Name Dropping

I realised I’d not posted in almost a week. In fact I’ve hardly birded in almost seven days since the weather took a severe turn for the worse with almost constant rain and wind. It’s much the same today with yet more forecast for the remainder of the week. So for today here’s filler for the blog until such time as I can get out birding or ringing. 

It was last week when deliberating over two very similar looking but geographically separated species the UK Coal Tit and the North American Black-capped Chickadee that I had reason to ponder their respective scientific names - Parus ater and Poecile atricapillus. 

For many birdwatchers the scientific names of birds are a bit of a bore, at best a riddle and of interest only to scientists who speak Latin. But as well as a means of allowing people throughout the world to communicate unambiguously about birds they almost always give an insight into the origins of the name. Here are some I gleaned from both the Internet and books. 

There’s a question that often crops up on TV quizzes, one designed to trap the unwary. Which bird has the Latin name Puffinus puffinus? The correct but slightly confusing answer is of course Manx Shearwater. In days gone by the word “puffin” was a synonym for a shearwater and not the unrelated seabird Atlantic Puffin, hence it was the shearwater which earned the Latin title of Puffinus puffinus. 

The “manx” refers to the species’ former abundance on the Calf of Man a small island lying to the south of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, while "shearwater” describes the birds’ mode of flight which skims or shears the water. 

Manx Shearwater - Puffinus puffinus

The scientific/Latin name for Wigeon is Anas penelope. I’m somewhat disappointed that the name for such a gorgeous duck should simply mean duck-duck. It’s from the Latin and Greek respectively. 

Wigeon - Anas penelope

Would anyone who has slept under a duck down duvet by way of feathers plucked from an Eider duck Somateria mollissima disagree with the Latin meaning “very soft woolly body”? 

Eider -  Somateria mollissima

Now for an easy one, Barn Owl. Tyto alba simply means white owl. I think we can all agree on that one for the often ghostly apparition.

Barn Owl - Tyto alba

One might think that the rustica element of the Latin name Hirundo rustica refers to the reddish forehead, throat or the often pink underparts of our common Swallow. In fact it means a rural or rustic swallow. The Swallow is a bird which graces our countryside for a few short months of the year. Long may it continue to do so until the politicians succeed in concreting over the entire landscape of England. 

Swallow - Hirundo rustica

I’ve not heard of any Bohemian Waxwings Bombycilla garrulus finding their way to the UK this autumn, but if they are around soon I’ll be looking out for the “chattering silk-tails” that their Latin name describes. The Bohemian part of their common name tells us the species’ wandering habits were reminiscent of tribes of gypsies or Bohemians. 

Waxwing -  Bombycilla garrulus

The Phylloscopus collybita of Chiffchaff breaks down as Phylloscopus a leaf-watcher, and collybita originating from a word meaning money-changer. The clicking, repetitive sound of the Chiffchaff’s song was thought to resemble the sound of coins being clinked together. 

That’s a really interesting if somewhat esoteric explanation which may or may not be the truth. Readers should think about that one in the Springtime while watching and listening to a Chiffchaff in the tree canopy.

Chiffchaff -  Phylloscopus collybita

There was a Jay Garrulus glandarius in my garden this week, taking a break from raiding the young oak tree in a neighbours garden. Jays are often silent but “acorn-eating chatterer” would apply on many occasions. 

Jay - Garrulus glandarius 

Please excuse my bout of name dropping today. It's not something I normally do or even like to hear,  but hopefully there will be more posts and news soon. 

In the meantime stray tuned to Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Wednesday’s Birds

There’s rain and wind forecast for several days ahead. Chances were that this morning might be the only weather window for a spot of ringing so I met with Andy at Oakenclough at first light. Heavy cloud greeted us and while for the next fours there was no rain there was also little in the way of visible migration with blocking cloud in all directions. 

A quiet session of ringing produced just 19 birds, below par for this site. 6 Goldfinch, 3 Chaffinch, 3 Coal Tit, 2 Siskin, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Fieldfare and 1 Blackbird. 

Visible migration proved to be equally quiet with a single flock of Fieldfares this morning when 50+ birds arrived from the north. Just one first year male found the nets before the pack of thrushes moved quickly through the site and left to the south. Otherwise we saw less than 10 more Fieldfares until midday. After catching about 60 Redwings in the past two weeks the species was conspicuous by its absence this morning with less than 10 seen. Blackbirds were more in evidence with 16+ in the area and a single “Continental” type male finding the net. The two Siskins were both males, one an adult the other a first year. 

