Set-Aside Again

The weather has been kind to our recent ringing plans by way of minimal winds and little in the way of rain. It was the same this morning with a forecast of clear skies overnight followed by a light frost and virtually no wind. Andy and I met next to the set-aside plot at Cockerham where Linnets home in each morning to what seems to be a mix well suited to their needs. The forecast proved spot on with a dusting of frost on the crop together with a pretty cold start in the half-light of dawn. 

We caught Linnets steadily to the accompaniment of geese calling overhead interspersed with the occasional gunshot. We saw two pinkies drop from the sky this morning. The shooting group along this stretch of Pilling and Cockerham Marsh is Morecambe Bay Wildfowlers. They have a membership of approximately 150 participants whose limit each is shooting on three days a week throughout the winter season. Apparently the club has a waiting list of potential members who might wait four or five years to be accepted, such is the demand for places caused by the vast concentrations of numbers of wildfowl quarry in the winter months. 

A typical mid-winter count of the most common wildfowl along this single stretch of coast and dependent on the weather and other factors might be: 8/10,000 Pink-footed Goose, 2,000 Shelduck, 5,000 Wigeon, 1800 Teal, 300 Mallard and 200 Pintail. No wonder the shooters love the place as much as the birders. 

Teal

Wigeon

Once again this morning Pink-footed Geese flew off the marsh in almost continuous skeins for at least four hours and a guesstimate of 20,000/30,000 individuals. Many pinkies still arrive from Iceland and the recent mild weather seems to be delaying their onward migration to both Norfolk and south Lancashire. 

We heard lots of distant Whooper Swans but less than twenty flew above us with most heading off towards Fluke Hall where more than a hundred have been noted in recent days. As the morning warmed up a good number of waders appeared to feed on the fields nearest the sea wall. We approximated counts of 1000+ Lapwings, 700 Golden Plover, 100 + Curlew and 20+ Redshank. 

In the picture below Andy checks the nets in the set-aside crop for Linnets. In the background the bund of the sea wall is visible together with the distant Lakeland fells on the far side of Morecambe Bay and the tall white buildings of Heysham Nuclear Power Station some 15 miles away as the crow flies. Click the pic for a view across Morecambe Bay.

Ringing in the set-aside

We had a pretty good catch of Linnets with another 25 to add to our autumn total plus a new bird for the site in the form of 2 Wrens. In all we saw about 200 Linnets in our stay but we have yet to recapture one out of the 100+ caught in the last 3 weeks. This of course suggests a high turnover of mainly different birds birds rather than the same birds returning each day.

Linnet Ringing Station

Linnet

 Wren

Andy seems to have timed his six days in Spain to coincide with a change of weather here in Lancashire as a low pressure system brings winds and more changeable weather. We’ll see. 

Log in soon and find out what is happening on Another Bird Blog.

Linking today with http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.co.uk/.

Listless Birding

I’m a little demotivated today. I hate birding on a Sunday morning when Uncle Tom Cobley and all head away from their TV screens to discover life in the big wide world and take their bikes, noisy dogs, scruffy kids and bored old aunties to normally quiet birding spots. Not to worry. I went to feed the Linnets and then found a birdy story on the Internet that might interest readers. 

The Daily Mail 30th October 2016 by Environmental Correspondent - Chloris Cliff 

“The normally sedate world of bird watching was thrown into turmoil and controversy this week over accusations about bird watchers, or ‘birders’ as they are known in the trade, cheating on their bird lists. 

Serious birders compile lists of birds. Being serious implies knowing about look-alike species and subspecies, the various plumages, and having a systematic-enough mind to not be slapdash when assembling the lists. Bird lists are not meant to be fun. Each entry evokes memories of sometimes expensive, lengthy and difficult journeys to exotic or sometimes dull and dreary places to see a bird. The bird becomes a "trophy" testifying to bird-spotting prowess and a willingness to invest time and boundless competitive energy to see more species than the next birder. 

Any hint that a serious birder might deliberately deceive fellow birders by inflating or inventing part of a list is viewed as a serious matter whereby the culprit is a scallywag at best or in the worst case, someone to be pitied. 

