The Extra Hour

Yahoo 24 October 2013 - A thrifty couple will not be putting their clocks back this weekend - because it saves money on their energy bills. Retired John and Janys Warren, from Somerset live 'in the future' an hour ahead of everybody else and save a third on their gas and electricity bills. The couple stopped putting their clocks back five years ago when they realised the darker and shorter days were triggering John's headaches. Living on British Summer Time all year round meant his headaches eased, they could enjoy an extra hour of daylight and save money. Janys said: "We have lower fuel bills and far more usable daylight hours with evenings not seeming endless. We don't put the heating on until we get up and by then it is warmer anyway. We've saved about one third on our heating and lighting bills.” 

For what it's worth here’s my advice you stingy, sad, and foolish people - get up early and go for a brisk walk outdoors with a warm coat, a hat and scarf and a pair of binoculars. In the evenings J and J, complete your notes from the day’s birding and update your birding blog - simple. Not only will you save money, you will be healthier in mind and body and maybe get a life into the bargain. 

I put my clock back. The extra hour of birding proved warming, time consuming, energising and very enjoyable despite the frequent showers and strong winds. 

My start was early enough to see if the Little Egrets at the Pilling roost had remembered to turn their clocks back last night. The answer was that they got up at first light as normal dispersing in various directions, all 24 of them. 

Red-breasted Mergansers turn up on Fylde coastal waters at this time of year where they can be seen throughout the winter, often drifting in towards the shore with incoming high tides. They also favour a very few coastal and spacious marine lakes, so imagine my surprise to find one in a ditch behind the sea wall. Even better, Red-breasted Merganser is a species which normally keeps a very respectable distance from birders or photographers. 

Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

The Latin name of this duck Mergus serrator is highly descriptive, Mergus being the genus of typical mergansers, fish-eating ducks in the seaduck subfamily (Merginae). The “serrator” refers to the long, serrated bills used for catching fish. Their diet of fish such as salmon and trout brings them into conflict with anglers and fish farmers whereby the species is often classified as a pest and may be shot. Those folk with guns, they don’t miss many opportunities to attach a label do they? 

When I got to Conder Green there was a family party of Goosander Mergus merganser in the roadside creek, an adult pair and 2 first winters. The male stayed apart from the others just too far to include in a picture but the female has the darker head, the juveniles noticeably paler. Out of interest, and to limit any possible misunderstanding here, this member of the Mergus family of birds is known as Common Merganser in North America and Goosander on this side of the Atlantic. Like the smaller Red-breasted Merganser, the Goosander is also subject to persecution by anglers and fish farmers. 

Goosander

A Spotted Redshank was in the creek again perhaps the same bird of late, more likely not and just one the many thousands passing this way in the autumn en route to winter in Central Africa? 

Spotted Redshank - Breeding, Migration and Wintering from Wetlands.org

Spotted Redshank

I walked along the railway path and over the bridge and found a Common Sandpiper feeding along the edge of the creek below, so too a Grey Wagtail and a Little Egret. Along the same path was a party of 18+ Long-tailed Tits with a couple Greats and Blues, plus a single Chiffchaff. 

A flight of 3 Pintail heading west was perhaps slightly out of the ordinary just here. On the pool and creeks, 90+ Teal and just 10 Little Grebe, as grey and drab as the winter months decree, and no requirement to display that little white beauty spot until the clocks go forward in March 2014. 

Little Grebe

There’s a sleepover tonight, no not me but our two lively granddaughters Olivia and Isabella.

Wish me luck as I’ll certainly be woken up early on Monday morning and may well lose an hour or two of sleep.

Date With A Needle

For 1300 I had an appointment for a dose of ‘flu vaccine to look forward to, but at last a bright, wind and rain free morning in which to enjoy a few hours birding. 

From Fluke Hall I set out towards the sea wall across the maize and wheat fields where there’s a reasonable path which avoids slushing through the soggy stubble. There are always birds to see about the shooter’s fields, ditches and pools, as long as you take care to miss the actual shoot days when there are no birds about and steel shot will fall on your head. 

Pilling, Fluke Hall fields

On the edge of the wood I could see 4 Jays moving through the trees calling as they went. There were a number of Chaffinches about but too far to count, although I found 5 or 6 Tree Sparrows and a couple of Reed Buntings near the gate again. Skylarks weren’t as obvious today with none passing overhead just 4 or 5 resident ones on the sea wall and stubble, plus another 2 Reed Buntings along the ditch. 