Fieldfare

Siskin - adult male

Siskin - first year male

Chaffinches and Bramblings were on the move with 70+ Chaffinches over in several small flocks and 3+ Bramblings among them. Luckily the Bramblings made several calls as they arrived with their cousins as otherwise and in the poor light we may not have seen them. 

A flock of 40+ Goldfinches were/are local birds with the 6 caught including two recaptures. Other sightings included a male Sparrowhawk, Great-spotted Woodpecker and Pied Wagtail. 

There was visible migration of Woodpigeons with several flocks overhead and travelling rapidly south, about 120 in total. Later as I drove home via Out Rawcliffe I noted several hundred Wood Pigeons feeding in a single stubble field. Also, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel along Lancaster Road at Pilling.

While the forecast rain may limit any ringing for a day or two there will be some birding to report so log in soon for more news and views.

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

Good Garden Stuff

The fog didn’t clear until about 1pm. That would leave about three hours birding before the light failed and the return of the evening mist; not ideal. Meanwhile the garden held a few birds by way of mainly Goldfinches, a species which has been unusually scarce here all autumn. 

When I saw a Nuthatch on the feeders and a Mistle Thrush in the apple tree I decided to do a spot of garden ringing. I didn’t catch the thrush or the Nuthatch but 17 new birds was pretty good for a few hours work - 7 Goldfinch, 5 Coal Tit, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Great Tit and 1 Blue Tit. 

Goldcrest

Great Tit

Goldfinch

This autumn has seen good numbers of both Goldcrests and Coal Tits, two species chiefly associated with conifer forest. Although not strictly migratory the Coal Tit is known to experience irregular irruptions caused by food shortages in their preferred woodland habitats. It is during such times that Coal Tits move into gardens and other habitats and when bird ringers catch more Coal Tits than they normally would. The majority of birds are found to be first years and out of an catch of say 15 or 20 Coal Tits it is normal that 99% are birds of the year and that an adult is the exception to the rule. 

“Coal” in the bird’s English name may simply refer to the mainly black and grey colour compared to the more colourful and common British tits, the Great Tit and the Blue Tit. A German name for the Coal Tit is "Tannenmeise" which translates as "fir tit", perhaps a more suitable descriptive name for a species able to exploit an otherwise birdless coniferous forest? 

Coal Tit

The Coal Tit has a huge distribution range occurring from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from boreal forests north of the Arctic Circle to the montane forests of the Himalayas, China and Taiwan. It’s a species to benefit from extensive planting of conifers in Ireland and Scotland by extending its UK range into the Western Isles of Scotland and the Atlantic coast of Ireland and so increase its overall population. 

Range and Distribution of Coal Tit

From Wiki and for my North American readers who will note that the Coal Tit is almost identical to one or more of their chickadees - "Most authorities still treat the Coal Tit Periparus ater in the subgenus Periparus, but the American Ornithologists' Union considers Periparus a distinct genus. This is supported by mtDNA cytochrome b sequence analysis; Periparus seems to be closer to the Poecile tits and chickadees than to the Great Tit and its relatives."

The fog returned for overnight and tomorrow morning but be sure that there are more birds, photos and news soon.

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Fieldfares And A Feisty Sprawk

Everything was right for a fruitful ringing session. I met Andy at 0645 in the half-light. The air felt almost balmy as a breeze from the south fanned the trees, but just a little too much for our liking. We set the mist nets knowing the preceding week saw mostly poor weather with very few thrushes on the move. Surely Redwings and Fieldfares would be involved in visible migration this morning? We gulped half a cup of coffee each and then waited. 

 The Ringing Office

We didn’t wait too long before the thrushes began to arrive from the north. They came in tens, twenties and hundreds strong throughout the morning until by by1145 we’d counted approximately 2200 Fieldfares and almost 400 Redwings. Some of the flocks were mixed but always dominated by Fieldfares while the bigger flocks of several hundred proved to be exclusively Fieldfares. 

Perhaps because of the steady 10-15 mph breeze a number of flocks arrived from a low elevation and often appeared without warning as they flew above nearby trees to then pass over us. The movement of all birds this morning was 100% north to south. 

The less than ideal wind speed almost certainly limited our overall catch but we were happy with the morning’s total of birds caught and the species: 4 Fieldfare, 4 Redwing, 4 Goldfinch, 3 Coal Tit, 2 Blue Tit and one each of Sparrowhawk, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Great Tit and Goldcrest. 