But now one birder at least has been found out, “spotted” as it were, in different locations when he claimed to be in the queue of several thousand dedicated birders waiting patiently to view a Siberian Accentor through a chain-link fence. The rare sparrow lookalike unexpectedly appeared at Easington in East Yorkshire in late October many thousands of miles from its home. The birder concerned later confessed to a birding acquaintance that on that very day he was actually near his home conducting a bird survey on behalf of his local bird watching club and then took a stroll around his local birding patch. He finished his day by ticking the Siberian Accentor via the Internet and a high quality video of the actual bird which had already been posted on You Tube.

Needless to say this particular trusting birder’s confidence was betrayed, and within a day or so he was publicly outed as a fraud and his previously admired list of bird ticks labelled as a work of fiction. 

I tracked “Robin” down but he asked me not to identify him by his real name or birding “handle”, the latter the nickname used by his regular circle of birding friends. If I disclosed his identity he would be subject to an even greater amount of disdain and ridicule than that recently suffered. 

Robin told me; 'I twitched rare birds all the time until recently. I’ve spent years and large amounts of cash travelling the UK to see the latest rarity to appear on my pager, often skipping work and sleep to be amongst the first to arrive at the location. I’m in the Top Ten of birders in the Britain Year List for 2016 and over the 500 mark in the Britain Life List. Recently my marriage broke up when my wife left me for a nine-to-five office worker who is a part time body-builder. And then I lost my job in the PPI call centre because of my poor time keeping and attendance record. I’m trying to pull my life together and get back to normal.'

'And then one at home one day I was idly looking at bird videos on You Tube and the latest rarity pictures on Bird Forum, and I realised that digital and virtual reality, was the way to go. You see, in recent years there are some seriously good photographs and videos of all the latest rarities on the Internet. All you have to do is a Google search and you can be there in good quality video or see whole pages and pages of pictures of most rarities that turn up. It’s as good as the real thing without the financial cost and the mental trauma and anxiety involved in travelling hundreds of miles. And it allows me to get in some real birding in my local area, something I neglected in recent years. It’s Carbon Friendly and my lists are as good and lengthy as ever, up there with the best UK birders. I’m not bothered by what others think. These birds are on my various lists and staying there. Lots of people I know are doing their birding this way now.'

I asked Robin if I could see his bird lists; he told me they are: 

1. Garden list - all the birds seen on his property 

2. Year list 

3. County list 

4. Life list - all the birds since he started bird watching some 35 years ago 

5. Big day list – the maximum number of species he’s seen in 24 hours 

6. The Big Sit - a list of species seen from within a 12 foot radius circle in a 24 hour period 

7. Photo list – the number of bird species he has photographed 

8. Zoo list - all the birds seen in zoos 

9. Television and cinema list - all the bird species seen or heard on TV or cinema
“ Check out Sky Sports – it’s good for Australian gulls” he advised. 

10. Street names that are bird names. Quite by coincidence, Robin lives in Lapwing Close, Warrington.

I contacted the Bird Listing Organisation for Birders (BLOB) for their thoughts on this latest trend in seeing and listing birds. 

A spokesman who did not wish to be named told me 'We do not condone ticking birds seen via the Internet, TV, cinema, books or other publications. Birding is a serious pastime and should always be undertaken in that spirit.'"

Linking today to Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

Linnet Lite

At 0700 I heard a steady drizzle on the conservatory roof. The arrangement was to meet Andy at 0730 for a ringing session at Cockerham where a Linnet flock home in each day to a tiny set-aside crop. A look at the online forecasts, a quick exchange of texts and we were on our separate ways if a little later than planned. 

The weather played ball and quickly brightened up but the Linnets didn’t. Although we counted up to 300 Linnets in at least 4 separate flocks the birds seemed a little “net-shy” and we caught just eight to add to the 73 caught so far this autumn. 

Linnet

Linnet

On the Internet of late I have not read of any other local Linnet flocks and suspect that the concentration at Cockerham may be the only one for several miles. There is the danger that the Linnet is still seen as a relatively common bird and as such remains unreported by many bird watchers. 

