It’s All Going To Pot

Yes, It’s been over a week since a post from me with nothing of note to share since the last outing produced over fifty birds ringed but very little since. It seems that just lately our ringing has "gone to pot”. 

Visits to the ringing site/supplementary feeding spot between bouts of rain and wind produced small numbers and tiny catches of the usual suspects of Chaffinch, Reed Bunting and Blackbirds. 

 

Blackbird

Reed Bunting

Chaffinch

Regular sightings of both Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and once or twice a ring-tail Hen Harrier suggested that they at least were having some luck in catching birds. Nonetheless I stuck to the feeding regime and hoped as ever that bird numbers would improve. 

Sue and I motored up Glasson Way on a couple of occasions where after the secret bacon butty shop brunch (2 barms and 2 teas for £9.50), I took a peek at Conder Green. 

Bacon Barm

 

For a week or two and depending upon the state of the tide in or out of the creeks, there’s been a wintering Ruff, one or two wintering Greenshank, the ever present but always numerous Redshank and tidal Little Grebes. 

Greenshank

Ruff

Distant across the far side of the pool were two Stonechats a species that is not common here but one that will now appear with more regularity as an early spring migrant. 

Again ,and depending upon the tides were anything from 50 to 200 Teal plus the expected build up of noisy assertive Greylags looking to start their breeding season. Last Wednesday morning I counted upwards of 100 Greylags but where only three or four pairs are likely to eventually breed here. 

Teal

Greylags

It’s at this time of year that numbers of Canada Geese appear and I was not pleased to see more than 50 of this species, a bird more problematical than Greylag. 

Canada Goose

The main issue that many people experience with Canada Geese is the sheer amount of noise that a group of them will make  This problem has grown increasingly serious as time goes on since there are few natural predators of the Canada Goose in the UK. This has allowed their population to grow unchecked, and develop from as little as 2200 in 1953 to more than 100,000 by the millennium. Not only are the geese noisy, but they can also be highly territorial, especially when guarding their goslings. It is far from rare for members of the public to be attacked by Canada Geese in parks and along riverbanks. 

Just today I was chatting to a wildfowler who told me that while a Greylag for the pot makes a pretty good meal, a within range Canada Goose is not worth wasting a pot-shot as the meat is not nearly so good as a Greylag. We had an interesting conversation about his gun, an old 1878 model that he likes to use  sometimes together with his hand made powder and bismuth cartridges.

Lets finish with music from Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson. Two old dudes laying down a track better than any modern day 20 something’s can via a song title that sums up the world of today. This folks, is what talent looks like.  They don't make them like this anymore. RIP Merle.

 

Enjoy the song. Back soon with Another Bird Blog.

Linking at the weekend to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.

Mission Possible

Avian Flu still rules in this part of Lancashire where bird ringing remains verboten until sometime never. Avian Flu also made the TV News headlines as an afterthought. Yet another panic story, as if there aren't enough to scare everyone witless and to place lives and normal freedoms on hold. 

Those temporary restrictions don’t stop a little bird watching or even topping up seed at supplementary feeding stations when suitable precautions are taken to minimise any spread of infections.

On Friday the mission was to seek, find and to count birds at both feeding stations and then to add some variety to the birds’ everyday food. A bucketful of rape seed, Niger and white millet gets them coming back for more, especially once temperatures dive and overnight frosts make natural seeds unpalatable. 

Supplementary Bird Food

The wind dropped overnight and left a touch of frost, but not enough to freeze shallow ditches and dykes. 

Pilling Lancashire

 

There’s a bonus to the avian flu because for now shooting in the 10km zone is also prohibited, which means that our coastal geese and wild fowl have a temporary reprieve from becoming a Christmas platter. 

A number of large skeins passed over, a constant flow of noise above, in all several hundreds, maybe 4/5000 thousand. 

Pink-footed Geese

Geese leaving their overnight roost are especially noisy, a constant conversation of shrill doggish yaps from each and every bird to their immediate neighbours in the line, perhaps a relative, a sibling or a parent. If only we could learn goose talk we might listen in to where they are heading, where are the best meals safe from disturbance, prying eyes and the threat of guns. 

