Swallows And Martins

There's no ecaping the sport today. It's granddaughter Olivia's school Sports Day and all  good innocent fun. So no birding until tomorrow for me. In the meantime here's a few pictures of Swallows and House Martins from Pilling on Monday afternoon.  

Not much to report from a quick visit. A build of post-breeding Lapwings at 60+, and similarly with Curlews at more than 40. Three Grey Plovers made an appearance over the shore where 7 Eider ducks sat out the incoming tide. The usual Kestrels now feeding quite large young and a Tawny Owl at Fluke Hall.

At Pilling Water I found a family of Swallows so spent a while with them. There were 2 adults and 4 recently fledged youngsters, the juveniles reluctant to explore while the adults kept returning with food.   

Barn Swallow

 

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

 Barn Swallow

House Martins do not often settle on the ground but have to do so when collecting material to construct their nests. The incoming tide left patches of muddy sand, an ideal buiding material for House Martins to shore up their mud dwellings. Everywhere is pretty dry at the moment with not many puddles around so the House Martins must have travelled a good 800 metres or more from their nests in Pilling village to collect the sticky stuff. 

House Martins sometimes nest on ships. A pair once nested on board a ship travelling eight times a day between Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden. The crossing between the two ports was 15 miles long.  

House Martin

 

 House Martins

House Martin

Join Another Bird Blog on Wednesday for more birds.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

A Sporting Saturday

Sport is great, especially on TV, and at the moment there’s lots of it. I’m really looking forward to The World Cup, Wimbledon Tennis, The Commonwealth Games, The Open Golf, Royal Ascot, Test Match Cricket and the myriad sports events which fill the TV schedules. 

You guessed my reason for loving sport. All this essential viewing means that more people are about to spend extra time glued to a TV rather than relish the great outdoors where their trivial pursuits always interfere with my birding. Yes, birding is a very selfish pastime best enjoyed when Joe Public is elsewhere, preferably indoors staring at a TV screen, so I intend to enjoy this summer’s Festival of Sport and do birding and blogging as much as possible. 

Meanwhile I hope that the present all-pervading discussion and media coverage of sport does not infect me or Another Bird Blog, so if at any time I inadvertently lapse into sporting jargon please forgive me. 

So forget sport for now, here’s a blow-by-blow account of Saturday’s birding. 

There was no game plan but I was quick out of the gate, kicking off with a straight drive along the A585 to Conder Green. I took a few seconds out at Pilling, getting the ball rolling with a knockout Barn Owl, a pretty safe bet along here at 5am. I was off to a flying start! 

Barn Owl

At Conder Green the ducking and diving wildfowl totalled 1 Little Grebe, 3 Teal, 2 Wigeon, 10 Tufted Duck, 12 Shelduck, all par for the course in June, plus 17 Canada Goose. At the shallow end wading birds obliged with 55 Redshank, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Oystercatcher, 1 Curlew and 1 Common Sandpiper. 

Shelduck

At this stage of the game many Redshanks are on the return leg as are Common Sandpipers. A  number of the 55 Redshanks are clearly juveniles from elsewhere, the breeding pair here with still unfledged young. The Oystercatcher count includes 5 juveniles of two broods, the largest brood a stunning hat-trick, all there off and running at a fair old pace and sure to go the full distance to adulthood. 

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

 Oystercatcher chicks

 Oystercatcher chick

Oystercatcher

It’s a hard call. Do Grey Herons and Little Egrets fit into the category of “wader” or “wildfowl”? Maybe the 3 Grey Heron and single Little Egret should be classed as “also ran”? If so, I clocked 10 more herons at Cockersands later, together with 44 Eider, a healthy tally which included 12 youngsters which knew the score by sticking close to mom. 

 Little Egret

Meanwhile, and back to the second half at Conder Green. Suddenly there were lots of Starlings, a flock of 200+ containing many youngsters jockeying for position on the farm buildings and fences opposite the marsh. The juvenile Starlings shouted the odds, some begging for food from parents nearby as in the car I played a blinder with the camera. A Woodpigeon decided to play the game too and sat posing for a portrait.

Starling

Woodpigeon

I’m on the final lap now, just the little brown jobs to tally and then I can throw in the towel - 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 5 Whitethroat, 4 Reed Bunting, 4 Linnet, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, and then a single Tree Sparrow on the rails. 

Tree Sparrow

Yet again a good number of 30+ Swift hawked insects at early doors with only a handful of Swallows doing the same; probably because many females are still confined to nests and I've yet to see many  juveniles. And in any contest for a beautiful bird an adult Swallow would surely be first past the post? 