A quick look at several online snippets of information reminds us that the Linnet is not as common or widespread as it used to be. Via the BTO - “The breeding population of Linnets declined steeply between 1965 and 1985, before the last breeding and winter atlases, and there has been less change in recent years. Numbers nationally then rose slightly in the ten years after 1985, possibly associated with the increased cultivation of oilseed rape. Since 1994, when the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) started, we have been able to detect regionally-different trajectories, with English and Welsh populations exhibiting a decline of slightly more than 30%. Looking at the demographic reasons for change in the Linnet, there is clear evidence that this is one of the species for which we have seen a reduction in breeding success, with higher rates of nest failure at the egg-stage during the period of greatest decline (1965-1985).“ 

Most of the UK Linnet population stay all year round although those from upland areas probably undertake an altitudinal migration to lower and warmer areas. Two previous recoveries from our own ringing group records point to the fact that a number of our Linnets, as winterers or passage migrants, originate from the Isle of Man, some 150kms west of here and out in the Irish Sea. 

Some UK Linnets migrate to Spain and western France for the winter. At the same time some Scandinavian Linnets are thought to come to Britain for the winter which might account for larger than average numbers of the species in North East England and South East Scotland. Here on the west coast the Linnet is now much less common than 20, 30 or 40 years ago, hence the need to monitor the population and if possible record their movements. 

This morning we saw 30+ Whooper Swans flying off Pilling Marsh and heading inland. Ditto the Pink-footed Geese but we made no effort to count their numbers except to possibly agree with a shooter returning to his car with an estimate of 30,000. 

Pink-footed Geese

Whooper Swans

When the rushhour traffic abated along the main road we were able to hear and see a steady passage of Skylarks flying over and also heading south. 

There's more news soon. Be sure to take another look at Another Bird Blog.

Linking today to Anni's Blog and  http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.co.uk/.

Rush Hour Traffic

0745, and after a clear and bright beginning things were rather quiet and just a couple of Goldfinch to show for the first net round. And then about 0900 it seemed that Andy and I might be in for another busy and prolonged morning of ringing when from the north and north-west gangs of Redwings appeared above the treetops to the west and headed towards us. The Redwings flew over and then into the trees behind where a couple of nets are positioned. In an hour we saw about 250+ Redwings mixed with about 50 Fieldfares. Finches came in good numbers too with small flocks of Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Greenfinch plus two or three Brambling. 

We caught in one, twos and threes only. And then about 10 o’clock it seemed that someone had dropped a curtain across the landscape and stopped all visible movement; by 1030 we discussed packing up and by 11o’clock we drove off site. 

Our observations between the low numbers processed, and with time on hands to watch, showed that many birds just carried on going, heading south and west, away from our plantation and further inland or towards the coast. 

We finished with just 20 birds, way below recent endeavours and something of a disappointment given the visible rush of birds in that single hour: 7 Goldfinch, 3 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Goldcrest, 3 Chaffinch, 2 Blue Tit, 1 Coal Tit and 1 Greenfinch. 

Our Greenfinch had been feeding on rose hip berries, the red fruit of the rose plant and a favourite food of the Greenfinch. 

Greenfinch

Rose hips - via Wiki

Greenfinch

At this time of year, and for the purpose of data collection, it is not always possible to determine the sex of a Lesser Redpoll via the plumage. The one below is an adult male and retains some of the summery claret colouring in its breast feathers. 

Lesser Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll

 

Chaffinch

Goldcrest

If the wind stays below 10mph we will have another go at the Cockerham Linnet flock in a day or two. We are up to 73 new birds ringed already, zero recaptures and one from elsewhere in three visits. As usual where birds are concerned, there’s a lot more going on than first meets the eye. 

Join in soon for more news and views.

Linking today to  Stewart's World Bird Wednesday.

This And That

There’s a bit of everything today – birding, a few pictures and news of a ringed Goldfinch. 

