Distant Dreams

I jumped out of the car and glanced towards the distant tide line whereupon I noticed a Marsh Harrier closer in, dead ahead but already heading west. As quick as possible I grabbed the camera from a shoulder bag on the passenger seat, set it to “sport” mode, switched it on and pointed. But already the harrier was on its way towards Fluke Hall, Knott End and eventually I guess the River Wyre which it could follow south and west. On autofocus the camera picked up some clear pictures of the Isle of Man ferry far out in the bay but missed the dark dot of the receding Marsh Harrier. They may fly quite slowly but they can certainly cover some ground, and by the time I reached Pilling Water, the harrier was over the horizon. Over the last couple of years I have had many local sightings of Marsh Harrier without getting one decent photo; one of these days!

Marsh Harrier
Marsh Harrier

There was nothing for it then but to forget Marsh Harriers for another day, concentrate on birding the sea wall, the fields behind and Pilling Water itself. I substituted the harrier with 2 Kestrels that quartered over the marsh, hovering now and again as a few Swallows buzzed them briefly. I counted 40+ Swallows hawking over the outflow, others settling on the usual rail, then just 2 Swift, several House Martin and a lonely Common Sandpiper, the peak of autumn migration now passed for this species. At the wildfowler’s pools I heard a Willow Warbler call from the willows and watched a party of 9 Goldfinch move through a margin of thistles. Out on the marsh I could see 2 Grey Heron, but in contrast to a couple of days ago, only one Little Egret. A handful of Dunlin went west towards Preesall Sands, and a single Snipe flew calling from the marsh then overhead.

Swallow
Swift

I made my way back to Lane Ends car park where another Willow Warbler called from the nearest trees; there’s been more than a few about this week.

Next it had to be Conder Green - “Wader City”, where each birder dreams of falling over the next “biggy”, spotting it in the creek from the wound down car window or peering from the “hide” at the mud where the bird waits for fame and probable torment. It was not to be, as I settled for 5 Greenshank, 155 Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 190 Lapwing, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Snipe,7 Oystercatcher. So sorry folks that log on here for the chance of seeing the one good enough for the pager, it’s just common old stuff I’m afraid with yet another Little Egret picture, but I did take it myself today. Passerines today were represented by the Goldfinch flock and a couple of Tree Sparrows that I watched searching the roadside traffic signs for hidden insect food.

Redshank
Lapwing
Curlew
Little Egret

A word of caution. If you are at Conder on a Saturday morning look out for the guy that has taken to sleeping in a car in the layby after a heavy Friday night. When he opens the car windows, the air sure does hum. On the other hand I guess he could have received a duff pager message about a wader at CG and had no petrol to get back home. He’d be better doing his local patch.

The weather looks better for some ringing tomorrow with maybe Willow Warblers on the cards after the numbers around this week.

Waylaid

Two birds slowed me down this morning whereby I spent a little time taking photographs instead of just birding. But at least I got some new pictures for the blog, the lack of fresh material, ideas, text and photographs being a constant challenge.

Firstly on my way through Pilling it was a Barn Owl again, which I spotted some way off as it hunted over the roadside fields ahead. I pulled up and rattled off a few shots, in poor light as usual. This blog actually exists on two themes, one of which is birds and the second one being the legendary British weather that interferes so often with my bird related activities, whether birding, ringing or photography. This morning was no different as I spent ten minutes with the Barn Owl before a blustery shower from the west caused the owl to head back to its barn and me to wind up the car window in disgust again. I didn’t see the owl catch breakfast this morning but it spent time looking in the same locality as last week, mostly sitting, waiting and fence hopping.

Barn Owl

At Conder Green there were hundreds and hundreds of Lapwing around using not just the pool and creeks but the recently sileaged field behind the canal, from where they spooked frequently as I watched from the lay by. I easily counted over 400 today. Otherwise I logged the regulars that change both species and numbers frequently enough to keep us birders checking out CG just in case. 5 Common Sandpipers,1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Dunlin, 40+ Redshank, 3 Curlew, 4 Oystercatchers, 4 Wigeon and the inevitable solitary Grey Heron. Alongside the road about 15 Goldfinch fed on the thistle heads, just like they are supposed to do.

