Good Morning

The morning started in fine style. Not a cloud in the sky and a promise of sun all day. There was no ringing today so I set off birding camera at the ready as mist began to clear from the ditches and dykes. 

Pilling morning, Lancashire

All was quiet at Conder Green save for the usual display flights of the Oystercatchers and the resident Shelducks still sorting out their pairs. I looked across at the far bank hoping to see the elusive Avocets but instead of the expected two I saw four. There seemed little aggression between the four as they all fed together until at one point two flew across to a nearer island. After a few minutes the pair flew back to join the others on the far side of the pool and I turned my attention to what else might be lurking unseen.  It was cold and just 3°C at 0730. Visible migration seemed nil apart from a few Swallows and Sand Martins heading north at a fair rate of knots. 

Shelduck

Avocets

Avocet

I looked around for other birds and on the water found 18 Shelduck, 16 Oystercatcher, 6 Tufted Duck, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Goosander and 2 Teal. A Kingfisher flew by but didn’t stay. Kingfishers breed not far away along the canal or upstream of the River Conder which just here is little more than a trickle of water at the end of its journey from the inland fells. 

In the creeks and on the marsh: 2 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Curlew, 4 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron and 2 Pied Wagtail. 

I drove up to Cockersands where the drake Shoveler still frequents the flash flood that will soon dry up. I’d watched him fly in from close by and where I think his mate is hidden on a nest. The handsome Shoveler is now something of a scarce breeding bird in this part of Lancashire whereby a possible breeding pair is quite noteworthy. 

Shoveler

Near Lighthouse Cottage a female wagtail was busy collecting nest material while the male looked on. That looks to be a rather fine finishing material she’s collecting for the nest lining. 

 Pied Wagtail

 Pied Wagtail

I heard my first Whitethroat of the year. It was jumping around between the hedge and the bramble fence-line, singing for all it was worth after that long journey from Africa. There was a Sedge Warbler along the ditch too but it sang from low down with just a sub-song at that. Maybe it tuned up later after I‘d hi-tailed it towards the caravan park. 

Whitethroat

I noted several Linnets about and also six or eight very mobile Twite. The Twite spent a minute or two on the overhead wires before they twittered off into the distance towards the shore. The Twite is very closely related to the Linnet and carries the colloquial name of “mountain linnet” after its habitat preference for the uplands. A male Twite has a very short yellow beak and no pink chest, unlike the Linnet which has a heavier greyish bill and at this time of year a bright red chest. The call of the two species in flight is similar, but to the trained ear noticeably different. 

Twite

Twite

There wasn’t much doing near the caravan park although I did notice much more Brown Hare activity than of late, including a little chasing and sparring. The sunny morning helped me see upwards of 20 hares this morning although not all of them were as obliging as the ones that sit motionless, ears sleeked back and disguised as a clump of earth. Mostly they run from the sound of an approaching vehicle or footsteps. Look closer, it’s a Brown Hare, not a bundle of brown soil. 

 Brown Hare

Brown Hare

Towards the caravan park: 6 singing Skylark, 6 Tree Sparrow, 4 Goldfinch, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret and 80+ Lapwing. 

Skylark

Fingers crossed for those Lapwings and Skylarks.

Linking this post to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday and Anni's Birding Blog.

Friday Flights

Friday began with a Barn Owl flying across Head Dyke Lane a hundred yards or more in front of the car. By the time I reached the spot the owl was nowhere to be seen so I didn’t hang about. There should be plenty of Barn Owl sightings soon. 

At Wrampool there was a Kestrel hanging about the set aside field together with a handful of Linnets and Tree Sparrows. Maybe the Kestrel was hoping to grab an unwary bird when it sped low across the crop a couple of times before returning to its base of the roadside trees. The Kestrel was an adult female but as mentioned recently, Kestrels seem scarce this year and this autumn I have yet to see a juvenile. 