First stop this morning was the egret roost at Pilling where the egrets were pretty much on the move as soon as I arrived in the half-light. I may have missed some leaving but came up with a count of 44 Littles and zero Great White Egrets today. Many thousands of pink-feet were way out on the marsh, too distant to count in the half light. Whooper Swans proved much easier to see with 23 leaving the marsh and flying west towards Pilling village and the shore. 

Whooper Swans

I stopped at Gulf Lane where Linnets and others continue to use the set-aside plot and where three or four very mobile Linnet flocks numbered 160+ birds. Also here - 4 Tree Sparrow and 2 Reed Bunting. In just a week and after a couple of downpours the crop height has dropped substantially until it is now between 18 inches and 2 feet high meaning that our efforts to catch more Linnets may be compromised. If the weather holds I guess Andy and me will have a go as soon as possible. 

I spent an hour or two at Conder Green where a dashing Merlin provided the highlight as it flew low across the top of the marsh and down into a creek before dipping under the railway bridge to the outer marsh. Otherwise I had a reasonable count of the usual birds on the pool and in the creeks: 140 Teal, 22 Redshank, 17 Snipe, 9 Little Grebe, 4 Goosander, 3 Little Egret, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Spotted Redshank. 

Redshank

There seemed to be very little on the move this morning except for high flying Skylarks, a small number of Chaffinches and a handful of Meadow Pipits, all seen from the railway bridge where a gang of House Sparrows played hide and seek in the hedgerow. 

House Sparrow

Back home I did a little garden ringing with 3 Goldfinch, 1 Robin and 1 Coal Tit until even the meagre breeze began to fill the nets with falling autumn leaves. 

 Robin

Goldfinch

That reminds me.

Details arrived of a ringed Goldinch Z690427 caught at Oakenclough, Garstang on 6th September 2016. What a coincidence. The Goldfinch was ringed in Lower Basildon, West Berkshire on 11th October 2015 by one Simon Lane. Simon is a former member of Fylde Ringing Group. He ringed with us from 1988 until 1998 during which time he played a full and active part in the group and also became a great pal. He left Garstang, Lancashire in order to further his career in the south of England but fortunately he maintained his enthusiasm for ringing and still keeps in touch with us Northern folk.

This is a fairly typical north to south autumn September/October movement for a Goldfinch. Goldfinches are partial migrants with a proportion of the UK breeding population migrating each autumn to more favourable wintering grounds, typically in France or Spain and where both Oakenclough and Basildon can be staging posts in such journeys. 

Lower Basildon, Berkshire - Oakenclough, Garstang, Lancashire

Guess I won’t be out birding tomorrow morning as it’s Andy’s birthday bash this evening. Sue and I are definitely going as Andy is threatening to do a David Brent dance for the assembled crowd. Now where did I leave my video camera?

Linking today to http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.co.uk/.

Another Goldcrest Day

The last ringing session at Oakenclough 8th October 2016 gave us 63 Goldcrests out of a total of 121 birds caught. I met Andy at 0715 this morning and while we were far from sure quite what to expect, we didn’t imagine Goldcrests would dominate the field sheet again. 

The ringing was steady if unspectacular whereby at midday when we left the total of birds caught stood at 53 with Goldcrests providing more than 50% again. 

Totals today: 27 Goldcrest, 10 Greenfinch, 4 Lesser Redpoll, 2 Chaffinch, 2 Blackbird, 2 Treecreeper, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Dunnock. 

Lesser Redpoll

 

Treereeper

There was quite a movement of Greenfinch this morning with small groups of 10-15 birds arriving and approximately 60+ throughput the morning. At one point a flock of 20+ left to the north with a flock of Fieldfares. We caught zero Fieldfares today out of approximately 100+ which arrived unseen from the south and fed on berries for a short while before leaving to the north. Redwings were in short supply with less than twenty seen throughout our stay and just the one caught. 

Greenfinch

Redwing

One of the two Blackbirds was of the “continental” type with a very dark bill and scalloped breast feathers.