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Redwing

The Sparrowhawk proved to be a large and feisty handful of an adult female. The orange eye told us she was an older female. Sparrowhawks are short-lived compared to other birds of prey. The average lifespan for a Sparrowhawk is 2.7 years and although very few live longer than seven years the oldest known ringed bird was one 17 years of age. A female Sparrowhawk takes a larger ring size than the much smaller male of the species and the talons of the female need to be avoided when handling one. 

Sparrowhawk - adult female

Sparrowhawk - adult female

Apart from the thrushes there was a steady movement of finches this morning involving mainly Chaffinch and Greenfinch with a couple of Bramblings and Lesser Redpolls noted. 

Otherwise, 3 Whooper Swans flying west.

More news soon from Another Bird Blog. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, linking to Anni's Blog.

Back On The Moss

After a day of hiding behind the clouds the sun finally emerged at midday today. For old time’s sake I decided to drive to Out Rawcliffe and take a walk across Rawcliffe Moss, an ancient peaty landscape which still characterises many parts of Lancashire. 

I’ve neglected the moss for a year or more. When the new plantation here became overgrown the use of our previously productive ringing area became impossible without both intensive and costly  habitat management. soon after the mixed animal/arable farm was sold and the new owners wasted no time in changing the land use to less crops and more animals. It was a combination that caused a drop in bird life. Birding became more difficult and my visits tailed off.

Rawcliffe Moss

 

 Rawcliffe Moss

The moss always was a good place for Little Owls with at least two pairs breeding there in each year where they used the traditional sites of both a building and a line of trees. The farm was quiet today, not many people or vehicles so it didn’t take long to find an owl by looking along familiar fences. 

Little Owl

Along the main track of the farm were a good number of Blackbirds but only a single Redwing. The rush of Redwings during past recent weeks is now over without seeing any substantial numbers of their cousin the Fieldfare. I hope to redress the balance by catching some Fieldfares at the weekend with a ringing session in the hills at Oakenclough, the ringing site which has replaced Out Rawcliffe. 

Redwing

For my North American readers, a Redwing Turdus iliacus is not closely related to the Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus, a North American species sometimes nicknamed 'redwing' which is an icterid, not a thrush. The binomial name Turdus iliacus derives from the Latin words Turdus, meaning 'Thrush' and 'ile' meaning flank as in my photograph above.

Today out on the moss I saw four, maybe five Buzzards, some in flight and another sat motionless on a roll of baled hay, a favourite spot for a Buzzard. The rolls are close to the ground should a small mammal wander by or high enough for lift-off should an unwelcome birder wander by. Next in my notebook came a Hen Harrier, a brown female or juvenile “ringtail” floating across the road ahead of me as it hurried across to Pilling Moss. Later as I drove home via Pilling I saw the harrier make the return journey, helped this time by a convoy of corvids that chased it mercilessly until it was off their feeding stubble. 

The moss was previously a Tree Sparrow hangout, helped by regular dollops of bird seed to feed sundry species. I struggled to see a Tree Sparrow today eventually coming across three or four in the trees where their nest boxes still dot the trees. A number of Chaffinch were among the sparrows, as well as a few Yellowhammers, but on a return viewing an hour or more later the Chaffinch count had swelled to a miserly 15, Yellowhammers to 2 and Reed Buntings to 5. Not the best farmland bird tally. 

Yellowhammer

Next came the big field and a walk over wet stubble where I came across a Merlin, a Kestrel, 2 Corn Bunting, another half-dozen or so Reed Buntings, 5 Linnet, 15 Skylark and 7 Roe Deer. Although the birds scatter along the hedgerow where they might be seen later, Roe Deer never ever stay around but just melt into to the security of a distant wood. 

There had been geese landing in fields not far away so as I drove home via the mossland of both Pilling and Stalmine I stopped for a look in the stubble fields. It is very hard to approach the geese for either a photo or close scrutiny.

Pink-footed Geese

 Pink-footed Geese

The Pink-footed Geese have been with us for a month or more since leaving Iceland and the closest it is possible to get to them, and by staying in a vehicle, is perhaps 500 yards. On most mornings a number of wildfowlers will lie in wait, hidden in the marshy creeks of Pilling and Cockerham where they hope to intercept the geese with a volley of shots as the birds leave their overnight roost to feed on these inland fields. Boy are these geese wild and who can blame them?

I made my way home after an entertaining and instructive afternoon. Yes it was good to get back on the moss if only for a while.

Linking today to Viewing Nature with Eileen.

