Sunday, January 27, 2013

Where Did Two Weeks Go?

Back home after 14 days in the unbroken sun of Fuerteventura, and it’s a large bag of dirty washing for Sue and 800 images on the SD card for me. Yes, it’s a tedious, thankless task, but someone has to show willing so as to keep Another Bird Blog updated. Many thanks to all those who logged in during the holiday, I will be visiting you all soon to return the complement and catch up with your blogs, and in the next few days my priority is also to catch up with friends and family. 

After a check of the many images from the last two weeks I lumped together a quick post by way of an introduction to Fuerteventura, the birds and the scenery which they and the many tourists inhabit. This post details birds in the immediate area of our stay in Costa Calma, so named I think with reverence to the relatively sheltered nature of this resort from the prevailing winds. This relative calm is due in no small part to the easterly geographical location and to the long belt of pine trees which give a degree of protection from the often strong prevailing wind systems.

It’s peculiar how the same bird species occur in the vicinity of many holiday places we visit, with Fuerteventura providing a similar hotel list to other places we know whereby sparrows, pigeons, gulls, kestrels and a few wader species are to the fore. Don't forget folks, click on the pics for a better view.

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Sanderlings and Turnstones were ever present on the sandy and partly rocky shore. Turnstones can be fairly confiding here in the UK, but on Fuerteventura they are even more so and are approachable to within a few metres. 

Sanderling

Turnstone

After taking photographs of a Sanderling I noticed only upon examining the images later that the bird had a British ring on its right leg. With only a couple of shots I couldn’t get enough detail to send the record in to the BTO so as to find out where it had been ringed, so in the following days looked for the Sanderling but couldn’t relocate it. 

Sanderling

An unusual hotel bird proved to be Raven, a pair of birds from the locality paying infrequent visits to the shore to steal monkey nuts from under the noses of the Barbary Ground Squirrels. Almost every tourist I saw paid more attention to feeding the “cute” squirrels whilst ignoring the long-distance-migrant shore birds at their feet, the closeness of the huge Ravens, the feeding terns along the shore or the handsome Yellow-legged Gulls. 

Sandwich Tern

Raven

Barbary Ground Squirrel

Yellow-legged Gull

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

It was the quiet parts of the hotel grounds where I found the Spanish Sparrows, the pair of Hoopoes, the resident Kestrel and the White Wagtail, one of the latter in particular which followed the gardener’s watering hosepipe so as to locate the resultant insects. There were Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs about the grounds but they kept out of sight in the strong sunshine of most days.

Kestrel

Kestrel

Spanish Sparrow

White Wagtail

Hoopoes mostly have that hair-gelled look, a sleeked back crest held in abeyance until some fool with a camera interrupts a feed and causes a moment of anxiety when the feathers fan out. 

 Hoopoe

Hoopoe

Hoopoe

As very birder knows, there’s a price to pay for a spot of birding, brownie points to be earned and then banked for another day with bins and camera. Here in Costa Calma it’s the “African” market where bartering is the order of the day followed by a glass or two of wine reflecting on the fading light and planning the day to come. 

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

Anyone For a Massage?

Costa Calma, Fuerteventura

There’s local news soon from Another Bird Blog plus more pictures from Fuerteventura. In the meantime the blog is linking to Weekly Top Shot  and Anni .

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Where Are You?

Hello everyone, and this is just a short post designed to let readers know where I am should they be concerned that Another Bird Blog is defunct. 

No it’s just taking a break from wet and windswept Lancashire by spending time on the lovely warm and sunny island of Fuerteventura, just 60 miles from the coast of Morocco. This picture of Fuerteventura was taken from outer space by NASA, and not by me from a Boeing 757. 

Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is the oldest Canary Island, formed about 70 million years ago as a result of volcanic activity. The geographical position of Fuerteventura means that for many tens of thousands of years sand from the Sahara has been deposited on Fuerteventura's shores, resulting in 125 miles of some of the world's best beaches. I volunteered to check out a few beaches for waders. While you don’t see too many species from a static sunbed, I managed to clock up Kentish Plover, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Sanderling, Whimbrel, Grey Plover, Redshank, Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew. Lots of Sandwich Terns buzzing along the shoreline too. 

