Mostly Thrushes

A bitterly cold northerly wasn’t the best prospect for today but after a few hours I came home with a bit of news from far and wide plus plenty of photographs of thrushes. I hope Another Bird Blog readers are Turdus fans. 

Kicking off at Lane Ends gave 4 Little Egrets, 1 Grey Heron and a walk to the pool just 2 Tufted Duck. It was too cold to hang about on the sea wall with a trip around Cockerham Moss ensconced in a warm car seeming a much better prospect. 

Most of the Whooper Swans from last week seem to have moved on, with a meagre count of 32 today, and 3 Mute Swans well separated from their noisy cousins. The gangs of corvids alerted me to a Sparrowhawk flying low across the stubble towards flocks of feeding Starlings and when they all panicked into the air I made an approximate count of 1500. Hundreds of gulls remained uncounted, but I did pick out 10 Redshank working their way through the flooded stubble. Further round the moss and on a less flooded field were 300+ Lapwing and 18 Curlew. 

I stopped at Braides to count more waders on the flood there: 1200 Golden Plover, 420 Lapwing, 18 Dunlin and 40 Redshank. Two Kestrels here too. 

Kestrel

Conder Green next where I found a good selection of birds, starting with a Peregrine over the pool which circled briefly before flying off towards Glasson and the marsh. On the pool and creek: 110 Teal, 2 Goosander, 1 Goldeneye, 3 Little Grebe, 2 Snipe, 15 Curlew, 3 Lapwing, 2 Oystercatcher, 1 Little Egret, 10 Redshank and 1 Mute Swan, the latter a little more approachable than the wild and wonderful Whooper Swans. 

Mute Swan

Smaller birds around the car park area: 2 Greenfinch, 4 Goldfinch, 1 Tree Sparrow, 3 Redwing, 18 Fieldfare and 12 Blackbird. It was here I spent a while trying to obtain shots of the shy thrushes feeding in the hawthorn bushes. So thrushes below, not in any particular order. 

A single Fieldfare had taken ownership of one hawthorn, chasing all the other thrushes off, its own species as well as the Blackbirds and Redwings. Occasionally the other thrushes would sneak back for a quick berry or two until the Fieldfare chased them off again to the next hawthorn.

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Blackbird

 Redwing

Fieldfare

 Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Blackbird

Redwing

Fieldfare

Weekend beckons, so does more freezing weather with frost and snow. Not to worry because Another Bird Blog will surely find somewhere to go. Log in soon to discover where.

This post is linking to Anni who would rather Be Birding Anytime soon.

Miscellaneous And A Plug

Details came from the BTO of a Lesser Redpoll Y310191 which I caught on Rawcliffe Moss on 19th October 2012. It had been first ringed at Alfrick Pound, near Great Malvern, Worcestershire, 225 days earlier on 8th March 2012. The dates involved point to a spring migration to a spot somewhere north of Rawcliffe Moss and an autumn return to a location south of Worcestershire. 

Lesser Redpoll - Gt Malvern to Out Rawcliffe

The repoll was one of 28 caught at Out Rawcliffe in October, a classic month of Lesser Redpoll migration south. 

On October 20th a day after Y310191, I caught a Belgian ringed Lesser Redpoll, details of which are yet to be notified to me. 

Lesser Redpoll

Talking of the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology), I was reading my BTO News just the other day and I see they are offering the opportunity to become a member until June 2013 for the princely sum of £1 by direct debit just here.

Please think about joining the BTO. It is not necessary to participate in the many voluntary activities as anyone can simply join the BTO and support its work through the annual subscription fee. Considering all the good work the BTO does it is both amazing and mystifying to know there are bird watchers out there in the UK who are not members - so come on guys and gals, join today for only £1 - less than a cup of Starbucks. Plug over.

Rawcliffe was the destination this morning, with no time for ringing, just a wander around and a top up the feeders for another day. When I arrived the Little Owl was out in the morning sun, warming itself after the overnight frost. It wasn’t interested in turning round for a photo, just content with a sideways glance. Hopefully I’d have it on the way back. 

