Doing The Rounds

More terns on Monday, this time on the Glasson and Conder Green circuit. Even after such a lovely sunny morning I resisted puns and the obvious post title of “Terned Out Nice Again.” 

Many people confuse terns with gulls and although related the two families of birds have marked differences. Most terns are elegant, slim and streamlined and are often called "sea swallows" because of their long narrow wings, long forked tails and swift, graceful flight. In general the tern family of birds have long tapering bills and fly with them pointing downward as their keen eyesight scans the water below. Terns take live food but rarely alight on water, and instead plunge headlong into it to capture prey beneath the surface. 

Most gull species are scavengers of the highest order, more heavily built than a tern, with broader wings, square or rounded tails and business-like bills equipped for mischief. Gulls are not nearly as good looking as just the average tern. Oops, there goes my honorary membership of The Gull Appreciation Society (GAS). 

Common Terns were at Conder Green and at Glasson Dock, two at Conder and a single at Glasson Dock. The latter one was actively fishing both the dock water and the yacht basin, circuiting and then plunge diving into both at such breakneck speed that the autofocus could barely get a fix on it. Luckily there was a gull to practice on. 

Common Tern

Black-headed Gull

Although I arrived before the dock opened for operational business with its hustle, bustle and noise, there was no sight or sound of Kingfishers today. A Great Crested Grebe and 4 Tufted Duck sailed in and out of the margins according to activity on the towpath. The birds prefer to feed close to the retaining walls where there is probably a more varied choice of food but where the almost constant pedestrian traffic sends them back to deeper water. 

Great Crested Grebe

There were 5 Pied Wagtails around the bowling green, 3 Grey Heron and 2 Little Egret on the marsh and “many” Lapwing and Redshank all the way to Conder and silhouetted into the morning light of the river. 

Grey Heron

The terns at Conder Green seem to have adopted a stony, weed infested island, a perfect choice for nesting if only it were Spring. One sat with head just visible looking for all the world like it was at a nest while the other flew around the pool and the creeks for a while before heading off towards the canal and Glasson. Perhaps my three terns is after all a double tern? 

Waders and herons: 135 Redshank, 14 Oystercatcher, 9 Common Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Spotted Redshank, 4 Curlew, 4 Grey Heron, 4 Little Egret. 

Juvenile Oystercatcher

 Curlew

Wildfowl: A pair of Tufted Duck with 4 youngsters reduced from 10 “newbies” just a week ago, 6 other Tufted Duck, 2 Wigeon, 2 Little Grebe and 2 Shelduck. 

Ods and Sods: 9 Pied Wagtail, 2 Stock Dove, 2 Meadow Pipit, 2 Reed Bunting, 1 Greenfinch.

Another Bird Blog will be here again very soon for all the news, views and more photos. Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Well Terned Out

From the bedroom window at 5am dawn appeared as grey skies and rain spotted puddles. I went back to bed for another sleep vowing to try later. 

I've neglected Knott End birding for weeks of mid-summer. So with a late start, a freshening wind and high tide due at midday I decided to spend an hour or two at the estuary in the hope of seeing returning waders and terns; it’s here where the River Wyre meets the huge expanse of Morecambe Bay. People and vehicles sometimes come to grief here when they fail to appreciate the speed of the incoming tides, the softness of the exposed beach or the whereabouts of patches of quicksand. 

Motoring - Knott End style

It's barely mid-July but already there are good numbers of post-breeding Oystercatchers and I counted 340+ leaving the shore, most heading up river to roost, the remainder flying towards an alternative roost at Pilling. The 35 Curlew and 12 Dunlin flew up river too, the Dunlin split 50/50 black- bellied adults and plainer juveniles. I thought it odd not to see a single Redshank today in contrast to the good numbers there have been a few miles up the coast at the River Lune. 

Dunlin

Curlew

A walk up river didn’t produce much apart from a single Lapwing, a lonesome Eider, a Pied Wagtail and 30/40 Black-headed Gulls. As I walked the Oystercatchers kept coming in their tens and twenties flying south to their roost a mile away at Barnaby’s Sands/Burrows Marsh. 

By now the wind was quite blowy and cool so I donned a jacket to sit at the jetty where the ferry leaves to cross for Fleetwood, all of four hundred yards away. A Peregrine coasted by not too far out, the bird in no hurry as Peregrines mostly are. It was headed Pilling way flying so lethargically that I failed to appreciate what it was until too late - fooled, no picture. 

