Saturday Sport

Saturday morning began bright and clear with a forecast of no rain. It looked spot on for birding in the hills. 

I set off over the flat roads of my local patch all the time driving north and east, a direction that took me into the hills above Garstang where our common waders breed. Hopefully I would be able to practice a bit more with the new Sigma lens. The Canon 400mm lens has gone for repair and it will be three weeks or more before I hear the news, good or bad. 

There are lots of pictures today and not much text. Highlights today were 2 Cuckoos calling from the fell sides, dozens of Meadow Pipits with a few feeding young, a colour ringed Redshank, and then a Curlew chick to ring.  Read on and don’t forget to “click the pics”. 

The journey to Garstang and beyond takes me firstly over the flat moss roads of Out Rawcliffe and then another 5/10 miles to the edge of the Bowland Hills. Soon after sunrise the silence broke to the sounds of Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Curlews, Lapwings and Snipe. Pipits and wagtails were everywhere as a Reed Bunting or two made for a little variety. 

Rawcliffe Moss, Lancashire

Bowland road, Lancashire

In the roadside trees Willow Warblers sang softly while Siskins pinged, Lesser Redpolls chattered and Chaffinches cheeped. Mistle Thrush proved plentiful if shy with small family parties almost everywhere I stopped. 

Dry stone walls and fence posts are ideal places from which to display and take a look at what the neighbours are up to. They’re also handy for the advance spotting of predators and folk with lenses poking from car windows. 

Oystercatcher

Meadow Pipit

Bowland road, Lancashire

Three or four Snipe “drummed through the sky and called from vantage points but none came close enough for a decent photo. I’m fairly impressed with the Sigma lens but with it being a both zoom and a bulkier item than the Canon it does take a second or two more to get into position.  The lens has very good "bokeh", (the quality of out-of-focus or “blurry” parts of the image), as can be seen here. With birds there’s rarely a moment to lose before deciding on the best way to shoot and hoping the bird doesn’t fly off. The long reach of the Sigma 600mm is nice to have but it probably makes me try for pictures that I would not have attempted with the Canon's fixed 400mm.

Snipe

Oystercatcher

Snipe

Oystercatcher

Meadow Pipit

 

There’s a lot of background “noise” in the picture below but it was shot in bright sun at eighty yards or so. There’s a different Redshank below that, one colour ringed on the right leg. Through the colour combinations I will find out where and when this bird was first ringed but it seems unlikely it was ringed up here in the hills. The coastline of the UK seems a better bet. 

Redshank

Redshank

 

Redshank

Bowland road, Lancashire

Pied Wagtail

From nowhere two Curlew chicks suddenly ran across the road ahead, a guiding adult overhead. They made for the longer grass on the other side of the road. I intercepted one chick as the other vanished as if by magic. There’s no point in looking for wader chicks in dense, long grass so I quickly ringed the one I had, placed it in the grass and let the adult call it away to safety. "Never go out without a box of rings and pliers" is the motto.

Curlew chick

 

Bowland, Lancashire

Meadow Pipit

Lapwing 

 

Lapwing

 Bowland, Lancashire

That's all for today folks. Hope you enjoyed the trip through the hills.

Linking today with  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.

Slowly Does It

As I drove slowly along Head Dyke Lane I heard a singing Chiffchaff and then saw a Kestrel watching over a field from an overhead line. At Gulf Lane the sitting Oystercatcher raised her head above the crop to see what the stopped vehicle was up to. She sounded a warning but the rapidly growing crop has already outpaced any tiny youngsters and I couldn’t see them. A pair of Skylarks circled and then dropped into the same area of the field and I made a mental note of the spot for another day. 

All I saw from the Braides Farm gateway was a single Roe Deer, 400 yards from me but just a few yards from the sea wall with not a tree in sight; a strange beginning to my journey of Cockerham to Conder Green. 

Roe Deer

There are still 3 pair of Avocets at Conder Pool and one pair have two youngsters that scurried along the water’s edge at their parents’ behest. 

Avocets

Meanwhile the Oystercatchers with the roadside nest still play chicken with each car that passes by. It’s a weird routine they have; I watched them do the same thing over and over. The female stays on the nest for passing vehicles but if one slows or stops she walks off the nest, crosses the road to the edge of the creek, calls, and then waits until the male joins her. There’s a crow continually trying to rob the nest so one of the Oystercatchers is tasked with chasing off the villain. When all returns to normal, cars and crows, the female crosses the road again and sits back on the nest. If the “oyks” pull this one off they deserve a medal for perseverance. 