And why do geese fly in V formation? Scientists have determined that the V-shaped formation that geese use when migrating serves two important purposes. First, it conserves their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of them, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, the geese can fly for a long time before they must stop for rest. Birds that fly alone beat their wings more frequently and have higher heart rates than those that fly in formation. It follows that birds that fly in formation glide more often and reduce energy expenditure. 

The second benefit to V formation is that it is easy to keep track of every bird in the group. Flying in formation may assist with the communication and coordination within the group. Pilots of fighter aircraft often use this formation for the same reason. 

Our morning goose flights can last for hours for anyone minded to watch. This is a daily winter occurrence, background noise to which Joe Bloggs becomes accustomed and immune. 

I too took my eyes off the geese and looked to the job in hand while the geese continued their morning mission inland. 

At our erstwhile ringing plot I found 130+ Linnets and a couple of Chaffinches. It was just as well I concentrated on a count because on the extremes of the Linnet flock a tail-wagging Stonechat flicked into view. And along the ditch were the ubiquitous Wren, a Blackbird and the ever present Reed Bunting, a wintering species that relies on animal food during the summer months but switches to a seed diet in the winter. 

Reed Bunting

 

Stonechat

 

A couple of hunkered down Snipe flew from beneath my sploshing feet, the grass wetter and the water deeper than first appeared; my wellies had been a wise choice. 

 

Snipe

The pool nearby held 20 or more Teal, an approximate count as a handful or more remained partly hidden. A single Grey Heron and a solitary Little Egret stayed in the trees as I looked from 50 yards away. 

Teal

Rain arrived from the west with immaculate timing - my appointment with BT. Another Bird Blog goes Fibre Broadband in 2022. There’s no stopping us now. 

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

 

Headline Birds

Friday. There was a frosty outlook and a cold south-easterly and I was ready for a spot of fresh air birding. 

Once again a hunting Barn Owl stole the morning headlines as it put on a short display over Stalmine Moss. Soon it was gone, back to roost in a nearby barn. The Barn Owl is well named; although in parts of the UK they nest in hollow trees, cavities or tree-mounted boxes, in this region of Lancashire they nest in newish agricultural buildings where provision has been made, or where they still exist, older type barns yet to be “modernised”. 

Barn Owl 

At Fluke Hall I was in time to see 100+ Whooper Swans land behind the sea wall fresh from their roost on the nearby marsh. Hardly had they settled when a shooter/farmer plus Border Collie arrived on a quad, unbolted the metal gate, drove across the field and scattered the swans into the red of the morning sky. The swans take some of the shooters’ bait laid to pull in wild geese, wildfowl and their released game birds but thankfully the swans are “protected”. 

My own seed drop at Gulf Lane was for a different reason and upon arrival I saw a flock of 60 or more Linnets circling the plot. I walked the icy path in trainers and scattered a full bucket of millet and rape seed, retraced my steps to the car and then watched as the Linnet flock grew. Perhaps the frosty start moved them from other sites but they certainly seemed hungry, so much so that within thirty or forty minutes the flock grew to between 220/260 birds that piled as one into the seed. There was a single Stock Dove in our net ride and also a Snipe that flew from the adjacent drainage ditch. This winter has seen very few Stock Doves in contrast to the winter of 2017/2018 when up to a dozen could be seen here most days. 

Stock Dove 

Conder Green seemed strangely quiet with a distinct lack of anything “new” and just the usual crew of ducks – Teal down to 140, Wigeon steady at 64, Mallards present, and 5 Little Grebe. Even waders were sparse in the frosty creeks and on the surrounding grassy margins - 55 Curlew, 40+ Lapwing and 25 Redshank. 

Teal 

Wigeon 

The story continued with an uneventful run up to Cockersands where lingering Fieldfares scattered from the roadside trees then leapfrogged ahead as they looked for the last of the berries. Near the caravan park and around the dilapidated barns were 4 Pied Wagtails and a single Grey Wagtail. It was noticeable how as they all fed around the yard the Pied Wagtails were the dominant species as each in turn chased the Grey Wagtail to the edges of the area. 