At Conder Pool I found both Avocets on the pool, the adult and a still unfledged juvenile. A number of times the adult flew off to the creeks to feed and left the youngster on the pool margins where it continued to feed alone. Soon it will be ready for lift-off into adulthood. 

Avocet

Otherwise there was little change of both species and counts from recent visits with 140+ Lapwing, 35 Redshank, 5 Common Sandpiper, 4 Oystercatcher, 20+ Curlew, 6 Little Grebe, 2 Wigeon, 2 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Goosander, 6 Pied Wagtail, 12 Linnet and 2 Stock Dove. 

Little Egret

A notable absentee today was Greenshank, with not a one found, whereas a single juvenile Shelduck was the first I had seen for many a long week. 

Shelduck

 

The Shelduck, a bird of sheltered estuaries or tidal mudflats breeds in Great Britain & Ireland and has a well-defined moult migration. Most Shelduck fly east between late July and early September and head for the Helgoland Bight in the Waddensea, where they join birds from Scandinavia and the Baltic. Others remain and moult on North Sea estuaries, such as the Firth of Forth and the Wash. As a result of this migration there are very few of them around this part of Lancashire during August. In stark contrast to this situation, come mid-winter there are many hundreds along our local shores and estuaries. 

Over Glasson village there was a concentration of 30+ noisy and excitable Swifts but otherwise a handful of Swallows over the marina/yacht basin.

View across The Lune from Bodie Hiill, Glasson

Things were pretty quiet so I made my way to Knott End again. I’ve been there a couple of times this week to watch the tide in and look out for terns. 

It’s a good time of year to see Sandwich Terns and Common/Arctic Terns when they roost on the flat sands at times of high tides, taking a rest from feeding in the near Irish Sea. The Sarnies  originate from a mix of locations in Scotland, Wales and Cumbria with their normal peak migration in mid-August when in some years up to a couple of hundred may be seen at Knott End, a favoured site. 

Before the terns began to appear I walked up river and counted 2 Grey Heron, 2 Little Egret, 300+ Oystercatchers , 1 Redshank, 140 Dunlin and 5 Pied Wagtails. The Sandwich Terns obviously peaked earlier in the week because I counted less than a dozen today compared to 150+ at the beginning of the week and then 49 on Wednesday. On each occasion I noted approximately 25% of juveniles, black& brown mottled birds of the year. 

Sandwich Terns

In the UK as a whole Sandwich Terns have shown a decline in productivity since 2000 when they fledged a record number of chicks. In the 14 years prior to 2000 it could be argued that productivity showed no clear trend, although in 1991 and between 1997 and 1999 it was particularly low. Few chicks fledged in these years due to bad weather, predation and disturbance by a variety of mammals and gulls, with food shortage implicated at only one colony. Predation on eggs and chicks by foxes Vulpes vulpes is probably the most prevalent factor determining productivity, and abandonment of a colony is often the result of predation. Nature reserve managers use electric fences to exclude foxes, which are not always successful. As Sandwich Terns nest on low-lying ground close to the tide edge, their nests are vulnerable to tidal inundation.  

"With about 12,500 Apparently Occupied Nests in 2009 the Sandwich Tern is currently identified as Amber listed in Birds of Conservation Concern" - jncc.defra.gov.uk.

Sandwich Tern productivity 1986-2014 - jncc.defra.gov.uk

Further to Monday’s post on Another Bird Blog, a review of "Britain's Birds", I hear that demand for the book has already outstripped supply and that delivery times may have to be lengthened. Just as well those blog readers were amongst the first to read my recommendation to buy and hopefully they won’t have to wait too long for their own copy of this fine field guide.

Linking today to I'd Rather Be Birding and Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Productive Birding

I was looking to go ringing this morning but a stiff easterly put a stop to that plan. Instead there was some good birding to be had on the local circuit. 