Little Owl

On an expanse of stubble fields there’s a large and mobile flock of mainly finches, the numbers of birds building over the last few weeks culminating today in a count of 700/800 Chaffinch, 3+ Brambling, 70+ Skylark and 2 Meadow Pipit. From a hedgerow nearby I disturbed 3 Roe Deer which shot across the stubble, pausing only to look back briefly at me. The same hedgerow held 25+ Reed Bunting, 3 Yellowhammer and 45+ Tree Sparrow, 2 Redwing and a single Fieldfare. To the east I watched as c3000 Woodpigeons took flight, leaving in parties to make their way west and out to Pilling Moss. 

Brambling

Roe Deer

There were more Reed Buntings and Chaffinches near the plantation, with 10/12 Goldfinch too, so I topped the feeders vowing to return another day. My walk back to the car added 2 Snipe, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker and 1 Kestrel. The owl was still there in the sunshine, all puffed up to retain heat, but this time a little more obliging to the camera. 

Little Owl

Little Owl

I drove back home alongside the river and via Lancaster Road where I added 50+ Fieldfare and similar numbers of Redwing. From the roadside I could see the elusive Hen Harrier of local fame patrolling the many fields on offer, and a mile or two towards Pilling a gang of people with cameras hoping for a glimpse. 

An excellent morning of bird watching. More news and views soon on Another Bird Blog, so stay in touch.

What To Do?

What with the legacy of rain puddles, showers, and then overnight frost and ice the roads didn’t look very enticing this morning. Anyway at the weekend there are far too many birders about. It’s getting very popular this bird watching lark, so I pondered where to go, where to look and what I might see.

The onset of frosty nights has brought better numbers of birds to the garden, increased Blackbirds, Goldfinches and even a Mistle Thrush, the latter attracted by the apples straight from the freezer, microwaved and then chucked on the grass. So up went a mist net for a while resulting in a reasonable catch of 19 birds but not including any of the thrush family: 9 Goldfinch, 2 House Sparrow, 3 Coal Tit, 3 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit and 1 Robin.

Goldfinch

Robin

House Sparrow

The day wasn’t over. Sue and I took to Shanks’s Pony for a walk through Staynall via Height O'Th Hill and then down towards the River Wyre, a few bits n’ pieces of birds on the way there and on the way back.

Most of the action was between Corcas Lane’s brine fields and the river at The Heads, namely a Buzzard, 10+ Fieldfare, 6 Redwing, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 6 Goldfinch, 15 Chaffinch, 2 Linnet, 2 Reed Bunting and 200+ Woodpigeon. Down at the river embankment we disturbed a Little Egret and 4 Snipe from the ditches, and then watched a Short-eared Owl hunt but briefly before it settled down again in the marsh grass.

On the stubble fields towards "Hillbilly" Farm we counted 40+ Curlew, a flighty group of 30 or so Golden Plover and one of the local Kestrel pair.

Curlew 

The landscape is pretty flat in this part of The Fylde, Lancashire, and just occasionally do the contours reach the dizzy heights. The word “Fylde” is of Scandinavian origin and descriptive of this flat, coastal part of western Lancashire, a roughly 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east.

Fylde - looking east to Bowland

 Height O'Th Hill Farm

The BBC reckons there’s a chance of snow and sleet tomorrow. We’ll see, but come rain, snow, or sun you can bet Another Bird Blog will find ways to bring a few birds your way.

This week Another Bird Blog is linking to I'd Rather Be Birding, Stewart's Photo Gallery, and Weekly Top Shot, so be sure to check them out. 

Soaking It In

I spent time out Cockerham way today, much of it taking in the spectacular sight and sounds of the grey geese and Whooper Swans, with another huge count of swans and this time many thousands of Pink-footed Geese. The count today - 11,000 Pink-footed Goose, 570 Whooper Swans and 15 Greylag Goose. 

They were packed tight today, the large, heavy, quarrelsome and hyperactive Whooper Swans to the fore and the slow, purposeful, marching, feeding grey geese to the rear. The main action centred upon the previously soggy depression in the peaty-black field, the dip in the ground a minor landscape feature which now before our very eyes changes to a sizeable pond, to later bear a passing resemblance to a muddy lagoon. 

Pink-footed Goose and Whooper Swan

Every so often a noisy farm vehicle would pass by, a prompt to quieten the swans, causing a number to stop feeding and check everything was OK, always leaving others to continue feeding; there are always enough lookouts to ensure a quick escape if needs be; a tried and trusted system of some millennia. 

