Counting My Blessings

Sallie, a regular reader of Another Bird Blog, gave me a bit of a telling off the other day via a comment. “Was made green with envy when you reported "nothing much of note ..." Except for what I counted as over 100 birds, several of which would be amazing lifers for me! Count your blessings as well as your birds !!” 

Sallie is absolutely right of course that birders are often blasé about the birds and the birding experiences they enjoy on a very regular basis. I own up to a somewhat casual approach occasionally but do also realise I am lucky to have the time and wherewithal to indulge my passion by bird watching, bird ringing and even a little bird photography. Not everyone is so fortunate. So I set off birding this morning determined to be positive, impressed and alert to everything I saw, even down to the most routine or mundane. 

There was a brilliant start with a hunting Barn Owl. I pulled into a roadside gateway to check the road ahead which I knew to be a regular beat of an owl. And there one was in the half-light of dawn circuiting the fields and roadside some 200 yards away. There was no traffic so I switched the headlights to “off” and crawled in second gear to where the owl was. The owl was so engrossed in hunting that the car’s presence didn’t appear to trouble it except that it flew directly over once or twice. This was one of the two young Barn Owls I saw a week or more ago and I hope that the other has not met an untimely death as young Barn Owls often do. More likely is that the youngsters have now gone their separate ways as they must do - I hope so. 

Barn Owl

I was on my way to Conder Green and Glasson Dock where three or four hours of determined birding resulted in a fine list of birds. It’s a great place to go birding because of the wonderful mix of habitats - marsh, shore, both fresh and saline water, woodland, and even a spot of industrial thrown into the mix. 

 The Lancaster Canal - Conder to Glasson

2015 may be remembered as one of the worst ever for breeding birds but will surely be remembered as one which gave almost daily sightings of our spectacular UK Common Kingfisher. “Common” was the operative word this autumn with a guaranteed bird, occasionally two together on almost every visit here and to other local birding spots. Today was no exception as a Kingfisher was almost the first bird I saw at Conder Green. This particular bird is not especially cooperative to the photographer; perhaps because of the attention the busy spot receives by people eager to see the often elusive but beautiful Kingfisher. Who can blame them? 

Kingfisher

The tidal creeks here at Conder Green remain the major focus as they always have a varied selection of waders to search through, together with numbers of Teal and Mallard. There’s a constant but sometimes subtle change in both numbers and species caused by the twice-a-day tides and mostly human, but sometimes raptor induced disturbance. 

Today’s count gave 44 Redshank, 33 Lapwing, 6 Curlew, 3 Snipe, 2 Greenshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Oystercatcher, 40 Teal, 22 Mallard, 2 Little Egret and 1 Grey Heron. 

Grey Heron

On the pool I located 7 Little Grebe and the newcomer of a Great Crested Grebe, almost certainly the same one of a day or two ago that sailed on the yacht basin at Glasson half a mile away. 

Visible migration has been thin this autumn and so unremarkable that noteworthy today were single calls overhead of Lesser Redpoll and Siskin, both of which found their way into my notebook. A couple of calls of Meadow Pipits overhead also pointed to migrating birds. Two Ravens above  distant trees and fields were almost certainly of local origin as the species now breeds not too far away. 

My walk along the towpath and old railway line found two Chiffchaff, one in stuttering and brief song, the other by way of its slurred contact call. I failed to find the recent flock of up to 100 Goldfinch but made do with a smaller flock of 18 Linnets and eventually located a dozen or so flighty Goldfinch plus a couple of Greenfinch. 

The population of our once abundant Greenfinch remains low, not helped by  the abysmal summer of 2015, so each sighting of even one or two birds is worthy of a note. 

Greenfinch

So ended four hours of productive and enjoyable bird watching. What could be better? 

Find out soon when you log into Another Bird Blog again. 

Trying

There was another strong easterly this morning. Several days of east and south easterly winds have blown a few continental waifs, namely Barred Warbler and Wryneck, to this the west coast, but almost 20 miles to the south of here.

Barred Warbler - Photo credit: Radovan Václav / Foter / CC BY-NC

Wryneck - Phil Slade

If there’s one there’s almost certainly another of the same species lurking yet unfound is my philosophy. So I set off in the opposite direction for a spot of “bush bashing” at Glasson and Conder Green, as likely place as any to try for an unusual bird or two.

