Six Of The Best

The early starts aren’t too much of a problem when there’s a break with a day off to relax. Thursday became something of a lie in, sitting in the afternoon sun and then afterwards cutting the grass while recharging my solar panels in readiness for Friday’s trip to Oakenclough. 

Friday’s mist over inland mosses signified a fine day ahead as the drying bales lay in wait of the tractor day ahead. 

Morning Bales

 

Another 0630 start saw Andy, Will and Yours Truly set up the ringing shop in the shade of the Mountain Ash trees now glowing red with early berries. The berries, a source of food for autumn birds, are not especially plentiful this year, perhaps  below average and in not enough quantity to sustain hungry Redwings and Fieldfares for more than a few days.   

Rowan berries

There is a belief that a bountiful rowan crop signifies a hard winter ahead, a belief that varies from place to place, country to country. We shall see, but for now and after a terribly cold spring, we are experiencing that rarity, an English Summer like the ones I recall of years 1976 and 2003. 

It is possible that people of more recent generations than I might be nudged into thinking that this summer is alarming, frightening, even catastrophic rather than simply a display of variation and periodic weather changes to which the Earth and solar system is subject. I digress, but suffice to say that not everyone is a follower of The New Religion and its absurd doom laden offshoots. 

The morning brought goodies in the form of visible migration of pipits and over 50 Swallows. Some of the pipits we caught, the Swallows we saw. 

We caught 18 new birds of just five species - 8 Willow Warbler, 6 Tree Pipit, 2 Wren, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Robin. 

We partly expected to see and hear “trepis” with the timing right coupled to clear overhead conditions suited to a notable diurnal migrant like the Tree Pipit. 

Many migratory bird species fly mainly during the night (nocturnal migrants), others during daytime (diurnal migrants) and still others during both night and day. 

The Tree Pipit is a splendid bird with its bright pink legs and fine-streaked yellowish breast. Dare I say it is a little more beautiful than its close cousin the Meadow Pipit? 

All six trepis were juveniles of the year whereby the species’ long-distance migration to Central and Southern Africa has begun in earnest in numbers that may signify a decent breeding season north of Lancashire. 

Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit

In contrast, the Willow Warbler is mainly, perhaps almost exclusively a night migrant. The new ones we caught on Friday had probably arrived overnight and then settled in to feed up in readiness for the next leg of their journeys to Africa. Likewise, all eight Willow Warblers were seen to be juveniles of this season. 

Willow Warbler

Other birds noted – Sparrowhawk, 2 Raven, 6 Pied Wagtail. 

We packed in at 1130 and although we had not ringed too many birds it’s always exciting to see migration in action. 

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni, Birding 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.

 

I Need A Drink

Seven Tree Pipits caught this morning during the ringing session at Oakenclough. Seven in one morning is something of a record number for birders who see Tree Pipits in Spring and Autumn only. We are at the peak of Tree Pipit migration. A fellow ringer in Scotland has ringed more than 135 so far this autumn, a number that puts our meagre 10 into the relative perspective of the species being much less common in Lancashire than in the wide open spaces of Scotland. 

The morning was almost ideal - zero wind, hot and sultry and barely a cloud in the clear blue sky. A bottle or two of cold beer would have been more welcome than the hot coffee that accompanies bird ringers everywhere. 

 Dawn at Oakenclough

We kicked off at 0600 hours and finished at 1100 with 36 birds for five hours work. 

Fifteen species meant that we processed a good mix of finches and warblers. 7 Tree Pipit, 5 Willow Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 4 Lesser Redpoll, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Chaffinch, 2 Coal Tit, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Great Tit, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Dunnock , 1 Wren and 1 Blackbird. 

All seven Tree Pipits were seen to be first summer/juveniles. The early season weather was very good to insect eaters like Tree Pipits and this may prove to be a record year for the species and sightings 

Tree Pipit

The two Song Thrush caught were clearly siblings. They were at the exact same stage of youthfulness, found in the net together, and when released flew off in the same direction. 

Song Thrush

Song Thrush 

All four Lesser Redpoll turned out to be first summer/juvenile. A couple of them were so juvenile that their post-juvenile moult had barely begun. 

 

Lesser Redpoll

All five Willow Warblers were birds of the year/juveniles. 

Willow Warbler 

Other birds seen but not caught Spotted Flycatcher, Tawny Owl, 22 Long-tailed Tit, Sparrowhawk, 15 Swallow.

It’s been a hot and thirsty day. Now what’s it to be, a glass of beer, red wine or a fizz to celebrate our Seven Up? 

++++++++++++++++++++++++

After reading the latest Bird Guides I definitely need a stiff drink. 

Bird Guides – 11th August 202 - It seems the plague of Groupthink, authoritarianism, pure bullshit and the uncontrolled urge to rewrite history, has reached the once sensible world of birding. 

