Alouette, Gentille Alouette

Here is a story that first appeared in Birdwatch Magazine and on the Bird Guides Internet page on 07/04/2019. French Hunting Complaint Lodged With EU.

It concerns the Skylark, Alauda arvenis, a bird that regularly features on Another Bird Blog. 

I reproduce the article here for the benefit of blog readers because it deserves a very wide audience in the World at Large, here in the UK and also in member countries of the European Union. 

Once again it displays how the French have never been big on obeying laws of any kind. There’s a disregard shown at the highest level, here by the double standards of the French President Emmanuel Macron who allows himself exemption from the laws of his beloved EU. 

While the story is from Bird Guides, the Skylark photos are my own. 

Skylark

“Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) is to lodge an official complaint with the European Union (EU), accusing France of breaking rules on hunting and trapping and failing to protect endangered species. 

LPO is using the 40th anniversary of the EU's Birds Directive, which outlaws the "massive or non-selective" killing of birds, to highlight what it deems cruel and illegal methods such as glue sticks and traps. 

After the French government ignored previous pleas from LPO, the organisation has been left with no choice but to lodge the complaint. The state council approves of glue sticks, saying the method was traditional and there was no other satisfactory method of trapping the birds. Stone crush traps, once banned for a century, were legalised in France in 2005 and are also considered unnecessarily cruel as often trapped birds do not die instantly. 

Wood Pigeons, Eurasian Skylarks, Eurasian Curlew and many species of migratory thrush are all fair game for French bird hunters and, although hunting periods and species quotas are set for different departments within the country, LPO says these are often ignored. 

Skylark

Kim Dallet, LPO spokeswoman, said LPO had lodged numerous complaints to the government over hunting methods of hunting birds and the threatened species involved. She said: "To mark the anniversary of the EU directive, we're taking it up to European level, which will hopefully force the French government to respond and to respect the directive. 

"We have species of bird in a bad way in terms of conservation that are still being hunted in France, which is absolutely against the directive. French hunters can kill around 63 different species while in other countries in Europe it's 20-30 at the most. Also, hunters in France do not respect the agreed hunting period or local prefects give them extra hours or days to hunt. I don't know what it is about hunting in France, perhaps because we have more of a hunting tradition. But the situation has to evolve." 

Reports by French researchers last year found that the number of birds in rural areas had dropped by a third in 15 years, partly because of intensive farming and the massive use of pesticides. 

Skylark

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, joined a hunt during his 40th birthday celebrations at the Château de Chambord in December 2017. "Hunting is a wonderful advantage for biodiversity, development of our rural territory and a popular activity to safeguard," he told the hunting lobby. Chasseurs de France tweeted a picture of Macron with hunters, saying he had "praised the contribution of hunting to nature", which brought a swift response from the Elysée that the photo should not be published as Macron had specifically banned pictures being taken.” 

Emmanuel Macron

Meanwhile, in a boucherie in Provence.

"At the back of the shop a woman prepared the speciality of the day, which my friend told me was called allouettes sans têtes, skylarks without heads. I soon found myself singing the song we were taught as children in French class.

Alouette, gentille Alouette   (Skylark, nice skylark)

Alouette, je te plumerai       (Skylark, I shall pluck you)
Je te plumerai la tête           (I shall pluck your head)

The song continues adding all the other bits of the little bird that will be plucked, le bec - the beak, le cou - the neck, le dos - the back, les ailes - the wings, les pattes - the feet,  la queue - the tail.

Each time a part of the bird is added, you repeat all the other parts, so it goes on and on, presumably it was meant to teach the French words for parts of the anatomy, and I remember our French teacher, Madame Gailleman patting the parts of her body that the song referred to whilst singing the song."

Linking today to Eileeen's Blogspot and Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

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.

A Better Result

Regular readers will know of recent blog posts and the often poor catches of Project Linnet. 

Before today and despite a good number of visits, our total caught during the winter of 2018/2019 was a miserly 87 only; this in comparison to the winter of 2016/17 when we caught 212 and the winter of 2017/18 when we caught 242. Three of these 541 Linnets proved to have links with northern Scotland, in two cases, the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland respectively. 