Goldfinch

There were 2 Little Egrets this morning, one of which came reasonably close enough for me to pocket a few photographs towards the archive back up. I spent a while taking pictures of the egret until two birdwatchers arrived who promptly stuck heads and arms through the “hide” windows and scared the egret into the distance.

Little Egret and Lapwing
Little Egret
Little Egret

At Lane Ends the wind and rain loomed large and dark over Fluke Hall to the west but I found 5 Little Egrets roosting on the most sheltered part of the island, and on the water a Tufted Duck with 2 young chicks, the second “tufty” brood this year. Down near the car park I found both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff in the sheltered trees, but singles of each.

Rain - Heading Your Way Soon
Tufted Duck
Little Egret

I walked to Pilling Water more for the walk than in anticipation of any numbers of birds and I was not surprised to find little of great interest save for continuance of the heron theme with 4 more Little Egrets and 2 Grey Herons. I turned my back on the incoming shower and headed back to Lane Ends logging two Kestrels and a single Swift before I dived for shelter into the car.

Here's Hoping

Another birdless day with heavy rain this morning followed by strong winds. Apart from the Blackbirds, Collared Doves and a few Chaffinch, even the garden birds have dried up because there’s enough natural food around to keep them occupied without venturing into our garden.

Chaffinch
Collared Dove

A week or two ago I posted a pretty poor photograph of a distant colour ringed Common Sandpiper I found at Conder Green on July 17th during the period when good numbers were showing in the area and elsewhere. Below is the photograph I posted at the time.

Common Sandpiper

It took a little sorting out, mainly because either an additional ring was not visible or I had failed to notice that as well as both red and yellow colour rings and a metal BTO ring, there was the additional white ring above the knee. It seems the bird was ringed on August 3rd 2003 at the same place, Conder Green. Even my basic mathematical skills tell me that 7 years later the bird returned to the same place, as it probably had done in every intervening year.

The link here http://blx1.bto.org/euring/main/ is where to report details of ringed birds in Europe of all types of ring, including colour rings, numbered or lettered rings and even pigeon rings! The latter phone call is the one that I often receive from members of the public, but someday soon I hope for a Starling thrashing about behind a fireplace that when rescued will wear an Eastern European ring. This happened to a friend of mine some years back who just happened to be a ringer.

Colour Rings

My thanks for sorting out the Common Sandpiper details go to Phil Holland and Andre Thiel.

Postscript: The same Common Sandpiper was subsequently recorded at Conder Green by PW on 22nd July

And here is a slightly better photograph of a Common Sandpiper but I’m still hoping and trying.

Common Sandpiper

Knowing The Score

I’m sure the car was on autopilot this morning, instinctively heading east towards Out Rawcliffe and the moss lands where Will and I met up again on a fairly calm morning but with a BBC prognosis of worse to come. But as ever optimism is the key, and if we believed everything the experts said about the weather and waited each time for the perfect forecast we would hardly ever get out. Besides which our other philosophy and guiding principle is, “If you don’t go, you don’t know”.

We certainly knew today that it was going to be a quiet session with “phyllloscs” calling at first light but not much else. The Sedge Warblers that until two days ago had sung their hearts out in mimicking Goldfinch, Whitethroat and sundry others, were now silent with not a one caught. Even the Whitethroats dried up this morning. In fact, let’s not prolong the agony; we caught 12 birds only, 7 new and 5 recaptures. Although to be fair to ourselves we did put up two less nets as a safeguard against the likely increase in wind strength, then soon after incoming rain forced an early termination of our efforts.

