The White Morning

Monday night’s forecast wasn’t too promising. When I woke up and looked out the weather didn’t seem so bad, so I made a journey to Out Rawcliffe where I could have a wander about and maybe find a sheltered spot for a few nets. First off I saw the young Tawny Owl in the exact same spot of a couple of weeks ago: so was the side branch, partly obscuring the bird.

Tawny Owl

The stiff north-west breeze left a couple of spots unaffected on the east side of the plantation, so within 20 minutes of my arrival the nets were up and were operational. I stayed busy the next three hours with a good catch of mainly warblers, many of them newly arrived Whitethroats, so I reckon I hit upon the right morning. The overall catch was 29 new birds but no recaptures: 17 Whitethroat - all juveniles, 5 Willow Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Swallow, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Blackbird and 1 Tawny Owl.

If rough calculations are correct there are now exactly 100 new Whitethroat captures on site this year with an overall total of 128 if all the recaptures are added.

Whitethroat
Whitethroat
17 “Whites”

The two Swallows caught were an adult and a juvenile.

Swallow - adult
Swallow - juvenile

Migrating Reed Warblers turn up in young woodland growth occasionally.

Reed Warbler

The second Garden Warbler here in a week.

Garden Warbler

The second juvenile Tawny Owl of the day turned up, but this time in the bottom panel of a mist net, just a foot or two from where it flapped out of the net on two previous occasions. As I processed the downy owl, Rachel came walking by and offered to take a photograph of the still sleepy, docile creature. Thanks Rachel.

Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl

Other birds this morning: 2 Jay, 18 Tree Sparrow, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Skylark and approximately 80 Swallows. Swallow numbers seem definitely lower following the clear out of last week, and they were noticeably absent from the nearby fields and farms on such a bright, sunny morning.

Late Lasagne

It was Saturday evening but even Sue’s Legendary Lasagne washed down by a glass or two of grapey Shiraz would have to wait a while; Will and I had hastily arranged a spot of ringing, a session which by 930pm proved just as fruitful as Aussie’s best, with a handy total of birds ringed plus two or three scarcities seen.

Before we even put up nets the evening started on a real high with sight of a Cuckoo, a species now as rare as hen’s teeth here in Lancashire, and a bird which has become something of a major target for year listers. So infrequent are Cuckoos that after both mine and Will’s many, many hours of local birding and ringing this year the single juvenile Cuckoo represented our first and possibly our last local sighting of the year.

Cuckoo

After feeding close by for a short while the Cuckoo flew off towards the strip of woodland where we originally saw it. We then turned our attention to ringing and the hoped for Goldfinches from the nearby roost. In all we caught 24 birds, 21 new and 3 recaptures which included several more juvenile Goldfinch and more Sylvia warblers. New captures; 10 Goldfinch, 4 Whitethroat, 3 Willow Warbler and 1 each of Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chaffinch and Great Tit. Recaptures: singles of Willow Warbler, Goldfinch and Whitethroat.

Blackcap - Sylvia atricapilla
Garden Warbler - Sylvia borin
Whitethroat - Sylvia communis
Willow Warbler - juvenile
Chaffinch

The numbers of Goldfinch going to roost had fallen slightly, with perhaps 80/90 birds overall, so our catch of 10 new ones proved worthwhile. Once again our captures were all juvenile birds, leading us to speculate once more that this is indeed a roost of juveniles only.

Goldfinch - juvenile

As we watched between net rounds we clocked up 2 more scarce species with a single Marsh Harrier heading off to roost in a distant barley field, and then brief glimpses of 3 Grey Partridge, an event which set off a discussion on the rarity value of the two species. We came to the sad conclusion that whilst Marsh Harrier is now fairly common following its population expansion of the past twenty years it still has adequate prestige to set the pagers buzzing; conversely the once common, but now threatened with local extinction Grey Partridge can probably never achieve such heights of birding fame.

Grey Partridge

Swallows have proved very interesting this last week. We counted approximately 700/900 birds during the course of the evening as they flew in a south easterly direction towards a local roost, probably in the extensive and now quickly growing maize fields. The number was way down on our count of several thousand Swallows a few nights ago, a period during which the massive Fleetwood roost also dispersed. So it appears that huge numbers of Swallows have imperceptibly headed south in the last week or so: equally there are many more to come from the north and/or east and Swallow roosts are dynamic, ever changing in composition, with the result that roost numbers will almost certainly build up again in the coming weeks.

