Curlew Morn

With a slightly better forecast I returned to the hills of Bowland this morning in the hope of more pictures. 

Curlews are quite difficult to nail down for a picture. They are very skittish and prone to fly off at the slightest hint of danger. No wonder the species is wary of homo sapiens since it was recently as the late 1970s that wildfowlers were allowed to shoot the Curlew. The Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 stopped that but the Curlew does itself no favours by continuing to live close to birds (geese and wildfowl) that remain legal “quarry”. 

Curlew 

Curlew 

Curlew 

There is an interesting discussion from Hansard, the Houses of Parliament October 1981 - Birds  which may be killed or taken.  

I recently read a book called Curlew Moon in which the author Mary Colwell takes us on a 500-mile journey on foot from the west coast of Ireland to the east coast of England, to learn more about the Curlew and why it has declined so much. 

Curlew Moon 

The author sets off in early spring when the birds are arriving on their breeding grounds, watches them nesting in the hills of Wales and walks through England when the young are hatching. She finishes her walk on the coast of Lincolnshire when the fledglings are trying out their wings. It’s a beautifully written if slightly sad book. 

For anyone interested in the fate of this beautiful bird I heartily recommend buying a copy. 

Curlew 

All the data shows a similar downward trend. 

Curlew - via BTO 

Curlew - via BTO

A few more pictures from this morning. While taking photographs of two Oystercatchers I noticed that one of them bore a ring. I blew up the picture at home and could see two of the expected five numbers (2828) but none of the two letter suffix. 

Oystercatchers 

Oystercatcher - unringed

Oystercatcher - ringed

 Oystercatcher

It may be possible to trace this if I ask nicely at the BTO. Stay tuned.

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

Bowland Trip

At this time of year I enjoy a visit or two in the Bowland hills to see how things are and also to grab a few photos. The weather has been so poor with rain and cloud on most days that until now there was no point in that forty minute drive. Things were slightly better this morning but far from ideal with periods of cloud that blotted out the sun, but I managed a few pictures in the couple of hours without rain. 

Bowland, Lancashire - Wiki Commons

On the wader front I saw the expected numbers of Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Snipe and Common Sandpiper but rather worryingly, not a single Redshank. Normally the species is very noticeable up here in the boggy uplands. The weather made me a week or so later than other years but I would still expect to see and hear Redshanks watching over their growing youngsters. 

Oystercatcher 

 Oystercatcher

Snipe 

Snipe

Because of the scale of its decline and range contraction in many areas of the UK in the period 1988-1991 and beyond, the Redshank now qualifies for amber listing. The decline is not just in upland areas, it is also because of increased grazing pressure on saltmarshes where the Redshank also breeds. The picture below was taken in Bowland almost to the day on 16 June 2017 on a traditional and unchanging stretch of habitat where all was silence today. 

Redshank 

There was a young Lapwing by the side of the road and it didn't look too healthy. There seemed to be something wrong as it walked with a limp and also held one leg up. I decided to catch it and perhaps examine what the problem might be. There was sheep wool around both legs with the wool joined one leg to the other like manacles. 

Possibly the Lapwing had not been feeding too well as the wool had restricted its normal leg movements. It proved impossible to unravel the wool as it was so tough and also wrapped very tightly around the bird’s legs. 

Luckily I had my ringing box in the car for just such situations and where I keep a pair of scissors. Upon release the Lapwing flew off strongly and an hour or two later on the way back I saw it again, still limping but with an adult watching over its progress. 

Lapwing 

Lapwing 

 Lapwing

Lapwing 

Up here in Bowland where waders breed amongst the sheep it’s not uncommon to see chicks or indeed adults with wool wrapped around a leg, sometimes both. Occasionally it leads to a bird losing part or all of a foot or lower leg when the tight wool may restrict the blood flow and cause the limb to rot and fall off. 

The Oystercatcher below is also adorned with sheep wool; thankfully the bird appears unharmed. 