Fleetwood and The River Wyre viewed from Knott End

A couple of Sandwich Terns came in from the north with the tide, searched around for a while and then left towards the Fleetwood side of the river just as quickly as they appeared. 

Sandwich Tern

There wasn’t an awful lot doing and I was about to call it a morning when a Black Tern appeared from somewhere out in the bay; a most unexpected arrival. The tern wasn’t feeding but flew and high over the water towards Fleetwood and then up river until of sight. From the fairly brief and overhead views the bird appeared to be an adult in full or mostly full summer plumage. 

Black Terns breed in good numbers in the Low Countries of Europe from where this one may have originated and then travelling overland to reach North West England. Just like many wader species at this time of year many adult Black Terns leave breeding colonies in July before the juveniles follow suit in August and September.

Black Tern - Photo credit: U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Foter / (CC BY 2.0)

A rewarding end to a few hours of birding, and I’m pleased I turned out instead of sitting around the house! 

No apologies for the excruciating puns. Let’s hope they won’t deter anyone from revisiting Another Bird Blog soon.

Two Kings And An Emperor

Just lately Glasson Dock has been more bird productive than the “hotspot” of Conder Green where the dry weather and resulting low water levels have conspired to reduce bird numbers. 

So this morning I “did” Glasson first only later venturing to CG. I was pleased I did after spotting two Kingfishers having a territorial ding-dong, one chasing the other across the water in all directions until peace was restored. Winning such a productive fishing spot as Glasson Dock is a good prize for a Kingfisher. 

Kingfisher

The Kingfishers weren't the only birds looking for breakfast. Great Crested Grebes come and go from the saline estuary for a change of diet in the fresh water dock and yacht basin, their visits usually confined to single birds. Single pairs do sometimes breed in the yacht basin but not this year. 

This wasn’t the same bird as a week ago, this one much shyer and less approachable. In the second picture below the grebe’s huge, ungainly foot with lobed toes is visible. Each toe is separate on the foot (the opposite of this is webbed feet, as in ducks and geese). Some grebes find it difficult to walk on land because their feet are so big, and are much better at swimming and diving in water. 

Great Crested Grebe 

Great Crested Grebe

There have been a few strangers with cameras lately, twitchers hoping to see Otters, or “supposed otters” as one person advised me today. After taking umbrage at that comment I failed to advise him that wearing a bright blue shirt, white shorts and a large white hat is probably not the best way to see shy creatures like Otters. 

I didn’t see Otters either. There were 2 Common Terns which flew in from the estuary and began to use the distant pontoons as a base from which to launch periodic flights over the water, hoping to mop-up any leftovers from the gulls. There was a single Grey Wagtail again, 6 Pied Wagtails and 4 Tufted Duck. 

 Lesser Black-backed Gull

Along the canal towpath were 8/10 Swallows, 5 Sedge Warbler, 4 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap plus several Goldfinch and Linnet. 

Swallow

I came across an Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator, a female laying eggs in the surface weed. It’s not the best photograph probably because I had to use a 400mm. 

Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator

Eventually I found myself at Conder Green where a “birder” was leaving the public view point which overlooks the pool and creeks. He got into a grey coloured Citroen Picasso and drove off. Only then did I realise the true purpose of the visit as not bird watching but to deposit his nasty business. There truly are some despicable and disgusting people on Earth. 

As you were with waders and herons: 10 Common Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Oystercatcher, 3 Grey Heron and 2 Little Egret. 

The Oystercatchers are still making lots of noise as they go through their ritual flying displays, in close formation up to six in the air at a time,  despite their breeding season being over.. 

 Oystercatcher

Two Reed Bunting and a single Chiffchaff in song plus two parties of Whitethroats which totalled 11 individuals in all. 

Log in soon for more majestic birding from Another Bird Blog.

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

Fun In The Sun

Best not to waste this run of fine mornings and get out birding because sure as hell we’ll pay for it sooner or later with a spell of rain, we always do. 

So I was up at misty dawn heading north along the A588, slowly but surely so as to give any Barn Owls chance to show. No owls so I made do with a Mistle Thrush, a couple of fence-hopping Skylarks, 3 Pied Wagtails and a singing Corn Bunting. The Corn Bunting was near Gulf Lane again, where it has been singing for a week or ten days from the tops of the tallest roadside bushes and following the pattern of rather mysterious June arrivals by setting up territory near silage crops. There’s another one singing a couple of hundred yards away on the moss and at least two more between Lane Ends and Fluke Hall. 