Consolation for the lack of numbers came in the form of two birds always sought after when we captured a juvenile each of Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. Other new birds were singles of Robin and Whitethroat. 3 fresh Willow Warblers completed the “new” and 5 other Willow Warblers were recaptures. One of these, an adult male AVC159 had avoided us on our visits since 23 April the previous date of capture – unless of course it had been elsewhere throughout May, June, July and the first few days of August? But on the other hand we first ringed it as a juvenile on 11th July 2009, so we could reasonably expect it to be active around the plantation and find our nets during these summer months. Oh what mysteries these birds provide.

Lesser Whitethroat - juvenile
Garden Warbler - juvenile
Robin
Here Comes That Rain Again

“Others” seen today before the rains came; 100+ Swallow, 6 Stock Dove, 2 Buzzard, Great-spotted Woodpecker and a Snipe.

Finally I must mention the positive feedback from readers of the blog a few days ago when I posted a picture of a Wren. So for those troubled souls, Wren Groupies, who have probably never had to extract one from a mist net, here is another picture of the infamous Wren.

Wren

Top O' The Morning

I opened the back door at 0430 to check the cloud cover and wind. It was a nicely calm, warm but moist morning after yesterday’s rain. As bats hawked around the sycamores I could hear not far away two hungry Tawny Owls calling for breakfast.

We’d arranged to kick start the month with a ringing session at Out Rawcliffe, and out there on the raised moss, about 7 miles further inland from where I live, as we erected mist nets to the sound of a barking deer, the wind speed was zero.

On the way up the farm track Will saw a Grey Partridge with 4 half-grown chicks, just a day or two after I bemoaned the lack of Grey Partridge this year. At the same time I’d also mentioned the recent lack of “The Ringers Nemesis” the Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes or “Wrigglearse” as it is affectionately known; we both hoped that the mention of that species wouldn’t have a similar effect as talking of partridges with the result that Wrens filled the nets.

Maybe the rain of Saturday, that poured down all afternoon and evening until 9 or 10pm didn’t help our cause of targeting night flying migrant warblers in the early hours, but the August 1st arrival of new birds was subdued. In all we caught 25 birds, 22 new and 3 recaptures, whereby all the new birds of recent days and weeks had now departed.

New birds: 5 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 6 Whitethroat, 4 Sedge Warbler, 3 Swallow, 1 Blue Tit, and 1 Wren. Other than a recapture in June, this is the only Wren caught in the plantation since the middle of October 2009.

Recaptures: 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Song Thrush.

Song Thrush
Whitethroat - juvenile
Chiffchaff

In addition to the silky Sylvias, the juvenile Whitethroats above, we also caught a couple of amazingly bright yellow Willow Warblers. But Pride of Place, Top of the Heap today must go to the Wren.

Willow Warbler - juvenile
Willow Warbler - juvenile
Wren

Other birds seen this morning. 3 Buzzard, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 13 Swift flying west, 70+ Swallows south, 5 Stock Dove and 4 Reed Buntings with an overflying Nuthatch heading to the conifer wood and a probable second bird calling from the birch wood.

There Again

I thought I was in for a good one today when the sun shone brightly at first light and on the way up through Pilling I spotted a roadside Barn Owl. The bird didn’t hang about long; just enough for brief views and one or two photographs before it disappeared without trace, as did the sun, again.

Barn Owl
Barn Owl

Near Wrampool the fields some of them now cut seemed full of Lapwings and Curlew with at least 250 of the former and maybe 300+ Curlew, but who wants to count every last Curlew? Throughout the morning and as roadside traffic increases and farm workers take to the fields the shy Curlews fly out to the marsh where they can continue to feed undisturbed and safe from man.

Conder Green next and if I had a dollar instead of each day I have been in the last 30 years I would definitely be wealthy as I am wiser with all the pleasure given and the knowledge gained at this little spot. My count was normal as was the list of species, but I may have gripped one PW with my count of 5 Little Egrets; is it acceptable to still use the word “gripped” or does that reveal my age and past misdemeanours on certain isles in South West England? Anyway, 3 egrets rose from the back of the pool out of sight, flew over towards the Lune whilst two others continued feeding in the island shallows as I took a bad shot against the now grey sky.

Little Egrets

My Lapwing count was 130 + as birds came and went out to the estuary whilst some stayed around the pool and creeks, with 3 Common Sandpipers, 24 Redshank and several Curlews. The shy Curlew again, but I got some half decent pictures today of that wild, unwilling, photographic subject with the fantastically specialised bill; and when was the last time anyone actually looked at a Curlew?

Curlew
Curlew
Curlew
Lapwing

Parked up near the hedgerow I watched Goldfinch coming and going to the thistle heads, feeding silently, but when they spooked up to the hedge I was surprised to count 25 of them, so quiet and discreetly were they buried in the thistles. From near the roadside waste bin a Stoat made as if to cross the road towards the creek, looking left and right, but when it saw my car thought better of it and retreated back into the vegetation.There aren't many wildfowl on the pool at the moment but I logged 3 Wigeon plus the ever present lonely Little Grebe.

Goldfinch

There was no sign of the Ruff this morning, or the Spotted Redshank but I dare say I will be at CG again soon. And what is a trip north without at least a cursory glance at Lane Ends?

Below the car park the resident Reed Warblers vocalised and two of them showed briefly at the reed edge, with a bit further along the fence line a party of 7 or 8 Long-tailed Tits. With rain clouds threatening and increasing wind it just about kept fine enough for a foray to Pilling Water where I counted 3 Common Sandpipers again, 2 Little Egret and 2 Grey Herons, 2 Kestrel and 4 Pied Wagtails but by now it wasn’t the best ever morning so I promised myself another visit up this way soon and returned home for Brownie points.

With luck the wind should ease overnight and allow a ringing session for Sunday.

A Little Lunch

Little Owl

I looked up “cannibal” on the Internet after Will sent me some photographs.

“A cannibal is an animal that feeds on others of its own species but it is not an unnatural characteristic: more than 140 different species have been found to show cannibalistic tendencies under various conditions.

Sexual cannibalism has been shown in for example the female Red-back Spider, Black Widow Spider, Praying Mantis, and in scorpion species where the female eats the male after mating. The more common form of cannibalism is size structured cannibalism, in which large individuals consume smaller ones. Such size structured cannibalism has been observed in the wild for a variety of taxa, including octopus, bats, toads, fish, monitor lizards, salamanders, crocodiles, spiders, crustaceans, mammals, and a vast number of insects, such as dragonflies, diving beetles, back swimmers, water striders, flour beetles, caddis flies, birds and many more.

Cannibalism is most common among lower vertebrates and invertebrates often due to a predatory animal mistaking one of its own kinds for prey. But it also occurs among mammals and birds, mainly raptors and owls, especially when food is scarce”.

In birds of prey that use a larder or provisioning system of feeding young whereby there should be no food shortage, cannibalism has still been observed. There are several ideas as to why young owls or raptors eat their smaller siblings, or even where a parent eats part or the whole of a brood, but the theories are several and the explanations very detailed, too detailed to trouble most of us.

Will emailed me these photos he took while exploring a Little Owl nest to ring the young owlets. Because the nest cavity was deep and dark he couldn’t see into the hole, but found the young by touch, and also put his camera into the cavity and took a few pictures as a means of finding out where the birds hid.

The first picture below shows the remains of a Little Owl chick that was in the process of being eaten by a second chick. The second picture shows a third chick crouching in the corner of the hollow away from the incoming camera whilst the remains of the meal of Little Owl have moved around somewhat and a dead mouse serves as a later meal. The third picture shows the rather messy Little Owl that was probably caught in the act of eating the unfortunate victim sibling. The fourth picture shows the smaller bird that crouched in the corner!

Little Owl – corpse right centre
Little Owl - top left
Little Owl
Little Owl
Photographs by Will Price.