Oystercatcher 

A look at Marshaw found the usual flycatchers, Spotted and Pied, plus Grey and Pied Wagtail, Lesser Redpoll, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Mistle Thrushes and two male Cuckoos; the latter seen in flight only. 

I lost count of Meadow Pipits at 100 with now just the occasional songster and good numbers of youngsters lining the walls and fences. 

Pied Wagtail 

Meadow Pipit 

I chanced upon a party of Red Grouse, two adults and ten+ young. They all scurried off into the marsh before I could get decent pictures. 

Red Grouse 

Red Grouse

Red Grouse chick

The Red Grouse, a subspecies of the Willow Grouse, is a bird of heather moorland with a range restricted to areas of blanket bog and upland shrub heath. The Red Grouse differs by not developing white plumage during winter and having a diet almost exclusively of heather. 

Since the mid-1800s many areas of upland heather have been managed to produce grouse for shooting. Grouse shooting is one of the major land uses of upland ground and a source of income for many estates. That income, how it is derived, and the impact of shooting upon raptor species is the subject of considerable debate in the UK, but not all of it informed or dispassionate. Let’s not go there for now. Suffice to say that I saw no raptors today. 

Heading Home 

If the weather improves, as it is promised to do yet again, there may be another visit to Bowland in the offing. Stay tuned.

Linking today with https://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com. 

Incommunicado

Apologies to regular readers or those searching for the very latest in bird news. There’s been a lack of posts here due to my enforced sabbatical from blogging. At least it gave me time to catch up with a few chores. 

Everyone is reporting the same - the coldest, wettest June ever with hardly a glimpse of the sun. And it’s not just here in the UK. 

Wednesday 12 June 2019. “Hailstones as big as grapefruits hammered several countries across Europe, causing chaos and damaging thousands of homes and buildings. 

Hailstones 

"The fierce hailstorm has battered parts of Slovenia, Croatia and Germany since Monday as strong gale-force winds brought cold temperatures along with intense rainfall.” 

Even a stab at ringing in the garden ended early with more rain although I managed to catch a dozen or so birds before the heavens opened. Goldfinches are ever-present plus a number of very fresh juveniles around now, almost always accompanied by one or maybe both of their parents. 

Goldfinch

I didn't expect to catch a woodpecker, and although they live just down the road in a nearby copse, they rarely visit the garden as I don’t feed peanuts. 

Great-spotted Woodpecker 

Woodpigeon 

House Sparrow 

Goldfinch 

Goldfinch

I'm hoping for better weather next week as we approach the longest day of summer!

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

Back On The Road

I have to say, the weather has been more like April showers than flaming June. At last this morning, a spot of sunshine where I’d arranged to meet Andy to see if we could come up with a cunning plan to catch any of the Sand Martins nesting at the Cockerham cliff face. 

There are huge numbers at the colony where we estimated 400+ individuals, most if not all of which appeared to be adults. This is now a huge colony that some 10/12 years ago began with just a couple of pairs breeding in a tiny face of exposed sand above a fishing pond. 

Looking up at the nests, most of which are at 30/40ft high in soft strata of the dig we decided on a plan of action for the week after next. That will involve staying away from the nesting holes but catching the martins at lower feeding levels before the sun lights up the quarry face.  

Sand Martin 

Sand Martin colony 

Andy was off to the hills to ring some Pied Flycatchers so I drove up to Conder Green. I stopped for a roadside Red-legged Partridge, a non-native partridge of the modern countryside. I have to say that despite their unwelcome status as an introduced species gone wild, the things are rather photogenic. 

Red-legged Partridge 

Red-legged Partridge 

We are into the doldrums of June when migration is over and birds spend all their time and energy in actual breeding or breeding attempts. That much was clear at the pool with identical counts and similar action to a week ago. Counts were of 40 Swift, 18 House Martin, 15 Swallow and 2 Sand Martin hawking for early morning insects over the marsh and hedgerows. 