A second pair of Oystercatchers that nested to the left of the screen now has two tiny youngsters, with at a guess still three to five other pairs yet to hatch their young. 

Oystercatcher

 

Oystercatcher chick

Black-tailed Godwit numbered 120+ again feeding in the creek or the very far side of the pool. It’s late in May for so many lingering godwits when by rights they should be well north of here, especially since a good number are in adult-like plumage. Of course each day could see different birds passing through but who’s to know for sure? They are a colourful and welcome addition to the usual year round waders and I imagine a few non-breeders may actually spend the summer here. 

Black-tailed Godwits

On the pool and close by – 1 Little Grebe, 6 Tufted Duck, 8 Shelduck, 10 Redshank, 2 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 4 Whitethroat, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff and 1 Reed Warbler. 

Shelduck - male

 Shelduck - female

There was another Reed Warbler on the Jeremy Lane circuit where the roadside ditches are in great shape with their mix of bramble, nettle, scattered hawthorn bushes and fine stands of phragmites reed. 

On the leisurely circuit up to Cockersands and back I counted 10+ singing Sedge Warber, 8 Whitethroat, 8+ Skylark, 4 Reed Bunting and 1 Blackcap as i stopped here and there to take a closer look. 

Sedge Warbler

 

 Sedge Warbler

In the fields nearest to Cockersands where Lapwings and Skylarks were ploughed out by spring farming I noted at least three Lapwings sat in new nests. After the recent drought the earthis now almost bare and very dry. Let’s hope the Lapwings have better luck this time. 

Lapwing

For weeks I’ve tried to get half decent pictures of a Brown Hare.  Today the roadside growth partly hid the car as it slowly edged along the road allowing me to stop and turn off the engine. When soon another, taller vehicle came along the hare dashed off across the field into the distance. 

Brown Hare

Brown Hare

Those long and powerful hind legs allow a Brown Hare to run at up to 35mph - pretty useful if you don’t fancy being “jugged” or roasted.  On the other hand we all know the story of The Tortoise and the Hare, the best-known of Aesop's Fables where the hare loses a race through being over confident of its speed. 

Maybe there’s a lesson for some birders?  Slow down, you will both see and learn more by travelling at a nice steady pace, stopping and starting where necessary, instead of dashing around like a headless chicken and seeing bugger all.

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday and Anni's birding.

Shooting Times

After the mishap in Menorca my Canon lens has gone to the lens doctor for a thorough examination. It may or may not come back, and it could be three to four weeks before the decision. I chanced upon a possible replacement, a Sigma, a lens which by all accounts performs quite well. 

So I waited for a sunny day to test out the substitute, and when this morning dawned bright I took off for the hills of Bowland with fingers crossed. 

Lapwings and Curlews were in good numbers but I struggled to see and photograph both Oystercatchers and Redshanks. Maybe another week will see more activity as young emerge from the mostly distant nests I could see and hear but not picture. The Lapwing I photographed had young, perhaps obvious from the demeanour of the adult as it frantically warned the youngsters in the field to run and hide. It’s unusual to see a Lapwing on a wall. 

Lapwing

Lapwing

I slowed the car hoping to photograph a Snipe calling from a roadside post. The road was a little too narrow and the Snipe flew off into the rushy field. I made a mental note of the spot for another day. A pair of Curlew had two youngsters on a date I thought rather early. Against the light and into the bright cotton grass came a couple of pictures. 

Curlew

 

Curlew

I saw lots of Meadow Pipits but none appeared to have youngsters just yet. Catching them on a roadside post or a wall with a beak full of food makes for the best chance of a picture but none would perform today. Likewise the Pied and Grey Wagtails; the former outnumbered the latter by 10/1 on my journey, the Pied seen almost everywhere, the Greys mostly at Marshaw stream. 

Meadow Pipit

It was near Marshaw and Tower Lodge I saw and heard good numbers of Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, Willow Warbler and Blackcap. Also, a pair of Stonechat feeding young out of the nest and several pairs of Mistle Thrush, one of them feeding a just fledged youngster. 

I had an unusual one today – a Red Grouse chick. As I tried to photograph a pair of adults I saw two youngsters scrambling up the roadside bank trying to reach their parents. 

