Win-Win

I don’t normally have a leisurely breakfast, more a “grab it and go”. At 0630 on Sunday a steady drizzle rattled on the conservatory roof. It was rain enough to bang another piece of bread in the toaster, make a second cup of tea and wait for the skies to brighten. An hour later it was time to hit the road. 

The plan was the usual - a little birding over Cockerham way and hopefully a spot of ringing. 

I stopped at Gulf Lane where the farmer had promised to cut a swathe through his other seed crop in readiness for the first signs of a decent sized flock of Linnets. Richard had done a gret job with the tractor with a terrific 9ft wide path that skirted the ditch and the bramble patch where many birds frequent during August to May. 

Already birds were in the ride, foraging through the cut crop, along the fence posts or hiding in the hedge - 2 Tree Sparrow, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Stock Dove and 18 Linnets. 

Tree Sparrow

 

Reed Bunting

 

Linnets

 

Win-Win

A good start to the morning that went slightly downhill as the previously slight breeze picked up enough to signify that ringing was a no-no. Not to worry as the big fields held many birds even if most were a little distant. 

The distance combined with the ebb and flow of birds constantly moving between the field and the marsh beyond made counting almost impossible. My best estimates were 750 Greylag, 200 Lapwing, 175 Carrion Crow, 90 Curlew, 25 Stock Dove and countless gulls, mostly Black-headed. 

Black-headed Gulls

Curlew

Constant activity was enough to draw in raptors in the shape of two Sparrowhawks and a Marsh Harrier. I was be sure of two Sparrowhawks because of their relative sizes, a small, fast moving male and soon after a larger female that circled around in a higher plane as females of the species are inclined to do. 

The Sparrowhawks were quickly followed by a Marsh Harrier, a somewhat nondescript bird of the year, which gave intermittent views as it hunted over and around the ditches, fields and few trees that dot the area. When Richard arrived on the quad carrying the morning breakfast of cattle nuts I asked “Where were you five minutes ago?” 

Luckily the harrier reappeared again to give us both splendid views until it drifted off south, over the A588 and in the direction of Winmarleigh Moss. Mid-August is a classic time to catch up with Marsh Harriers as they disperse from breeding sites north and east of here. In recent years Marsh Harriers have begun to winter on the Lancashire coast, Leighton Moss and Martin Mere/Southport/Merseyside. 

Marsh Harrier

 

Smaller birds were difficult to find with singles of Reed Warbler, Great-spotted Woodpecker, a handful of Goldfinches and about 20 Linnets max. A single south moving Swallow was the only one noted. It's really autumn now. 

After a dismal start the few hours spent in the Great Outdoors proved to be a winner - again. And who wouldn’t rather be birding?  

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Ann in Texas.

Raptorous

Wednesday morning at Cockerham began ok. Not perfect but a cool 10mph southerly wind. A couple of sheltered nets meant ringing might be possible. By Wednesday early evening the heavens opened to a downpour and my decision to go ringing had been absolved. 

As usual the morning target was Linnets and anything else that might stray into the catching area. It’s a seed plot/game cover, although in this case the farmers are not shooters but people who have to make a living, but where possible farm with an eye on maintaining their land for animals, birds and wildlife in general. 

Ten birds caught - 8 more Linnets to add to eight of last week, 1 Willow Warbler and a House Sparrow. Of those 16 Linnets, twelve have been juveniles and four adults, a healthy enough ratio to suggest that 2021 has been a decent year. 

Linnet - juvenile/first summer

Willow Warbler - first summer/juvenile

House Sparrow - adult male

The morning turned into something of a raptor fest with four species seen - Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, a Merlin and then two sightings of a Peregrine (or two individuals.) 

I have intermittent sighting of Sparrowhawks here as they do not breed on site but probably do so nearby. The Sparrowhawk did the usual trick of hanging around in an area where small birds were likely to show. As soon as the hawk spotted me, it flew through the nearest clump of trees and carried out the customary disappearing act. 