The Red-legged Partridge still number in the hundreds, so I’m thinking there haven’t been too many shoots just yet. From the stile I even managed to get close to one of the white ones which are as wild and wary as the normal brown ones. Close to they are actuallly quite smart looking. Pity they end up in a cooking pot.

Red-legged Partridge

From the fresh 4x4 tracks on the mud I knew the guys who feed the pool had beat me to it, so no Teal or Black-tailed Godwits to enjoy today, just the usual single call and then brief views of the back end of a Kingfisher whizzing along the dyke and over the sea wall. So I thought to check where the blue flash had gone and also count the Whoopers as well - no sign of the majestic fisher from the wall but 74 Whooper Swans, 2 Greylag and 8 Mute Swan to count. So more pictures of Whooper Swan to follow, and a Mute Swan for size comparison. 

Whooper Swan and Mute Swan

Whooper Swan

With not much else doing I realised I’d missed out on Conder Green for a week or two so motored towards there. 

Interestingly a Spotted Redshank is still there in the main creek, as is a Common Sandpiper and it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility that both might winter on site, the latter species the favourite to do so. Just 12 common Redshank and a single Curlew in the near creek with circa 60 Teal and a Grey Heron. 

Spotted Redshank

Common Sandpiper

Two Tufted Duck on the pool together with yet more Teal to make a total of more than 80 of the tiny duck. Looking for a fishy meal were a Little Egret, 7 Little Grebe and 2 Cormorant. 

A walk along the railway track produced odds and ends like 5 Long-tailed Tit, 15 Chaffinch, 3 Goldfinch, 4 Meadow Pipits, 2 Skylark and 2 Pied Wagtail. 

But I was running out of time and my appointment with a large, unfriendly needle beckoned. Log in soon to see how Another Bird Blog survived the ordeal and whether pain killers were required.

Linking today to Camera Critters and Anni's Birding Blog.

Two Hour Slot

The weekend weather was shocking, meaning two blank days for the blog, so apologies for readers who looked in for recent news - there wasn’t any. More rain throughout this morning but brightening skies after lunch gave me a couple of hours out at Pilling for a brief posting. 

I walked from Fluke in time to see a number of Whooper Swans coming to land on the marsh - yes the sun was out briefly for the 14 Whoopers and 40+ Shelduck on the stubble/marsh. Also 170 Jackdaw, 400+ Starling, 120 Woodpigeon and 3 Stock Dove. Three Reed Buntings and 8 Tree Sparrows at the gate with 10+ Skylarks and 2 Chaffinch on the cut maize. 

Whooper Swan

Something stirred the Starlings, Crows and Jackdaws from the marsh. It was a Peregrine giving as good as it got when a couple of the Carrion Crows dived at it, the Peregrine calling loudly, twisting over and showing the crows sight of its talons before in an effortless split second it cruised away, leaving the crows in the distance. Sorry, it’s the usual view and image of our local Peregrines, a glimpse at the background landscape shows the distances they can cover in almost the blink of an eye. 

Peregrine

I walked up to Pilling Water in time to catch the last of the tide and wildfowl heading back out to the marsh - 400+ Teal, 70+ Pintail, 180+ Wigeon, 4 Cormorant. Eight Little Egrets, 4 Snipe, 1 Grey Heron and 1 Kingfisher at Pilling Water. Just a couple of Goldfinch, 3 Meadow Pipits, 1 Pied Wagtail and another 18/20 Skylarks at the rapidly receding tideline. 

I watched some 40+ Black-tailed Godwits coming and going from the marsh and the wildfowler’s pools. Dark cloud threatned again and I switched to ISO800 and tried for a few pictures. 

Black-tailed Godwits are such distinctive, striking waders that they can’t be mistaken for any other species. I just love watching them coming in to land, their black & white shapes twisting and turning through the sky, whiffling down to the water looking for all the world like oversize Snipe. 

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Fingers crossed for sunshine, birding and more news very soon on Another Bird Blog.

In the meantime linking to Paying Ready Attention Gallery . Pay a visit for more birds from around the world.

Short Changed Again

I did the usual circuit this morning and it looked like being a repeat of Thursday’s effort, bright early on with the threat of rain for later. It was a rerun - its 2pm and the rain arrived as promised. 

