The Final Curtain?

After the last couple of sessions Rawcliffe Moss is definitely running short of autumn birds, but after the overnight rain cleared and with a half decent forecast, Will and I decided to have another go this morning, mainly in the hope of connecting with the elusive thrushes of 2011.

There was a suggestion of a few or more at dawn, perhaps even locally roosting ones, but no true visible migration which could increase a pathetic count of 12 Fieldfare, 8 Redwing, 2 Song Thrush and 8 Blackbirds. Chaffinch numbers were similarly low with less than 50, coupled with 3 Lesser Redpoll and 40+ Goldfinch, the latter all local feeding birds.

We finished a short session with just 11 new birds, 3 Redwing, 3 Blackbird, 4 Chaffinch and a Wren. No recaptures today.

Redwing
Wren

Other birds and animals today: 1 Tawny Owl, 2 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 6 Snipe, 50+ Skylark, 5 Meadow Pipit, 10 Reed Bunting, 4 Corn Bunting, 9 Roe Deer.

Looking west towards Pilling Moss this morning we saw the most enormous, dense flock of Starlings which when they took to the air, we estimated at up to 20,000 birds wheeling around, but there may have been many more.

Starling

Will has been putting feed out at a site near Myerscough in readiness for a switch to winter ringing. He reports over 50 Chaffinch and several Tree Sparrows already coming to the seed, so we may switch allegiance soon and return to the moss next spring.

Chaffinch

Can It Be Magic?

There’s always excitement at Knott End, but not always in the birding line. This morning three police cars arrived to deal with a stolen van, doors left-open and abandoned on the beach; so much for my quiet walk along the esplanade when half the village turned out to see what all the fuss was about. So I clocked the 18 Eider, 4 Pied Wagtail, 8 Turnstone and the 1500+ Oystercatcher then headed off to Pilling for a walk.

Lane Ends turned up 4 Little Egret, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Jay, 2 Meadow Pipits and three falcons in the similar but different shapes of Peregrine, Kestrel and Merlin. The Peregrine was dashing over the edge of the marsh scattering everything in sight, including 1500+ Lapwings while the Kestrel patrolled the embankment without causing so much as a stir.

Normally I see a Merlin in high speed aerobatic pursuit of prey, ducking and diving, dashing about trying to catch small passerines or waders, but the one I watched today spent a long time fence hopping and then ground feeding by walking about searching for food. If this is the same Merlin which has been around Lane Ends for a week or two there aren’t many small passerines about for a hungry soul at the moment, but Merlins are known to consume insect prey, for instance beetles and moths, although they need a lot in numbers as substitute for the weight of a single small bird. As they always are, the Merlin was pretty distant and the picture well cropped, but I think it’s a juvenile female if that’s relevant.

Merlin

In the car park I chatted to a couple of wildfowlers who also thought that 15,000 Pink-footed Geese was a near enough estimate for recent morning and evening gatherings, but unlike me they didn’t hear the Siskin that flew over - It’s very worrying when people with guns can’t identify birds. A single Jay and several Blackbirds were the only additions to my Lane Ends list.

Siskin

Up to Pilling Water where I added 3 more Little Egret and 3 Grey Heron, 30 Whooper Swan, 22 Teal, 3 Wigeon, 4 Linnet, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Goldfinch and 1 Skylark. As I remarked, not many passerines about today, so that poor little Merlin needs to pull something out of the hat.

Linnet

Lightning Never Strikes Twice

I couldn’t make it Monday, but on the very cold, frosty morning Will went to Out Rawcliffe on his own and caught thrushes, 18 Redwings, 4 Fieldfares and a single Blackbird from a cast of several hundred. It was the only morning for weeks when the early morning movement proved hefty enough for a good catch.

So with a less than perfect forecast we hoped to do the same today. But as we all know from the age old saying but which is actually based on a long-standing myth, “lightning never strikes twice in the same place”. But the maxim proved accurate this morning, the difference possibly due to the 100% cloud cover which provided a dank, dismal and occasionally drizzly morning when our sightings of Redwings and Fieldfares were counted at about 30 of each in the hour after dawn.

