Plovers extremely difficult to approach, partly due to the species innate wariness of man. Amazingly, and to our shame as a civilised nation the very fine-looking Golden Plover is a “quarry” species, i.e. it can be legally shot. 

It really is time that conservation organisations campaigned to have the Golden Plover removed from the list of quarry species when it continues to decline as a breeding species. And whilst they are thinking about the Golden Plover it would be useful to consider other declining species like Snipe and Woodcock. 

I kept still and quiet, clicking away and holding my breath as the plover relaxed and fed before the incoming tide sent it flying off west.  I asked myself what justification there could be for shooting such a beautiful bird?  I have a good idea what Knott End Annie would have thought about it. 

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Annie's Log - Knott End 

The River Wyre at Knott End

Up river I found a single Eider, a Grey Heron, a Pied Wagtail and several Linnets and Goldfinches. 

There will be more news and pictures from Another Bird Blog soon but no guarantee of photos of Golden Plover.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni's Blog.

Well Terned Out

From the bedroom window at 5am dawn appeared as grey skies and rain spotted puddles. I went back to bed for another sleep vowing to try later. 

I've neglected Knott End birding for weeks of mid-summer. So with a late start, a freshening wind and high tide due at midday I decided to spend an hour or two at the estuary in the hope of seeing returning waders and terns; it’s here where the River Wyre meets the huge expanse of Morecambe Bay. People and vehicles sometimes come to grief here when they fail to appreciate the speed of the incoming tides, the softness of the exposed beach or the whereabouts of patches of quicksand. 

Motoring - Knott End style

It's barely mid-July but already there are good numbers of post-breeding Oystercatchers and I counted 340+ leaving the shore, most heading up river to roost, the remainder flying towards an alternative roost at Pilling. The 35 Curlew and 12 Dunlin flew up river too, the Dunlin split 50/50 black- bellied adults and plainer juveniles. I thought it odd not to see a single Redshank today in contrast to the good numbers there have been a few miles up the coast at the River Lune. 

Dunlin

Curlew

A walk up river didn’t produce much apart from a single Lapwing, a lonesome Eider, a Pied Wagtail and 30/40 Black-headed Gulls. As I walked the Oystercatchers kept coming in their tens and twenties flying south to their roost a mile away at Barnaby’s Sands/Burrows Marsh. 

By now the wind was quite blowy and cool so I donned a jacket to sit at the jetty where the ferry leaves to cross for Fleetwood, all of four hundred yards away. A Peregrine coasted by not too far out, the bird in no hurry as Peregrines mostly are. It was headed Pilling way flying so lethargically that I failed to appreciate what it was until too late - fooled, no picture. 

Fleetwood and The River Wyre viewed from Knott End

A couple of Sandwich Terns came in from the north with the tide, searched around for a while and then left towards the Fleetwood side of the river just as quickly as they appeared. 

Sandwich Tern

There wasn’t an awful lot doing and I was about to call it a morning when a Black Tern appeared from somewhere out in the bay; a most unexpected arrival. The tern wasn’t feeding but flew and high over the water towards Fleetwood and then up river until of sight. From the fairly brief and overhead views the bird appeared to be an adult in full or mostly full summer plumage. 

Black Terns breed in good numbers in the Low Countries of Europe from where this one may have originated and then travelling overland to reach North West England. Just like many wader species at this time of year many adult Black Terns leave breeding colonies in July before the juveniles follow suit in August and September.

Black Tern - Photo credit: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Foter / (CC BY 2.0)

A rewarding end to a few hours of birding, and I’m pleased I turned out instead of sitting around the house! 

No apologies for the excruciating puns. Let’s hope they won’t deter anyone from revisiting Another Bird Blog soon.

Back To Basics

Some things never change - as in yet another accident on the A588 at Burned House Lane where Police cars blocked the road, necessitating a detour to get to Pilling. A biker and a Mini Cooper this morning, two or more people who didn’t arrive at work on time. 

After the high temperatures of Skiathos and its Mediterranean birds the sought after hot spots today were local birding haunts to reacquaint myself with mundane but nevertheless good-to-see UK regulars. After almost three weeks of absence a number of things struck me. Not least was the presence of good numbers of recently arrived Pink-footed Geese here for the winter, and the fact that there are still Barn Swallows lingering from the summer. Swallows were immediately obvious, at least a hundred over the wheat fields and on roadside wires at Fluke Hall Lane and then good numbers flying noticeably south and west throughout the morning at Conder Green and later at Lane Ends/Pilling Water. I must have counted several hundred Swallows in total, with just 2 House Martins noted at Pilling Water. 