There were a few Chaffinches on the move again at Fluke Hall but my few hours were to be dominated by Skylarks. From Fluke I could hear the Whooper Swans going noisily about their family squabbles. When I looked from the sea wall I could make out 20 beyond the sea wall, this time with 5 Mute Swan and 15 or more Shelduck. Later I was to see 300+ Shelduck on the incoming tide. 

Whooper Swans

After 15 minutes I’d had just two parties of a total of 18 Chaffinches coming from the west, a few Greenfinches, 2 Reed Buntings, 2 Goldfinch, 8 Tree Sparrows and 15 or more Skylarks. I decided to walk to Pilling Water and circuit back via Fluke Hall Lane. 

There was a Grey Wagtail feeding in the ditch behind the sea wall, the autumn something of a “grey wag” one whereby I’ve had almost daily sightings. Skylarks were constant, either rising from the stubble as I passed by or arriving from the North and North West as the tide came in. My notebook totalled 80+ from Skylarks from Fluke Hall to Fluke Hall via the sea wall, Pilling Water and Fluke Hall Lane. There was a flock of 40+ Linnets along the wall too - a good number in respect of recent counts here and elsewhere. 

Skylark

Eight Little Egrets on the marsh, 400+ Teal, 1200 Lapwing, 2 Snipe, 80 Golden Plover, 800 Knot, 300 Dunlin, 340 Curlew and 40+ Redshank. 

It was too grey for pictures today so here are some new ones I gathered of  Curlew and Redshank on Thursday, a day when the sun shone all too briefly. They may both be common species in this part of the world but they are as wild as hell and oh so difficult to approach for a photograph. 

Don't forget to "click the pics" for a close up view.

Curlew

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Curlew

Curlew

Curlew

 Curlew

Join Another Bird Blog soon for more news, gossip and maybe pictures. Linking today to Camera Critters and id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot..

Birding On Borrowed Time

A dry morning was all the forecast gave before the rains would arrive at midday. They were right. Here I am at 1pm writing up my few hours of birding. 

I gave Fluke Hall and Ridge Farm a look first. Chaffinches were on the move steadily but not overwhelmingly so, arriving from the west and south west, small parties or up to 25 birds either dropping into the immediate trees or beyond and out of sight. In my notebook I have 4.10.12.6.25.1.5.6.10.5.6.28 = 118 in about one hour and fifteen minutes. I am pretty sure the Chaffinches had Bramblings with them as I could hear Brambling calls in the trees when I later walked through the wood. 

Chaffinch

Other species on the move from the west: 13 Tree Sparrow, 4 Greenfinch, 2 Meadow Pipit, 3 Alba Wagtail, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Grey Wagtail and 15+ Skylarks. 

Just 4 Whooper Swans on the wheat and maize stubble fields today, the Pink-footed Geese rather late arriving from the marsh in the roadside field where the constant traffic means they are constantly on alert. I took the picture below as a lady with two dogs walked along the road shouting into her mobile phone; seconds later the geese were gone. 

Pink-footed Geese

I decided to check out Knott End where the tide would be running in. Good numbers of waders here with 1900 Oystercatcher, 350 Knot, 140 Redshank, 1 Grey Plover, 22 Black-tailed Godwit and 12 Turnstone. 

Turnstone 

Turnstone

Black-tailed Godwit

A walk along the river gave me 1 Rock Pipit, 1 Pied Wagtail, 3 Grey Wagtail, 15 Goldfinch and 1 Wheatear. The Wheatear was in someone’s front garden. Now there’s a good one to have on a garden list. 

Wheatear

Beyond the golf course and to the south I could see the rain clouds building, but made it back to the car before the heavens opened.

Hat, Scarf and Gloves

The wind had swung around to a near perfect northerly making for a hat, scarf and gloves start and the thought that after Friday’s thrush rush and Saturday’s blank, Sunday’s grey morning might be hard work. It was - not a single Redwing or Fieldfare but a few bits and pieces to relate. 

I started at Conder Green and the solid, reliable stuff. The Teal never disappoint even if they don’t do a lot other than loaf around the creeks, dibbing and dabbing here and there, 95 of them today with 2 Goosanders trying but failing to blend in unnoticed. The 2 Spotted Redshanks were in the self-same spot below the road along with several Redshanks and a Little Egret. 

The pool was equally quiet with birds but distant - 5 Little Grebes, 4 Wigeon, a lone Tufted Duck, a Pied Wagtail and 2 Meadow Pipits. Just one thing for it then - Lane Ends, Pilling where at least there would be geese and swans. 