Whooper Swan

If the swans are sensibly wary the geese are impossibly fearful; anxious and permanently on edge, hardly daring to relax and feed, the same transitory farm vehicles sending the birds off in waves of panicky flight to further away. 

Pink-footed Goose

Pink-footed Goose

 Greylag Goose

After such noteworthy spectacles the mundane birds of Cockerham Moss are something of an anti-climax: 30 Chaffinch, 10+ Tree Sparrow, 6 Redwing, 4 Skylark, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Kestrel, 1 Little Egret, 1200 Starlings. 

Starling

Plenty of waders on the fields at the Gulf Lane end - 240 Curlew, 330 Lapwing and 40 + Redshank. 

Curlew

That’s another day done on Another Bird Blog. Log in soon for another day somewhere.

This week Another Bird Blog is linking to I'd Rather Be Birding, Stewart's Photo Gallery, and Weekly Top Shot so take a look there too.

Chilly Ringing

A Jack Frost morning saw me return to Rawcliffe Moss after yesterday spotting a good number of Reed Buntings feeding on wheat spillage near the plantation. Today I counted 30 or so Reed Buntings dodging in and out of the field, so put up a couple of nets close by in the hope of catching a few. At the moment it seems to be mainly Reed Buntings showing an interest in the abandoned crop, with otherwise a small number of Chaffinch. 

After a couple of hours I’d caught 9 Reed Bunting, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Blackbird, 1 Wren and also recaptured a Coal Tit first ringed here 30 September 2010. 

Apart from one, all the Reed Buntings appeared to be first year birds, the tail below still showing fault bars caused by the poor feeding opportunities of the wet and cold summer. 

Reed Bunting

"Fault Bars" - Reed Bunting

Male Reed Buntings show a greyish white neck collar, a feature which females lack. 

Reed Bunting

All three Chaffinch proved to be females. 

Chaffinch

Chaffinch

Wren

Coal Tit 

A number of other birds were seen nearby: 6 Snipe, 4 Skylark, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 8 Goldfinch, 12 Corn Bunting, 40 Tree Sparrow, 60+ Chaffinch, and then 2 Kestrel and a single Buzzard. 

Corn Bunting

On the way home through Town End, Out Rawcliffe I chanced upon a mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfare, circa 120 and 80 respectively. After seeing mere handfuls of each species of late the sudden appearance of bigger numbers may be the result of the severe frost of Wednesday night. Along the same road, another Kestrel and Buzzard. 

Looks like another woolly hat, warm scarf and thermal gloves day tomorrow for Another Bird Blog, so no early morning heroics, just a trip out someplace. Log in soon to find out just where and when.

No Work On Wednesday?

At last, a touch of sun, a dry morning and chance for a spot of birding, with Rawcliffe Moss the destination where with luck there was an hour or two before the shoot arrived and all hell broke loose. 

Another person asked me the same question earlier in the week. “Why in this modern day and age do we tolerate the shooting of our declining and therefore increasingly precious wildlife, and this coupled with wilful persecution of our raptors?” It’s not as if people rely upon a brace of duck, a couple of partridge or a wader or two to feed hungry mouths is it?” I agreed, long gone too are the days when Hen Harriers or “hawks” really did steal a few hens from our subsistence farmsteads. 

From the British Association for Shooting and Conservation BASC, (now there’s a complete contradiction in terminology), is a list of so called “quarry species” in the UK - “Gadwall, Goldeneye, Mallard, Pintail, Pochard, Scaup, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, White-fronted Goose, Snipe, Golden Plover, Jack Snipe, Woodcock, Coot and Moorhen”. In addition “The Woodpigeon is both the UK’s major agricultural bird pest and one of the most popular species providing sporting shooting. It is legal to shoot the bird all the year round under the current general licence arangements (sic). The Woodpigeon makes good eating and provides nourishing cheap food, and appears on the menus of top restaurants.”  

Maybe it’s time all the diverse elements of the UK’s far too many conservation movements joined together and made a concerted effort to put a halt to the killing through politicking, while at the same time exploding the many myths and untruths around the “economic benefits” and “conservation value” of shooting? Moan over for now. 