"Continental" Blackbird

Goldcrest

The Goldcrest has a large range, estimated at 13.2 million square kms with a total population of 80–200 million individuals. (Wiki) There has been some northward range expansion in Scotland, Belgium, Norway, Finland and even Iceland during the 20th century, assisted by the spread of conifer plantations. A female lays 10-12 eggs and second broods are common. After a successful summer the population can increase many times over and a huge number of those birds looking to migrate south to escape the winters of much of their breeding range. The population is currently thought to be stable although there may be temporary marked declines in harsh winters of normally temperate Western Europe where the Goldcrest winters. 

As in our previous Goldcrest catch of 8th October we noticed today that most had good weights of slightly above the expected norm of 5 to 5.5gms with many approaching 6gms. Looking more closely today a number of our birds also showed a larger amount of grey around the head than a typical UK bird. These greyish headed Goldcrests are thought to be possibly from one or two of the eastern forms of the Goldcrest (see below). Alternatively, given such a widespread, numerous and highly migratory species there are likely to be intergrades of types. 

In continental Eurasia there are nine generally accepted and very similar subspecies of Goldcrest Regulus regulus which differ only in details such as plumage shade: 

• R. r. regulus. Breeds in most of Europe; this is the nominate subspecies and the one resident in the UK. 
• R. r. japonensis. Breeds in Eastern Asia, including Japan, Korea, China and Siberia; it is greener and has darker upper-parts than the nominate form, and has broad white wingbars. 
• R. r. coatsi. Breeds in Russia and Central Asia, and is paler above than the nominate subspecies. 
• R. r. tristis . Breeds in China and Central Asia, wintering in northeastern Afghanistan. It is distinctive, with the black edges to the crest largely absent. The crown of the male is yellower than in other forms, and the underparts are much duller and greyer. 
• R. r. himalayensis. Breeds in the Himalayas; it is similar to the nominate subspecies, but slightly paler above and with whiter underparts. 
• R. r. yunnanensis . Breeds in the Eastern Himalayas, Burma and China; it is like R. r. sikkimensis, but darker overall with dark green upper-parts and darker buff underparts. 
• R. r. hyrcanus. Breeds only in Iran; it is like R. r. buturlini, but slightly darker. 
• R. r. buturlini. Breeds in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is paler above than the nominate subspecies, and greyish-green rather than olive. 
• R. r. sikkimensis. Breeds in India and China. It is darker than R. r. himalayensis, and greener than the nominate subspecies. 

It all makes for much thought and closer investigation of birds in the hand when time and available hands allow.  The priority always is to ring, process and release a bird as quickly as possible, especially where small and vulnerable birds like Goldcrests are concerned.

Other birds seen/heard this morning: 2+ Brambling, 3 Grey Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 + Bullfinch. 

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday.

Food For Thought

It’s that time of year again. I set off for the pet-shop and bought a bag of wild bird seed and a sack of Niger and then merrily filled the bird feeders. By coincidence a day or so ago a regular blog reader had asked, “What is your feeling about feeders?

There are definite pros and cons about feeding wild birds, so I decided to put my thoughts to the pen and paper of the keyboard and share the result in this post. 

Siskin

Feeding birds in the garden gives great pleasure but also a few things I worry about. The positives come later, but for now the not insurmountable worries in the order of 1) the potential for spreading disease via bird feeders, 2) the Sparrowhawk, and 3) marauding cats. 

The suspicion that feeding wild birds heightens the spread of disease among them is one of the strongest anti-feeding arguments. 

Although it’s true that making birds to feed together at common places can lead to increased disease transfer, it is also well known that birds often feed in groups, including mixed-species flocks like finches, thrushes and doves/pigeons. Good feeder hygiene by way of cleaning feeders regularly, offering fresh seed, minimizing faeces build-up, and generally striving for quality versus quantity of desired visitors can lessen this problem. 

I don’t feed peanuts, mostly because in my experience they go soggy and then mouldy very quickly - not a good thing to feed to birds. Not offering peanuts means that I don’t see too many Great-spotted Woodpeckers or Greenfinches, but in my defence there are claims that peanut feeding is responsible for the increase in the populations of the Grey Squirrel. This introduced pest species is known to be a predator of birds’ eggs and nestlings as well as out-competing our native Red Squirrel, not to mention its habit of destroying bird feeders. 