Heading north I stopped off at Cockerham to see the wintering flock of Linnets still very flighty over the weedy set-aside field but holding firm at 70/80 individuals. Half-a-mile away at Braides Farm there’s lots of water in the fields where I found 2 Little Egret and 30 Lapwing seriously outnumbered by a feeding and bathing flock of some 1500 Starlings and several hundred gulls. The gulls were mainly Black-headed Gulls with a couple of dozen Common Gull and one or two Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the mix. There was a Kestrel hovering over the roadside verges. 

Lapwing

I made my way to Conder Green to be greeted by a Barn Owl quartering the marsh. No sooner had I lifted the camera than the owl flew towards its daytime roost and swooped out of sight into the building. It was almost 0900, a time when Barn Owls should be tucked up for the day. 

I turned my attention to the creeks and the pool where I quite quickly found the wintering Spotted Redshank and similarly long staying Common Sandpiper. My now old “Atlas of Wintering Birds in Britain and Ireland”of 1986 shows that both species wintered in the UK at the time of the fieldwork I took part in during 1981 to 1984). As one might expect both were concentrated in the warmer south and west of England (and Ireland for the Common Sandpiper), but the Common Sandpiper was represented here in NW England by a number of dots on the map. 

Common Sandpiper

The pool was pretty crowded with both waders and wildfowl, albeit most of them at long distance and away from the busy, noisy road. A few of the counts and bouts of activity, especially from Oystercatchers, Shelducks and Tufted Ducks, suggested that a number of birds have arrived back with a view to taking up summer residence. Here are the counts – 95 Teal, 65 Curlew, 15 Shelduck, 12 Wigeon, 10 Lapwing, 12 Redshank, 5 Little Grebe, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Canada Goose, 1 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron. 

Tufted Duck

 Shelduck

A single Skylark flew over and there were a few Chaffinch and a singing Greenfinch along the hedgerow. 

A quick look at Glasson found no Goldeneye on the yacht basin so I settled for 21 Tufted Duck, 24 Coot and 16 Cormorant. Of the latter, two were fishing the others lined up along the far jetty drying out from their own earlier fishing expeditions. 

Cormorant

The route back home took me past flooded fields at Pilling where I stopped awhile to count 400+ Lapwing, 350 Redshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Ruff and many more Black-headed Gulls. 

Dunlin

That was a pretty good morning of birding I hope everyone will agree. Look in soon for more birding, ringing or photography.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday and Anni's Birding.

More Subdued Birding

Although the morning was bright and sunny the cold north westerly’s continue to hold back migration. 

When I arrived at Fluke Hall there were Meadow Pipits lifting off from the nearest field and a count of 30+, the birds heading due north across the shore and then towards Heysham. There was a single Wheatear along the sea wall, and those two species proved to be the only genuine migrants I saw in three hours of searching the area. 

At least the sun gave resident birds plenty to sing about with even the normally shy and retiring Tree Sparrows making lots of noise in and around several nest boxes. It is actually hard to detect the song of Tree Sparrow, a short twitter mixed with the occasional chirrup. A Tree Sparrow’s calling repertoire consists of varied chirps and cheeps generally similar to the House Sparrow but shorter and higher pitched. All in all, and due to its generally wary behaviour, the humble Tree Sparrow is a bird that is easily overlooked. 

Tree Sparrows are birds of lowland farmland but will also inhabit large gardens, especially where nest boxes are provided. They prefer mature trees in open country, on the edge of woods or in hedges. Tree Sparrows usually nest in holes (including nest boxes) but may build a nest in thick, large hawthorn hedges if no holes are available. 

Tree Sparrow

A walk through the woodland and along hedgerows revealed 4 Twite, 4 Greenfinch in song, 3 Song Thrush, 5 Linnet, Stock Doves in display mode, 2 Greylags on the pond and 25+ Woodpigeon. The pair of resident Kestrels can generally be seen. Today the male was atop a roadside telegraph post while the female hunted the nearby fields. 