The geese weren’t for dropping on their recent field with two people carrying binoculars stood there at the field edge. Wild wild geese don’t like, don’t trust humans, so why would the pinkies land and feed close to them? 

From the sea wall at Fluke I could see the many thousands of geese out on the marsh beyond Lane Ends. They would have to start again, send out a scouting party to find a quiet undisturbed field where they could feed and feel secure. The Whoopers are a little more tolerant than the geese. They let me take a picture through the hedge but kept a close eye with many of their 62 heads raised in suspicion. The first winter/juveniles have the greyish bill.

Whooper Swans

I made it to the wildfowler’s pools in time to see the flash of a Peregrine flying towards Lane Ends, and then a Sparrowhawk harassed by the Jackdaws. A number of Barnacle Geese came over looking for somewhere to feed but continued on their way inland. Poor (terrible) picture at ISO800.

Barnacle Geese

Not a lot else. The reliable Green Sandpiper, 2 Grey Wagtail, 20+ Skylark, 2 Snipe, 160 Teal and 40 or more Shelduck around the pools. 

More birds soon and a better mood I hope.

Linking this time to  Stewart's Gallery A Long Way Off.

Looking Up

When I opened the door to sniff the morning air at 0830 I knew something was afoot. A flock of Redwings were flying fairly low over the house and heading in a north easterly direction. 

In other years the exact same thing has taken place during north-easterly winds after thousands of nocturnally migrating thrushes overshot their intended direction, the birds then spending most of the following morning trying to get back on track. This all appears to be a tremendous waste of their precious energy to head back in the direction from which they came, but it’s almost as if they are pre-programmed to take a particular path even if it means finding the spot where they went wrong and then starting over again. 

I quickly jumped in the car and headed for the Pilling coast, hoping to see even more visible migration taking place. I wasn’t disappointed as during the next three hours many thousands of Redwings and Fieldfares appeared from the west and south west to then head determinedly north east over Fluke Hall before continuing along the sea wall to then eventually disappear out of sight. 

Early on the movement was almost entirely Redwings and then after an hour or more larger number of Fieldfares appeared until most of flocks were of the larger thrush. I didn’t see any of the many thousands of birds stop to feed as they all seemed to be intent on their task, driven by their communal effort. By midday the movement appeared to have stopped with my approximate numbers split at roughly 50/50 of 4000 Fieldfares and 3500 Redwings.

I tried to get some pictures of the droves of birds- not easy with mixed groups, differing flight heights and speed of individuals, but below is the general idea - a fairly inadequate way of documenting such monumental birding experiences. 

Migrating Redwings

 Redwing

 Migrating Fieldfares

Fieldfare

Things were looking up in other ways with the arrival of a good number of Whooper Swans fresh from Iceland and finding their usual spot out on the marsh where there was also a small flock of Canada Geese. I counted 90 swans today, although I may have missed some flying inland or continuing south. 

Whooper Swans

 Whooper Swans and Canada Geese

The Pink-footed Geese easily numbered 8000, joined today by small groups of Barnacle Geese numbering 13 that I could see. The geese are of course their usual wary selves and I could not reach the sea wall for fear of disturbing the geese until the Hi-Fly chaps had completely cleared them by driving across to their shooting pools. 

Pink-footed Geese

In the vicinity of the pools were 35 Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Snipe, 20+ Skylark, 2 Reed Bunting and 180+ Teal. There was some evidence of an influx of other species today with Jackdaws increasing to 90, Woodpigeons to 150, and the appearance of 8 Stock Dove.

More from Another Bird Blog on Saturday. Linking up Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-b-birdin.

A Rare Visit

The continuing strong winds have made for a birder’s lazy week, so today I thought I’d pay one of my rare visits to the RSPB Leighton Moss Nature Reserve a fifty minute drive up the M6. With a bit of luck I’d see a few birds in shelters spots and get a few photographs to share with blog followers.I ended up with an enjoyable few hours birding, a good list of birds, but not too many pictures. 

The “summer visitors” Marsh Harriers are still in residence and with three birds this morning, it seems likely that at least one may spend the winter here. It’s not so long ago that Marsh Harriers reappeared in the North West, now they are a common enough sight in most seasons. At first light two harriers were hunting across the reeds, one of them taking a Coot from the water and then flying off with the hapless bird.