In recent days I am grateful to two Scottish ornithologist ringers Tom Dougall and Bob Swann, who not only shared their own experiences and thoughts about Linnets, but offered helpful advice on improving our catch at Gulf Lane. Here is a link to a very interesting and useful paper about Linnets, first published in 2014 - “Movements of Linnets Linaria cannabina in northern Scotland. - Movements of Linnets in Northern Scotland

Most interestingly, Bob remarked to me that “Linnets are undoubtedly a species where the more people that are catching them the more information you get. When we first started catching, all our movements were between Orkney and Highland as that was where the ringers were. When folk started catching in Tayside and then Lothian they started catching our birds. Unfortunately when our study was going there were very few ringers in England catching Linnets in winter and this partly explains the lack of long distance movements down to England.” 

So Andy and I started today needing to catch up on numbers but keen to continue with our investigation of the proportion of Scottish Linnets amongst local wintering birds. This is especially useful as it appears that we may be the only ringers in Lancashire, possibly the whole of North West England who actively target wintering and “Red-listed” Linnets. 

The numbers of Linnets here at Gulf Lane has dropped from a peak of 300 in December to around 200 in recent weeks and days. So we were reasonably happy to catch 10 new Linnets to bring this winter’s total close to the one hundred mark. More than happy to report also that Tom’s advice on an alternative catching method worked, despite the Linnets’ usual skittishness. Their nervous behaviour was not helped by a Sparrowhawk which at one point shot fast and low, legs outstretched, and through the flock but without success. 

Linnet 

Sparrowhawk 

None of today’s Linnets showed much hint of Scottish variance with all wing lengths up to 82mm and no obvious grey headed birds. 

When finally the morning air warmed up a little we heard out first singing Skylark of the year; a closer look revealed a pair of Skylark in the annual location alongside the ditch in the corner of the adjacent field.  Could it be that just like the Skylark and so many garden birds now in song, the Linnet flock has reduced in size as some individuals seek to establish territories in the wider countryside? 

Skylark

The next week or more will decide but first we have to negotiate the next Atlantic storm waiting in the wings to ruin the weekend.  

Friday 8th February 2019

Stay tuned folks.  It's just a spot of wind.

Back On Patch

There was a stiff north-easterly wind as I set off over the moss roads. It had been three weeks without birding the local patch so I was keen to see what had taken place in this “silent spring”. Via the Internet I’d read local blogs and bird club pages where all agreed that a number of species were down or even missing – Whitethroats, Sedge Warblers, Swallows, Swifts, House Martins and Reed Warblers; the same names kept cropping up on the list of absentees. 

Until this morning I’d not seen a Swift in the UK, just several thousand in Menorca over a week ago. It was almost 1030 this morning before I saw my first 2 UK Swifts of the year, both heading purposefully into the wind and out over Morecambe Bay. 

The early start gave a number of Whitethroats, both singing but also skulking as they do. Maybe they are just trying to catch up with the days they lost on the way here? But less than a dozen Whitethroats for almost four hours of birding in suitable habitat represents a poor show. 

Whitethroat 

At least the recent dry days gave farmers a chance to catch up and for now the flash floods are gone.  Many a field is ploughed & seeded or stripped bare by the first cut of silage. 

Rawcliffe Moss, Lancashire 

The moss roads produced an interesting mix. I checked out the Buzzard nest of some weeks ago where the foliage now almost completely hides the nest. The two adults were very close by but silent and I’m pretty sure there are small young up there in the tree tops. 

Buzzard Nest 

Buzzard 

Close by was a singing Lesser Whitethroat, a Kestrel and on nearby fields, 6 Stock Dove. There was a Curlew displaying too, an upland breeding species that nests in very low numbers here on the coast.  

An hour or two around the Cockerham, Conder Green and Cockersands area proved to be inconclusive. I saw lots of Sand Martins at Cockerham but Swallows and House Martins were noticeable by their low numbers, even absent from regular spots along Moss Lane. 

In this part of Lancashire our Swallows have suffered a series of poor, short summers of rain, cool temperatures and the loss of many traditional nesting sites. The cumulative effect of these changes is that two or three broods have not been possible in a season and there are less young available to fly to Africa in the autumn. The additional pressures of the Swallows’ long and hazardous migration mean that the numbers of Swallows returning to breed in our Northern summer declines each year. Swallows are stuck in a vicious circle from which they struggle to escape. 

I managed to see and hear about six Sedge Warblers, plus a handful of Whitethroat but not a single Reed Warbler in the phragmites ditches alongside the lanes. I'm hoping the lack of visuals of both Reed and Sedge Warblers is down to a late start and the females laying low while on eggs. 

