Standard Autumn Fayre

Surprise surprise. We survived Storm Debi, a “storm” hyped up by the usual suspects quoting 70 mph gusts from well-known exposed sites on cliff tops and unprotected coastal locations. Here in flat windswept Fylde the gusts turned out to be nothing more than the typical weather we experience for days at a time every autumn. Strong winds with bouts of rain, before everything returns to normal a day or two later.  

We know of course why they do it – to crank up climate alarmism for people who have yet to realise that the “climate emergency” is one big scam designed to part them from their money. 

Clearing our garden of neighbours’ sycamore leaves is a yearly event come rain or shine but inventive doom mongers have yet to claim that the late falling leaves of 2023 are due to global warming. 

 

Autumn Leaves

Early this week we pencilled in the only suitable day, of Friday for a ringing session at Oakenclough near Garstang. Will visited a week earlier with moderate success that included the catching of four Common Crossbills, a few Redwings and other bits and pieces. 

Yours truly, Will and Andy met up at 0730 to rain but forecasts of brightening skies and afternoon sun; before planning a ringing session we make it a rule to check at least two weather forecasts as they hardly ever agree. About an hour later the rain relented and we set to the job in hand and landed a good variety of species, 18 birds before packing in about 1100 when things turned suddenly quiet. 

We caught no more Crossbills, a rarely encountered species that would have enlivened the usual autumn fayre of 4 Blue Tit, 4 Chaffinch, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Great Tit, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Treecreeper, 1 Siskin, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Goldcrest. 

Chaffinch

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Siskin

Siskin

 

Lesser Redpoll

As autumn turns effortlessly to winter, so do the birds, with little in the way of numbers that punctuate September and October ringing sessions. 

Noted today, small numbers of Jackdaws, Woodpigeons and Starlings. Otherwise let’s hope that some of the influx of Waxwings, & Short-eared Owls to Scotland and the east coast of England can find their way westwards. Both species pictured below from previous winters in the Fylde. 

Waxwing

Short-eared Owl

Enjoy your weekend folks. Stay safe, warm and sane then come back again to Another Bird Blog for news, views and photos.

Linking this Saturday to Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Food For Thought

One of these days I will get around to a blog post about Sue & I and our 14 days in sunny Skiathos, our second home.  How we survived the aftermath of horrific storm Daniel and the accompanying floods that almost destroyed yet another Skiathos season. How the stoical, independent-minded, enterprising and hard working Skiathans returned their island to almost normal in less than a week while welcoming travellers to their magical island as if nothing had happened.  How we felt humbled and amazed that in the face of more disasters, their spirit, generosity and welcoming nature never faded a jot.  

Skiathos. Not My Picture.

 

For now it’s another ringing morning, this time on Monday at 0700 with Will, Andy and Bryan (not forgetting Barney) at our Oakenclough site on the edge of the Pennines above the market town of Garstang.  

The rather gloomy start did not faze us because over to the north just 12 miles away over Morecambe Bay the sky promised a bright, even slightly sunny morning that would part any clouds and propel birds through to our waiting nets. We were not disappointed when very quickly began an almost constant flow of migrant birds from the north; above and at eye level, heading south and west, hirundines, finches, wagtails, pipits, larks and even geese.  

Periods of processing and ringing birds by all four led inevitably to an incomplete and somewhat scratchy estimate of the species moving through and passing overhead – 220 Pink-footed Geese, 200+ Meadow Pipits, 60 + Swallows, 35 Siskins, 50 Chaffinches, 10 Lesser Redpolls, 60 Goldfinches, 15 Skylark, 20 wagtails, 35 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Sparrowhawk. And goodness only knows how many there really were!  

Meadow Pipit

 

Pied Wagtail

Reed Bunting

Meanwhile a single Blackbird and no other thrushes felt rather strange amongst the rush and totals of species and numbers on the move - food for thought. In the meantime Redwings, Fieldfares and Northern Blackbirds will be with us very soon on their trajectory to warmer climes.  

Birds ringed 0730 to 1130 – 53 of 12 species – 14 Goldfinch, 9 Chaffinch, 6 Meadow Pipit, 6 Lesser Redpoll, 4 Coal Tit, 3 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Great Tit, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Robin, 2 Bullfinch, 1 Treecreeper, 1 Goldcrest.  

Bullfinch

Lesser Redpoll - indeterminate sex first autumn

Treecreeper - first autumn

Meadow Pipit - first autumn

Siskin - first autumn male

Meadow Pipit- adult autumn

Meadow Pipit - adult autumn

Food for thought. In between the worry and expense of clearing up after Storm Daniel, and while caring for quests, our hosts Makis and Litsa of Hotel Ostria came to us in the garden one day with a freshly made Cheese Pie. Filo pastry with goat’s cheese filling, the pastry then glazed over with Greek Honey. Home made, simple yet divine.  

Skiathos Cheese Pie

"Philoxenia" - φῐλοξενῐ́ᾱ meaning "friend to a stranger” is about much more than a warm welcome; it is a complex moral code with deep roots in Greek culture and Greek daily life. 