On the way north I pulled in at Braides Farm where a Buzzard hovered above the sea wall until crows came along to send the Buzzard to ground level. A tight flock of 70/80 Golden Plover tore around the fields at low level before eventually settling down somewhere in the distant grass.

The path between Conder and Glasson was pretty cool and windswept. At the car park a single Siskin flew over calling but remained invisible. My lonely walk gave little of note except for sightings of a single Chiffchaff, 9 Long-tailed Tit, 4 Linnet, a good sized but very flighty team of 80/90 Goldfinch, and a group of 8 Little Egrets flying down river.

I checked a couple of quiet spots at Glasson including my regular look in Christ Church graveyard. It resembles the textbook spot in which to find a rare bird like a Hoopoe, a Wryneck or a shrike but has yet to deliver.

I was almost there as a small warbler flit through the tree tops but then called the familiar slurred “hweet” of another Chiffchaff. Nearby was the resident Robin in autumn song and just Blackbirds rather than rare warblers tucking into the autumn berries.

Glasson Church

Robin

 Chiffchaff

Blackbird

The church is alongside the canal towpath from where I could see lots of Swallows over the yacht basin just ahead. There’s still something like 500+ feeding and resting Swallows around and mixed in with them today 20+ House Martins.

On the water - 9 Tufted Duck, 18 Coot and the return today of a Great Crested Grebe. The grebes nest here in years when water levels are ideal and the spring and summer oblige. Not in 2015.

Great Crested Grebe

Glasson Dock

This was getting nowhere. It was too windy for finding warblers or much else so I drove to Conder Green to see the regular and always obliging waders and wildfowl. The counts today - 40 Teal, 7 Little Grebe, 6 Curlew, 4 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank, 3 Snipe, 1 Ruff, 1 Kingfisher.

Another Bird Blog will be trying again quite soon. Please look in a day or two.

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

Mid-Week Blues

The weatherman offered a couple of bright hours before the wind would pick up to make bird ringing impossible. The forecast for weekend looked more dire still, so it was now or never. I decided to head up to Oakenclough for a spot of solo ringing. 

There was full cloud throughout together with a cool breeze as the anticipated bright intervals failed to materialise. I ended up with a disappointing 10 birds - 4 Goldfinch, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Blue Tit, plus one each of Coal Tit and Blackcap. 

Good numbers of Siskins, 25+, were in evidence again but I failed to catch a single one. Even the normally exuberant Lesser Redpolls stayed out of sight with just a couple of flyovers to note. The light was so bad this morning I had to shoot birds in the hand at a far from ideal ISO1600. 

The Blackcap is a first year female. 

Blackcap

The Goldfinch below is a first year undergoing moult transition to a first year female. It is in body moult, hence the feather debris, has replaced the two central tail feathers and is in the process of re-growing the two outermost tail feathers. 

Goldfinch

Goldfinch tail

A completely juvenile Goldfinch cannot be sexed until there is some colour around the head. By September a juvenile at this stage could be from a third brood and it is noticeable this week how many Goldfinches are still feeding recently fledged youngsters. The middle picture below was taken on Sunday 6th September. 

Goldfinch

Goldfinches

 

Goldcrest

There didn’t appear to be many Chaffinches around this morning with probably less than 15 seen/heard. The only one caught had a severe case of viral infection to its legs, one leg far worse than the other. The Chaffinch was an adult male and apart from the leg infection seemed in overall good condition, having recently undergone a full moult. It goes without saying I hope that birds displaying any hint of this condition are not  given a ring on either leg.

 Fringilla papillomavirus

Ringers who catch good numbers of Chaffinches see this disease regularly. It is known as Fringilla papillomavirus (FPV). 

The species susceptible to this are Chaffinches and, to a lesser extent, Bramblings. In a large survey of birds captured for ringing in the Netherlands, papillomas were found on 330 (1.3%) of some 25,000 Chaffinches examined and both sexes were affected. However, cases usually occur in clusters and quite high proportions of local populations may be affected in outbreaks. The fact that cases occur in clusters suggests that the presence of affected birds presents a risk to others that are susceptible. The mode of transmission is not known but it seems likely that the virus may be spread via surfaces the birds stand or perch upon.