Sedge Warbler  

Brown Hares have done well this year where perhaps the farmers’ reluctance to enter their fields in the wet spring helped hares progress. Skylarks may have benefited in a similar way and it was a very visible but not necessarily vocal species this morning with a good number seen along Jeremy and Moss lanes. Skylarks too are mostly at egg stage in late May and I didn't see any carrying food today.

  

Brown Hare

Skylark 

Along Moss Lane I saw two broods of young Lapwings, adults with three good sized chicks and then adults with but a single youngster. Sadly I also saw the beginnings of a post-breeding season gathering of 15-18 adults whereby both failed or non-breeders join together in a loose flock to compare notes and discuss what they might do different next time. 

Lapwing 

There’s good news from Conder Green where a second pair of Common Terns have claimed the island spot vacated by the Avocets of early May that upped sticks and went elsewhere. The other pair  of terns still claim the man-made pontoon.

Common Tern 

Also here – 5 pairs of Oystercatcher, 3 pairs of Tufted Duck and 2 pairs of Redshank.

Back To The Linties

Linnets have hung around all winter at Gulf Lane but Friday morning and with a gentle breeze from the south east came the first opportunity for a month or more to catch a few. 

Earlier this week when I’d topped up the seed feed there’d been about 120 Linnets in the field, 8 or more Skylarks and 3 Stonechat dotted along the fence. 

I met Andy at 0700 and within ten minutes we had the usual configuration of nets ready for action. The Linnets appeared ravenous as they dived into the area of the food from the off. Well into March, the hungry month for birds, there’s not much of their natural food left so our seed mix is doing the job. 

We had a good catch of 23 Linnets but failed to catch a Skylark; despite two Skylarks being in the net, they both escaped before we laid a hand upon them. The Skylark is the Harrier Jump Jet of the bird world in being able to rise vertically from a standing start, even when partially enveloped by a mist net. 

Skylark

Our catch of 23 Linnets comprised 8 first winter females, 2 adult females, 8 first winter males and 5 adult males. This brought our running total of new Linnets ringed during the Winter of 2017/18 to 237 individuals.

For only the second time at this site and with almost 450 Linnets behind us in two winters, we had only our second recapture – S800285 was ringed here on 2/11/2017 and recaptured today, but not in the intervening period. 

A glance at the coffee stained field sheet from today shows a few large males with wing lengths of 83mm. This was  surpassed by the very last adult male caught at 0930 with a whopping measurement and double checked via Andy as 87mm. Almost certainly this male will be from the Scottish and slightly larger sub species of Linnet, Linaria cannabina autochthona. By the way, and for those who collect such trivia, the old Scottish name for a Linnet is “lintie”. 

Today's Field Sheet

Linnet

"Lintie"

And now to work for the next hour or so in transferring the data for those 23 birds into the new BTO online database DemOn. 

DemOn - BTO

I knew that 87mm was a big one. DemOn gave me a validation warning.

"Wing-length queried as outside normal range of species – max 86mm"

"Validation warnings occurred when submitting the record. Please check the warnings, and click continue to save the record anyway. Please enter a comment for any warnings that require one before continuing. To go back and edit the record, click 'Cancel' ". 

A ringer’s work is never done but back soon with more news, views and photos.

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday, Eileen's Blog and Anni's Blog.

It's Never Easy

There’s ringing news down the page but first some information not unconnected from the voluntary work that bird ringers undertake. 

According to a new study, if given funding and support from similar or future new schemes, British farmers have the potential to partially reverse the declines of Linnets and other farmland birds over the past 40 years - Birdguides.

“New research funded by Natural England and DEFRA used six years of survey data to track changes in the abundance of birds on farms. The study involved over 60 farms under Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements in three English regions between 2008 and 2014, and revealed that 12 of the 17 priority farmland bird species showed a positive change in abundance, going against the 56 per cent decline in the number of farmland birds nationally since 1970. 

The Farmland Bird Index, one of our most important measures of biodiversity, increased by between 31 per cent and 97 per cent in different regions under HLS during 2008-2014. The average response of 17 priority bird species to HLS management was an increase in abundance of 163 per cent; bird numbers more than doubled. Results from farmers and land managers working on HLS agri-environment schemes were compared with farms in the UK’s wider farmed landscape. 

