Left Or Right?

Don’t worry it’s not politics, just birds, so read on. At the top of Smithy Lane it was difficult to decide which way to turn, left for birding at Pilling or right for ringing on Rawcliffe Moss. Dawn was imminent and I could just make out a little movement in the trees, hopefully less than the BBC’s 10mph forecast, so as the steering wheel turned clockwise towards the moss I hoped the last minute decision was a good one. 

Everything started well with a hunting Barn Owl on the farm track and when I stopped to watch the Barn Owl heading off into the distance, 2 Tawny Owls called from the block of trees nearby.

With just a couple of nets up I caught quite well until 1030 when a strengthening breeze dictated taking the nets down again. 27 new birds of 6 species caught: 20 Chaffinch, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Dunnock, 1 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat and 1 Goldcrest. Visible migration was fairly light this morning, with c60 Chaffinches and 15/20 Siskins to the fore, followed by a thin passage of approximately 30 Meadow Pipit and ones and twos of wagtails, “albas” and Grey Wagtail. The pipit passage consisted of mainly single birds which hardly warranted an attempt to catch any. 

Including today, an examination of the Chaffinches caught here in September shows 67 new birds, only two of which have been adults (both females) with 65 juveniles. The 65 juvenile birds have been made up of 43 females and 22 males. These ratios correspond with figures from the autumns of 2010 and 2011, although this year the proportion of juveniles so far is significantly higher. 

Chaffinch- juvenile female

Chaffinch - juvenile male

One of today’s Chiffchaffs and almost certainly a female, was barely bigger than the Goldcrest.

Goldcrest

Chiffchaff

At the end of the season it’s always good to mop up any remaining summer visitors. 

Blackcap

Whitethroat

Although mostly busy with the ringing, in between times I managed to see more than a few other birds: 24 Snipe, 1 Jay, 50+ Swallow, 1 Raven, 3 Skylark, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 3 Buzzard and 2 Kestrel. Coming from the farm track I disturbed 4 Roe Deer feeding just inside the wood. 

Roe Deer

So, a successful and rewarding morning when turning right turned out right after all. If only it was always that simple. 

And now for readers interested in bird migration and from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, there is a fascinating account of visible migration during the 9/11 Tribute in Light held in New York, but please come back to Another Bird Blog soon.

Pinks And Wheats

There weren’t too many passerines or raptors around at Pilling today with my couple of hours dominated by the sights and sounds of Pink-footed Geese following a very obvious influx from Iceland in the past few days. My count this morning was 3500, give or take 20%, and unless anyone has experienced the sounds of thousands of “pinkies” it’s hard to imagine it. Click on “xeno-canto to hear the geese.  

Pink-footed Goose

Pink-footed Goose

The count from the shooters’ pools was down with 300 Teal and 18 Pintail today and no sign of the recent harrier. Along the sea wall I counted 80 Goldfinch, 35 Linnet, 2 Meadow Pipit, 6 Skylark and a single “alba” wagtail. Hirundines were less obvious on this cool, blowy morning with c40 Swallows and less than 10 House Martins. Likewise the heron count, with 2 Grey Heron and a single Little Egret. 

I found 3 Wheatears in the usual sorts of locations so employed a few of the new stock of meal worms to catch an unsexed juvenile and an adult male. 

Wheatear - juvenile

Wheatear - adult male

Both birds had the wing length of 107mm, a measurement which clearly placed them in the category of being “Greenland” Wheatears Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they arrived from Greenland, more probably from Iceland where the so called “Greenland” Wheatear breeds in good numbers. 

I found a dead and very wet mole, not in a hole, but on a stone where someone had obviously placed it for inspection. “What big hands you have”. 

Mole - Talpa europea

Tune in soon for more news and views from Another Bird Blog.

Is It Still Saturday?

The early BBC forecast looked like no birding today but the rain was much less than predicted and after a couple of hours birding my note book entries from Pilling read almost as a carbon copy of Saturday. 

Overnight rain replenished the wet fields of Backands Lane leaving areas for 300+ Lapwings, 4 Redshank, 4 Black-tailed Godwit and 18 Golden Plover, with many gulls I didn’t get the chance to scrutinise when the local bus ground slowly and noisily by. Which faceless bureaucrat decided that this quiet lane should be part of a bus route I don’t know, but they obviously sat on their brains at the same time they sat at their comfy, out-of-touch desk. 