"The American Ornithological Society (AOS) has announced that it is to change the name McCown's Longspur, after a unanimous decision by the North American Classification Committee (NACC). Rhynchophanes mccownii, named after the naturalist who first collected the species in 1851, will now be known by the English name Thick-billed Longspur." 

McCown's Longspur - Wiki

It was previously titled after John Porter McCown, who was involved in relocations of Native Americans during the 1840s, and who left the United States Army to serve as a Confederate general during the American Civil War. 

The so-called Bird Names for Birds movement, which “aims to support equity, diversity and inclusion in the birding community”, has so far gathered 3,200 signatures on a petition calling for action. 

Yes, that’s right, out of a world-wide community of hundreds of thousands if not millions of birders, the AOS bowed to pressure from 3,200 nutters, most of whom couldn’t tell the difference between a longspur or a Long-tailed Tit. 

Alex Holt of Bird Names for Birds commented: "This is certainly a positive move, but I hope this now leads to further introspection within ornithology and beyond into other scientific fields. "McCown wasn't just a singular anomaly that has now been "solved", but a single expression of far more deep-rooted issues of colonialism, racism, sexism and other prejudices that have gone unchallenged for too long. Hopefully, by continuing to confront that legacy, we can further break down the barriers around who feels able to get involved with birds and nature." 

Such madness is best summed up by a comment from a Bird Guides reader. 

Oh dear, PC gone too far. We shouldn't attempt to re-write history. Slavery, genocide, colonialism and religious persecution are all part of collective human behaviour dating back more than 5000 years. We may not approve of such shameful behaviour today but it is an undeniable fact, not confined to white Anglo-Saxons and in many parts of the world it is still evident. I suspect that if we were to examine the political views of many 19th Century naturalists we would open a can of worms. 

Now where's that drink?

 

Another Day, Another Drama

There was patchy rain around at early doors. When at 0630 the three of us arrived from our respective but different journeys, Andy said he drove through a few showers, Bryan experienced the same, but my journey had been rain free. At Oakenclough all was dry and bright with just a slight breeze for another ringing session. 

It’s fair to say the morning was slow but steady with 23 birds caught. More Willow Warblers, another Tree Pipit and a good show of Goldfinches. Total - 8 Goldfinch, 5 Willow Warbler, 2 Coal Tit, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Treecreeper, 1 Wren. 

The House Sparrow was a real rarity, the first one ever caught here at 700ft above sea level. 

We kicked off with 2 new Coal Tits, a species usually greatly outnumbered in birding and ringing references and reports by its more abundant cousin the Blue Tit. But up here at Oakenclough the Blue Tit doesn’t have it all to itself. Since 2014 we have 365 captures of Coal Tit compared to 489 captures of Blue Tit, a ratio that many ringers would prefer. 

Coal Tit

The Treecreeper capture was rather unusual. As we checked birds at the feeder of the nearby house we noticed a Treecreeper sat immobile on a window sill. Because it wasn’t moving we wondered if it had stunned itself against the window glass, a not unknown phenomenon for all sorts of birds. Andy went to investigate and the bird allowed itself to be picked up. We put the Treecreeper in a bird bag and hung the bag in a warm car for twenty minutes or so before taking a look inside. The bird was full of beans, seemingly none the worse for its attempt to fly through glass so we ringed and processed it as normal and then watched it fly off to the top of the nearest tree. 

Treecreeper

While we caught one Tree Pipit, at least 5 others escaped our attempts to catch them. The one caught was a juvenile/first summer. 

 

Tree Pipit

Five more Willow Warblers gave us 70 captures of this species here from April to date. 

 

Willow Warbler

Other birds seen - 15 Chaffinch, 8 Swallow, 5 Grey Wagtail, 2 Greenfinch, 4 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel. 

We received news of a Lesser Redpoll ringed here on 28 October 2019, an adult male ring number AKE3853. This same bird was recaptured by other ringers at the RSPB Reserve Geltsdale, Cumbria on 3 August 2020. 

This was possibly a Lakeland bird that by October was on its way south, only to return to Cumbria in 2020. 

Lesser Redpoll - Oakenclough and Geltsdale, Cumbria 

Back soon. Don’t go away. 

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Birding and Anni's birding.

 

Business As Usual

Three mornings in the same week must be some sort of record for Oakenclough. The forecast of zero wind and a dry morning dictated a start at 0600 for Andy, Bryan and yours truly. Off we go again – Three Go Ringing 

Moody Morning 

Although the clouds looked threatening, showers stayed away, the sun shone briefly and we caught migrants in the way of more Willow Warblers, Blackcaps, and yet another Garden Warbler. Towards the end we had our first Tree Pipit of the autumn. 