Cockerham Dawn

Corn Bunting

Skylark

At last at Conder Green, and it’s been a long time coming, a Tufted Duck with youngsters. I watched the female lead 10 ducklings off the near island, the balls of fluff no more than a day old. At Glasson later there was another female with 5 much bigger young. 

Tufted Duck

Otherwise there was little different from recent days, low water levels on the pool and high tide in the creeks making for low counts of 6 Common Sandpiper, 24 Lapwing, 48 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 5 Little Egret and 1 Grey Heron. 

At Glasson Dock a Kingfisher was down in the depths of the moorings today, flying to the stones which are sometimes visible when water levels are low. Against the light and the background of water this picture required some “manipulation”. Digital cameras, long lenses and water surfaces don’t make for good images. 

Kingfisher

Noise levels increased as people arrived for work at the busy little working port. Early risers chatted and waited to take their boats from the yacht basin, through the lock gates and out to the River Lune via the working dock. It’s a well-practiced operation as boat owners and Canal & River Trust workers join forces to crank the road bridge closed and then manoeuvre the boats through the lock gates to let the water levels rise and fall as necessary. 

Meanwhile a Blackbird and nesting Swallows looked on, their precarious nests on the underside of the road bridge now inaccessible for an hour or more until normality was resumed. The Kingfisher flew off towards the estuary and I went for a walk along the canal. When I came back the road bridge was restored with the Swallows going about their business as usual, although they have yet to produce any youngsters and have clearly lost a nest or two already. 

 

Glasson Dock

Swallow

Blackbird

There were 2 Common Terns patrolling the yacht basin, their screeching calls drawing attention to their presence. After a while they flew over heading out to the River Lune. Five Pied Wagtails on the car park with 1 Grey Wagtail, 8 Reed Warbler, 3 Reed Bunting, 8 Goldfinch and 6 Linnet along the sunny tow path. 

Common Tern

There's more fun in the sun with more birds to see on Another Bird Blog very soon.

Linking today to Skywatch Friday  and Run A Round Ranch in Texas.

Mainly Kingfisher

I’m hoping that blog readers like to see Common Kingfishers because that’s virtually all the pictures on show today when other birds failed to play ball with the camera. Don't forget to click the pics for a Kingfisher feast.

There are many boats of all shapes and sizes at Glasson Dock, the vessels tied with all manner of ropes and chains. The moorings and the boats make for great perches where a Kingfisher can watch the water just a few or several feet below. From across the water I spotted one doing just that. 

Glasson Dock

A Kingfisher has eyesight with polarising filters which cuts out reflections and enables the bird to see their underwater prey better. When they plunge into the water, the eyes are protected by a membrane, so they actually catch their prey blind, relying on touch to snap their bills shut. A Kingfisher prefers to hunt in shallow water because it gives them better accuracy. 

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Just like the owl family, the kingfisher family of birds bring up the indigestible parts of their food as pellets. In the case of kingfishers they regurgitate tiny pellets of indigestible fish bones. The pictures below show today's Kingfisher doing that. 

 Kingfisher

 Kingfisher

Kingfisher

I walked a good way along the towpath towards Conder and then back to Glasson with reward in the shape of an unexpected Nuthatch, the bird calling loudly from the tiny wood alongside the path.

Nuthatches have been somewaht scarce in recent years, although they may still be a mile up the road at Thurham. It's  a Nuthatch haunt of many years standing but not a particularly good summer birding spot. The Nuthatch below is from 2011.

Nuthatch

Otherwise, a good count of 12+ Reed Warblers, made up of three singers and other birds scuttling through the waterside vegetation to feed or be fed. Also, 2 Chiffchaff in song, 4 Tree Sparrow, 3 Reed Bunting and 3 Whitethroat. 

A good number of Moorhens use the thick waterside vegetation, some feeding their likely second broods. 

Lancaster Canal - Glasson

Moorhen

Two whistle stops at Conder Green revealed 50+ Swift, 120 Redshank, 12 Common Sandpiper, 2 Black-tailed Godwit and 1 Spotted Redshank.

The usual herons, 4 Little Egret and 2 Grey Heron.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

More soon from Another Bird Blog.

Come Rain Or Shine

Well it’s been mostly shine for three or four weeks now so a bit of a bummer on waking up today with 100% cloud and grey skies. Then bang on cue at about 10am, rain with a strengthening breeze. 

