Consolation Prize

The Linnets gave Andy and me the run around again this morning; they just weren't having our attempts at a catch. After three hours of watch and wait we came to the conclusion that the 150 or so Linnets of recent weeks are now wise to our antics. This idea was reinforced somewhat on our last visit of 12th February when two of those caught had been ringed in late 2008. 

Linnets 

Although the Linnets stayed clear we caught a single Skylark and a close encounter with another, two of the several around this morning, four or more of which were singing males. 

Skylark 

A quick search of our data showed that before today our Ringing Group had ringed just 5 full grown Skylarks scattered through the years from 1986 - in 1986, 1987, 1991, 2007 and 2010. We have had more success with the ringing of nestlings with 56 youngsters from about 16 nests over the same number of years. 

Skylark Nest

A local project to find, map and ring nesting Skylarks would seem to be an ideal venture for a keen and dedicated young birder wishing to enhance their ornithological credentials.  

The infrequency of catching a Skylark called for a check of the literature. Svensson reminded us that wing length can be a decider in separation of the sexes. In our case 111mm meant that we almost certainly had a male rather than the slightly smaller female. 

Svensson 

Ageing was much more difficult since both adults and juveniles have a complete moult including wings and tail during July to September, with the result that by the following spring, adults and juveniles look much the same.  We found that our bird had very raggedy tertial feathers together with well-worn primary tips, all of which suggested a summer rather than an autumn moult; hence a likely adult of unknown age. A Skylark can live up to ten years. 

So, no Linnets but a welcome consolation prize in the shape of rarely encountered Skylark. 

Other birds this morning - Kestrel, Buzzard, 8 Chaffinch

If the weather folk are right, which they sometimes are, warm air emanating from the coast of West Africa could bring settled days plus birding and ringing opportunities very soon. Stay tuned. 

Linking today toAnni's Birding Blog and  Eileen's Blogspot.

Sunday Larks

The Summer Solstice proved to be a bit of a joke here in breezy Lancashire where May and June will surely prove to be the most miserable on record. I heard tell of folk reigniting their central heating this week during yet more days of wind, rain, cool temperatures and endless grey skies. My only contact with birds this week was a dash to Pilling on Thursday morning during a brief spell of dry and when I ringed a brood of 3 Skylark chicks. Otherwise my notebook stayed shut, so apologies to regular readers who looked in to find no new posts. There weren’t any. 

With their downy fluff the Skylark chicks were well insulated against the weather and camouflaged from overhead predators. Was it chance that a flat stone immediately behind the nest gave protection from the prevailing westerly winds while providing a marker to the adult birds? I think not. 

Skylark nest

Sunday morning was marginally better and at least dry although with a temperature of 12⁰C and a stiff breeze it was hardly summery. Undeterred I set off for Conder Green where there’s always something to see together with a chance of the unexpected. True to form and following more than a little perseverance the old notebook looked reasonable enough. 

Redshanks in the creeks numbered 60+ with amongst them 2 returnee Common Sandpipers, a single Curlew, a couple of Pied Wagtails plus the obligatory Grey Heron and 2 Little Egrets. Two Common Terns continue to frequent the island. 

Birder Lore says that thinking of or talking about a species is bound to jinx it in some way and most likely will mean the species never appears. But no sooner had I thought about when the regular but generally autumnal Kingfisher might appear than one flew across the creek. The Kingfisher sat up on a piece of tide washed tree and then promptly disappeared into the shelter of a sandy bank where it remained out of sight. It was good while it lasted as a Kingfisher is one of those species which can turn an ordinary day into one that is better than average. 

Kingfisher

There are two pairs of adult Oystercatchers each with a single chick while a number of other adults continue to display and chase around without any signs of youngsters. Shelduck numbers are steady at a dozen or so and Tufted Duck less than ten but no signs of any youngsters. 

Oystercatchers

Oystercatcher

Along the hedgerow and about the marsh I counted 8+ Greenfinch, a small number of Linnets & Goldfinch plus 3 Stock Dove. 

 Linnet

Along the railway path a Lesser Whitethroat was in full and loud song, a sign that at this stage of the season it may be singing for a second shot at breeding. 

I made off for Pilling where there was unfinished business by way of another Skylark nest I’d failed to locate on Thursday - one where adults were feeding smallish young. The 6+ pairs of Skylarks here have small territories which makes it quite difficult sorting out who is who and where each pair belong. I pin-pointed the nest in Hi-Fly’s field margins and close to a potato crop, the nest with three good sized chicks and just 50 yards from the earlier one out on the marsh. 

Another Skylark nest

Skylark chick

In the picture above the chick’s egg tooth is still visible. The egg tooth is an essential component to the hatching process in almost all species of birds. Whereas most mammals maintain a protected internal environment for the growing foetus, birds use an external protective covering consisting of calcium which makes up the shell. This protective shell provides an isolated environment to allow the developing chick to thrive, but once the chick is ready to enter the outside world this secure cell has to be opened. The chick breaks open the shell by using its own internal clock in knowing when to emerge and while its beak and claws are not yet strong or sharp enough to break the shell, the egg tooth is able to penetrate the shell. 

The marsh and ditches were quiet except 2 Little Egrets, 2 singing Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting and 10 or 12 Linnet. In the wood there was a Blackcap in full song and then along the hedgerow a pair of Whitethroats at a nest in the early stages of construction. 

Yes, a good morning's birding.

Please log in next week for more birds and news with Another Bird Blog.

In the meantime this post is linking to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday. 

Wheatears Return And Skylark Sussed.