Birding The Sunday Showers

The clocks went back on Sunday morning. Winter is here. An extra hour in bed for many folks but not for yours truly, just an extra hour’s birding. Trouble was the forecast of a bright, dry and breezy morning was completely wrong. 

I’d set off in good spirits and high expectations to be met at Cockerham with heavy rain which persisted on and off for the next two hours. At Braides Farm a Buzzard sat along the usual spot waiting out the shower, maybe reluctant to leave because a dog Red Fox prowled through a nearby field. The fox put up a Curlew and a few Lapwings but made no attempt to pursue them. If the animal had any sense it was heading for shelter from the sudden downpour. I too wound the car window up to keep out the now driving rain and made for Conder Green. 

Buzzard

Red Fox

At Conder Green I could bird from the car only as the showers arrived two by two. I was limited to 14 Little Grebe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 4 Snipe, 8 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Wigeon, 3 Goosander and 70+ Teal. 

 

Conder Green

As I drove back towards Pilling the sky brightened a little and I stopped at Fluke Hall Lane to count 44 Whooper Swans in the stubble field. I chanced a walk across the potato field towards the sea wall and found 40+ Woodpigeon, 15 Skylark, 2 Pied Wagtails and a single Meadow Pipit. In the wildfowlers’ maize crop and nearby pool were 3 Reed Bunting, 4 Pintail and 200+ Teal. Out on the marsh were 6 Little Egrets and the usual comings and goings of skeins of Pink-footed Geese. 

Whooper Swans

The woodland was pretty quiet although from recent there appeared to be an increase in Blackbirds. Otherwise a single Lesser Redpoll chattered over and a crow chased off a female Sparrowhawk. 

It wasn't the morning I'd hoped for but the weather looks set to improve for Another Bird Blog. 

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday. 

Back Birding

Two weeks had passed since my last pure birding trip. The fortnight was consumed by lots of bird ringing during a settled spell of weather. Not quite “making hay” but very similar. With this morning’s weather in a more ambivalent grey and undecided mood I decided to take a rest from ringing to devote the morning to bird watching. 

Fluke Hall was first stop. Looking west from the sea wall the shore was jam-packed with Pink-footed Geese yet to leave their overnight roost on the flat sands. It was turned 8am but in the grey morning of late October the geese were yet to head off for a daytime feed. In parties of dozens and then many hundreds they lifted off from the sands as most of them travelled just a few hundred yards to fields south of Fluke Hall and yet more fields close to Ridge Farm.

Within half an hour the sands were clear of geese apart from a few hundred stragglers. It’s hard to describe the spectacle and noise of 8-10,000 Pink-footed Geese, and equally hard to visualise the experience so here’s a video of what is now a daily occurrence at Pilling. 

There wasn’t much doing in the woodland, hedgerows or immediately below the sea wall. In the hedgerow I found 6 Greenfinch and 4 or 5 very active and perhaps newly arrived Blackbirds, and in the field beyond 4 Stock Dove mixed with 40+ Woodpigeon. On the shore was a single Meadow Pipit and in the woodland the highlight was the customary Nuthatch and a single Goldcrest.

It was time for a look at Glasson Dock and Conder Green. A circuit of the yacht basin via the coastal and canal paths produced 15 Tufted Duck, 16 Coot, 4 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron and the resident family of Mute Swans. Close to the bowling green I found a couple of Blackbirds, 3 Redwing, 15 Goldfinch, 4 Long-tailed Tit and 2 Reed Bunting. 

Glasson Dock

I was looking along the River Lune towards Conder Green, where Redshanks, Lapwings and herons littered the now outgoing tide when distant activity spurred me to look closer. It was a Marsh Harrier leaving the river marshes and gaining height as it flew south. It was distant and in very poor light so a “record shot” of what appears to be a “cream top”. 

Marsh Harrier

Late October is indeed rather late to see a migrant Marsh Harrier although the species now winters in the North West of England. 

Conder Green gave up several species, most notably singles of Ruff, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank. Amongst 80 + Common Redshank were 12 Black-tailed Godwits, the latter one a species I really enjoy watching when they turn up here. 

Black-tailed Godwit

From the roadside lay-by I mopped up the morning with 80+ Teal, 2 Snipe, 3 Goosander, 2 Little Egret, 6 Curlew and 2 Pied Wagtails. 

Goosander

A very enjoyable and productive morning. And see what the weekend brings by logging into Another Bird Blog very soon.

Linking today to I'd Rather b Birdin and Eileen's Saturday Blog.