Grey Wagtail 

Alongside the white frosted marsh was a small flock of 8 Greenfinch, 3 Reed Buntings, a couple each of Chaffinch and Tree Sparrow. 

The Greenfinch; not too long ago this was a ubiquitous bird of farmland and garden that birders could ignore, safe in the knowledge that commonality would ensure the species' continued success. How wrong we were; the Greenfinch has become a headline bird, one to notice and to then report as something of a rarity. 

Greenfinch 

Meanwhile birds featured in other headline news. “200 Turkeys Vote For Christmas” and “A Lame Duck Flaps Into Brussels” ran just two of the comical stories. The nation laughed out loud until tears ran down our collective ruddy cheeks. 

If politicians were an endangered species we might all sleep safer in our beds.

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

Saturday’s Schedule

Saturday began dull and cloudy but the forecast was pretty accurate. The sky brightened a little but not enough to get decent photographs. 

I set off in the direction of Cockerham where I stopped in the gateway of Braides Farm and looked on the flood about 300 yards away. The flood is distant but always worth a look with the risk that small birds go missing amongst the puddled, rough grass landscape. I counted 480 Curlew, 10 Black-tailed Godwit and a single Kestrel but I’m sure more bits and pieces were hidden. 

Conder Green proved productive. In the wader stakes I noted 15 Curlew, 15 Redshank, 14 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Snipe, 4 Lapwing and the single and still wintering Common Sandpiper. The light was far from ideal and required ISO1000, a setting which proved barely enough. 

Redshank

Common Sandpiper

Down on the mud was a single Grey Wagtail and also 4 Meadow Pipits. The incoming tide made it easier to count the Teal now flushed out of their hiding places in the marsh and I counted 170/180. There was a single Grey Heron, 2 Little Egrets, 3 Little Grebe and 9 Goosanders. The latter included 3 stunning looking males, even if they were on the far side of the pool. 

 Meadow Pipit

Little Egret

Teal

I drove around Jeremy Lane and up to Cockersands where I hoped to find and photograph Fieldfares, a species which in some winters appears in large numbers along the hawthorn hedges. But very few Fieldfares today with the best I saw about 50 very mobile birds in two flocks in roadside that flew quickly south and out of sight at the approach of vehicles. I had to make do with a House Sparrow dining on rather old blackberries. 

House Sparrow

Near to Cockersands I found 190 or more Whooper Swans, a number partly hidden as the field dropped down and away from view. As I watched a number of parties flew off noisily towards Cockerham but a hour or so later and when visiting Thursday’s location of almost 500 Whoopers at Cockerham I saw not a one. Clearly this winter’s swans will be very mobile with a selection of places in which to delight their admirers. 

Whooper Swans

Whooper Swans

Whooper Swan

I stopped at Gulf Lane and counted the Linnets at 130+.  Their natural food is still a plentiful mystery where they drop to the bottom of the vegetation, feed on or close to the ground and appear to ignore our line of rape seed.  Six Stock Doves dropped in to feed but they won’t stay around if the ringers or shooters appear and then open their car doors. 

Linnets

 

More birds soon. It’s Saturday evening and I’m due a glass of plonk.

In the meantime, linking to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday and  Anni's Blog.

A Touch Of Flu

It was too windy for ringing this morning and I was out birding when I heard the news via Jean. She’d stopped for a word when she saw me counting the 300 strong Linnet flock. 

Linnets

“The UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer has confirmed avian flu (H5N8) in a flock of farmed breeding Pheasants at Pilling, 14 miles from Preston in Lancashire. A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of the disease spreading. The flock is estimated to contain approximately 10,000 birds. A number have died and the remaining live birds at the premises are being humanely culled to stop infection spreading. 

A full investigation is under way to determine the source of the infection. Public Health England advises that the risk to public health from the virus is very low and the Food Standards Agency is clear that bird flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers.” 

I knew this could only be Hi-Fly at Pilling where Pheasants, Red-legged Partridge, and Mallards are bred in huge numbers for release by the shooting industry. Many of their bird are kept in open cages where they inevitably come into contact with wild birds like gulls, doves and pigeons on the lookout for spilt food. 