Kestrels have been pretty scarce this year perhaps as a result of the dearth of small mammals in the early year and during the frosts of May. Until this Wednesday I’d seen very few Kestrels, the one hovering close by my ringing station proved a welcome sight. 

Kestrel

In the distance recent heavy rains have left a flash flood in good shape to welcome a huge concentration of hundreds of crows, gulls & Greylags, dozens of Woodpigeons and Stock Doves, and dozens of assorted waders, including Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit. 

So many potential items of food pulled in a Peregrine from out on the salt marsh. The reaction of the massed birds could only be Peregrine, the fastest bird in the world. The panic was almost instant as wave after wave of birds took to the air in what appeared to be sheer terror. No other bird has quite the same effect as a hunting Peregrine. It’s as if the hunted share a common warning call for this major killer of birds large and small, a predator so efficient that the targeted one faces certain death. 

The falcon was so fast through the flocks that I lost track of it more than once and didn’t see it take anything. An hour later it, or another, came back for a second go. In fact it’s not unusual to see Peregrines hunt in pairs or even threes, especially in early autumn when families may still be partly reliant on siblings and parents finding food. 

Peregrine

I imagine that Peregrines have done quite well during lockdown. Free from the normal and continuous disturbance by moorland tourists, fell walkers, landowners & their gamekeepers, our upland Peregrines probably made hay for 18 months and more. 

Peregrines breed in rugged uplands and feed in the open countryside surrounding such sites. Whilst the breeding populations of Peregrines in many areas of England have shown a general pattern of increases in recent decades the same trend is not evident in northern uplands. Here marked losses in the range and population have been experienced and continue to this day. In particular, breeding productivity at sites on or near driven grouse moor estates is half of that found on non-grouse moor habitats. 

There are now significant gaps across the northern uplands where Peregrines previously bred and where overall numbers are lower compared to the 1990s and 2000s, for example in the Peak District, Bowland Forest and the North Pennines. 

The Merlin is also an upland breeder primarily restricted to heather moorland that too relies heavily on open country prey. Although Merlins are generally no longer directly persecuted, their breeding habitat, much of which is on moorland primarily managed for Red Grouse, is vulnerable to change of land use. The decline in farmland bird populations like Linnets is also likely to have an impact on survival of Merlins that winter around the Lancashire coast. 

As I watched Linnets flit around the seed plot a Merlin appeared, flying low towards me, inches off the ground and alongside the 3ft high vegetation. At first, and as seemed the most likely, the brown head probably belonged to a Sparrowhawk. Then as the bird drew near the flight pattern was not the flap glide of a “sprawk” but the characteristic hurrying flight of fast wingbeats with mildly undulating progress. Some birders liken the Merlin’s flight to that of the similarly sized Mistle Thrush. 

Merlin

Again, as soon as the little falcon spotted me, it lifted, veered off and flew out of sight over nearby trees. 

There was a small but visible migration of Swifts and Swallows, 4 Swifts together and then a loose party of 20/25 Swallows hugging the ground so as to make fast progress on their way south. I watched them disappear over the fields and into the distance - visible migration. 

Other birds seen during my three hour session – 35 Linnet, 2 Goldfinch, 5 House Sparrow, 8 Stock Dove, 45 Woodpigeon, 2 Grey Heron, 5 Little Egret, 7 Teal, 28 Curlew, 2 Little Grebe.

Grey Heron

 

The weather is looking unhelpful for a few days but as ever I will be looking for a window through which to explore. Stay tuned to Another Bird Blog.

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.

A Tern For The Better

Friday morning proved too breezy for ringing so with the little sun I headed for Knott End village and the viewpoints of the jetty and promenade. From here are vistas across Morecambe Bay to the English Lakes, Barrow and on suitable days, The Isle of Man. There are many birds to be seen in most seasons except for high summer when grockles appear. 

It was just here on Monday that a lady and her dog were rescued after getting stuck in mud off the end of the slipway. I’m on safe ground in saying that because she had a dog with her, the lady was probably not a birder. 