Not before I’d done the rounds of Glasson and Conder though, a circuit which found little change from Monday or Wednesday. The highlight of a common enough Greenshank might give some clue as to the other birds seen. 

The Greenshank was in the tidal creeks with 150+ Redshank, 9 Common Sandpiper, 3 Curlew, 12 Oystercatcher, 2 Grey Heron and 2 Little Egret. 

A Greenshank Tringa nebularia is somewhat larger than the related Common Redshank Tringa totanus, and perhaps surprisingly, the Greenshank’s closest relative is the Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca, its North American cousin. Greenshanks are beginning to appear on their return journeys from their breeding sites of sub-Arctic Europe, although a number of pairs do breed in northernmost Scotland, a country which can be quite Arctic like. 

The Greater Yellowlegs does turn up in Britain occasionally but not yet at Conder Green.

Greenshank

Redshank

Greater Yellowlegs - Photo credit: Henry McLin / Foter / (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Common Sandpiper

On the pool, and this beginning to sound more than a little monotonous, 2 Little Grebe, 14 Tufted Duck, 4 Shelduck, 3 Little Egret, another 20+ Lapwings and a Grey Heron. 

Grey Heron

Quiet and breezy at Glasson where a walk along the canal towpath and the yacht basin produced a tiny flock of 14 Goldfinch, 5 Reed Warbler, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap and 1 Grey Wagtail. In the cool of the morning Swallows were restricted to 10+ and Swifts to just two.

The Lancaster Canal at Glasson

Glasson Dock

Let’s hope for shine tomorrow when Another Bird Blog goes birding again.

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

Nothing Special?

I came across a few “special” creatures today. Kingfishers, Peregrines and Red Foxes aren’t particularly rare but there’s always that little extra thrill when spotting them, more so when you are not looking for them and they turn up without warning. 

Such creatures have the potential to turn an ordinary day into an extraordinary one, but more often than not they tantalise with brief and fleeting views, as all three did today. 

The first encounter was with a fox just setting off to the cross the A588 at Cockerham. When it saw my car approaching the animal spun around in the road and shot back into the hedgerow from whence it came. On a bendy and busy main road it was impossible to stop with little point in doing so when an animal is so wary. That’s three Red Foxes I’ve seen in as many weeks in just casual journeying to birding spots. Maybe foxes are having a good summer too? 

Glasson was my first stop where another try for Otters yielded lots of birds but no Otters. A Kingfisher was perched on the metal footbridge which crosses the working lock, a heavily used and busy spot for boats and pedestrians but not at 6am. Swallows were flying under the same bridge to where they nest but there’s still no young, just 8/10 adults. Similar numbers of Swifts overhead and between 6 and 8 House Martins. 

Kingfisher

I set off for the canal towpath and logged 2 Pied Wagtails and 1 Grey Heron, 12 Tufted Duck and 15 Coot on the water. Alongside the canal were many brown jobs “tacking” and “ticking” their way through the now substantial waterside vegetation which is dominated by stretches of dense and tall Phragmites, the common reed. 

I logged 11 Reed Warbler, 8 Whitethroat, 6 Reed Bunting, 4 Sedge Warbler, 2 Song Thrush and “several” each of Linnet, Goldfinch, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Blackbird and House Sparrow, even one or two of the erstwhile common Greenfinch. Yes, they still exist.

Linnet

Greenfinch

Early July is not the optimum time for seeing a coastal Peregrine, more like August right through to March/April when inland Peregrines find rich pickings on the expanse of Morecambe Bay before they head back to the hills or city buildings to breed. 

All was quiet at Conder Green viewing point until the small flock of c30 feeding Starlings erupted into sound and flight. “Whoosh”, a Peregrine hurtled down from nowhere and almost connected with the by now tightly packed Starlings. In the blink of an eye the Peregrine was gone, without breakfast. 

It had been quiet. Suddenly there was noise from panicking and nervous Starlings, Redshanks, Oystercatchers and gulls, a clamour which lasted a minute or more before peace returned. A passing Peregrine had left its usual legacy of fear. 

How do you follow a Peregrine? With the usual counts I’m afraid: 6 Common Sandpiper, 120 Redshank, 15 Oystercatcher, 30 Lapwing, 4 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Little Grebe, 2 Stock Dove. 

On the way home a Kestrel on a fence post. As I said, nothing special but a reason today to link with  Theresa's Fences Day.

Kestrel

Join Another Bird Blog soon for another ordinary day.