Ringed Plover
 
Fuerteventura

Since most of the island is semi-desert, many of the more notable bird species found here are semi-desert species such as the Houbara Bustard, Stone Curlew and Cream-coloured Courser. There is one endemic species, the Canary Island Chat, which is found in some of the gullies around the island. Hopefully I’ll see this Stonechat relative in the next few days. Egyptian Vultures can be seen in remote parts of the island while Kestrels and Southern Grey Shrikes are very common. 

Southern Grey Shrike

There seems to be plenty of Hoopoes about, sometimes in gangs of three and four, with a number of Trumpeter Finches and Lesser Short-toed Lark seen. 

Hoopoe

All of the mammals found on Fuerteventura were either introduced deliberately or accidentally with the exception of bats. Of note is the Barbary Ground Squirrel, something of a tourist attraction at many of the miradors around the island, where the squirrels eat out of tourists’ hands. 

Barbary Ground Squirrel

Other mammals found on the island include Barbary Hedgehogs, Rabbits, Mice and Shrews as well as feral populations of Donkeys and Goats. Look out for the goats damaging your hire car though as they attack their own refelection in a shiny, well-waxed door.

There are no snakes on the island but there are plenty of geckos and an endemic race of Atlantic Lizard. It is possible that some Turtles still breed here on some of the more remote beaches and several species of Turtles are seen regularly in the waters around the island. 

Fuerteventura

Back in a day or two, in the meantime keep logging in to see how Another Bird Blog survives the heat of the midday sun.

For all regular readers, please continue to post comments and I'll reply asap.  I've asked the house-sitter to just log in and publish comments without trying to update the blog in any other way, so fingers crossed nothing goes awry.  

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Mainly Finches

The weather this week has been mostly nasty, rain or fog and simply no sunshine, so when this morning dawned grey and cloudy but decidedly dry I headed over to Out Rawcliffe for a ringing session. During Tuesday’s rain I topped the feeders and scattered a little finch food, and with Wednesday being a shoot day which would keep birds away for a while, I hoped for a decent catch today. 

Arriving in the half-light I followed a Barn Owl for a while as it hunted along the road ahead of the car, then as I slowed to watch the owl it sped away with that rather rapid wing beat that Barn Owls can employ. 

The session was quite steady with just 4 species but a reasonable total of 24 new birds which were mainly finches, but no recaptures today: 10 Chaffinch, 10 Goldfinch, 3 Reed Bunting and 1 Brambling. The catch reflected the number of birds in the area today, with a mixed flock of c 160 Chaffinch and 8 Brambling in the distant stubble, a small number of which find their way to the nets. Once again there were 18/20 Reed Bunting along the woodland/field edge and a coming-and-going count of 45+ Goldfinch. 

A couple of this morning’s Chaffinches proved to be of probable Continental origin, an adult male with a wing length of 95mm and an adult female with a length of 87mm, both measurements almost as long as their respective limits. 

 Chaffinch - adult male

The single Brambling caught was a second calendar year (born 2012) female. The very pointy tail feathers gave the game away. 

Brambling - second calendar year female

Brambling - second calendar year female

Today’s three Reed Bunting added to the 23 apparently winterering but also very mobile birds caught here in November, December and to date in January 2013.

Reed Bunting

The ringing kept me fairly busy, however in-between times I clocked up 1750 Woodpigeon, 2 Jay, 2 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 32 Corn Bunting, 90 Fieldfare, 22 Redwing, 4 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 4 Skylark. 

On the way home I couldn’t resist a shot of the dependable and regular Little Owl, even though I had to use ISO800 and over expose due to the poor light.

Little Owl

Keep looking in folks, Another Bird Blog is back soon.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Slowly….