Woodpigeon

The “wet fields” aren’t especially wet at the moment after a somewhat dry spell, but with a little effort I found a gang of 9 Snipe, 4 Teal, 2 Little Egret, 12 Redshank, 4 pairs of Lapwing, 2 pairs of Oystercatcher and 18+ Shelduck. The Shelduck are mostly paired up and on the lookout for somewhere to nest. 

An old name for the Shelduck is “burrow duck” a title earned from the birds’ habit of making its nest in a burrow of a rabbit or in a hole hollowed out by itself. In the Orkneys the Shelduck was once known as the “Sly Goose” from their instinctive cunning and ability to divert people from robbing their nests of young. Like many a wader species an adult Shelduck will fly along the ground as if wounded until the young can reach a place of safety whereupon the adult bird will return to the young to collect them together. 

The "sheld" part of the Shelduck's name refers to the pied and brightly coloured variegated parts of the species plumage.

Shelduck

The forecast is pretty dire for several days ahead so I’m hoping the experts are wrong and I can get out birding or ringing. If so, read all about it here on Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to I'd-rather-b-birdin.blogspot and Eileen's Saturday Blog .

Sunday Showers Birding

The weather lady promised there would be two or three hours of fine weather before the rain arrived on Sunday. She was right. By 11am I was back home and rained off. I’d managed a quick birding circuit at Conder and Glasson followed by a drive to Oakenclough to top up the feeding station.

Backsands Lane at Pilling and then Sand Villa at Cockerham produced three species of raptor, a Kestrel at the nest box, a fly by Sparrowhawk and then two Buzzards, one along the fence line and another distant on the sea wall. Hordes of Pink-footed Geese were flying from their salt marsh roost and dropping on Cockerham Moss Edge. Now the shooting season is over and in just a week or two the geese will become more tolerant of people who just want to enjoy them as a spectacle rather than as a shooting trophy or a meal.

Pink-footed Geese

The pool at Conder Green was pretty full following a series of very high tides whereby excess water from the Lune is diverted into the mere, so not too many muddy edges in evidence for waders. Four Lapwing loafed on the nearest island where a pair of Oystercatchers busily mated as a prelude to nesting there again, as they do in most years. Several Redshanks were dotted around the pool margins but today was mostly wildfowl with 2 Goldeneye, 2 Tufted Duck,2 Canada Goose, 2 Little Grebe, 22 Teal, 18 Wigeon, 6 Shelduck and 2 Cormorant. As usual more Teal dabbled in the shallow creeks to bring the total of this species to 70+.

 Canada Goose

Shelduck

I counted the Goldeneye and Tufted Duck at Glasson Dock at 45 and 42 respectively. It’s rare indeed to find that Goldeneyes outnumber Tufted Duck on this water although a few tufties are often hidden amongst the moored boats or the distant reeds. Male Goldeneyes look wholly black and white from a distance and it’s not always possible to see the glossy green head of this wary duck.

Goldeneye

Looking west I could see rain approaching but inland was still reasonably bright so I headed up to the feeding station where it was dry but very cloudy. There’s a clearance and replanting programme ongoing here following years of neglect when rhododendrons took over the woodland. The team have worked extremely hard with the result that in a few years’ time the place should be buzzing with birds, hopefully a few of the species in evidence fifteen or twenty years ago when I spent a good number of days here; Green Woodpecker, Tree Pipit, Bullfinch, Yellowhammer and good numbers of breeding Willow Warblers and Lesser Redpolls spring to mind.

Each stake represents a young native tree to be planted in the next week or two, each sapling a welcome addition to the rather sparse habitat left following the demise of the rhododendron.

Replanting

In the meantime Andy and I can monitor the changes through our ringing and birding here. Today showed evidence of both Goldfinch and Chaffinch returning following the cold spell, with good numbers about the feeders.

In or adjacent to the woodland - 1 Buzzard, 1 Jay, 4 Fieldfare, 9 Redwing, 14 Blackbird and a singing Mistle Thrush.

Goldfinch

In nearby fields and waters I counted 55 Lapwing, 45 Oystercatcher, 4 Greylag, 15 Mallard and 2 Gadwall.