Results show farmers have the potential to deliver large and rapid population increases in a number of struggling farmland birds such as Skylark, Starling and Linnet if they are given the funding and support to manage their land in a wildlife-friendly way. This new information comes as the UK government is considering how to invest in a better agriculture system post-EU membership that works for nature, rewards farmers and benefits everyone around the country.” 

Skylark

“UK Government Environment Minister Michael Gove said: “Our farmers are the original ‘friends of the earth’ and these results clearly demonstrate the vital role they play in protecting our wildlife and boosting biodiversity. These results show that with the right management and more targeted support for farmers, we can reverse the decline in numbers of our birds.” 

Dr Will Peach, RSPB head of research delivery section said: “The UK has experienced a massive loss of farmland wildlife since the 1970s and DEFRA’s Wild Bird Indicators published only last month shows this loss has continued during the last five years. Our latest study shows that when farmers are supported to adopt wildlife-friendly approaches, then bird life will rapidly bounce back. 

Many farmers are doing great things for wildlife, and without their efforts the countryside would undoubtedly be in a much worse position. We have the knowledge and the tools to reverse farmland bird declines. What we need now is the political will to implement them more widely.”

Starling

Meanwhile, bird ringers have an important role to play in collecting data, even though our own catches of Linnets during the latter half of wet and windy 2017 have been poor at two ringing sites, both areas of farmland under Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreements. 

There was a slight frost this morning for a meet up at Gulf Lane, our first visit of 2018 to Project Linnet. We started the morning with a respectable total of 213 new Linnets from August to December 2017 and 423 new Linnets for year 2017. 

The winter has been mild with the number of frosty nights counted on one hand but I am buoyed up by the number of Linnets at ringing sites at Cockerham and Glasson Dock, anywhere between 150 and 350 throughout many visits.

Linnets

 

The problem at the moment is catching the Linnets, with today no exception. Despite a count of 160 birds this morning we managed to catch just two. There is still plenty of natural food around in the field of wild birdseed crop with the Linnets reluctant to use the food we leave as backup. But we don't give up easily so it’s back to the drawing board with our theories and proposals for next time.

 Linnet

Stay tuned, there’s more birding, ringing and pictures soon.

Linking today with Anni's Birding and Eileen's Blogspot.

Down And Down

No apologies today for returning to a recurrent theme of Another Bird Blog. From a recent article in The Guardian newspaper.

The latest official figures show that birds on the UK’s farmland have seen numbers decline by almost a tenth in five years. Farmland bird populations have declined by 56% since 1970, largely due to agricultural changes including the loss of mixed farming, a switch to autumn sowing of crops, a reduction in hay meadows and the stripping out of hedgerows. 

While the majority of the decline happened during the late 1970s and 1980s as farming practices changed rapidly, there was a 9% decline between 2010 and 2015, the statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show. 

The latest figures have prompted renewed calls for an overhaul of farming as the UK leaves the EU and its system of agricultural subsidies, to support wildlife and farming. The data showed some “specialist” species, those restricted to or highly dependent on farmland habitats, have seen precipitous falls - Corn Buntings, Grey Partridge, Turtle Doves and Tree Sparrows have all suffered declines of more than 90% since 1970, though others such as Stock Doves and Goldfinches saw populations double. 

For Turtle Doves in particular, dramatic falls continue, with numbers down 71% between 2010 and 2015. 

Corn Bunting

Grey Partridge

For those of us out in the countryside on a regular basis these figures are no surprise, just a confirmation of that we know to be true. 

Elsewhere in the countryside, woodland birds have seen numbers remain relatively stable over the last five years, although they are down almost a quarter (23%) since 1970. Across all species, including farmland, woodland, wetland, waterbirds and seabirds, numbers are down around 8% on 1970 the figures show. 

The RSPB’s head of land use policy, Jenna Hegarty, said: “Birdsong from some of our most iconic species once filled the air, but for many years the soundtrack of our countryside – from the song of the Skylark to the purr of the Turtle Dove – has become quieter and quieter. 

Turtle Dove

 

 Skylark

“Today’s figures show the number of farmland birds continues to drop. The farmland bird indicator has fallen by 9% in the last five years – the worst period of decline since the late 1980s. Many farmers are doing great things, and without their efforts, today’s figures would undoubtedly be worse. But the current agriculture system doesn’t work for our farmers or our natural environment, something needs to change."

“Leaving the EU gives us a seminal opportunity to overhaul the system, and use public money to build a more sustainable future, reversing the dramatic declines in farmland wildlife and supporting resilient and thriving farm businesses into the future.” 