It was from Damside I saw the Marsh Harrier quartering the wildfowler’s pools again, but I’d also seen Hi-Fly man along Fluke Hall Lane heading out the on the quad bike and towing a trailer full of cages holding more birds for release. When I reached the sea wall at Lane Ends the harrier had gone and the duck were just leaving for the marsh, 500+ Teal and 70 or so Pintail today. I don’t see many Wigeon using the daily bags of wheat here and I guess they must be even more wary than the legions of Teal which find the hand-outs early on in the feeding season. 

Pintail

There was a steady movement of Swallows this morning with upwards of 90 birds making their way west into the strong wind. Both pipits and Wheatears were noted this morning, with at least 6 Wheatears at several points along the wall, 30+ scattered Meadow Pipits and 1 White Wagtail. Four Little Egrets today and at least 3 Grey Herons, but it was so windy there would certainly be more feeding down in the creeks. I tried to get a few pictures of the Wheatears and the pipits but they kept their distance today, and my meal worms need replacing, so no joy there either. There's a trip planned to the Reptile Room for a new stock of wrigglies this pm. Just the other week I was talking to a guy waiting for the shop to open so he could buy food for his 17 tarantulas; and you think feeding Wheatears is weird? 

 Meadow Pipit

 

Meadow Pipit

 Wheatear

Wheatear

 

Here’s another picture for PW, part of the morning’s 120+ Pink-footed Geese flock looking much closer to Heysham Power Station than they actually were. Sorry Pete, our side of the bay. 

Pink-footed Goose

Scanning towards Heysham I saw 2 Peregrines flying close together and heading over towards Fluke Hall, with a few minutes later a Merlin, probably the same one seen in recent days and this morning chasing through the Swallows as they flew oh so slowly into a westerly headwind. 

It was a short session really, curtailed and limited by the wind but enjoyable all the same with hopefully more to come tomorrow on Another Bird Blog.

Never A Dull Moment

The blog title today was nearly “Pinkies and Raptors” to sum up the highlights of a few hours birding at You Know Where, but after a superb morning’s birding filled with action and interest I renamed it to something more fitting. 

The “pinkies”, Pink-footed Geese seem to arrive from Iceland earlier each year. There were some flying over the house yesterday afternoon as I cut the lawn for the umpteenth time of this grass-growing-madly year, about 40 geese fairly high in the sky but calling to each other and heading towards South-West Lancashire and the area of Martin Mere. So I went to Pilling this morning expecting to encounter more pinkies and I wasn’t disappointed, even if it does mean that winter will soon be here. There were about 50 or so out on the distant tideline, with small groups taking off occasionally before climbing and heading south. 

Pink-footed Goose

Although the morning sun was up, the wind gusted quite strong from the south, and after seeing yesterday’s virtually zero migration in 100% cloud conditions, in contrast this morning there seemed to be a definite rush of birds and also lots of raptors about. Maybe the raptors had something to do with the release of several hundreds of non-native Red-legged Partridge in recent days, but I’m sure Hi-Fly won’t miss one or two partridge, which would still leave 998 on the loose but destined to be blasted from the sky pretty soon. 

Red-legged Partridge - gun fodder

I’d kicked off at Lane Ends with 5 roadside Wheatears, a hovering Kestrel and then Swallows and Meadow Pipits heading into the wind. I wasn’t particularly early at 0800 but the remnants of last night’s roost, 6 Little Egrets and 2 Grey Herons still congregated in the shelter and safety of the island. As I neared Pilling Water I counted 60 Lapwing and 4 Golden Plover on the wet fields and then from the stile watched as a Peregrine scattered them before it flew back over the wildfowler’s pools where 2 Grey Herons objected noisily to the falcon’s presence but left anyway. 

Grey Heron

There was a wary Greenshank feeding on the pool and I got distant views before 2 Buzzards appeared over the trees and scared it off into the less open ditches. The Buzzards saw me, keeping their distance until they flew off in the direction of Fluke Hall. 