That’s all for now, but be sure there’s more birding, ringing and photography soon on Another Bird Blog.

In the meantime I'm linking to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

A Sporting Saturday

Sport is great, especially on TV, and at the moment there’s lots of it. I’m really looking forward to The World Cup, Wimbledon Tennis, The Commonwealth Games, The Open Golf, Royal Ascot, Test Match Cricket and the myriad sports events which fill the TV schedules. 

You guessed my reason for loving sport. All this essential viewing means that more people are about to spend extra time glued to a TV rather than relish the great outdoors where their trivial pursuits always interfere with my birding. Yes, birding is a very selfish pastime best enjoyed when Joe Public is elsewhere, preferably indoors staring at a TV screen, so I intend to enjoy this summer’s Festival of Sport and do birding and blogging as much as possible. 

Meanwhile I hope that the present all-pervading discussion and media coverage of sport does not infect me or Another Bird Blog, so if at any time I inadvertently lapse into sporting jargon please forgive me. 

So forget sport for now, here’s a blow-by-blow account of Saturday’s birding. 

There was no game plan but I was quick out of the gate, kicking off with a straight drive along the A585 to Conder Green. I took a few seconds out at Pilling, getting the ball rolling with a knockout Barn Owl, a pretty safe bet along here at 5am. I was off to a flying start! 

Barn Owl

At Conder Green the ducking and diving wildfowl totalled 1 Little Grebe, 3 Teal, 2 Wigeon, 10 Tufted Duck, 12 Shelduck, all par for the course in June, plus 17 Canada Goose. At the shallow end wading birds obliged with 55 Redshank, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Oystercatcher, 1 Curlew and 1 Common Sandpiper. 

Shelduck

At this stage of the game many Redshanks are on the return leg as are Common Sandpipers. A  number of the 55 Redshanks are clearly juveniles from elsewhere, the breeding pair here with still unfledged young. The Oystercatcher count includes 5 juveniles of two broods, the largest brood a stunning hat-trick, all there off and running at a fair old pace and sure to go the full distance to adulthood. 

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

 Oystercatcher chicks

 Oystercatcher chick

Oystercatcher

It’s a hard call. Do Grey Herons and Little Egrets fit into the category of “wader” or “wildfowl”? Maybe the 3 Grey Heron and single Little Egret should be classed as “also ran”? If so, I clocked 10 more herons at Cockersands later, together with 44 Eider, a healthy tally which included 12 youngsters which knew the score by sticking close to mom. 

 Little Egret

Meanwhile, and back to the second half at Conder Green. Suddenly there were lots of Starlings, a flock of 200+ containing many youngsters jockeying for position on the farm buildings and fences opposite the marsh. The juvenile Starlings shouted the odds, some begging for food from parents nearby as in the car I played a blinder with the camera. A Woodpigeon decided to play the game too and sat posing for a portrait.

Starling

Woodpigeon

I’m on the final lap now, just the little brown jobs to tally and then I can throw in the towel - 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 5 Whitethroat, 4 Reed Bunting, 4 Linnet, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, and then a single Tree Sparrow on the rails. 

Tree Sparrow

Yet again a good number of 30+ Swift hawked insects at early doors with only a handful of Swallows doing the same; probably because many females are still confined to nests and I've yet to see many  juveniles. And in any contest for a beautiful bird an adult Swallow would surely be first past the post? 

Barn Swallow

It’s into the home straight now and the A588 again where a roadside Kestrel played ball, but soon it was the chequered flag of home where I was hot favourite for a few chores. 

But no worries, in a contest between watching sport or watching birds, birding wins hands down. 

Please join Another Bird Blog’s team again soon. You might be onto a winner.

Linking today to Anni's Birding Blog.

A Sheltered Life

I couldn’t get out until lunch time where despite the sunshine, cold and strong north-westerly winds were still doing their best to ruin any birding, so I spent a couple of hours looking in slightly less windy spots. 