We packed in soon after 1100 with 43 birds of 13 species as follows :- 7 Willow Warbler, 6 Chaffinch, 6 Coal Tit, 6 Blue Tit, 4 Blackcap, 4 Goldcrest, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Treecreeper, 2 Great Tit and one each of Dunnock, Robin, Garden Warbler and Tree Pipit. 

The titmice numbers were unusually high because the normally well-stocked feeders at the house just thirty yards away were empty this morning. Earlier in the week we noted how local Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Coal Tits enjoyed fulsome meals as the container levels dropped. Only today at the sight of empty feeders did those birds stray into mist nets 50 yards away from their regular snacks. 

Although it is very difficult to see in the picture, the Tree Pipit had already started its post juvenile moult in the crown feathers. 

Tree Pipit 

Treecreepers often travel with tits in search of food. We seldom catch one, never mind two in a morning or three in a week as we have this time. The one below is a juvenile. 

Treecreeper 

A juvenile Blackcap shows how post-juvenile moult makes the sex easy to determine as the summer progresses. 

Blackcap 

juvenile Robin  

A wing length of 81mm and the sheer bulk of this Goldfinchs’ bill strongly suggest a male even though it does not look like one just yet. 

Goldfinch 

Today’s seven Willow Warblers brought our total to 39 "WILWA" captures for the month of July. 

Willow Warbler 

Looks like we are back to normal tomorrow and over the weekend with yet more rain. Fortunately we made hay while the sun shone with 156 birds caught here in the month of July.  

Back soon with Another Bird Blog. Stay as normal as possible my friends. 

But don't go shopping to The High Street, it ain't there. Boris just killed it.

Home Birding

An extract from an email all ringers received this week.

“BTO SURVEYS IN THE WIDER COUNTRYSIDE”. 

“Following the Government statement on 23 March, our Senior Leadership Team has reviewed the BTO advice and is asking all volunteers to follow the guidelines presented by the Prime Minister. While the monitoring work undertaken by volunteers is extremely important, it must not compromise public health. 

To avoid this potential risk, we are requesting that all BTO surveyors, including ringers and nest recorders, refrain from undertaking survey work at sites to which they would need to travel by any means until this guidance is reviewed.” 

“All the best and stay safe”. 

Dave Leech, Head of Ringing & Nest Recording 
James Pearce-Higgins, Director of Science” 

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Here's my contribution to "Home Birding", the newest buzz phrase for locked down birders with a post first published on Another Bird Blog on 31/12/2011 - New Year’s Eve 2011. Click the pictures for a close-up.

It’s time for recalling the past year’s highlights of birding, ringing and photography. Now is the moment when we choose to forget the low points, the empty pages in a sodden notebook, netting a handful of birds on a seemingly perfect spring morning, or discovering that you set the aperture wrong.

Here we go in rough chronological order with a selection of photos and personal highlights of 2011.

In the early part of the year we holidayed in Egypt at a time when the country was undergoing a revolution, but the confiding birds hadn’t joined in the turmoil and just behaved naturally for a visiting Brit.

Egypt proved to be a wonderful place for bird photography and so difficult to select just a few pictures, apart from the Kingfisher which is just about my favourite photo of the year, taken with a decent choice of aperture for once.

Kingfisher - Egypt

Cattle Egret - Egypt

I’d left Will counting Siskins building up by the hundreds in his garden, together with a dozen or two Brambling and Lesser Redpoll. Within days of returning from Egypt I joined him for some memorable ringing sessions and notable breakfasts.

Brambling

Lesser Redpoll 

Siskin 

Bacon Butty 

Spring and autumn were great for catching and photographing Northern Wheatears at Pilling. With the help of sacrificial meal worms I caught fourteen “Wheats” and clicked the shutter button a couple of hundred times on the beautiful chat, passing Meadow Pipits or the occasional Linnet.

Wheatear

Meadow Pipit

Linnet 

The annual ritual came along, May in Menorca, the island where birds are hard to find but fortunately more numerous than birders. This year a ringed Audouin’s Gull at the hotel pool gave me an excuse to search for that extreme rarity, a Menorcan ringer.

A Ringed Audouin’s Gull -

A Ringed Audouin's Gull

Summer was warm and wonderful, ringing Swallow chicks, finding Skylark nests and stumbling upon young Lapwings or breeding Redshank.

Skylark

Barn Swallow 

Redshank

Lapwing

Then at the end of summer came a chance to take photographs of a species rapidly becoming a rarity, the unfortunately named “Common” Cuckoo.

Cuckoo 

Autumn and early winter was given over to ringing pipits, buntings, finches and thrushes “on the moss”, the satisfaction of working a regular patch with a job well done.

Reed Bunting 

Tree Pipit

Yellowhammer

Don't forget to Spring forward tonight by changing all those clocks. Or not.

Back soon with Another Bird Blog.  Linking this post to Anni's Birding in Texas.