Greenshank

Buzzard and Carrion Crow

Buzzard

From the gate I watched as 100+ Goldfinch fed along the wall and the edge of the plantation, with a couple of White Wagtails along the shore below. There were enormous numbers of Teal on the pools, roughly 650, with a dozen or so Pintail and I’d gone past looking for the Buzzards before the duck erupted from the ditches, flushed this time by a Marsh Harrier. The harrier kept a distance away, intent on searching the ground and ditches below and it’s another crappy record shot of a “Gold Top”. 

 Marsh Harrier

There’d been Meadow Pipits and Swallows heading east and by Fluke Hall I’d counted 50+ and 70+ respectively. With some grounded Meadow Pipits I found two newly arrived Wheatears here too, one of them posing for a picture, but when I’d finished the Kingfisher perched on the same rail but further back had by now sped off along the dyke. 

Wheatear

The morning wasn’t finished. As I headed back to Lane Ends a Merlin flashed by, low over the marsh and heading out to the tide, but then a few minutes later it or another followed the path of the earlier Peregrine by dashing across the field of Lapwings and scattered them into the sky, calling as they went. What with the Meadow Pipits, Wheatears, Merlin and the pinkies the morning had a definite Icelandic theme, and while they can keep the cold weather their birds are certainly OK. 

This week I’m linking Another Bird Blog with both id-rather-b-birdin and paying-ready-attention-gallery Australia .

It’s not a good birding forecast for the week ahead, but with luck there will be more posts soon from Another Bird Blog, so stay tuned. 

A Quieter Day

Theories abound when ringers don’t catch many birds, or in some cases no birds at all. This morning when I looked North, South, East and then West from Rawcliffe Moss at 0615, I was surrounded by low lying grey cloud and the omens weren’t good. Although it stayed dry the cloud didn’t break except for a fifteen minute spell about 8am, and it was only then that there seemed to be sign of just a little migration. 

By 10 o’ clock I had caught 20 new birds with no sign of any more to come so decided to call it a day at 16 Chaffinch, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Goldfinch and 1 Greenfinch. I caught four Chaffinches at first light, a suggestion of roost dispersal, with the remaining dozen soon after the brief brightness about 8am. In all I estimated 40+ heading over and then in a southerly direction in a good three hours, with a single Siskin and 4 Lesser Redpoll interspersed with the Chaffinches. 

The first Willow Warbler caught was a small female, and with a wing length of 60mm, the size of a Chiffchaff. 

Willow Warbler

Another 3J Goldfinch today with absolutely no sign of moult into an adult plumage. 

Goldfinch

 

As I drove off-site at 1045 I came across a huge but distant mixed flock of c300 finches, many of which were Greenfinches and perhaps the origin of the few caught here lately, like today’s young male. 

Greenfinch

There was brief interlude of Meadow Pipit movement this morning with about 10/12 singles arriving from the gloomy east and then heading west. Otherwise, and excepting the finches mentioned earlier, “vis” was zero. 

Other birds, 2 Tawny Owls calling at dawn, likewise a single Buzzard calling but not seen, 18 Snipe, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 30 Swallow, 10 House Martin, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Blackcap and a single Jay, a white rump disappearing into the plantation. 

Jay

I’m ready for a lie-in tomorrow, but who knows there may be a spot of birding at some time in the day. If so log in Sunday for more news from Another Bird Blog.

A Chaffinch Morning

Everything was ready for an early start today. List of equipment duly ticked off, vacuum flask filled, breakfast on the passenger seat and camera at the ready for an early owl along the farm track. The organisation was so good I found myself out on Rawcliffe Moss in the dark, too early for an owl but with plenty of time to erect a few nets. No Will to share the burden this morning as he’s got other commitments for a while which means solo efforts from yours truly as long as body and soul stay willing and able. 

The morning proved to be busy, with barely time for a coffee or breakfast and I could have done with an extra pair of hands in dealing with the 42 birds caught, 40 new and 2 recaptures. New: 32 Chaffinch, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Greenfinch, 1 Blackcap, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Goldfinch and 1 Willow Warbler. The two recaptures were a Chiffchaff and a Goldfinch, both from last week. 

Goldcrest

Willow Warbler

The numbers above tell the story of a morning dominated by overhead and arriving Chaffinches with a minimum of 100 birds from 0630 until 1045 when I packed in at an increase in wind speed from the previous zero. Today’s age/sex breakdown of the 32 Chaffinch caught - 18 female and 14 male, but every single one of them a bird of the year as an illustration of the juvenile dispersal from upland areas of the UK but north of Lancashire. 