Barn Swallow

It’s into the home straight now and the A588 again where a roadside Kestrel played ball, but soon it was the chequered flag of home where I was hot favourite for a few chores. 

But no worries, in a contest between watching sport or watching birds, birding wins hands down. 

Please join Another Bird Blog’s team again soon. You might be onto a winner.

Linking today to Anni's Birding Blog.

Slowly Does It

Mid-June and It’s a struggle to come up with news or pictures today. Many birds are lying low, in the throes of breeding, moulting their feathers or in some cases both. But Another Bird Blog doesn’t give up that easily and I was out Pilling way as usual even though a little later than normal. 

Imagine my surprise to see at 0930 a Red Fox strolling across the often busy lane, the animal crossing from one part of the wood towards another. I saw it early and then slowed the car hoping the fox wouldn’t notice before I stopped for a photo, but just as the car came to a halt the animal melted into the undergrowth, so no picture to show. 

As usual I was left with mixed feelings about the thrill of seeing and wanting to photograph a predator with a repuation as bad as a fox. This particular fox may be living on borrowed time if it chooses to stay around “the shoot” environs. Come the month of August thousands of Red-legged Partridges will be released in preparation for the sporting season whereby nothing should hinder its success. 

Red-legged Partridge

There were 3 Kestrels this morning, the pair at Fluke Hall and one near the nest box at Damside. I think both pairs now have young to feed so actively do they hunt at the moment. One male had leftovers of the last meal attached to his bill and was already on the lookout for another family meal. 

Kestrel

In the woodland and along the hedgerows I found 6/8 Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers and a single Buzzard. Later another Buzzard was circling over Head Dyke, for such a large raptor an effortless flap and glide from Fluke Hall. 

Needless to say, I walked the (sea) wall where I suppose that even now I’ve not abandoned all hope of finding evidence of Lapwing, Oystercatcher or Redshank chicks. It can be the case that adults lead their broods of young from inland fields to the coast where they all feed in the still wet drainage channels and ditches, but still no sign of new youngsters today, just the calls and brief attentions of the one Lapwing pair with their single chick. Half a dozen Redshanks and five or six Oystercatchers showed no signs of concern at my passing by or even to escort me off the premises as they do when youngsters are in tow.

Along the sea wall signs of post-breeding with several extra Curlews, 3 Grey Heron and 50+ Shelduck. 

Back home has seen a number of Goldfinches in the garden, up to 15 at a time, with a number of fresh juveniles learning the whys and wherefores of niger seed. It’s hard to believe that those rather dull looking juveniles will turn into our handsome UK Goldfinch. 

Goldfinch

Goldfinch

Rather unexpectedly I caught a Treecreeper, an adult female which showed signs of feathering over a recent brood patch. The Treecreeper is another of those species which has suffered local declines and although there are copses and stands of trees quite near home, Treecreepers are generally much more difficult to find than ten or twenty years ago. 

 Treecreeper

There’s a full day pass tomorrow. Log in to Another Bird Blog on Friday so see if the birding moved up a gear or two.

That Kestrel on a barbed wire fence means a link to Theresa's Run A Round Ranch is in order. 

Linking Saturday to Eileen's Saturday Critters.

Not A Lot

Daughter Joanne had a surprise when for a couple of days from the kitchen window she saw a Little Owl on the garden fence. Dad had the job of finding out where the owl was living and why it suddenly took a liking to Joanne’s garden. 

Monday began with a hint of rain, but at 10am I made my way to the garden arbour waiting for the owl to appear. Little did I know the owl was on the conservatory roof behind me, not until it swooped low over the lawn pursued by a scolding Blackbird. The owl flew over the fence and off towards the rather large and unkempt garden 30 yards away where there are tumbledown sheds and greenhouses. The Little Owl perched up briefly as I grabbed a single (underexposed) picture. I’ll go back soon for another try, remembering to use the eyes in the back of my head that all dads have. 

Little Owl

On Tuesday I had a couple of hours free before the babysitting employment so snuck off down Pilling way. 

The sea wall has been really hard work this year, the breeding success of the waders the worst ever in 25+ years of surveying this stretch of coastal "wetland". This year the warning calls of adult Lapwings, Redshanks and Oystercatchers have been absent, the sky overhead unusually silent. This morning I found only my second Lapwing brood of the year and this just a single small chick; it's hardly enough to replenish the pool of new blood for coming years. The remaining pair of Oystercatchers looked to have given up since their chosen Hi-Fly field was tilled again since my visit of Sunday. 