In singing mode at Fluke Hall were 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Blackcap, a couple or more Chaffinches and likewise Goldfinches. Blackcap is always the first of the Sylvias to arrive with Whitethroat due any day, although most Spring migrants appear to be late now. I haven’t seen a Wheatear since 5th April despite being out birding along the coast most days. 

It’s difficult to ever get a picture of a Blackcap because they move so fast through the trees and undergrowth, singing as they go; one obliged today. 

Blackcap

Still 2 Kestrels here at Fluke as well as another pair in the Damside area. A single House Martin flew over the sea wall seemingly heading into the strong wind and across Morecambe Bay. 

On Hi-Fly ploughed fields, several Lapwings, 6+ Skylark and 4 Stock Dove picking through the soil, but presumably no nests after three days of disturbance and ploughing. 

The exposed sea wall accentuates any blustery effect but I braved it for a walk to Pilling Water and back with very little to show - 2 Little Egret, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 45 Redshank, 450 Pink-footed Geese and just 2 Skylarks. Sheltering in the creeks of wildfowlers’ pools - 5 Shoveler, 2 Teal and 4 Shelduck. 

Shelduck

At Lane Ends plantation were more sounds and sights of Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Chaffinch and Goldfinch. Little Grebe and Little Egret in the vicinity of the water, and 2 Swallows flying quickly east. 

Goldfinch

I’m sure the wind will both drop and change to a lovely warm southerly direction at some time. If so be sure that Another Bird Blog will be there to tell everyone all about it.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Round Up

A trip around a few local spots is the sum of this morning’s blog post. 

Read on while not forgetting to “click the pics” for close-up views. A new feature on Another Bird Blog is “Crosspost” whereby clicking the “Crosspost” button in the right-hand corner of any picture will allow a reader to share it to Facebook and Twitter. Go ahead, give it a try. 

During recent months I’ve rather neglected Knott End after the bad weather and ultra-high tides made it difficult to do any birding there, so to put things right I paid a quick visit today. It was a sunny and still morning, the low to medium high tide concentrating a few birds, but a number of them still out at the water’s edge. Redshanks were in in good numbers with a minimum count of 160 scattered along the estuary, 24 Turnstones concentrated near the jetty and 1500+ Knot staying at the tide’s very edge. Wildfowl numbers came in at 12 Eider and 18 Shelduck. The male Shelducks are now in particularly fine breeding plumage. 

Redshank

Shelduck

As usual I headed up to Pilling Lane Ends and Fluke Hall for a look. Fluke fields held a good number of mixed Golden Plover, Redshank and Lapwings, the recently arrived migrant “goldies” at 210+ outnumbering the 135 regular Redshank and 40+ but dropping in numbers Lapwings. 5 Pied Wagtail, 8 Meadow Pipits and 15+Skylark accounted for passerines on the flood. The wild and wary plovers stayed a long way across the still flooded maize field 

Golden Plovers

On the wildfowler’s pools/sea wall were 23 Teal, 30 Shelduck, 3 Little Egret and 600+ Pink-footed Goose; in the woodland - 3 Stock Dove, 2 Jay and 1+ Siskin. 

A whistle stop at Lane Ends via Backsands Lane gave a Kestrel, singing Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting, and on the pools 2 Little Grebe. 

Kestrel

More Golden Plover at the Cockerham, Braides Farm where another flock of this time 260 birds stayed their distance. Two Little Egrets, 3 Pied Wagtails and 8+ Skylarks here. 

Heading north again took me to Conder Green where I rounded up the usual suspects of 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Wigeon, 2 Little Grebe, 8 Goldeneye, 22 Teal, 2 Little Egret, 24 Shelduck and 5 Cormorant.  Possibly “new in today” were 1 singing Reed Bunting and 1 Grey Wagtail. 

Spotted Redshank

 

 Black-headed Gull

Join me soon for more bird news and photographs via Another Bird Blog.

Linking today with Eileen's Saturday Blog .