Chaffinch

The only other finch on the move this morning seemed to be Siskin, with c10 birds over, but still no sign of any numbers of Lesser Redpolls. The Greenfinch and Goldfinches caught were close to the Niger feeders, with a few of each species beginning to return to our supply rather than natural sources. There are lots of very young still buff-headed Goldfinches about, obviously from second or even third broods. 

Goldfinch

The Blackcap had a goodish weight of 19.1 grams and a fat score of 30, the Sedge Warbler quite lightweight at 10.5 grams and zero fat. 

Blackcap

Sedge Warbler

I was fairly busy with the ringing to note much in the way of birding. At one point a gang of protesting Swallows alerted me to something happening in a net below them, and when I went to investigate a female Sparrowhawk was pocketed half way along a 60ft net but rose effortlessly out when she saw me appear 30ft away. Otherwise, 20+ Meadow Pipit, 1 Reed Bunting, 10 Snipe, 1 Golden Plover, 2 Buzzard and then half way through the morning, the inevitable Marsh Harrier on its vast circuit. 

Marsh Harrier

On the way home across Pilling Moss I looked to see if the Little Owl was out in the sun. It was. 

Little Owl

A successful morning. Here's to many more on Another Bird Blog.

Kingfisher Saves The Day

 A wind free morning should have brought about a ringing session but a sleepless night followed by lethargy and a lack of motivation meant a few hours after-lunch birding at the usual spot would have to suffice. 

With a high tide due at 1345 I made my way up to Pilling Water, stopping briefly in the car park to watch a Chiffchaff flitting through the trees with a party of Long-tailed Tits. As I left the wood behind there was a single fence-hopping Wheatear and then a Skylark flying across my path and into the field. Skylarks have been very scarce along here since the end of the breeding season, and although it is a species adept at being inconspicuous there just aren’t any around until we receive an influx of migrant and wintering birds. 

Long-tailed Tit

 Skylark

It was a quiet sort of day for counting with a tide that although full, did not reach sufficient heights to fetch birds in, so just 18 Pintail, 25 Shelduck, 9 Cormorant, 140 Wigeon, 75 Teal, 3 Snipe, 300 Curlew, 8 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron and 1 Raven. 

This is getting to be something of a habit, but there was a Marsh Harrier again today, this one confounding my previous theory of different individuals by appearing from near Fluke Hall then flying rapidly north-east, and last seen high over Cockerham Marsh. Below is a very distant shot of the characteristic “V” shaped flight pattern with Heysham Power Station getting in on the act. 

Marsh Harrier and Heysham

Sometimes, and on a sunny day the incoming tide can make a decent photograph. Don’t worry about the sheep, they can swim and are able to judge the rising tide to perfection, knowing exactly when to seek the safety of higher ground. Heysham Power Station vies for attention again. 

High Tide at Pilling  and distant Heysham

From the stile I watched as hordes of Swallows hawked insects over Broadfleet and Pilling village. I think there had been a hatch of flying ants, an event which probably accounted for the sudden concentration of birds and my count of 300+ Swallows and 20+ House Martins. 

While scrutinizing the Swallows I spotted a Kingfisher sat quietly in a streamside bush. Within seconds the Kingfisher flew across to the outflow fence from where it proceeded to fish in the tidal water. Not daring to move I snapped a number of shots as the Kingfisher dived a number of times before emerging with tiny fish. Each time the Kingfisher would batter the tiny fish against the concrete apron, before twisting them around so as to allow the bird to swallow the fish head first. What appears to be to be some sort of line or string is vegetable matter that the Kingfisher pulled out with the fish.

Sight of a shy Kingfisher makes for a special birding day, more so to watch one fishing rather than the more familiar frustration of a flash of blue disappearing into the watery distance. For the benefit of blog readers from North America who are more accustomed to seeing Belted Kingfishers, our European Kingfisher at about 6 inches, is half the size of the Belted Kingfisher. 

Kingfisher

 

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

 Kingfisher

 

 Kingfisher

Kingfisher

For Kingfisher fans, there are lots of better pictures at an earlier Another Bird Blog post, here.

Today’s post links up with Stewart’s World Bird Wednesday at  http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/

More news fron Another Bird Blog pretty soon, stay tuned.