However we did manage a few bits and pieces of 13 new birds and 5 recaptures. New: 4 Reed Bunting, 3 Goldfinch, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Goldcrest and 1 each of the elusive thrushes Redwing and Fieldfare. Recaptures: 2 Goldfinch, 2 Great Tit and 1 Robin.

Goldcrest

Redwing
Reed Bunting

This morning’s bird watching, or more exactly goose watching, proved more enthralling than our quiet ringing session as wave after wave of Pink-footed Geese made their way from the Pilling direction and towards the surrounding stubble fields of Rawcliffe. From 7am to 11 am we counted approximately 15,000 geese heading our way then landing in several areas of the moss, and watched as at least five birds were brought down by forewarned shooters with expectant freezers.

Pink-footed Goose
Pink-footed Goose

In the overcast murk, other birding was predictably poor, but we saw our first Woodcock of the autumn, 1 Barn Owl, 4 Snipe, 2 Song Thrush, 3 Lesser Redpoll and 14 Reed Bunting.

When Will It End?

Before I could set off this morning I had to clear the windscreen of a little frost, the first real bite of the winter. Then as Will and I met up at 0630 on Rawcliffe Moss we saw the ground was white and crunchy underfoot.

It’s been a busy and successful year in the plantation, with over 1550 new birds ringed since 8th March, together with 230 recaptures, but in the last week or so migration has slowed to a virtual halt, with no second wave of thrushes to occupy our mornings. We thought today’s session might be the last of the year before we move to winter ringing sites, but we added another 49 birds, 40 new and 9 recaptures, including favoured target species. So we may just have another crack in a day or two before moving on to pastures old.

Today’s new birds: 15 Goldfinch, 10 Chaffinch, 8 Reed Bunting, 3 Blackbird, 1 Fieldfare, 1 Dunnock, 1 Blue Tit and 1 Wren. Recaptures: 6 Goldfinch and 1 each of Great Tit, Dunnock and Reed Bunting.

The main features of the morning were the number of Goldfinch coming to Nyger feeders, plus the continued passage through the site of Reed Buntings. The sudden cold snap may have induced the local Goldfinches to visit our feeders and/or there are other Goldfinches moving through the area as they head south. Our Reed Bunting count for the morning was 20 individuals, a figure which includes the nine captures.

Once again thrushes were noticeable by their absence with just a dozen or so each of the two main culprits Redwing and Fieldfare in the hour after dawn. The three Blackbirds caught were quite large, long-winged individuals so we mentally assigned them to migratory status rather than back garden dwellers.

The juvenile Goldfinch shown immediately below was an early 0730 catch, momentarily reluctant to leave the relative comfort of our ringing station to head back into the cold morning air, the other a fine adult male.

Goldfinch
Goldfinch
Reed Bunting – first calendar year male
Reed Bunting – adult male
Fieldfare

Other sightings 0630 to 1130: 1 Barn Owl, 2 Tawny Owl, 2 Kestrel, 8 Whooper Swan, 7000+ Pink- footed Goose, 80+ Skylark, 8 Snipe, 2 Siskin and 4 Lesser Redpoll. The sight of 5 Roe Deer running across the pastures added to a fine morning's work and pleasure.

Roe Deer

Hot Spots

I decided to hold fire on the ringing until tomorrow when Will is available and the two of us can get more nets up. A spell of dry weather today and overnight means less chance of both our cars and our wellies getting bogged down on the sticky peat too.

So rather than working with nets in the dark I took a leisurely breakfast, waited until daylight then set off on a tour of the hot spots of Knott End, Ridge Farm and Lane Ends.

A count from the jetty at Knott End came in at 140 Redshank, 60 Knot, 40 Turnstone, 1 Eider, 2 Grey Heron, 18 Curlew, 1900 Oystercatcher and 5 Pied Wagtail, with a fly past of 10 Whooper Swans heading east towards the concentration of Whoopers at Pilling.