At the farm were plenty of the aforementioned Woodpigeons turning the tree tops grey with a count/estimate of 4000+ in just a couple of woods. It looks like many of last week’s huge numbers reported on Another Bird Blog may have moved to south west Lancashire, with enormous flocks seen near Martin Mere, Ormskirk. - 20th November “The huge flock of Woodpigeons which has been building up just beyond the edge of the reserve was estimated to contain around 50,000 birds this morning – a remarkable sight!” 

Watching the tree tops made for a sighting of 2 Buzzards flying in from the east, calling as they came and scattering the pigeons in all directions and setting the Jays off screeching. 

Buzzard 

Woodpigeon

Good numbers of passerines today, impossible to get precise counts for all when they scatter along the hedgerows, but 60+ Chaffinch, 50+ Tree Sparrow, 5 Corn Bunting 2 Yellowhammer, 7 Goldfinch and c15 Reed Bunting. 

Tree Sparrow

Thankfully we haven’t suffered the floods of elsewhere in the UK, the fields here are just remarkably wet for now and the foreseeable future, so a good place to find gulls, Lapwings and Snipe, plus the odd Buzzard waiting patiently. There’s a Buzzard on the distant fence, and out of shot 90+ Lapwing, 120 Black-headed Gulls, a couple of Snipe and a passing Kestrel. 

Buzzard

Lapwing

When the gunslingers arrived I made for the car and a drive across the Pilling Moss to Lane Ends. Over the moss road I counted 3 bird watchers lying in wait for assorted owls, 2 Kestrel, 10 Tree Sparrow, 15 Chaffinch, 1 Buzzard, 2 Redwing, 18 Fieldfare and 6 Meadow Pipit. 

Kestrel

When I got to Pilling there was another shoot all along the marsh road - Wednesday again, I forgot. Don’t these people have work to do? 

Thursday should be OK for a spot of birding, photography or just putting the world to rights - log in soon to Another Bird Blog and find out.

The Early Bird…..

Didn’t catch the worm, just the 0815 tide and an hour or two at Knott End before the domestic arrangements took over. Waders and wildfowl: 900 Oystercatcher, 80 Redshank, 90 Turnstone, 230 Knot, 18 Sanderling, 6 Curlew, 30 Shelduck, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret and 1 Eider. Where are the Eider ducks this winter? And as a possible answer to the question, we normally experience a wintering Eider overflow from the colony centred across the bay at Walney Island, with maybe a few of our own birds which breed not far away along the River Wyre. So as pure speculation let’s blame the appalling summer again, as even an Eider’s down couldn’t afford much protection to an egg or  duckling from the cold and wet of June, July and August. 

There are often comments from blog readers about the actual numbers of waders in these parts, perhaps incredulous of the hundreds or thousands of a particular species. It is explained by the fact that just here on the Fylde coast and where I am so lucky to live, is the southern expanse of the Internationally Important Morecambe Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). I am afraid that most birders, and probably me included, rather take for granted the truism without necessarily appreciating and enjoying the splendour for themselves.  What's that old saying which starts "familiarity.... "?

Even as the tide runs in Sanderlings and Turnstones continue to feed as long as possible, but while the Oystercatchers are content to sit it out on the sands or a convenient rock, they keep a watchful eye open.

Sanderling

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

Passerines: 6 Goldfinch, 5 Pied Wagtail, 4 Meadow Pipit and 2 Rock Pipit 

Here in coastal North West England Meadow Pipits are numerous passage migrants in both spring and autumn and also a species which winters in small numbers. Until recent years they bred in good numbers, but more lately the number of breeding pairs is much reduced. In contrast our Rock Pipits are both spring and autumn migrants, but mainly winter visitors in small numbers during the months of November to March. A Rock Pipit differs from the similar and closely related Meadow Pipit in that it has darker legs, rather broad streaks down its breast and overall dark plumage. Just to confuse, both species habitually spend time in both rocks and meadows.

Rock Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Yet again the forecast isn’t too good for birding on Sunday or even Monday, but as ever Another Bird Blog will keep a watchful eye on proceedings and be out there in there thick of it as soon as possible. So log in soon. 

In the meantime Another Bird Blog expands its horizons for the next seven days to Weekly Top Shot, I'd Rather Be Birding and Paying Ready Attention Photo Gallery - give them all a visit for a new experience and lots of photographs.