Lapwing

Oystercatcher

There was little else of note, 2 juvenile Pied Wagtails, 2 Grey Heron, 6+ Skylark, 2 Corn Bunting, several loafing Shelduck and way out at the tideline a pair of Eider duck. 

At Lane Ends in the tree tops was a young Jay calling loudly for food. Nearby I found one that didn’t make it, a dead youngster. Jays have bred here for a few years but for a normally noisy species they remain very quiet throughout the breeding seaon. 

 Jay

On and around the pools were 4 Reed Warbler, 1 Willow Warbler, 2 Little Grebe and a Kestrel suspended in mid-air. 

Little Grebe

Kestrel

That’s not a lot for a couple of hours birding is it? Have no fear, Another Bird Blog will try again tomorrow.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Good Game, Good Game

On Sunday I set off for Cockersands and Conder Green where an early tide might do the trick in bringing a few birds closer. 

Like lots of birding sites in June the area of Conder Green is proving remarkably consistent in species and counts. Regular readers or those looking for something to catch up on might notice a few “goodies” in amongst the regular “dross” of 15+ Swift, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Bunting, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Meadow Pipit, 2 Tree Sparrow, 2 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron, 8 Lapwing, 1 Greenshank, 1 Grey Partridge, 2 Curlew and 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker. 

Yes, the Curlew are possibly fresh-in with the Greenshank definitely new and either “late going” or “early coming back”, depending upon someone’s understanding of the breeding cycle of northern waders. I favour the early returning scenario, especially since a number of Lapwings appeared hereabouts today. 

Whether the Grey Partridge is “real” rather than a from £13.80" sub-species is anyone’s guess.  And yes, in case anyone is wondering, even an expensive and reintroduced Grey Partridge is literally "fair game" to a shoot.

Grey Partridge

There seemed to be lots of Lapwings in the Cockersands area too, with a total count of 80+ and a single count of 35 in one field. The Lapwings easily outnumbered the 15+ Brown Hares, several Oystercatchers and 2 Red-legged Partridge with which they shared the fields. On the circuit also, 4 Sedge Warbler, 5 Whitethroat, 2 Reed Bunting and 5 Tree Sparrow. 

 Lapwing

Lapwing

Eiders have bred close to Cockersands again. From the path I could see a single pair with 5 young on the edge of the tide with other adults in attendance and ten birds in total; more youngsters could well emerge in the next days and weeks.

Breeding hereabouts is a regular occurrence now as an offshoot of the colony of 700+ pairs just across Morecambe Bay at Walney Island, until recent years the most southerly breeding colony in England. Quite where the females nest around here is anyone’s guess as not only do they possess incredibly cryptic plumage, they are renowned for sitting amazingly tight, not vacating their nest until stood upon. I recall gull ringing expeditions to the Walney Island dunes, grabbing hold of reluctant Lesser Black-back and Herring Gulls while at the same time treading carefully to avoid standing on invisible Eider ducks.

Eider

Along the shore some newly arrived Black-headed Gulls, 2 Little Egret and a small number of Ringed Plover and Dunlin mixing freely on the shore and pebble beach. These latter species have been around for a week or two, part of their strong passage north, and unlike species like Greenshank and Spotted Redshank which return early, if these loiterers don’t get a move on soon they will meet themselves coming back. 

 

Ringed Plover and Dunlin

It was 10am, the Sunny Sunday crowd out and about, so time to head home after a good morning’s birding. 

Join Another Bird Blog soon for more of the same game.  

Buzzard Update, Birding Update

Firstly, and following Thursday's Blog posting. A big “Thank You” to readers from all over the world who gave support to our UK Buzzards through their blog comments and/or via a direct message to Natural England's website. 

By coincidence and within an hour or two of the blog posting Natural England had made their decision with the website updated as reproduced below. 

“Decision on buzzard control licence application. 

5 June 2014 

On 23 April 2014 Natural England received an application for a licence to cage trap and shoot ten common buzzard (Buteo buteo) in the vicinity of a site which has experienced loss to pheasant poults in recent years. The application had been made by the operator of a pheasant rearing and shooting business on the site and is supported by the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation. After careful consideration, Natural England has concluded that the application does not meet the criteria that would permit lethal control to be licensed. 

ENDS” 

So the rightful verdict was made in favour of Buzzards however the saga raises questions as to how and why deliberations and decisions made by a publicly funded body are conducted in secret without openness and transparency. 