Turnstone

I followed the Whoopers east towards Pilling where I found the swans out on the marsh off Fluke today, and while I didn’t get to count the flock there were lots of birds. Fluke Hall and Ridge Farm were pretty good this morning, with a nice mixed flock of finches and buntings to look through, 50 Linnet, 10 Greenfinch, 14 Chaffinch and 10+ Reed Bunting. Also along the hedgerows I saw 8 Blackbird, 2 Song Thrush and several Tree Sparrow. I walked back along the sea wall to see 4 Snipe and a Short-eared Owl flushed from the marsh grass by a dog off-lead. A Carrion Crow quickly latched upon the owl, but I was surprised when the owl headed high out towards the shore, next stop Heysham, rather than gliding over the sea wall to relative safety.

Lane Ends to Pilling Water produced in no particular order, 40+ Skylark, 18 Whooper Swan, 12 Meadow Pipit, 1 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 1 Green Sandpiper, 350+ Teal, 12 Wigeon and 1 Reed Bunting.

Kestrel
Teal

As I watched a large flock of several hundred Lapwings 500 yards out on the marsh they were spooked into flight by the Merlin. I then watched the Merlin in hot pursuit of a flying Meadow Pipit, the pipit evading all the Merlin’s many dives and passes, eventually making it to the safety of the trees at Pilling Water. I don’t mind admitting that I wanted to see a successful outcome to that pursuit – in the Merlin’s favour. Other points of view to Another Bird Blog please.

Meadow Pipit

Short And Sweet

There’s just a short post today with a few bits and bobs to report together with a couple of photographs.

At Knott End: 5 Little Egret, 3 Pied Wagtail, 4 Meadow Pipit, 1 Rock Pipit and 4 Eider. I put some Nyger out for the Twite which appear to have gone missing for now unless the black stuff can tempt them back.

Meadow Pipit

At Lane Ends there appeared to be an influx of 8 to 10 new Blackbirds, plus an accompanying Song Thrush, but I saw the now silent Jay.

Lane Ends to Fluke Hall via Pilling Water: 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Grey Wagtail, 12 Meadow Pipits, 8 Little Egrets, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Reed Bunting, 7 Skylarks and 1 Buzzard. Less Whooper Swans today with circa 140 plus the incongruous Black Swan. 20+ Chaffinch at Fluke Hall with the normal titmice and 1 Goldcrest, and it’s another non-show for the latter species again this autumn.

Great Tit
Robin
Grey Squirrel – “Tree Rat”
Black Swan and Whooper Swan

The forecast looks a little better for weekend with a possibility of a spot of ringing.

Gaffe Time

Every picture tells a story. In this case it’s how I made the wrong decision to head out to the moss and put up a couple of nets. I had just caught a couple of Chaffinches when the heavens opened, not the scattered showers that Heather promised on BBC North West, but instead a couple of downpours which saturated both the nets and me. So I took the nets down, dried off a lot with the car heater and then drove out to Pilling for a spot of birding.

Rain On the Moss

A drive down Lambs Lane is rewarded by noise and spectacle of over 200 Whooper Swans at the junction of Fluke Hall Lane, 210 today plus the Black Swan from last winter. I don’t think the black one went back to Iceland with the Whoopers, but I haven’t seen it around during the summer and autumn until now. If the swans are spectacular then the Pink-footed Geese are doubly so at the moment with many birds out on the marsh; my count of 12000+ distant birds can be an approximation only, and my photograph a telephoto portion of the massed flight when a microlight aircraft came by.

Whooper Swan
Pink-footed Goose

At Lane Ends car park, Blackbirds were mobbing a Tawny Owl, while on the marsh a Merlin moved along the line of posts and then took a fly around to flush all the Lapwings, over 2000 of them. One of the best ways to find raptors is to watch corvids or just listen out for to their complaints when they come across a bird of prey. On my walk up to Pilling Water crows put me onto three raptors today, a Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk and then a Short-eared Owl. Apologies for the well cropped shots, as all the action was distant, but it illustrates the point.

Short-eared Owl
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard

Not many passerines about today, 5 Meadow Pipit, 3 Linnet, 15 Skylark and 2 Goldfinch. Herons obliged with 1 Grey Heron and 5 Little Egret while 250+ Woodpigeons are fattening up on Hi- Fly’s wildfowl bait.

Back at the car park a man with a telescope kindly pointed out the Merlin hovering over the embankment, whilst out on the marsh I watched a dashing little raptor that could only be a Kestrel.

Kestrel