Even birds with large papillomas often appear to behave normally so, in some cases, the growths may be little more than an inconvenience and relatively minor irritation. However, lameness is sometimes observed.

My own observations over the years suggest that the disease is more prevalent where Chaffinches mix with chickens and wildfowl in both farm and smallholding situations, perhaps even in gamebird rearing situations where feed is either spread upon the ground or spilled via feeding devices. 

The morning’s birding was as equally quiet as the ringing - Sparrowhawk, Nuthatch, Grey Wagtail and Great-spotted Woodpecker of note

Up To No Good

I offer no apologies for returning once again to the subject of the illegal trapping of Goldfinches. It is a subject highlighted on this blog a number of times. 

Goldfinch

From The York Press - Tuesday 21 July 2015 

"A York man whose hobby was snaring wild song birds was caught setting traps by the roadside while going to Seamer Horse Fair, a court heard. Alan Smith, 59, was staying on a site in Gate Helmsley, en route to the fair, when he placed a cage in a nearby hedge. The trap, containing a Goldfinch and food, was designed to lure a second Goldfinch onto a perch, after which the cage door would slam shut. 

Prosecutor Katy Varlow said the bird - which Smith said he had got from a man in a pub in Leeds - was "extremely agitated". She added: "It would not go on the perch. It was banging against the side of the trap. It was clearly not used to being in captivity." 

Wildlife officer PC Graham Bilton, based at Eastfield, near Scarborough, removed the cage but Smith and his fellow travellers were off the site, Scarborough magistrates heard on Monday. However, the officer caught up with the same group of caravans when they pitched camp for a second time a few days later at Scagglethorpe, by the A64. Again, a cage had been laid out to snare a second Goldfinch, and this time a Goldfinch already caught in the wild was inside as a decoy, Ms Varlow continued, adding: "Small finches are extremely popular to be targeted for illegal trapping. 

"They're protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act but very popular with the travelling community due to their melodic song and colourful attractive plumage." Smith, of The Clifton Caravan Site in Water Lane, York, was given a six month community order. He was also fined £100 with £85 costs and ordered to pay a £60 surcharge and £150 court charge. Presiding magistrate Pam Macfie said: "This is a most unusual case." 

I think not Pam. 

“Smith admitted eight offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of taking and possessing wild birds, using a trap and using the birds as decoys earlier this month. Ian Brickman, mitigating, said: "He has no particular use for the birds. It's just a hobby. "There was no suggestion the cage was in itself cruel." 

PC Bilton said after the hearing: “It is important that those responsible for committing wildlife crimes are brought to justice. This type of crime can have a dramatic effect on local fauna and flora, yet often go unreported and are difficult to investigate.” 

RSPCA Inspector Geoff Edmond said the case highlighted the illegal trapping of song birds - which was just as much a problem as the targeting of birds of prey. He said: "It highlights our concern that birds are still being illegally taken from the wild when people should be able to enjoy seeing them in the countryside." 

Goldfinches

Goldfinch

Bird ringers catch and release Goldfinches and many other species so as to generate information on the survival, productivity and movements of birds, helping us to understand why populations are changing.

Periodically I check my blog stats to see the “who, why, where and when” of readers. It’s a way of finding out what people like to read about and for which species readers may have a special interest. Sometimes there has been interest shown in in Goldfinches.

The screen grab below from my stat provider is just the latest in a number of Internet searches to find ways of illegally trapping Goldfinches. The searcher enters their chosen words, in this case AOL, and the search engine provides a list of subjects which includes all manner of references to Goldfinches, including the blogs of bird watchers and bird ringers which will often innocently include the word ”Goldfinch”. 

Up To No Good

So, Internet searcher of IP Address 178-149-131-72 via Talktalk from Reading, Berkshire on 5th September 2015, we are on to you. Your motives in using search request "how can i catch a goldfinch" have criminal intent. 

The trapping, possession and sale of wild finches is an area of criminal activity which remains a widespread problem in the UK especially among travellers and immigrants from certain countries. Possession or control of a wild bird is an offence of strict liability. Anybody possessing wild birds is obliged to show that their possession is lawful. 