Hear, hear.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday. 

Into June

Yes, regular reader, I know Wednesday was perfect for birding and photography but I was busy with half-term duties. Today was the first opportunity to get out and about and although weather-wise this morning wasn’t the best, it was dry and warm for the first birding of June. 

The set-aside at Cockerham is coming on a treat with lots of oil-seed rape in the mix giving the field a bright yellow glow. I stopped off to check out the couple of pairs of Skylarks close by. 

Set-aside field - June 2017

Skylark

Skylark

As before, Gulf Lane is still off limits for ringing due to the latest ringing ban caused following the latest avian flu. But that doesn’t stop us getting details of a recovery from our ringing of over 200 Linnets during the winter. 

This time it wasn’t a Linnet but a Reed Bunting that popped into the in-tray. Andy and I ringed Z860844 a first autumn female Reed Bunting on 12 October 2016, one of only two Reed Buntings caught from September 2016 to March 2017 at Gulf Lane where Linnets were the main target. There is a wet ditch running alongside the plot of set-aside and to see and/or hear a Reed Bunting or two is pretty regular. 

Reed Bunting

 

The BTO details tell us that Z860844 was recaptured by another ringer on 10 May 2017 at Little Crosthwaite, near Keswick, Cumbria, UK, 81 km NNW of Gulf Lane. Unfortunately the recapture information didn’t tell us if the female was in breeding condition or in a potential breeding locality on 10 May even though the date would suggest it should be. 

Reed Bunting - Cockerham to Keswick, Cumbria

At Conder Green the roadside Oystercatchers have gone from the now empty nest. We will never know for sure what happened but maybe the pair will learn from their mistake in laying eggs so close to a very busy spot. It’s not just eggs that disappear as the pair of Avocets that a day or two had two youngsters now gone missing to ground or avian predators. 

I saw eight Avocets this morning of which two pair appears to be nesting and the other four birds being only possibilities as it is now into June. Also, they spent a lot of time flying between the pool and the creeks rather than sorting out any domestic arrangements.

The remaining Oystercatchers are doing okay with 7 or 8 pairs in attendance and one of those pairs still with two growing youngsters. Otherwise – 65 Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Shelduck, 8 Tufted Duck, 2 Common tern, 4 Little Egret, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron and 1 Kestrel. 

A circuit of Jeremy Lane and Moss Lane was a little quiet perhaps due to the cooler, cloudier morning; but I did count 10 Skylark, 7 Sedge Warbler, 6 Whitethroat, 6 Tree Sparrow, 4 Reed Bunting 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Reed Warbler at least two broods of recently fledged Pied Wagtails. 

Pied Wagtail

If anyone saw the Autumn Watch programme on TV the other evening they may have wondered why the BBC found it so hard to show us Brown Hares? They are all at Cockerham BBC! 

Brown Hare

Brown Hares

Nothing doing tomorrow as my car is due a main service, but back to normal Saturday on Another Bird Blog. 

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

Birding Around The Block

I had just a couple of hours spare to whizz around the block this morning. It proved quite productive thanks to the usual spots of Conder Green and Cockersands with both Sedge Warblers and Whitethroats much in evidence. I also saw my first Whinchat of the spring. 

There was a lot to see and hear at Conder Green, both in the creeks and on the pool. April and May is the peak time for the brick-red "Icelandic" Black-tailed Godwits that pass through this region,  when many hundreds of them may appear at favoured locations. For example up to 1,000 this week at the RSPB reserve of Leighton Moss some 20 miles north of here.

I made do with just three godwits today. They fed in the creek below the road and sharing the spoils with 3 Little Egret, 3 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper, 4 Teal and 12 Redshank. 

Black-tailed Godwit

 

One Kestrel hunted the marsh and the roadside while several Swallows flew around and then over. At the nearby bridge and creek-side houses there’s no sign of House Martins yet but I did see one in the week at a neighbour’s house that hosts several nests each year. The martins are now definitely “late” as are our Swifts, held up somewhere to the south of here. I’m expecting to see thousands of Swifts next week, but not around here. Somewhere a little warmer and sunnier. 

Meanwhile on the pool the female Avocet sat tight on the nest with the male close at hand as around them Shelducks and Oystercatchers played out their spring displays. Still 4 Tufted Ducks sailing around the pool, and once again a Kingfisher put in an all too brief appearance. 