Monday 2 August - Knott End, Lancashire - @LancsLive

The poor lady was pulled unceremoniously from the sticky mud by members of Knott End Coastguard with help from the crew of the Knott End/Fleetwood ferry. She was fortunate that a fast tide was not rushing in and that local people spotted her plight, as without their help, the seemingly innocent  walk could have ended in tragedy. 

The tides and sands of Morecambe Bay are incredibly dangerous but there is no accounting for stupid when warnings are clear and abundant.  

Knott End slipway - "Beware of sinking sand and mud. Check tides and weather"

My own walk along the river path was less eventful but dictated by the incoming tide which flooded the mud, sand and mussel beds. As the land disappeared about 450 Oystercatchers flew upstream to their roost. There was a steady flow of 55+ Sandwich Terns, their breeding season at an end with many now journeying to winter off the south and west coasts of Africa. 

Out of our own UK season of Sandwich Terns from March to September I have seen the species in the winter warmth of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gambia, West Africa, but wherever it is, Sandwich Terns seem to always retain their fear of man and keep a safe distance. 

This fear is not surprising when many past recoveries of ringed Sandwich Terns are from hunting in West African countries like Ghana, Senegal, Angola, Ivory Coast , Liberia and Sierra Leone. Here the trapping of terns for food is carried out by children setting noose traps on the beach baited with dead fish. Although this practice may be less prevalent than say the 1960, 70 and 80s, it is apparently still widespread in some areas. 

 

Sandwich Terns

Sandwich Tern

Oystercatchers

 

The best and certainly the rarest birds I saw were two other terns, Little Terns, on the beach and close to a gang of a dozen or more Sandwich Terns. Soon, the two smaller terns followed their cousins out over the incoming tide. 

Little Terns used to be much more common in Autumn in the days before the familiar story of falls in their UK population.    

Factors contributing to this low productivity include predation of chicks and eggs by, Kestrels  Foxes and the crow family. other losses from nest loss due to bad weather, food shortage, and, most significantly, disturbance by humans. Most Little Terns nest along the east and south coasts of England, adjacent to some of the most densely populated areas of Britain, although many sites are now guarded in an attempt to limit disturbance.

Little Tern

Early August is the best time to see Little Terns in Lancashire. Many years ago I counted more than 100 gathered on the shore at Cockersands on a single August morning.  Sad to say it is highly unlikely such a high number will be seen again in these parts but instead the norm becomes a count by fingers of one hand. 

There seemed few other species alongside the river and the edge of the golf course except for a handful of Greenfinches, Linnets and that rarity the House Sparrow.  A good number of Collared Doves look as though they have enjoyed a successful breeding season. There's been up to a dozen around our local gardens this last week. And of course the shore and the river provide lots of gulls.  

Greenfinch

House Sparrow

 

Collared Dove

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Near Sea Dyke Cottage (1754) two Grey Herons flew upriver, croaking in flight as the tide engulfed their feeding patch. 

Knott End, River Wyre

Grey Heron

 

Our summer weather is looking pretty poor to at least Monday. I’m thinking that Wednesday 11th might be my next birding and/or ringing day. Fingers crossed the experts have got it wrong again. 

This And That

A BMW approached on the other side of the road but soon became a passer-by as it hurtled off in the direction of the Stalmine 30mph zone. Ten and more years later and forever counting, our village still lacks a pedestrian crossing where folk can safely visit the Seven Stars. Or more importantly, cross safely back to the other side after a few pints. 

Soon, another car appeared in the rear view mirror, niggling at my rear end, even at 6am. The young lady 4X4 lost no time to roar past my untrendy and inexpensive Fiat as it leaned like a drunken sailor over the double white lines of Burned House Lane. Those two opposing vehicles were the only ones I saw on my 0600 journey toward Cockerham. 

I guess those people had somewhere important to go in a hurry, probably not, but I’m absolutely sure that at those speeds, neither of them were birders. 