There is a ready market in the UK for trapped wild finches, and many species fetch £50 or more when sold. It has also been shown that some of the finches trapped in the UK are exported to other European countries such as Malta. 

Goldfinch

Blog readers, bird watchers, bird ringers and bird lovers, please remain aware and vigilant that this nasty activity may be taking place close to you. If you see or hear anything which you think is suspicious contact the RSPCA or the Police immediately.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Avian Dilemma

It was 0600 and still fairly dark. The sky was overcast, there had been a recent shower and a cold northerly rippled through the garden trees. 

Birding or ringing was the predicament. Birding takes no effort and starts as soon as the car hits the road and ends when the car is back on the driveway. A ringing session entails a 30 minute car journey followed by setting nets, checking equipment, and then slogging around the nets every 20/25 minutes to process the birds. And then at the end of the session it's time do everything again but this time in reverse order. Although rewarding the many physical tasks involved in ringing make for hard graft when compared to a spot of leisurely birding. So I postponed the ringing until a day or two when the isobars are due to open out, the sun is promised to shine and I may be more motivated. 

By the time I reached Glasson Dock the clouds had thinned and the sun was out. But the temperature felt more like November than September, even with three layers up top and a woolly hat. I parked up and waited for a Kingfisher to appear. One duly arrived from nowhere, landed on a nearby boat but didn’t hang around for more than a couple of clicks of the shutter button. 

 Kingfisher

The Swallows have increased and I counted upwards of 450 of them milling around the boats, sitting along the rails and rigging and feeding over the yacht basin. Take a close look at the picture below, where believe it or not, there are about 200 Swallows scattered across various parts of the assembled boats. 

Swallows at Glasson

Fish were literally jumping out of the water, hence the Kingfisher, Grey Heron and several Cormorants, all looking for a meal. Tufted Ducks now number nine as we await more autumn arrivals, likewise the Coots, steady at less than twenty. Along the towpath and around the bowling green I counted 3 Pied Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail and upwards of 60 House Sparrows. 

Cormorant

Pied Wagtail

It was time for a look at Conder Green where, yes you’ve guessed it, a Kingfisher sat in waiting. This one was not so accommodating and before I could request a “cheese” the bird was off across the pool like a rocket. Lest anyone should think our local Kingfishers are easy to photograph, they are not, it is simply that there are lots of Kingfishers about at the moment; it’s an infrequent situation which increases the chances of getting pictures of what is by common consent, a shy species. 

Conder Green

Although not numerous this morning’s waders and wildfowl revealed a good selection consisting of 32 Teal, 6 Curlew, 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 1 Ruff, 1 Snipe, 1 Oystercatcher and the first of the autumn here, 2 Spotted Redshank. 

Spotted Redshank

On the pool were 7 Little Grebe, 1 Little Egret and 4 Pied Wagtails.

Dilemma over and a good morning of birding was had by all. Now where’s that alarm clock?

Linking this post to Anni's Birding Blog.

Mostly Kingfishers

It’s always a good morning’s birding when there’s a Barn Owl in view and even better when there are two. Better still to follow this up with three or four Kingfishers! 

The first surprise this morning was Pink-footed Geese, a party of 23 birds flying strongly south soon after dawn. At just the 3rd of September I’m pretty certain these are the earliest returning Icelandic “pinkies” I have ever seen. The earliest ones of the autumn often arrive in South West Lancashire a week or so before the ones seen here in West Lancashire. 

I’d driven over the quieter part of the moss to look for some recently ringed Barn Owls which should be on the wing by now. I found two youngsters along the same stretch of road and one of them let me get fairly close via the open car window. An adult bird would be most unlikely to allow such close scrutiny. 

Barn Owl

Barn Owl

I was on a roll because when I arrived at Conder Green there was a Kingfisher sat waiting at the usual spot on the sluice wall. Unfortunately the Kingfisher didn’t stay around for more than a few seconds so I turned my attention to other things, and although I didn't know it, more Kingfishers were to come at Glasson. 

Kingfisher

After recent high tides the water level on the pool is somewhat high. Little wonder then that apart from the Kingfisher there was just the usual 4 Little Grebe, 1 Wigeon, 1 Grey Heron and 6 Pied Wagtail. 