Meanwhile in Western Europe and seemingly also in the US, led by media, big business and government there is an epidemic of cultural dementia coupled with a desire to obliterate our history and values. The Greek people don’t fall for such nonsense. and remain true to their beliefs.

Back soon folks with more tales, news, views and photos on Another Bird Blog. Stay safe, stay sane, stay strong.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday.

A Good Mix

I missed a few visits in May due to a holiday in Greece but prior to that, early April had been my last visit to Oakenclough when we caught 15 birds – 6 Lesser Redpoll, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Coal Tit, 1 Dunnock, 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Great Tit, 1 Siskin. 

Andy and Will filled in the gaps of May and now it was my turn to see how the breeding season was shaping, more so following the exceptionally dry and hot month of June. Would there be juveniles of the year, adults in moult or even the beginning of post-juvenile dispersal to bring new birds on the block? Time would tell. 

And talking of time, a five o’clock alarm followed by a meet with Andy at six hours past midnight seemed an ungodly hour for those of us accustomed to leisurely days on a Greek beach or breakfast in a sunny Stalmine garden. 

A slow start didn’t really pick up speed. We finished at 1100 with 20 new birds of 11 species and an interesting mix of 3 Robin, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Siskin, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Coal Tit, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Oystercatcher. 

The Robins caught were all fresh, rusty speckled juveniles. Even at this young age Robins display the hostility so typical of adult birds that puff out their red chests when presented with a rival. In this case it is the reflection of another Robin that the young ones see in the camera lens, or pointed aggression  directed at the person taking the photograph. 

 

Robin

Four or five Garden Warblers could be heard in song this morning. And then later in the morning we caught two female Garden Warblers, both with well developed brood patches. We caught no males or recently fledged young suggesting that we need to revisit the site soon. 

Garden Warbler

 

Two Siskins were caught at the same time, an adult male together with a recently fledged juvenile. We released the two jointly and they flew off in the same direction. 

Siskin

Siskin

Just one Willow Warbler was something of a disappointment when three or four were in song throughout the area and that by late June there should be good numbers of juveniles around. We didn’t know of a Chiffchaff on site until we caught it. 

Willow Warbler

Chiffchaff

A juvenile Song Thrush was a welcome addition to the mix when we catch so few nowadays. 

Song Thrush

After his success in landing three Avocets this week, Andy was at it again in the shape of a young Oystercatcher along the bank of the close by reservoir. While one chick legged it into the distance its sibling ran the “wrong” way and ended up in Andy’s net. Wader ringing totals this year – Avocet 3, Oystercatcher 1, Lapwing 0. There’s something seriously amiss in those figures for North West England when Lapwings should be winning by country miles.

Oystercatcher

 

Log in soon for more news and views soon from Another Bird Blog. 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Blogspot.

Windy Week, Sunny End

Last week was a little wild and very unlike April. Here in coastal Lancashire high winds toppled trees, wrecked fencing and blew sea ducks inland as far as Preston and probably beyond. 

Andy phoned to say friends had a Common Scoter on their garden pond for a day or more and would I like to go and “grab a picture or two”? You know the rest. The wind subsided, the Scoter decided that Poulton -le-Fylde wasn’t quite so nice after all and did a moonlight flit. 

Common Scoter

Not to worry, Saturday morning looked a goer for ringing at Oakenclough so I met up with Andy and Will at the appointed 0630. When I arrived on site the dashboard read 1.5°, a major improvement on the -0.5° when setting off from home 35 minutes earlier. 

The sun was on the rise and gave way to a pleasant enough morning with a good mix of species to ring but not many birds on the move in the clear blue sky. Fifteen birds caught – 6 Lesser Redpoll, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Coal Tit, 1 Dunnock, 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Great Tit, 1 Siskin. 

Click the pics for close up views.

The most unexpected bird of the morning was a Reed Bunting, a species quite scarce on site and at the elevation here of about 700ft above sea level. It’s a species more generally thought of as a lowland farmland dweller. 

Reed Bunting

 

The single Siskin caught was a fine adult male. 

 

Siskin

 

Six new Lesser Redpoll added to recent catches of the species while the two Coal Tits came from previous visits here in the winter of 2022/23. 

 

Lesser Redpoll

Coal Tit

 

Goldfinch

Other species seen – 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 Swallow, 5 Sand Martin, 3 Jay, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 Buzzard. 

Great-spotted Woodpecker

All three Jays flew overhead, unusually silent as they disappeared into nearby trees. Jays are normally noisy when they are around as their Latin name of Garrulus glandarius would suggest. Garrulus is a Latin word meaning "chattering", "babbling" or "noisy". The specific epithet glandarius is Latin meaning "of acorns", a woodland fruit in which the Jay specialises. 

Jay

 

See you in the week folks. 

“It’s warming up” said the BBC weatherman. If it's on the BBC it must be wrong. You heard it here first.