There was no urgency as I reached Murder Mile of the A588, the scene of many a high speed, often fatal accident. Wiki - “The A588 is a road in England which runs from Poulton-le-Fylde to Lancaster. It is the main route serving the Over Wyre areas of the Fylde.” 

Me -“At 6am of a silent, slightly misty, sun-burnished autumn morning, the A588 can be quite breathtakingly beautiful”.  

Cockerham - Over-Wyre, Lancashire

Appropriately enough the 20 mile A588 that winds through the Over-Wyre villages of Hambleton, Stalmine and Pilling and across the marshy land that abuts Cockerham Sands, terminates at Lancaster Hospital. 

I stopped at the speed camera layby (weekends only) to grab a picture of the rising sun while reminding myself of the luck in leaving the DWP Rat Race some 15 years ago. Instead I get to spend a few hours in the glorious sunshine of an August morning with birds all around while not watching daytime TV. 

“Quality not Quantity” is the perennial defence and get out clause of bird ringers who don’t catch too many birds. I am no exception. Hence while 4 Linnet and 4 Reed Warbler will not make the BTO database blow a fuse, the feeling and fun was intense, and to borrow another ringer’s phrase, “there’s always another day”. 

One of the Reed Warblers, an adult female, had been ringed here in 2020, almost to the day. Thankfully for my ageing and sexing abilities, she was still an adult female with a now wrinkled brood patch. 

The picture is a juvenile Reed Warbler, protesting, as they do. 

Reed Warbler

 

Linnet

Linnet

The adult male Linnet was part way through its post-breeding moult. 

Birding was quiet too with a dawn Buzzard pursued by a handful of crows, and then later 150 or more of the blackened villains. Otherwise - 3 Grey Heron, 3 Little Egret,1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 40 Woodpigeon, 2 Stock Dove, 4 Goldfinch and 6 or more Brown Hares.  

Great -spotted Woodpecker

Brown Hare

As I type there’s rain closing from the west with more forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

We'll see.  The forecasters have been known to get it wrong, despite the many £millions spent on new computer modelling systems, the same systems that can predict the weather 30 or more years ahead!

Linking this weekend to Eileen's Saturday Blogspot and Texas Anni.

August Time

After the relative quiet of birding of June and July, the first days of August sees many birders pick up their bins again. There’s hope that the new month will bring post breeding dispersal with signs of true autumn migration and a wealth of birds that may arrive with unsettled weather and cooling temperatures. 

Sunday morning at Cockerham was cool with a pronounced westerly breeze and ever changing bouts of sun and cloud. I had single panel nets in the four foot high seed plot where I hoped to catch the first Linnets of the autumn. Hidden in the lee of the car as protection from sun, the cool breeze and the threat of a shower I switched a couple of times from a shirt to adding a jacket and then back to jacketless as the sun returned.

All the while Linnets arrived from both west and east, individuals, small groups and even a flock of 25+ that eventually gave a count of 60 or more Linnets; a clear sign of the autumnal flocking behaviour of small finches. 

A couple of Linnets escaped as I walked to the net however I did capture six, 3 moulting adults and 3 juveniles of the year. There was also an adult female Blackbird. 

Linnet - adult male

Linnet - adult male

Linnet - juvenile/first summer

Blackbird - adult female

 

Perhaps and in view of the weather it was no coincidence that the morning produced a clear movement of Swifts heading south, singles and twos at first. And then rather suddenly about ten o’clock and directly above the nearby pool came a vortex of Swifts, 50 or more feeding below the billowing grey cloud. Within minutes they were gone, back on high and out of sight to continue their southerly flight. 

Swifts

 

Other species seen and heard – 190/200 Carrion Crow, 12 Curlew , 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Tree Sparrow, 15 Swallow, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Little Egret, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Buzzard. 

The huge numbers of predatory Carrion Crows in recently cut fields suggests a very successful breeding season but does not bode well for small birds and breeding waders in 2022. 

Carrion Crow

In other news. It was here in Cockerham that a Great Egret lingered through May and well into into June 2021 and where earlier in the spring there has been two or even three individuals.  At one point I hoped that the egrets might join the Little Egret by becoming a breeding species of this part of Lancashire. It was not to be but now comes news of Great Egrets from the South West of England. 