Little Egrets were leaving the roost some distance away, and later on I would see at least nine throughout the reserve. Several Grey Herons at first light too. 

With being a wetland reserve Leighton Moss holds lots of wildfowl, with today many Wigeon and Teal together with smaller numbers of Gadwall, Shoveler, Pintail and Shelduck. 6 Whooper Swan were my first of the autumn. 

Teal

Teal

Pintail

Shoveler

Wigeon

Wigeon

Out from the salt marsh hides were plenty of rather distant and “into the light” waders. All the better to promote some of the very expensive optical equipment on sale at the visitor centre a cynical birder might say! 

There were high numbers of Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank, with 1 Knot and 3 mostly sleeping Curlew Sandpipers. A Kingfisher gave a double flypast, not stopping to pose. Raptors out here were the third Marsh Harrier, a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel, and passerines a couple of Grey Wagtails, Linnets and Skylarks. 

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwit

 

Redshank

So that's probably my annual visit to Leighton over for another year. Join Another Bird Blog soon for more far far away adventures. 

Green With Envy

A wholly frustrating couple of hours at Lane Ends today when birds wouldn’t come close and there didn’t seem to be much happening anyway in the grey and overcast light. 

Masses of Pink-footed Geese out on the marsh - several thousand at least, possibly into five figures now. Little Egret numbered 9, with just 2 Grey Heron, one on the marsh and one along Broadfleet. Skylarks were much in evidence again, and I totalled up 60+ on the marsh and around the Hi-Fly fields, the birds at one time scattering at the appearance of the local Kestrel. Just a single Meadow Pipit seen/heard!

Skylark

The incoming tide brought a number of waders off the marsh, most noticeably a pack of 21 Black-tailed Godwit, 35 Golden Plover and 20+ Snipe. 

Snipe

The Teal weren’t for moving much from the tideline today, my count of 250+ from the wildfowler’s pools only. Also on the wildfowler’s pools, three Green Sandpipers, two departing the moment I set foot over the stile on the sea wall, the third as I explored the flooded ditches. No chance of photographs of the Green Sandpipers, a species frustratingly difficult to approach in the field, always seeing and avoiding a birder either before or just as binoculars are raised. It’s my most frequent encounter, a series of frantic, liquid calls and the rapidly disappearing white rump of an apparently black bird. 

I am indebted to Sergey Pisarevskiy for the superb photograph of a Green Sandpiper which shows the true colours of this beautiful bird. Oh to get a photograph of a “green sand” even approaching the quality of this one. 

Green Sandpiper - Photo credit: Sergey Pisarevskiy / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

For anyone who doesn’t know the call, turn up the volume on the PC and click on the xeno canto button to hear a Green Sandpiper flying away from a bird watcher.


From Birdlife International "Green Sandpipers have an extremely large range across Europe and Asia, the global population estimated to number c.1,200,000-3,600,000 individuals (Wetlands International, 2006). In the UK the species is a common passage migrant in spring, but more so in autumn".

Range of Green Sandpiper

"Green Sandpipers are wholly migratory and move overland on a broad front with European populations making well-documented stop-overs in Saharan oases. Southward movements to the wintering grounds occur between June and early November, with the species present in the north and equatorial tropics from late-August to early-April, and in southern Africa from October to March.

The return passage to northern breeding grounds occurs between late-February and mid-May. In mild winters the Green Sandpiper is a fairly common sight in the UK, and some birds may also remain in the breeding grounds of southern Scandinavia. The species generally occurs in low concentrations during passage and at stop-over sites, although it may occur in small scattered groups of up to 30 individuals.

During the breeding season this species inhabits damp areas in swampy, old pine, spruce or alder woodland and montane forest with many fallen and rotten tree stumps, marshy forest floors and heavy carpets of lichens and mosses, generally in the vicinity of rivers, streams, swamps, ponds, lakes and bogs.

Outside of the breeding season Green Sandpipers show a preference for a wider variety of inland freshwater habitats such as marshes, lake edges, sewage farms, small dams and ponds, ditches, riverbanks and forest streams. It is also found in intertidal areas such as creeks and the channels of saltmarshes This species is unusual for a wader by frequently nesting high in trees in the abandoned nests of passerine species such as Woodpigeon, thrushes, crows, jays and shrikes, but may also nest in squirrel dreys or on natural platforms up to 20 m high."

More soon from Another Bird Blog. In the meantime I'm linking to Stewart's Gallery of birds .