Outbreaks of this latest strain of the disease began in European Countries in late 2016 and then spread via wild migratory birds moving from the Baltic into NW Europe and the UK and then coming into contact with captive birds in outdoor situations. 

So then I switched on my phone, and there was the email from the BTO and our Linnet site bang in the blue zone. 

 No Ringing

“Dear all, 

A further outbreak of Avian influenza H5N8 was confirmed near Fleetwood, Lancashire and a 3 km Protection Zone and a 10 km Surveillance Zone has been declared. Please see the map. I am emailing you as you are based relatively locally and to inform you of the temporary ringing suspension. Effective immediately, as a precaution, the following measures apply: All ringing is suspended within the 10 km surveillance zone (yellow area) as outlined on the map until further notice. Ringing elsewhere in Britain & Ireland is not affected at this time (with the exception of any other Avian influenza Surveillance Zone suspensions). 

Ringers are reminded to follow basic precautions to reduce the spread of disease - see the BTO website for details.” 

Hi Fly is just a couple of miles from our Linnet ringing site at Gulf Lane, Pilling, so there will be no ringing there or anywhere else for a number of weeks. 

Not good news, but I was out for some birding so I carried on up to Cockerham and Braides Farm. 

Gulls, Lapwings, Curlews and Starlings dominated the flooded field with several hundred of each, plus a couple of dozen Wigeon, 2 Shoveler, several Teal, and 2 Buzzards along the sea wall. 

Curlew

I checked out Conder Green to see 170 Teal, 30 Wigeon,30 Redshank, 12 Shelduck, 3 Little Grebe , 1 Spotted Redshank and 1 Grey Heron. Two Oystercatchers were back on the pool after an absence of some months. Although it is only late January they are back with a purpose and will waste no time in setting up a breeding territory on this prime site. 

Teal

Redshank and Spotted Redshank

I drove to Cockersands which for an hour or more proved a little disappointing except for a really good mix of small birds along the shore and in the paddock; 3 Reed Bunting, 15 Linnet, 4 Goldfinch, 8 Greenfinch, 4 Tree Sparrow, 2 Stock Dove, 3 Fieldfare, 2 Redwing and 1 Song Thrush. 

Tree Sparrow

Don’t forget. “Click the pic” and make sure you don’t catch that winter flu. 

Set-Aside Again

The weather has been kind to our recent ringing plans by way of minimal winds and little in the way of rain. It was the same this morning with a forecast of clear skies overnight followed by a light frost and virtually no wind. Andy and I met next to the set-aside plot at Cockerham where Linnets home in each morning to what seems to be a mix well suited to their needs. The forecast proved spot on with a dusting of frost on the crop together with a pretty cold start in the half-light of dawn. 

We caught Linnets steadily to the accompaniment of geese calling overhead interspersed with the occasional gunshot. We saw two pinkies drop from the sky this morning. The shooting group along this stretch of Pilling and Cockerham Marsh is Morecambe Bay Wildfowlers. They have a membership of approximately 150 participants whose limit each is shooting on three days a week throughout the winter season. Apparently the club has a waiting list of potential members who might wait four or five years to be accepted, such is the demand for places caused by the vast concentrations of numbers of wildfowl quarry in the winter months. 

A typical mid-winter count of the most common wildfowl along this single stretch of coast and dependent on the weather and other factors might be: 8/10,000 Pink-footed Goose, 2,000 Shelduck, 5,000 Wigeon, 1800 Teal, 300 Mallard and 200 Pintail. No wonder the shooters love the place as much as the birders. 

Teal

Wigeon

Once again this morning Pink-footed Geese flew off the marsh in almost continuous skeins for at least four hours and a guesstimate of 20,000/30,000 individuals. Many pinkies still arrive from Iceland and the recent mild weather seems to be delaying their onward migration to both Norfolk and south Lancashire. 