Make no mistake, the forces of evil will not give up and more applications to kill Buzzards and other raptors will inevitably follow. Destroying Buzzards or anything else they see as a threat is an easy way out for farmers and landowners too lazy or incompetent to find ways of protecting their young pheasants. In any case it’s time that as a nation we debated the practice of the captive breeding and release of millions of birds into the countryside to then kill for pleasure. 

On to happier things and my birding to Conder Green and Fluke Hall this morning. 

A couple of infrequent species for Conder Green began the morning in the way of 2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers in The Stork car park and 2 Stock Doves feeding in the road. The woodpeckers were a juvenile and an adult, the adult bringing food to the noisy youngster. 

Also feeding young were Meadow Pipit and Reed Bunting with 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler and 5 Whitethroat in song. 

Meadow Pipit

I had a good count of Swifts this morning as more than 50 of them devoured the midge harvest above the hawthorn hedgerow. Swallows and martins were counted on one hand. 

On and around the water, 10 Tufted Duck, 2 Grey Heron, 15 Redshank, 2 Shoveler, 17 Canada Goose, 14 Shelduck and 15 Oystercatcher, the latter including 3 chicks. 

Canada Goose

There wasn’t much doing at Glasson Dock save for another heron, more Swifts, several Swallows and a number of Mallards with young. The water was very still, the sky very blue. 

Mallards

 Glasson Dock

There were seven more Grey Herons in the ditches near Fluke Hall which told me that their breeding season is probably over, early nesters as they are. And then Surprise, Surprise. At last I saw 2 Lapwing chicks on the wildfowler’s pools along with a nesting Moorhen, 15/20 Shelduck and a singing Corn Bunting. This seems to happen each year, the late appearance of a few Corn Buntings which coincides with the fast May and June growth of the silage crop. 

Corn Bunting

In the vicinity of Fluke Hall itself, 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Great-spotted Woodpeckers, 7 Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap. 

Whitethroat

Along the lane a single Kestrel hunted for a while until the morning’s procession of cars filled with dogs began to spoil the Kestrel’s fun and my photo attempts. 

Kestrel

Kestrel

Oh well, there’s always another day, another place for Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Anni's Birding Blog and Eileen's Saturday Blog.

Buzzards - Here we Go Again

Here we go again. 5th June 2014. Our UK Buzzards are under a new threat from nameless individuals.  

Buzzard - Buteo buteo

 

“The RSPB is concerned to learn that Natural England — the UK Government's nature conservation agency — is considering a licence application to trap and shoot 10 Common Buzzards to protect young Pheasants. Natural England is expected to make a decision on the fate of the Buzzards imminently. 

Martin Harper is the RSPB's Conservation Director. He said: "The Buzzard is a fully protected bird of prey which is only now recovering its numbers from sustained historic persecution, which saw the bird lose much of its UK population and range. Any relaxation of their current protection, coupled with ongoing persecution, could threaten local populations. Their vulnerability is a key reason why we are fighting for their protection." 

Last year Natural England granted licences to control Buzzards at a chicken farm, and at a Pheasant shoot — the first time such licences had been issued. Subsequent licence applications to kill adult Buzzards at four Pheasant shoots managed by the original applicant were then rejected by Natural England. The RSPB has learnt that an application was made on 23rd April to cage-trap and shoot ten Buzzards across four sites to prevent 'serious damage' to Pheasant poults. 

The Society knows the applicant has sought licences to control Buzzards in previous years. Martin Harper added: "I am disappointed that a new licence application has been sought to control Buzzards to protect gamebirds. To our knowledge, there isn't convincing evidence to justify issuing licences for the control of Buzzards and we think the application should be rejected by Natural England, especially since they rejected applications for the same activity last year. It's time that wildlife licensing is conducted in a more transparent way. A test of a modern 21st-century society is one that is open and tolerates birds of prey and finds ways to live in harmony with them." 

There are a variety of ways to prevent young Pheasants being killed by Buzzards. For example, by creating cover for the gamebirds, or by installing deterrents to keep Buzzards away. The RSPB has written to Defra calling for clear guidance to Natural England to reject all licences to control Buzzards to protect gamebirds.” 

Pheasants, an introduced species, released in their millions every Spring do untold damage to native species like Grey Partridge. Buzzards are a native species have recolonized areas from which they were previously wiped out by shooting interests. 

Buzzard - Buteo buteo

Buzzard - Buteo buteo

The RSPB should name (and shame) the applicant and the sites involved, both to give unwelcome local publicity and to enable local bird watchers to monitor the area. 

I suggest that everyone reading this send an immediate complaint to Natural England via their website. Somewhat ironically the Natural Engand slogan is “Natural England – for people, for places for nature”.