Barn Swallows

Was there was plenty of rain while I was away? That was clear from flash pools here and there and the water levels at Conder Green where nothing much came my way save for a latish Common Sandpiper, 2 Snipe, 1 Little Egret, 1 Cormorant, 6 Little Grebe and a Kingfisher. A quick look at Glasson gave 2 Grey Heron, 250+ Lapwing and 300 or more Redshank along the river, some wading as waders should, others picking over the muddy shore. 

Redshanks

Lane Ends beckoned. A single Jay and probably more called from the trees as a small group of Goldfinches dropped into the tree tops, but I didn’t linger and instead set off for Pilling Water. Grounded along the tideline were a single Wheatear, 4 Skylark and a small number of Meadow Pipits, all flying off on my approach, with the remainder wildfowl or waders at high tide time. 

What a difference three September weeks make to duck numbers, with today upwards of 400 Wigeon, 1100 Teal, 15 Pintail and 900+ Pink-footed Geese. Wader numbers were equally impressive if imprecise on a less than ideal tide height leaving many roosting on the higher marsh at Fluke Hall: 5 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 6 Snipe, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 400+ Lapwing, 700+ Curlew, 40 Redshank and 4 Ringed Plover. No count of gulls, but a dozen Sandwich Terns were good to see so far into the bay. 

Wigeon

Sandwich Terns

That Greek holiday seems like a distant dream in a far off sunny spot but sometimes isn't it good to get back to basics on a local patch?

Heading Home - Skiathos

Log in soon for more uncomplicated birding from Another Bird Blog.

Grey Surprise

The morning started grey, drizzly and breezy - one of those mornings when optimism for finding birds and taking photographs doesn’t come easily. But by 11am when the sun finally broke through the clouds the morning hadn’t been too bad after all, and for readers who stay the course there are a few pictures of an uncommon grey goose for these parts. 

At Conder Green I watched 5 Little Grebe fishing the pools, taking the tiny minnows the Kingfishers and Cormorants have been after lately. No sign of a blue streak though, and just one Cormorant and 8 Teal. There rest of the usual stuff proved pretty sparse with just 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Curlew and 2 Spotted Redshank, all enlivened by 11 Snipe plus a single Ruff with head tucked in, roosting and hiding amongst the 20 or so Redshank in the creek. 

I drove through drizzle up to Knott End where hopefully the 1015 tide might bring in a few goodies and a change of weather. I think I missed the bulk of the Oystercatchers heading up river to roost as there were only some 140 left on the incoming tide, other waders 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Ringed Plover, 22 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, 2 Lapwing, 10 Curlew and 7 Grey Plover. 

Also on the incoming tideline were 9 Eider, 8 Cormorant and a single Grey Heron. The heron was having a bad day, being chased from the shore by a Lesser Black-backed Gull. 

Grey Heron and Lesser Black-backed Gull

The poor overnight weather and gloom of the morning had brought lots of terns to the shore where they roosted in between the "dreads" - 450 Sandwich Tern plus several Common Tern. 

Sandwich Terns

Sandwich Terns

Along the river was a Brent Goose, preening almost continually as it floated downstream. I thought maybe it had got slightly oiled to be cleaning itself up so systematically, but eventually it came ashore and fed a little before passers-by caused the bird to drift out to the channel again. Brent (or Brant) Geese are fairly scarce around here and it is quite unusual to get such good views and pictures from what is normally a very wary species, especially when they mix with winter Pink-footed Geese.

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

Brent Goose

From Wiki.

"Brent (or Brant) Goose is divided three subspecies:

• Dark-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla bernicla 
• Pale-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla hrota (sometimes also known as Light-bellied Brant Goose in Europe, and Atlantic Brant in North America) 
• Black Brant Branta bernicla nigricans (sometimes also known as the Pacific Brant in North America) 

 Some DNA evidence suggests that these forms are genetically distinct; while a split into three separate species has been proposed, it is not widely accepted, with other evidence upholding their maintenance as a single species.

The body of the dark-bellied form is fairly uniformly dark grey-brown all over, the flanks and belly not significantly paler than the back. The head and neck are black, with a small white patch on either side of the neck. It breeds on the Arctic coasts of central and western Siberia and winters in western Europe, with over half the population in southern England, the rest between northern Germany and northern France.

The Pale-bellied Brent Goose appears blackish-brown and light grey in colour. The body is different shades of grey-brown all over, the flanks and belly are significantly paler than the back and present a marked contrast. The head and neck are black, with a small white patch on either side of the neck. It breeds in Franz Josef Land, Svalbard, Greenland and northeastern Canada, wintering in Denmark, northeast England, Ireland and the Atlantic coast of the U.S. from Maine to Georgia."

More birds and sunny days from Another Bird Blog soon. Stay posted.