We heard lots of distant Whooper Swans but less than twenty flew above us with most heading off towards Fluke Hall where more than a hundred have been noted in recent days. As the morning warmed up a good number of waders appeared to feed on the fields nearest the sea wall. We approximated counts of 1000+ Lapwings, 700 Golden Plover, 100 + Curlew and 20+ Redshank. 

In the picture below Andy checks the nets in the set-aside crop for Linnets. In the background the bund of the sea wall is visible together with the distant Lakeland fells on the far side of Morecambe Bay and the tall white buildings of Heysham Nuclear Power Station some 15 miles away as the crow flies. Click the pic for a view across Morecambe Bay.

Ringing in the set-aside

We had a pretty good catch of Linnets with another 25 to add to our autumn total plus a new bird for the site in the form of 2 Wrens. In all we saw about 200 Linnets in our stay but we have yet to recapture one out of the 100+ caught in the last 3 weeks. This of course suggests a high turnover of mainly different birds birds rather than the same birds returning each day.

Linnet Ringing Station

Linnet

 Wren

Andy seems to have timed his six days in Spain to coincide with a change of weather here in Lancashire as a low pressure system brings winds and more changeable weather. We’ll see. 

Log in soon and find out what is happening on Another Bird Blog.

Linking today with http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.co.uk/.

Circus Time And A Prickly Subject

The flood at Rawcliffe Moss came good this morning with a Marsh Harrier, a species that is still something of a speciality in this part of Lancashire. 

I set off early through Hambleton and Out Rawcliffe where an early Barn Owl proved a good omen the birds to come on the moss. The light was far from perfect but the owl was the ideal subject matter. 

Barn Owl

On my last post there was a picture of the flood out on Rawcliffe Moss. The water is still there, topped up by recent downpours. 

Rawcliffe Moss

Today the majority of the birds on the flood were circa 400 gulls, split along the ratio of 5:1 Black-headed Gull and Common Gull with 20 or so Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A telescope earned its keep by locating in the distance 30 Mallards, 80+ Lapwing, 18 Black-tailed Godwit and 9 Snipe. There was single Spotted Redshank too, first located by the “tewit” call as it flew from left to right but then distinctive with its all dark wings and oval shaped whitish back and rump. 

There was a Buzzard watching on from the fence line on the right. After a while the Buzzard flew across to the distant treed with a gang of crows in hot pursuit when I noticed a second raptor. This one circled with the deeper and more distinctive “V” shaped wing formation typical of the harrier family rather than the flat profile of a Buzzard. During August we don’t see the Hen Harrier around here, just its relative the Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus , a spring and late summer migrant. Even at a distance the harrier seemed to have a very creamy head, a feature which might mark the bird as an adult.

Marsh Harrier

The Marsh Harrier's scientific name Circus aeruginosus emanated from the Greek "kirkos", a hawk or falcon that flies in a circle, while "aeruginosus" is Latin for "rusty coloured".

When the harrier disappeared from sight for a while I decided to drive up to Cockerham and Conder Green. 

The major highlight here was a Kingfisher but unfortunately a call and a fly by again rather than a photographic pose. Otherwise Lapwings were in good numbers but not necessarily on the enlarged pool with 200+ birds in flight both taking off and landing in the region of the canal and out of immediate sight. 

Other waders on the pool/creeks were 2 Common Sandpiper, 12 Curlew, 15 Redshank plus singles of Greenshank and Snipe. Meanwhile a survey of wildfowl gave 1 Goosander, 8 Little Grebe, 2 Wigeon, 24 Mallard and 2 Teal. 

Teal

Nothing much to report from Glasson Dock with the usual 5 Tufted Duck, 5 Cormorant and now down to 40+ Swallows around the yacht basin.

Cormorant

Back home there was a Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus in the garden. I’m no expert but the animal appeared to be a young one, especially since it was out in broad daylight when the Hedgehog is supposed to be a nocturnal animal. There was a noticeable parasitic tick above one eye. Apparently hedgehogs are susceptible to these ticks which are generally harmless to them; larger numbers of such parasites are indicative of sickness. 

Hedgehog

 Hedgehog

That's all for now folks. Back soon with more birds and things to keep you entertained.

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