The morning started at Knott End with the early tide and decent numbers of waders: 210 Oystercatcher, 95 Curlew, 70 Redshank and 12 Dunlin. At the jetty were just a single Eider and a Cormorant with 2 Pied Wagtail, and then it was up to Pilling before Gala festivities trapped me in the village. 

Cormorant

For a week or more I’ve carried a couple of spring traps at Pilling way because the first autumn Wheatears always arrive back in early July. There was a smart, spotty looking juvenile at Pilling Water this morning and within a couple of minutes I’d ringed, measured and released it. With a wing length of 97 mm it was almost certainly a male, possibly from the Pennine uplands not too far away or even from across the bay where odd pairs still breed on Carnforth Marsh. 

Wheatear juvenile

Wheatear juvenile

A day or two ago I noticed Skylarks carrying food to a nest which from the adults flight lines seemed not to be in a silage field this time. Birding was fairly quiet this morning which allowed more time to track the adults, and when found the nest was buried deep in a tuft of grass alongside a drainage ditch. The very downy young were just too small for a ring, despite the legs being almost fully developed. Better to ring the youngsters in a day or two provided the nest can be located again. 

Skylark nest

Skylark

Other birds Lane Ends to Pilling Water: 2 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk,1 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, 60 Curlew, 140 Lapwing, 22 Oystercatcher, 1 Common Sandpiper. Both hirundines and passerines proved hard to come by today, with just 15 Swallow, 8 House Martin and 5 Swift to report. Otherwise, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 15 Goldfinch, 8 Linnet, 6 Greenfinch, 3 Corn Bunting, 1 Reed Bunting and the single Wheatear. Still 2 Blackcap in loud song at Lane Ends, joined today by a Chiffchaff. On the water there, 2 Little Grebe and 9 Tufted Duck, the tufties including a female with 5 youngsters. 

Tufted  Duck

There’s more news and pictures from Another Bird Blog very soon.

Spring Swallows, Year Round Peregrine

 Yesterday was a day off birding but grandparenting instead, later in the day joining all the other Nans and Granddads waiting outside the school gates. Frank said they had negotiated time off for good behaviour and were off to warm and sunny Portugal this week where they hope to see White-rumped Swift and Black-shouldered Kite – Good luck Frank. 

In this morning’s cold north-easterly wind the nearest I could get to those two exotica was a single Peregrine and 12 more spring Swallows heading north in ones and twos. I’d gone to Pilling equipped with spring traps and meal worms, hoping for more Wheatears but I saw none in place of those here a few days ago. From Lane Ends to Pilling Water and in pretty cool unspring like weather I counted 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Kestrel, 2 Little Grebe, 70 Shelduck, 300 Pink-footed Geese, 12 Greylag Goose, 3 Little Egret, 4 Linnet and 6 Meadow Pipit.

I was watching 8 or 9 Skylarks, sorting out territories near Fluke Hall when the Peregrine sailed over but heading out to the marsh. The Lapwings and Oystercatchers on the stubble field didn’t seem to react; neither did the Skylarks, perhaps because the Peregrine wasn’t in true hunting mode but as it passed by glanced over at me sat on the stile by the gatepost. 

 Peregrine

 Peregrine

 Peregrine

 

The Skylarks did a lot of chasing each other about with odd ones rising up to sing while others stayed on the ground. With the grassy areas yet to sprout any real growth it’s very unlikely the Skylarks have started nest building just yet. 

Skylark

Skylark Nest

Along Fluke Hall Lane and Backsands Lane I counted 16 Lapwings and 10 Oystercatchers but sad to report that I saw more Carrion Crows than I did waders, the corvids outnumbering the Lapwings and Oystercatchers by two to one. Maybe one or two pairs of Lapwings and Oystercatchers will succeed but the odds are clearly stacked against them. Redshank numbers are similarly low with one or two pairs displaying out on the marsh but none on the inner fields. 

Redshank

Nothing much else to report apart from a Robin carrying food near Fluke Hall where I saw 50+ Woodpigeon still flocking, 4 Stock Dove and 3 singleton Swallows heading east. 

Rush Job

The blog post is a bit of a hurried job this evening because I promised to push the boat out and take the better half for a meal at the exotic and expensive Knott End Steak House. So while Sue locates the bus passes, here‘s a quick summary from Pilling today and a few new, but not very good photographs.

At Lane Ends: Tufted Duck with 5 young, 3 Little Grebe, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler and Willow Warbler. The 3 Kestrel siblings from recent days were moving between here and Pilling Water, with much interaction between them.

Lane Ends to Pilling Water: A surprise bird at PW was a Great-spotted Woodpecker frequenting the fence posts along the sea wall for a while before it flew off towards the distant trees of Lane Ends. Otherwise, 3 Little Egret, 5 Common Sandpiper, 40 Swallow, 3 Sand Martin, 12 House Martin and 5 Swift.

Sand Martin
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Swallow
Kestrel

The finch, lark pipit and wagtail count today: 45 Linnet, 18 Greenfinch, 6 Goldfinch, 14 Skylark, 6 Meadow Pipit and 14 alba wagtail, all seemingly Pied Wagtails.

Linnet
Wader and “others” count: 485 +Curlew, 15 Redshank, 120 Lapwing, 8 Oystercatcher, 18 Shelduck, 10 Cormorant, 1 male Sparrowhawk.

Lapwing

I ringed the latest brood of Skylarks yesterday, that’s 11 youngsters now from 3 nests. Let’s hope the the Evil Operator, Carrion Crow doesn’t find those nests before the youngsters fledge.

Carrion Crow
Skylark nest

Tomorrow looks like a bit of a ringing morning and an early start – I hope the last bus from Knott End is on time tonight.