Red Grouse chick

Red Grouse

The Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus scotica, also known as the moorcock, moorfowl or moorbird is a bird of heather moorland with a range restricted to areas of blanket bog and upland shrub heath. It is a subspecies of the Willow Grouse Lagopus lagopus lagopus, whose range extends across the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia and North America. The Red Grouse differs by not developing white plumage during winter and having a diet almost exclusively of heather. 

Since the mid-1800s, upland areas of heather have been managed to produce grouse for shooting. Grouse shooting has been one of the major land uses of upland ground and an important source of income for many estates. 

The Red Grouse population is declining, perhaps linked to diseases, the loss of heather moorland largely due to over-grazing by sheep, and conversion to forestry. Numbers have declined seriously in Scotland and grouse are now only present in very low numbers in Wales. 

The Red Grouse is considered a game bird and is shot in large numbers during the shooting season which traditionally starts on August 12, known as the Glorious Twelfth. There is a keen competition among some London restaurants to serve freshly killed grouse on August 12, with birds being flown from the moors and cooked within hours. 

Many moors are managed to increase the density of grouse. Areas of heather are subjected to controlled burning; this allows fresh young shoots to regenerate, which are favoured by the grouse. Extensive predator control is a feature of grouse moor management: foxes, stoats and crows are usually heavily controlled on grouse moors. The extent to which it occurs on grouse moors is of course hotly contested between conservation groups and shooting interests. The subject generates a lot of media attention in relation to grouse moors and shooting with one bird of prey in particular, the Hen Harrier, a major source of dispute. 

I didn’t see a single raptor this morning, no Kestrels or Buzzards, not a Sparrowhawk nor a Goshawk, and certainly no Hen Harriers. Just a coincidence I’m sure. 

Standby for more shooting from Another Bird Blog – camera only.

Linking today with Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Three Finches

Our targeting of finches at Oakenclough near Garstang paid off again with three very interesting recoveries via the BTO - a Siskin, a Goldfinch and a Lesser Redpoll. 

A Goldfinch we ringed with letter/number Z470813 on 18th February 2016 was later recaptured by members of Grampian Ringing Group at Newburgh, Aberdeenshire on 1st March 2017, just over one year later and 381kms north of Oakenclough. 

We tend to think of Goldfinches as a somewhat sedentary garden bird but the species is a partial migrant throughout its extensive range in Europe and Asia, with its northern limit approximately along the line of the 60° latitude. Aberdeen is situated at the latitude of 57 degrees. 

This first year female had probably moved south to winter in England for 2016/207 but was returning to Scotland as early as 1st March 2017.

 Goldfinch

Goldfinch - Oakenclough to Aberdeen

The second recovery concerns Siskin with ring number Z470786. Andy and I caught this adult male on 11th February 2016 at Oakenclough. It had a good weight of 14.2 grams suggesting that it was on migration to the conifer forests of Scotland or perhaps Ireland, a typical movement we have seen with other records in the spring.  Z470786 was later recaptured 13th April 2017 at the RSPB Bird Reserve of Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, Wales. 

Siskins with their unpredictable main food supply are known to make irregular movements in search of food, and an individual does not necessarily winter in the same location each year. RSPB reserves generally have good supplies of bird food on offer to draw in both birds and birders. 

Siskin

 

Siskin - Oakenclough to Lake Vyrnwy

The third recovery involves a second winter/spring Lesser Redpoll of S295643 that Andy and I caught at Oakenclough as the first bird of the day at 0600 on 8th April 2017. The original ringing details tell us that S295643 was first ringed by Graeme, an ex-member of Fylde Ringing Group who now rings with Cuckmere Ringing Group. The Goldfinch  was ringed on 28th October 2016 at Litlington, East Sussex. 

This is a classic case of a young Lesser Redpoll migrating south to spend the winter in probably France or Belgium and then returning north in the following spring. 

Lesser Redpoll

 

Lesser Redpoll - Litlington to Oakenclough

Meanwhile during my recent holiday in Menorca, another and different outbreak of avian flu occurred in our area at Thornton-Cleveleys in a backyard flock of chickens and ducks. A 3 km Protection Zone and a 10 km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of the disease spreading and there is a ban on ringing in those zones. 

 

 Avian flu exclusion zone

These outbreaks are becoming all too frequent but hopefully things will settle down soon. Let's  hope so.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.