Grey Squirrel

The number of bird feeders is surely in the millions across the UK. In some urban and suburban roads it seems as if most people have a feeder or two. However, a closer look often reveals feeders in a state of disrepair and not recently replenished. Bird feeding has its devotees, but not all of them are passionate or knowledgeable about the rules. It is important to remember that if birds become accustomed to feeding at a particular site, the feed should be maintained and if there is a desire or need to stop feeding, it should be done gradually over days or weeks to allow birds to find an alternative. 

Lesser Redpoll

In the UK the Sparrowhawk is a frequent visitor to gardens with bird feeders. It is said that raptors usually capture the weaker or less fit birds, but whether they kill birds at a feeder or at some other location out of our sight we should remind ourselves that it is all part of nature, “red in tooth and claw”, as the saying goes. 

At times I see a Sparrowhawk hiding among shrubs and trees or sitting motionless on a partly hidden fence so as to suddenly dash into a group of birds around a feeder: it’s one of their most and successful natural hunting techniques. Many is the time I glimpse a Sparrowhawk dashing though the garden as it scatters the feeding birds but fails to catch anything. The moment of drama is one to enjoy, nothing is harmed, and while all goes quiet and the feeding birds disappear for a while, it is amazing how quickly they return. After all, birds live with the threat of being eaten by a predator every day of their lives and are finely tuned to spot them. And even a Sparrowhawk lives in fear of its larger cousin the Goshawk.

Sparrowhawk

It’s estimated that roaming pet cats kill billions birds and animals annually in the world. A recent book, Cat Wars: The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer Cat Wars:The Devastating Consequences of a Cuddly Killer examines the severe ecological damage caused by feral cats and outdoor pet cats. 

Fortunately I don’t have a problem with too many neighbourhood cats but in any case my feeders are out of reach and away from vegetation where cats can hide to ambush birds. Below a couple of my feeders are seed trays to prevent seed from falling to the ground and to minimise the numbers of vulnerable ground-feeding birds. If I see a cat in the garden I always shoo it away, just in case it is an experienced bird killer.

Domestic Cat

Do birds actually need the food on offer in my feeders or am I diverting them away from feeding in a more natural way? I do know that the numbers in my garden go up and down with the seasons and even the time of day. There are definitely more birds in the winter and early spring when they appear to use the garden as a snack bar in times of food shortages, especially during cold spells and the worst times of natural food shortages. A garden is just one of many feeding sites that birds use in the course of a single day, week or even months. For example, the garden has been bereft of Goldfinches for weeks but now as natural autumnal seed heads begin to disappear I am seeing Goldfinches returning to the Niger feeders. A number of them are returnees as I discover if I catch a sample for ringing. 

Goldfinch

Goldfinches

The “Hunger Gap” for UK and Northern Hemisphere birds is reckoned to be between January and March/April when winter is at its most severe and when both insect and seed items are in short supply. I have windfall apples stored in the freezer in readiness for the snow and ice which might appear in late December and into the New Year and more often than not the apples attract in members of the thrush family, mostly extra Blackbirds, but also Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and even small numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare. 

Song Thrush

Blackbird

Scientific studies have shown nutritional and reproductive benefits to species like Blackbirds, Robins and the tit family that breed in localities with plenty of garden feeders. Whether to feed birds all the year round is a subject open to some debate but I think the consensus is that it is OK so long as the correct food is on offer whereby the birds are clever enough to supplement their natural diet with other “goodies” without relying on too much unnatural food. 

One of the major positives from bird feeding is that it is useful to the conservation of birds. In the past twenty years or so, and through organisation like the BTO and the RSPB, and participation in surveys like Big Garden Birdwatch, Garden Birdwatch and the Nest Record Scheme, UK Citizen Science has become a major tool used by conservationists to help bird populations.

Robin

The results from such work allow scientists to acquire snapshots of how bird populations fare from year to year, as well as detecting long-term trends. This information becomes particularly critical in the face of climatic and habitat changes. 

There it is then - lots of positives about feeding birds in the garden and very few reasons to think that doing so might cause harm.