Swallow

Other birds seen in our few hours: 25 Linnet, 1 Corn Bunting, 1 Tawny Owl, 2 Buzzard, 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 30 Tree Sparrow and 40 House Sparrow.

The lasagne? Yes it lived up to its mythical status, but this ringing and birding lark certainly works up a thirst and that bottle of plonk proved a life-saver.

Week’s End

This morning wasn’t the best for birding or mist netting so I took the opportunity to catch up with the Swallows at Hambleton where after a late, somewhat delayed season three second broods were all at similarly ideal stages for rings. I ringed 15 youngsters from three nests with two other nests ready in three or four more days. By the end of this season it will have been an average one for productivity with about 60 youngsters from the small site, but a little later than normal and only a slim chance of third broods into September.

Swallow
Swallow

The weather improved towards lunchtime so I headed out to Lane Ends, Pilling. I took up pole position in the birder’s car park before setting off for a stroll then headed west along the sea wall where I noted 2 Willow Warblers in the trees below the car park. A wildly calling gull drew my attention to an overhead circling Buzzard gradually gaining height but also drifting east until it simply disappeared out of sight.

A single Wheatear was all I found between Lane Ends and Pilling Water but I sat on the stile to watch the just medium tide roll in and count just 4 Linnet, 1 Greenfinch and 6 Goldfinch. It now seems likely that the dozens of finches, mostly Linnets and Greenfinches, along here in early July were simply post juvenile flocks and not any genuinely autumnal gatherings, as the numbers in August remain stubbornly low.

Little Egrets returned today with two birds moving Broadfleet and the wildfowler’s pools where I also counted 30+ fast-flying Teal and 17 Shelduck.

Little Egret
Teal
Shelduck

The medium tide didn’t bring any large numbers of waders today, unlike Wednesday when I counted 900+ Curlew; today’s count was more like 300, with just 2 Golden Plover, 7 Dunlin, 8 Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher and 1 Greenshank. Also on Wednesday were Sandwich Terns when I managed a few pics, but unfortunately no terns today, just 300 Black-headed Gulls.

Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black-headed Gull

It was a quiet end to the day but also to the week and there’s rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday. But with luck there’s a gap or two between the raindrops and you never know, chance of a spot of birding and another post on Another Bird Blog.

Sundowner

Wednesday evening - Will and I met up at Out Rawcliffe for a sundown ringing session, and a go at the Goldfinch roost we discovered late last week when about 300 birds took to the twilight gathering.

The evening started well when Will spotted a distant slow flying raptor with the tell-tale “V” profile. It was a male Marsh Harrier hunting the barley fields, and it did so on and off for the next hour or so but never came close enough for a decent photograph.

Marsh Harrier

We counted up to 100 Goldfinches into the roost but managed to catch 14 new ones. This would be a high percentage with only a hundred roosting, so we think we missed a chunk of birds arriving, perhaps from a hidden direction. It’s early days yet, but indications are that the roost holds mainly birds of the year, with once again this latest catch of all juveniles. A Goldfinch roost appears to be a new phenomenon in this part of the country, probably partly as a result of the Goldfinch population explosion, and so presents an area open for further study.

Goldfinch

We finished with 34 birds, 29 new and 5 recaptures. New birds: 14 Goldfinch, 7 Long-tailed Tit, 5 Willow Warbler, 2 Whitethroat and 1 Blackcap. Recaptures: 3 Willow Warbler, 1 Goldfinch and 1 Dunnock.

Willow Warbler
Long-tailed Tit

Other birds seen: circa 4000 Swallow, 8 Mistle Thrush, 1 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 22 Linnet, but not forgetting Little Owl that watched us leave its patch.

Little Owl

Run Around

There are not many words or pictures today after I spent ages trying to take photographs of a juvenile Wheatear. I took even longer trying catch it when all the time the little devil just gave me the run around, standing right next to the spring trap a couple of times. Part of the problem is the meal worms which have enjoyed a life of luxury and contentment in a tub of bran since April, but now in August just don’t wriggle enough to attract the attention of a sharp eyed chat. At least I got four frames before the bird spotted me hiding in the boulders then shot off up the sea wall.

Wheatear

As usual I was on a Pilling run, Lane Ends to Pilling Water where the incoming tide brought a few Augusty things in. Waders clocked up were 60 Lapwing, 28 Dunlin, 2 Greenshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 12 Redshank, 2 Golden Plover and 440 Curlew. Just 2 Grey Heron today with a nil count for Little Egret again but further signs of autumn with 3 Great-crested Grebe out near the tide line.