With a capital “S” became the order of the day at Out Rawcliffe when catching just 24 birds took up four hours of the morning. Of the 24 birds caught, 15 were new ones, with 8 recaptures and a single “control”, a bird ringed elsewhere: 11 Chaffinch, 4 Goldfinch,3 Reed Bunting, 2 Dunnock, 1 Great Tit, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Brambling. 

The "control" bird a second calendar year male Reed Bunting, Y763574, was quite well advanced into acquiring the black headed appearance of a spring and summer male. 

Reed Bunting

In all there were approximately 18 Reed Buntings in the area again, similar number to recent weeks and days. As most of them now manage to keep clear of the nets, the new birds I continue to catch must be precisely that, newcomers to the site. It was quite unusual to recapture 5 Chaffinch today, one of them first ringed here in September 2007, so now a good age for a Chaffinch. 

The plumage confirms an adult, well demarcated tertial feathers and well rounded, even “squared off” tail feathers. There’s an adult male for comparison. 

Chaffinch - adult female

Chaffinch - adult male

Although I caught 11 Chaffinch there didn’t seem many about until the shoot on a neighbouring farm caused 200+ birds to scatter from the stubble. There were probably Bramblings amongst the flock as I saw and heard at least 5 about the nets today, catching just the single female. Looking at the bird’s dirty bill, it too had probably flown over from the same peaty stubble field. 

Brambling

A number of Goldfinch appear to be attaining full breeding plumage, like the male below - black nasal hairs and red extending beyond the eye. 

Goldfinch

The slow ringing allowed time to look about and around, although not much happened until the nearby shoot disturbed many feeding birds. As previously mentioned, 200+ Chaffinch, 30+ Fieldfare, 25 + Redwing, 2000+ Wood Pigeon, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Kestrel, 2 Buzzard, 2 Lesser Redpoll and 7 Corn Bunting. One of the Corn Buntings sung a brief melody from the regular spring and summer fence posts nearby.

Corn Bunting

Slowly but surely, Spring will soon be here. 

Join Another Bird Blog soon and watch time fly. In the meantime visit Weekly Top Shot , Anni's Blog and Stewart's Photo Gallery for more birds and cool photography.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Don’t Bank On It

A dry start at last, so I drove to Out Rawcliffe hoping for a spot of ringing, and while the catch was poor, the in-between birding was more than OK. 

There wasn’t quite the 7mph wind promised by the BBC, more like a 10-15, enough for a single net in the ride which is sheltered but least favoured by the finches who prefer a more open aspect when feeding. There were a good number of Chaffinches about together with a much smaller number of Bramblings, probably 50 and 5 respectively, together with 20+ Goldfinches, but not all at the same time. It’s not a large, mixed feeding continuously flock, but more of a stop off point for birds roving the area. 

Just 6 Chaffinches caught until I packed up when the breeze increased and a light drizzle began. I had to remember to change the IPMR ageing codes this morning as from 1st January first calendar year birds become second calendar year birds, and for all six of the birds caught today the age code is now “5” - a bird born last year. Chaffinches are a doddle to age at all times of the year and below is a second calendar year female with worn, pointed tail feathers and worn, bleached edges to the tertial feathers. 

Chaffinch

Chaffinch - 2nd calendar year female

Birding wise and in-between the quiet net rounds came 1600 + Woodpigeon, with at one point a smaller flock harassed by a male Peregrine. After a few half- hearted passes the Peregrine appeared to lose interest and went on its way south. Other raptors - 1 male Sparrowhawk , 1 Buzzard and then 3 Kestrels, the now closely bonded pair and a single male some distance away. Nearby wet fields held 17 Whooper Swan, 200+ Lapwing and 500+ Black-headed Gull. 

Peregrine

There were thrushes about this morning, and in addition to the now regularly singing Mistle Thrush were 50+ Fieldfare and 18/20 Redwing. Other passerines included 20+ Reed Bunting, 4 Skylark, 50+ Tree Sparrow, 12 Corn Bunting and a single Chiffchaff close to the ringing station. 

No, there are no exotic, colourful flowers out on Rawcliffe Moss, the picture was taken in the sunshine of Lanzarote just twelve months ago. Wish I was there now. 