Grey Heron

 

The creeks proved better with good numbers of Redshanks to study, 28 Teal, 4 Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret, 1 Snipe and then 1 Green Sandpiper. 

A walk along the old railway track towards Glasson Dock found a flock of Goldfinch numbering 40+ and about 35 House Martins over the bridge and near the café. Along the pathway - 2 Whitethroat, 1 Chiffchaff, a number of Robins in autumn song and an overflying Kestrel. 

Robin

River Lune at Glasson

The dock at Glasson was still and quiet but I wasn’t expecting two Kingfishers to be sat there. After a while they flew off, one after the other, towards the far reeds and out of sight. 

Kingfishers

Glasson Dock

I walked up the towpath to watch and count the Swallows sat amongst the tops of a few boats. About 250 was the estimate. 

Swallows at Glasson

As I walked back to the car yet another Kingfisher flew across the water, veered off as it saw me but then landed on a nearby boat. I’m pretty sure this was a different one from the two I’d seen five minutes earlier, but can’t be certain. 

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

September is a peak month to see Kingfishers, a time when the species tends to gravitate towards coastal waters. In a disastrous season for most breeding birds let’s hope that Kingfishers at least have had a good one. 

What an exciting and productive morning of birding. And with the weather set fair and perhaps less windy for a few days there’s a good chance of a ringing session or two at weekend.

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Theresa's Run A Round Ranch.

Siskins And Things

This morning was dominated by the sight and sound of many Siskins, but it was rather frustrating that our catch was far less than the numbers overhead.

I’d met Andy up at Oakenclough where we hoped to continue last week’s good fortune when between us we caught almost 50 birds here. There was no such luck today when our catch numbered a measly 12 birds comprising 5 Chaffinch, 3 Siskin, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Dunnock, 1 Blue Tit and 1 Coal Tit. 

The Chiffchaff had just completed its full adult moult and so looked in splendid condition.

Chiffchaff

The Chaffinch below is a first year male, possibly up to four months old, and therefore has some resemblance to a full adult.

Chaffinch

The Siskin below is an adult male which has almost completed a post-breeding moult. 

Siskin

The Ringing Office

Although we caught just 3 Siskins, all males, good numbers were flying around the immediate area but mostly sticking to feeding in the tops of nearby conifers, alders and birch and did not venture to net level. In all we estimated something like 70/90 Siskins. 

From recent reports on the Internet it does appear that European and Scandinavian Siskins may be undergoing one of their irruption years when larger numbers than normal are reported during migration times. The numbers of Siskins migrating vary greatly from year to year with more distant movements recorded during years of irruptions. The availability of seed crops on favoured trees like alder and birch are a major factor in the degree of movement away from breeding areas. It was good to see so many Siskins around after such a generally poor summer for our resident birds. 

“Otherwise birding” resulted in 2 Kestrel, 1 Nuthatch, 60+ Swallow, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5+ Lesser Redpoll, 15+ Goldfinch, 15+ Chaffinch, 3 Tufted Duck and 2 Cormorant. 

At home this week I’ve noticed a few day-flying bats, just above the house and garden for a few seconds only. Then one day I saw one fly low through the garden and land on the soil under a conifer. Curious as ever I picked the bat up and took a picture before laying it in our dense hawthorn hedge from where it soon flew off. I believe it to be a Common pipistrelle - Pipistrellus pipistrellus, but I am open to more informed identification. 

Pipistrelle

It seems that some bat species will occasionally fly during the day, but it is not common. They usually fly at night because that is when their main food sources are most active and the bat’s predators less likely to be encountered. The two commonest pipistrelle species found in the UK are the Common pipistrelle and the Soprano pipistrelle, the two identified as separate species in the 1990s. The two species look very similar and often the easiest way to tell them apart is from the frequency of their echolocation calls. 

Over the garden yesterday about 1740 I heard overhead the rattling call of a Mistle Thrush.  When I looked up it was a gang of seven flying directly south. Now there’s a true sight and sound of autumn. 

There will be more autumn birds very soon on Another Bird Blog. Log in and don’t miss them.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.