Back In The Groove

Did you ever Dear Reader, take a few days out of normal routine to do a spot of DIY? Like painting a room or tidying the garden in readiness for the burgeoning Spring? And did it ever become more expensive, complicated and fraught than you imagined? I know the answer - “Yes”. 

That’s my excuse for not being around to post just lately. Our lounge needed a freshen up whereby the anticipated few days of splashing paint turned into a week or more of hard graft, not least in searching the Internet for rugs, pictures, a smaller TV plus other odds and ends that I didn’t know we needed. 

Now we are almost there, just waiting for an Amazon ceramic vase together with a rosewood display stand via LiChongShan. Then maybe Sue and I will finish the job. 

So on Thursday morning after a promise to check the parcel tracking and with a 9/10 for effort under my belt I motored up to Oakenclough. Here in the Great Outdoors I met up with Andy and Will at 0700 for the long awaited ringing session. It had been two weeks and more. 

The morning was cold with a slight frost and clear skies. Initially we noted a few Chaffinches on the move and a couple of small groups of Siskins. Will lives fairly close by where his regular top ups of the feeders have ensured that some birds, mostly Goldfinches, stayed around through the many wet and wild periods of October to February. 

It came as no surprise when today’s catch of 26 birds showed Goldfinches as the most numerous species of 15 Goldfinch, 5 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Wren, 1 Siskin, 1 Treecreeper. More surprising was just the single Chaffinch in the catch. 

 It was good to meet up with Siskins again, if only the one in the hand. The Siskin is a periodic irruptive species that has been rather scarce in our part of Lancashire this winter, with very few mentions on local forums. Sightings will surely increase very soon when the species migrates from its central and south easterly concentrations towards its Scottish breeding strongholds. The one below is an adult male. 

 

Siskin

  

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

Goldfinch

Here’s a little joke that will ring a few bells for most birders! 

Back soon. I just need to keep watch for the delivery van. 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Blog and Anni in Texas.

 

Friday Fortunes

We returned to Oakenclough today. I arrived at 0620, Andy at 0625 for the appointed 0630. That’s just one of the many disciplines of becoming a bird ringer - punctual and dependable timekeeping. Sadly, many a trainee ringer falls at this very first and perhaps most important hurdle of an apprenticeship. 

Following a satisfactory session of 36 birds on Wednesday we hoped for a similar result today. An easterly breeze of 10-12 mph suggested a repeat was unlikely. While north, south and west winds all produce some birds, easterlies arriving via the nearby Pennine Hills rarely produce the goods in numbers. 

Luckily the breeze dropped slightly as the morning wore on, allowing a steady if unremarkable result with 22 birds. Finches were to the fore but we caught yet more Tree Pipits. We totalled - 7 Goldfinch, 3 Siskin, 3 Tree Pipit, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Coal Tit, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit, and 1 Whitethroat. 

The Common Whitethroat was today’s star bird. Not because it is rare but as the “Common” prefix suggests, Whitethroats are a widespread bird of lowland farm, scrub & hedgerow. They are pretty uncommon up here at 700ft above sea level, this the second ever caught here at Oakenclough. Upon inspection, and unsurprisingly, we aged this migrant as a bird born this year. 

Whitethroat

Siskins are rather special little birds that come in many shades of grey, green, yellow, buff and brown to name but a few. Even the youngest ones are fine specimens to admire. 

Siskin 

Siskin 

None of the seven Goldfinches could be sexed as they had little or no head colour to inspect. By now mid-August these are youngsters of second broods where the size of an individual might suggest some male, some female. Without the extra information provided by colour and its whereabouts, these birds go onto the database as age ‘3’ - a bird born this year. 

Goldfinch

Two more Willow Warblers today brought our total here to 77 captures of the species for 2020. Just six of the 77 were caught on a subsequent occasion, usually within a week or less. 

Willow Warbler

Our Tree Pipits saw three more birds of the year heading south to Africa. Tree Pipits winter in forest and wooded savannas from Guinea in West Africa, east to Ethiopia and as far as South Africa. However, the specific whereabouts of British birds is still unknown. (BTO Migration Atlas). 

As with other declining bird populations, many of the causes may lie outside Britain, on migration or in the African wintering grounds. 

Tree Pipit 

Birding between ringing was pretty unremarkable with little to see in the easterly gusts. Raptors in the shape of Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, 30+ Swallows and a single Swift on the move as the air warmed and the early breeze moderated. 

On the way home I stopped at Lancaster Road to view the flood caused by recent rain and thunderstorms. The hundreds of gulls, dozens of Lapwings and two soaring Buzzards were scared off by a light plane flying overhead. There wasn’t time to wait. Lunch called. 

Summer Scene 

All the rain of June and July with recent hot sunny weather and more bucket loads of rain looks like providing a bumper crop of apples in the garden. 

Bramleys

And still a month or more to swell those Bramleys.  And then it's Apple Pie time.

Linking today to Anni's Birding and Viewing Nature with Eileen.