Chiffchaff

I’ll have another try at the finches in a day or two if the promised high pressure system and resultant settled weather appears. Don’t bank on the Met Office getting it right though; just rely upon Another Bird Blog to report in with more news, information and pictures quite soon.

Someone in Saudi Arabia found my blog by searching the Internet for a sketch of a Kestrel. All anyone has to do is ask. Sorry it's a day late my friend, but doing a watercolour took a little longer.

 Kestrel - Fotosketcher

Monday, December 31, 2012

So That's Where It Went

It’s official, 2012 was the wettest year on record for the UK, not that birders, ringers or bird photographers needed the Met Office to tell them that. 

Yesterday was no different, but in between the blustery showers I topped up the feeders Out Rawcliffe way, disturbing a gang of 20 or so Goldfinches in the process. If only the wind and rain would relent I could get a few nets up, have a half decent catch of birds and in-between times take a proper look around the site. I found the two Chaffinch flocks again, about 60 one stubble field, and then 300+ on another field half a mile away. There were at least 4 Bramblings mixed in the bigger flock but hard to pin them down while the whole lot were so flighty, the wind induced movement of nearby trees, hedgerow and the leaf-strewn stubble making the birds nervous of the slightest disturbance. 

Other birds in the area included pairs of Mistle Thrush and Kestrel, 30 + Skylark and 10+ Reed Bunting. 

Indoors again today during the wind and rain, so as a post filler, I thought I’d recap some personal highlights of 2012 and include some favourite photographs of birds and places. 

Last January Sue and I were in warm and sunny Lanzarote where Southern Grey Shrikes seemed especially numerous, often very close to the tourist beaches. 

Southern Grey Shrike

Lanzarote

Spring came early in North West England, a feature being the movement north of Lesser Redpolls at the beginning of March when normally we would expect the phenomenon from mid-April onwards. After ringing over 90 of them during a warm spell of March weather, only 4 more were caught during April. I’d be happy to catch just stunning little Lesser Redpolls all year round. I’m still waiting to hear of a Belgium ringed one from September. 

Lesser Redpoll

The month of May saw Sue and I visiting beautiful Menorca for the umpteenth time, seeing friends we have made over the years and heading for birding spots discovered through our travels. 

Menorca

Bee Eater

The summer wasn’t too kind to birds, numerous nests and planned ringing sessions lost to the weather. Even the persistent Swallows fared badly. Sadly one place I visited for several years to monitor breeding Swallows decided they did not want the Swallows anymore, going to great lengths to keep the returning birds out of the farm buildings. Truly, this is becoming a sad, selfish world in which we live. 

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

A result of the wet summer appeared to be poor fledging success, an example being a nest of three Sparrowhawks at Pilling where only one made it into the big wide world. Some birds spent time at nests which failed completely during the summery downpours e.g. a pair of Buzzards out on the mosses. 

Sparrowhawk

Buzzard - Buteo buteo

Buzzard - Buteo buteo

A soggy Summer merged imperceptibly into an even rainier Autumn. Then before I knew it I was pitting my wits against returning Wheatears, catching more than a few via the mouth-watering meal worms. 

Wheatear

Meal Worms

Wheatear

Autumn is finch time, a goal being to continue with the work on Chaffinches begun in 2010. Although numbers were down, the results I hoped proved interesting and informative to ringers and local birders alike - More On Chaffinches 

Chaffinch

December brought the orange ones, the Bramblings from the east and north. Europe’s loss is our gain, so with luck and in a day or two we’ll meet again in 2013. 

Brambling

Let’s take this opportunity to thank all those who follow or read Another Bird Blog on a regular, occasional or even accidental basis. Although many are scattered around the world they are friends indeed, and without their support and comments the blog would be nothing. 

Happy New Year to all, and please visit again in 2013.

This week Another Bird Blog is linking to Weekly Top Shot  and Paying-ready-attention-gallery.

PS and don't forget, click on the pictures for a better qualty light box experience. 

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