A circuit of Jeremy Lane/Moss Lane/Slack Lane found me stopping at several points to look for Sedge Warblers or Whitethroats after I’d heard their respective chattering songs. In fact I reckoned I saw and heard 12+ Sedge Warbler, 10 Whitethroat, 8 Skylark, 4 Willow Warbler, 4 Reed Bunting and a single Whinchat, the latter a fine looking male posing briefly alongside the road. 

Whinchat - Photo credit: Radovan Václav via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Skylark

Sedge Warbler

 

The local hares are getting more active although they are not always easy to see in some of the grassy silage fields that are almost ready for a first cut after the wet and mild winter. The European or Brown Hare Lepus eurpeaus is a sturdy and handsome beast,  nothing like the cuddly “bunny” of pet shops and children’s tales that people mistake them for.

Brown Hare

Stay tuned for more news and photos soon from Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Anni's Birding.

And, dear reader, when you have a minute to spare. For once, here’s a worthwhile petition to sign.

"Re-engagement with Britain's natural history has never been more urgent. Young people need the skills to name, observe, monitor and record wildlife. It is vital to understand the contribution nature makes to our lives physically, culturally, emotionally and scientifically both in the past and today".

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/176749

Hot-Spot Cold-Spot

The still northerly breeze meant no ringing but the early morning sun dictated a birding trip to the customary hot-spots, starting at Conder Green. 

On Saturday four Avocets fed together but today it was back to perhaps an earlier pair, probably the two that arrived a couple of weeks ago. Following a good few days of sunnier if not necessarily warm weather the female is now sat on a nest. 

Meanwhile the two second year Avocets that spent a few hours here on Saturday morning seemed to have gone and were merely passing through on their way north and/or east. Avocets don’t normally breed until their third year whereby second year birds make up the numbers in the colonies that Avocets sometimes, but not always choose to breed. Conder Green is large enough for several pairs of Avocets but that is not necessarily a good thing as the species can be very aggressive in seeing off all opposition, large or small. 

There was no such aggression today, mainly because there was little for the Avocets to complain about. The usual water birds comprised 2 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 6 Tufted Duck, 8 Teal, 16 Shelduck and 2 Little Egret. A Kingfisher put in another brief appearance by flying through the creek, up and over the road, and then across the pool and out of sight. 

Passerines were hard to come by except for singles of Blackcap, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Reed Bunting and Meadow Pipit in the scrubby habitat next to the main road. I’m seeing only male Whitethroats just yet but not in great numbers. The continual north winds, blocking high pressure and below average temperatures must be holding many migrant birds back on the south coast or beyond. 

Whitethroat

 

26th April

Meadow Pipit

As I drove off from Conder Green a Kestrel hovered over the marsh and for a few seconds pulled in a couple of complaining Swallows. I didn’t see too many Swallows during the morning, just one or two House Martins, and I didn’t stop to survey the Sand Martins at Bank Lane. 

The marsh at the end of Bank Lane was very quiet, the best I could muster being singles of Whimbrel and Grey Heron, and then 6 Pied Wagtail. 

Whimbrel

I spent quite a while along Jeremy Lane, Moss Lane and up to Cockersands. I had Wheatear, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Goldfinch, 3 Sedge Warblers and 3 Whitethroat. Just as feared, a number of fields that held Lapwings and Skylarks have been ploughed just as ground nesting birds have eggs and/or tiny young. I found a pair of Skylark in one regular spot but at another unvarying spot of the last few weeks - nothing. A good few fields had been ploughed right up to the fence line and the 80/100 Lapwings of recent weeks seem well down, replaced today by 8 Stock Doves attracted by the turned soil. 

Skylark

Lapwing

Near Lighthouse Cottage a male Whitethroat was in full song and showy mood for the females yet to arrive. His singing and display circuit proved easy to suss: the overhead wire and then the tallest bushes of the roadside plot, followed by a scurry along the roadside fence where sprigs of bramble provided cover. A singing Sedge Warbler stuck to the vegetation and wasn’t as obliging as the Whitethroat. 

An adult male Whitethroat has a lovely pink wash across the breast upon first arrival in late April but the healthy glow soon vanishes during the rough and tumble of a British summer. 

Whitethroat

Whitethroat

Sedge Warbler

Whitethroat

I may be out on Friday if the weather holds good. Log in then for more news, views and photos.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday.