That’s What It’s Like

Early March can be uneventful; it’s often a case of waiting days for migrant birds that may have appeared on the south coast of England but have yet to arrive up here in the “bleak north”. So it was this morning where in the face of a less than ideal north easterly wind and grey skies, I gave the Pilling sea wall a good grilling for migratory birds but found only one or two I could say were definitely “on the move”. However, March is a good time to gather early indications of the numbers and territories of local breeding birds like Lapwing, Skylark, Oystercatcher, Shelduck and Redshank, before they all hide themselves in the rapidly growing vegetation of April and May.

Pairs of both Goldeneye and Little Grebe were on the Lane Ends pools, all of them involved in spring shenanigans, the drake Goldeneye head tossing to a seemingly uninterested female, and Little Grebes trilling away in the safety of the pool margins; the grebes will stay, the Goldeneye will soon go, maybe to become one of the 100 or so pairs breeding in Scotland, but more likely fly off to Scandinavia or Western Russia where most Goldeneye breed.

Goldenye

This has been a Siskin winter for sure, more obvious to me because of ringing lots of the little green things without necessarily seeing them whilst out birding, but a single bird this morning called as it left the Lane Ends trees and headed off strongly to the North East. Two Little Egrets were just out on the marsh, and I later saw a third one, but their numbers won’t increase now until July and post-breeding dispersal. Numbers of Pink-footed Geese Over Wyre have been quite low recently, maybe related to the continued cold with the slow growth of green shoots for them to feed on, but more were about this morning and I estimated circa 3,000, but hey who’s counting pinkies to the nth degree?

I followed the sea wall to Fluke Hall and back; there were 65 Lapwing and 2 Golden Plover on the stubble flood, with at least two pairs of the Lapwing pared off from the main group and indulging in their fantastic spring displays. A few of the males have now developed full head adornments and are just wonderful to watch as they strut and pose around their adopted patch of ground. Oystercatchers are also paired up, with at least 4 pairs between Lane Ends and Fluke, some males doing their slow flapping displays, others using fence posts so soon. I also saw several Redshanks alarm calling, the males “bobbing” on the self-same spots of ground as last and previous years.

Lapwing
Oystercatcher

Along the way I counted 5 fully singing Skylarks, i.e. rising into the sky then gradually falling, rather than the half-hearted songs from the ground or a fence post of late, but I also saw another 12 or more feeding in the edges of the green marsh. It was just here I first heard then saw 3 Meadow Pipit land on the wall ahead of me; Meadow Pipits, the true harbingers of spring up Pilling way, but maybe only if they fly purposefully over, "seep-seeping" then disappear into the distant view of Heysham?

Meadow Pipit

On Worm Pool I hoped for something more exciting than 4 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 2 Redshank, squabbling Moorhens and the aforementioned Little Egret, but sat on the sea wall I noted the far-off Peregrine waiting for the tide to bring in more birds. A patient Peregrine can outwait me most days, so I headed back.

No, it wasn’t the most action-packed hour or two of birding, but working a local patch is often about the mostly seasonal, sometimes fast, often slow and occasionally imperceptible ups and downs that are the lives of birds, and anyway I enjoy it.

Interesting

A few interesting recoveries of ringed birds came through; information on what happened to one of the four Kestrel chicks Will and I ringed at Out Rawcliffe in June last year, a further capture of a Goldfinch Will ringed in his garden in April 2010, and thirdly, interesting Chaffinch data.

Kestrel chick June 2010
Out Rawcliffe to Hathersage

We ringed four Kestrel chicks from a tree cavity nest on 20 June 2010, and one of these birds was found dead near Hathersage, Derbyshire on 17 December 2010. The first thing that springs to mind is that mid-December was a period of very cold, icy and snowy weather when perhaps an inexperienced bird might struggle to find food. Of course Kestrels with their habit of feeding and hovering along road and motorway verges are also likely to become road casualties. We have no further details of how and where Kestrel EK91584 was found other than it was freshly dead but I think my money would be on winter starvation.

Kestrel

The second recovery continued recent results from our Goldfinch ringing that shows movements of our local Goldfinches to and from the south of England. In the latest case, Goldfinch X515556 that Will ringed in his garden on April 25th 2010 was recaptured by another ringer in the south west of England in Broad Oak, Devon on 28 December 2010, clearly a case of a Goldfinch moving south during the winter. Of course unlike the Kestrel, the Goldfinch remains in circulation and as a species caught in good number may provide further information.

Garstang to Devon
Goldfinch

A third recovery more interesting from a longevity perspective was a Chaffinch first ringed near Lancaster on December 2nd 2004 by a local ringer. The bird was recaptured in Will’s garden on 15 December 2010, some 2204 days, just over 6 years later. The distance between the two ringing sites is 28 km only, showing that this particular bird is probably very much a resident of the local area and doesn’t venture far even in the winter.

Chaffinch

An Early March

There was a thick frost this morning, reminding everyone that the price of clear overnight skies in March may be a sunny day but an unwelcome cold start. So after de-icing the car for the second time this week I called in Damian’s shop at Knott End for supper time fish then I turned my attention to a little gloved and hatted birding for an hour or two.

The medium tide of about 10 am was just turning, heading into the Wyre from Fleetwood and Morecambe Bay but bringing a little mist that the weak sun could barely shift. But it wasn’t so bad that it stopped a count of sorts and even a few pictures of the assorted waders, or at least those that stick to the close shore and are more tolerant of early morning passers-by: 550 Oystercatcher, 32 Turnstone, 105 Redshank, 110 Knot, 90 Dunlin, 11 Curlew, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit and 2 Grey Plover.

Knot
Turnstone

The wildfowl numbers are quite low now after a number of Shelduck and Eider departed to breeding sites, so my count of 15 Shelduck on the water and 3 Eider loafing on the jetty was not unsurprising. I’d parked in the car park where early mornings there are always 2 Pied Wagtails tottering about, and then lining the car park wall, numerous Black-headed Gulls that arrive in waves with each new car, but quickly lose interest if no food appears from wound down windows.

Eider
Black-headed Gull
Pied Wagtail

Along the promenade the Twite flock on the seed numbered approximately 30 very flighty individuals today: they took to the air at the passing of every one of the numerous pedestrians, who in the main seem not to notice the nondescript little brown birds that grace their village each winter. There were 2 more Pied Wagtails on the frosted foreshore below the railings plus 2 Rock Pipits.

Twite

I took a run up to Lane Ends where the tide was full but distant in the now partially sunny haze. From here and the trek to Pilling Water and back the best I managed were 3 Little Egrets, a distant and predictably perched Peregrine, and a bunch of about 15 Skylark, not counting the one that rose singing above the nearest field. The inland fields held about 60 Lapwing and 95 Curlew, whilst way out on the marsh the sight of 700 Pink-footed Geese told me that it it’s still only March 3rd and I’ll have to wait a week or so yet for spring migrants and the chance of catching Wheatears again.

Pluck Me!

Once the frost played out and the sky turned blue again it was a few hours on Rawcliffe Moss this morning, mainly to suss out the state of the plantation in readiness for spring ringing. As is often the case I got diverted, this time by Buzzards yet again with a count of 6 birds, three pairs over three woods. Maybe all those birds from last week sorted out their differences then sent the intruders packing, tails between their legs or whatever Buzzards do when they lose out on a good breeding site. So for the third time recently I got more less-than-ideal pictures of distant Buzzards. But if all goes to plan we might just get to catch a few of them soon when I can get close-ups.

Buzzard - Buteo buteo
Buzzard - Buteo buteo

I went into a wood where I found the Buzzard’s plucking post with evidence of more than one meal of Woodpigeon, many of which roost in the wood, day or night.

Plucking Post

Finding a plucking post surrounded by feathers and fur is often a way of finding raptor nests, indicating that a nest is close by or in this case that a bird regularly uses the spot in its winter territory. The Buzzard’s plucking post was on the upper side of a large fallen tree, the elevated nature of which allows for a safer landing with a heavy load of prey like a Woodpigeon, as well as being a good vantage point to scan for other predators while the bird is vulnerable and involved in the relatively complex process of plucking then consuming the prey.

I think the Buzzards saw me enter the wood because they weren’t in there and probably left long before I quietly walked in hoping to get closer views of them. I confirmed their secretive nature ten minutes later when from a path outside the wood I saw two Buzzards heading back to their now undisturbed territory.

Our ringing planation was pretty quiet but I did find 2 Blackbird, 3 Reed Bunting, 12 Chaffinch, 11 redpoll feeding very quietly amongst the alders, and also surprised a Woodcock which exploded from the ground cover then through one of our soon to be used net rides. Several Wood Pigeon also crashed out of the plantation at my coming and headed off towards the safety or maybe not of the dense trees in Buzzard Wood.

On the moss proper the Skylarks thin out with only 10 today, chirruping off the deck when the Lapwings and corvids flapped and called noisily over the stubble. The Tree Sparrows make as much noise as ever, but the noise has shifted somewhat to spots where there are nest boxes with holes designed just for them, along the track and at the edge of the wood. Meanwhile at the food drop about 60 of them still loitered waiting for the next bucketful, and I didn’t have the heart to explain that The Man With A Bucket may not be along for a while. Six Yellowhammers today also waited around the much better bet of a still full pheasant feeder.

Tree Sparrow

As I left the moss a flock of Lottis and Blutis sped along the track ahead of my car and then, pluck me, I took yet another picture of a Blue Tit, many a ringer’s Nemesis bird, but a favourite creature of a regular blog reader who must remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from British ringers.

Blue Tit

First Of March

There was just a slight frost this morning on the car windscreen but within half a minute of starting the car the film of ice cleared; I set off to meet Will and Craig for a ringing session in Will’s garden at Catterall with hope of the first catch of March. Along the road the morning bode well for a few birds when a Barn Owl flew ahead of me in the half light of Hambleton village then disappeared over nearby fields.

Barn Owl

By 0715 the 60 foot net was up and we began to catch finches as the Siskin arrived first, followed by the larger finches. This morning we caught 37 birds, 25 new and 12 recaptures. New birds, all but one of them finches: 16 Siskin, 6 Chaffinch, 1 Greenfinch, 1 Goldfinch and 1 Blue Tit. Recaptures were: 3 Siskin, 2 Chaffinch, 2 Dunnock, 4 House Sparrow and 1 Great Tit.

Our overall finch count today was of 60 Siskin, 60 Chaffinch, 6 Greenfinch, 6 Goldfinch and 2 Brambling. So the numbers of new Siskins meant a decline from recent catches of 30ish birds, as did the three recaptures of the same species; these figures plus Will’s daily observations, suggest that Siskins are still moving through and probably north but perhaps in lesser numbers. We still had low numbers of Goldfinch, with no Lesser Redpoll today, with numbers of Bramblings now unlikely to increase.

Siskin

Siskin
Blue Tit

Other birds this morning: 22 Curlew, 15 Fieldfare, 8 Cormorant over, 300 Starling, 2 Nuthatch, 2 Treecreeper, 8 Jackdaw, 2 Song Thrush, 80 Wood Pigeon.

It was a cold morning but once the sun rose and the spring air warmed up the Buteo theme of last week resumed when 6 Buzzards appeared circling together over adjacent fields and woods as they searched out thermals on which to ride.

Buzzard - Buteo buteo
Buzzard - Buteo buteo
A successful if fairly quiet session but its always nice to start the month with a few new birds.

Kingfisher

Today’s blog entry consists of photographs of Common Kingfishers, pictures I took recently in Makadai Bay, Hurghada, Egypt.

Kingfisher

The Common Kingfisher is widespread across Europe, from Britain in the west all the way across to the most eastern part of Russia. Some European birds migrate towards the Mediterranean area in autumn and a small number winter in North Africa. The Kingfishers I saw in Makadi Bay could be wintering birds from central or Eastern Europe, Turkey or Iran because according to my field guide Kingfishers don’t breed along the Red Sea coast. There are scarce breeding records from coastal Morocco and also Tunisia, the latter a holiday destination where a few years ago I also saw Common Kingfishers.

Kingfisher

The Kingfisher(s) always hung about in the early morning where a few boats reached into the shallow, clear waters of the Red Sea, and wherever small fish fed in abundance. In a few of these pictures it is possible to see fish scales stuck to the bird’s bill. Although I waited around a few times I didn’t get to take pictures of a Kingfisher with a fish, my ultimate goal.

Kingfisher
Sunrise, Makadi Bay

Buzzin’

I have long thought that our local Buzzards, or at least some of them, move south and west for the winter and return unseen in the spring, but it’s only in more recent years when the species has spread into the Fylde and become quite numerous that their comings and goings have become more obvious. This is especially true in autumn when there are lots of youngsters around and their diurnal dispersal flights are both frequent and obvious.

The BTO Migration Atlas tells me that UK Common Buzzards aren’t truly migratory, but dispersive and a nice phrase this, “winter sensitive”, as to a large extent they depend upon earthworms as a winter staple food and are more likely to move from a location in hard weather. This afternoon I took a walk around Out Rawcliffe and over 4 woods counted a minimum of 14 Buzzards and possibly 16 where in the same area over the winter months I counted between 2 and 4 Buzzards only on most visits. Today, over one wood there were eight circling birds yet to settle which pair takes possession, with four birds debating the same over another wood, then a further two pairs above two other woods, with all the birds indulging in much calling and chasing behaviour.

Buzzard
Buzzard

The other very conspicuous bird today was the unexciting Stock Dove, another species that comes and goes in spring and autumn almost unseen. Today I saw two flocks, one of 28 birds and another of 12, plus at least 7 others as singles or doubles moving around a spot that has several suitable holey and ivy clad trees, where I also saw the Kestrel today.

The Buzzards and the Stock Doves rather distracted me from my walk over the moss but I had a good enough count of most of the regular stuff at the winter feed; 200 Tree Sparrow, 6 Yellowhammer, 4 Reed Buntings and several Chaffinch, with a couple of Blackbirds and a single Song Thrush shooting off ahead of me. Meanwhile a Peregrine came from behind me, not very high but too fast to photograph as it headed across to the neighbouring farm and the couple of thousand Starlings I could see milling about.

Most of the Stock Doves were on the big and now soggy field, with a flock of 70 Lapwings and 22 Skylarks also joining in, while 2 Roe Deer and several Brown Hares headed off at my arrival, long before the birds, a little reluctant to fly into today’s strong westerlies. I had a good count of Grey Partridge today, with 14 birds, probably all leftovers from the autumn releases, but at least they survived the winter shoots and may breed to augment any truly wild stock left.

Skylark
Stock Dove

I took a walk through the plantation where apart from a few willow catkins, spring growth has yet to threaten our ringing rides still thankfully bare from the winter but waiting for the first Chiffchaff two weeks from now and Willow Warbler in four. Equally the trees were devoid of much birdlife save for a little flock of alder feeding Goldfinch, a couple of Blackbirds, the obligatory Wren, several chuckling Red-legged Partridge.

From the plantation I watched the next pair of Buzzards dive over and into the nearby wood where there was a nest for the last couple of years. It won’t be long now and things really will be buzzing.

Buzzard