Dunlin
Redshank

A Peregrine put in the briefest of appearances then seemed to head off in the direction of Pressall Sands where surely there would be more wader food. There have been good numbers of Sandwich Terns lately, a sure sign that some will find their way into the bay as far as Pilling and Cockerham, so no surprise to see two today associating with circa 125 Black-headed Gulls. The Greylags increase again with 90 today.

Once again the passerine count proved abysmal, with 1 Pied Wagtail, 4 Linnet, 3 Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch and 4 Skylark. Meanwhile the build-up of Swallows continues with c 300 feeding over the marsh and tideline today.

Nothing else to report but hopefully there’s more tomorrow, especially if I get chance for a run over to to the reptile shop and a supply of fresh meal worms.

Reconnaissance Trip

Sunday evening Will and I met out on the moss to look for roosts, or at least birds heading to roosts, finches and Swallows. As were going to be there for a while we decided to put up a couple of nets in the hope of intercepting some evening movement.

There seemed plenty of Willow Warblers flitting around in the warm, muggy conditions. It didn’t take long to catch 7 new ones to add to the 12 caught there yesterday and the 3 on Wednesday. We also caught a couple of extra Whitethroat.

Willow Warbler
Willow Warbler

About 7pm we noticed good numbers of Goldfinches heading in smallish groups towards the plantation, plus twos and threes of Linnets and even a party of 5 Yellowhammers. By 2030 the Goldfinches were more or less all in, roosting in the densest area of trees towards the north end of the planation. By this time we had counted 300+ Goldfinches from a south and east direction going into the roost, but from our position couldn’t see arrivals from the north or the west. We caught 5 new Goldfinch, all juveniles, but now we have sussed out the Goldfinches preferred roosting spots we may well have a go at a more serious catch on another evening.

Goldfinch
Goldfinch

Swallows spent the evening feeding over the barley and silage fields until about 9pm the largest numbers swarmed over fields to the south east of us in the direction of St Michaels village. How does one count a dark mass of evening Swallows? But we finally estimated in excess of 4,000 birds which could well have been double the amount. We saw 20+ House Martins during the early evening and then a single Swift heading south.

It was a fascinating evening, one that ended on more highs with sight of the resident Little Owl then 2 Tawny Owls in the spot where I photographed a young bird just a couple of weeks ago.

Tawny Owl

More Willies and Whites

At 6am the air on Rawcliffe Moss felt cool and autumnal but thankfully it was windless. Will and I quickly set to and erected our nets in double quick time then grabbed a coffee each before the real work/fun began.

Continuing the theme of last weekend and my solo mid-week session, the highlights of today were an influx of yet more Whitethroats and Willow Warblers together with a suggestion of the beginnings of Chaffinch and perhaps other migration amongst the 12 species handled.

In total we processed 45 birds, 39 new and 6 recaptures. New: 14 Whitethroat, 12 Willow Warbler, 3 Sedge Warbler, 3 Chaffinch, 2 Swallow and 1 each of Blackcap, Lesser Redpoll, Song Thrush, Robin and Wren. Recaptures: 2 Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Goldfinch and 1 Great Tit.

Both Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were in noticeably good numbers this morning, not only in the plantation where the nets are, but also along the feeding corridor of the well vegetated track margins, a route which runs exactly in a north/south direction. Our 12 new Willow Warblers split 7/5 in favour of adults to juveniles this morning which continues the suggestion of poor breeding success proposed on this blog in recent weeks: the ratio of our new Whitethroats today was the more respectable and expected 3 adults to 11 juveniles.

Sedge Warbler
Wren or Wriggle Arse – Troglodyes troglodytes
Blackcap

The 2 Swallows caught were feeding on a low path through the plantation when intercepted by our nets.

Swallow

Lacking today were any number of Goldfinches feeding on the Niger seed, with one recapture only. When we topped up the feeding devices we noted that they were still more than half full after a previous mid-week fill. However, today’s single Lesser Redpoll capture, a non-resident species, was caught alongside a Niger feeder. We are always amazed by how quickly birds home-in on feed of any sort but in particular the aromatic, shiny, oily black Niger.

Lesser Redpoll
Goldfinch on Niger

Chaffinches have been noticeable by their absence here in June and July, but although we caught only 3 today we detected a slight movement, in fact less than 15 birds overhead, but all contact calling and heading from north to south.

Chaffinch

Birding today was uneventful, but with counts of 2 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 1 Sparrowhawk, 70 Swallow, 25 House Martin, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 5 Skylark and 5 Linnet.