On the pool - a pair of Oystercatchers with just one youngster plus at least three other pairs without young. 10 Redshank, 2 Avocet, 2 Shelduck, 4 Tufted Duck, 2 Lapwing, 3 Little Egret and 6 Common Tern. Four of the terns seem to be now resident, the others interlopers from the Lune Estuary 100 yards away. 

Passerines were also reminiscent of last week with 4 Reed Buntings, 8 Sedge Warbler, 6 Whitethroats and 2 Reed Warbler in song, plus a number of young Skylarks and Pied Wagtails with adults close by. 

Pied Wagtail 

Skylark 

Reed Bunting 

In the “office” earlier in the week I’d watched a Dunnock circle around the wing mirror of a neighbour's car. It was raining, hence the fuzzy pictures.

Dunnock 

Dunnock 

 Dunnock

Was the Dunnock hunting around the edge of the mirror for spiders which often disappear into the gaps of the movable glass, hide in the dark recess but give the game away with their webs decorating the surface? Or had the bird spotted another Dunnock in the mirror and being more than a little fired up by romance or territorial rights, decided to take a closer look? After three or four minutes of this behaviour it flew off into the garden. 

There's heavy rain forecast for Friday. See you soon.

Linking today with Anni's Blog and https://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com.

Another Linnet Result

It was on December 2018 in Another Bird Blog, that I related the latest chapter in the chronicle of Project Linnet with Linnet AJD5167, caught on 18 September on the Scottish island of North Ronaldsay, Orkney, 605 km due north of Gulf Lane. We had recaptured the Linnet at Gulf Lane on 24th December 2018. This was a clear example of autumnal juvenile dispersal/migration to a wintering destination. 

And now we have another Linnet that evidences the link between our locally wintering Linnets with Northern Scotland and the Northern Isles.

This latest one is a fine example of a first year wintering bird returning in the following spring to the same area in which it was born. AJD6518 was caught and ringed at Gulf Lane, Cockerham as a juvenile male 26th November 2018 and recaptured at the North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory, Orkney Isles on 07th May 2019. This is a time of year when the Linnet had either finished or was very close to the end of its spring migration, a journey of 605 km from Lancashire. 

Linnet- Cockerham to Orkney

AJD6518 was one of only two Linnets captured on the day of 26th November during a period when the Linnets were proving very hard to trap. This result and others vindicate mine and Andy’s efforts at that time to continue with the project despite some very low catches with very cold and frustrating mornings when the Linnets would not cooperate. 

The capture of AJD6518 with a wing measurement of 87 mm was one of several Linnets from the 650+ plus captured as part of the project over three winters that triggered “possible error” messages on DemOn, the BTO online database where ringers enter their captures. 

"Possible Error" - BTO DemOn 

As in previous captures/recaptures we have noted that these movements of Scottish birds involve slightly darker plumaged birds and those with slightly longer wings. In many species of birds a tendency to have longer wings than other individuals can be a pointer to clinal variation or sometimes a different sub species. Clinal definition - "a gradual change in a character or feature across the distributional range of a species or population, usually correlated with an environmental or geographic transition."

Linnet - Male 

"Scottish" Linnet

At the present time our Project is on target to recommence in August/September 2019 and into spring 2020.  Farmer Richard has sown the crop of bird seed mix, the spring and summer so far has been good for growth and we expect a healthy crop will lead to a good number of autumn and winter Linnets to ring, many of them from Scotland. 

Results like these highlight the value and importance of agri-environment schemes that are designed to benefit farmland birds. In this case a wintering population of many hundreds of Linnets that use the small Gulf Lane site throughout the winter months, enabling them to survive, migrate in the spring and to then breed in order to maintain their population.

And finally, a reminder from The Common Bird Census and Breeding Bird Survey of the population trend of the Linnet and the reason for our project.

Linnet - 1966- 2017 via BTO 

Back soon.

In the meantime, linking to https://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com and  http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com. Take a look.