Great Egret - Fylde, Lancashire

 

From Bird Guides.“Great Egrets have enjoyed a record-breaking year on the Somerset Levels, as the species continues its rapid colonisation of Britain. An estimated 50 chicks fledged this year on the Avalon Marshes. Nesting took place at 10 separate locations across Shapwick Heath, Ham Wall and Westhay reserves, with 25 of the 37 nests found going on to successfully fledge young. "

"Great Egret joined the list of breeding British birds as recently as 2012, when a pair nested at Shapwick Heath Somerset – the epicentre of the current population in the country. For much of the 20th century the Great Egret was restricted to the wetlands of Eastern Europe but, since the 1990s, the species made a comeback, nesting in increasing numbers across Europe and then spreading west." 

"Since 2012, numbers of breeding birds in Somerset increased steadily. In 2017, a pair of Great Egrets fledged three chicks at Holkham Nature Reserve Norfolk, marking the county's first successful breeding attempt.” 

In 2019, a single pair nested in Cheshire for the first time, at Burton Mere Wetlands, a flap and a glide into to Lancashire for a Great Egret. 

More news and views soon. Stay tuned to Another Bird Blog. 

Boxed In

Sorry folks. Today is Barn Owls again, just like last Friday. 

Friend Steve made contact to say that his Barn Owls were probably ready to ring. I readied large bird bags and a set of “G” rings and arranged to meet Bryan over at Steve’s place. 

Steve’s home is not a farm but is close to farmland where Barn Owls hunt. The average countryside dweller does not have to be a farmer to play host to a Farmer’s Friend, the Barn Owl. If someone either owns or has access to a building that Barn Owls might use, the paragraph below has useful information. 

From the Barn Owl Trust - Barn Owl Trust.   “If there’s a large building that a Barn Owl can enter at 3+ metres above the ground then this is almost certainly the best place to put a new Barn Owl nest box. An owl box in a building is easier to erect, costs less, or is quicker and cheaper to make. Such locations mean a box lasts much longer and affords extra shelter.” 

“Mounting an owl box on the outside of a building has many disadvantages and is not recommended unless there is no alternative. Buildings that are in human or agricultural use can be very suitable; Barn Owls can get used to almost any kind of activity as long as they can stay out of sight.”

 

Unfortunately Steve’s owls had of late soiled the lens of the “in the box camera” during their daily routines. By Friday morning all we had to go on were unclear images from early July which showed small owlets. 

Let’s elucidate by explaining that owl homes don’t have plumbing or waste disposal systems and Barn Owls do not have a weekly tidy up of the home. Their messy nest places also contain remnant, long forgotten body parts of voles, rats and other furry creatures. On occasions, and when food is in short supply, a box may hold the remains of smaller siblings that serve as emergency rations - yes Barn Owls have a cannibalistic streak. In other words, an owl box may not be the most sanitary of places to explore by the senses of hand or nose. 

With fingers crossed that in the interim things went well for the owls, Bryan volunteered to climb the ladder, peer into the dark box and stretch a hand into the unknown. With luck the same hand might emerge unscathed, holding a Barn Owl or two. As soon as we put the ladder towards the box an adult Barn Owl flew out, immediately followed by another - a good sign that all was well with the family. 

Bryan shouted down “Success, two chicks, but one unhatched egg”” as he gently placed each owl into bags and fetched them to ground level to be ringed. The chicks had well developed legs and feet of just the right dimensions for the “G” rings, GR26343 and GR26344. 

Bryan

 

Barn Owl

There was time to clean the camera lens and for Steve to check the image on his phone. All was well, the picture bright and clear so that Steve and family can watch the progress of the owls from the comfort of their home screens. The young owls will leave the box for good in about 14 to 21 days’ time. 

Linking this post to weekend blogs - Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.

 

Sundemic

Dare we even think it, let alone say it? At last an old-fashioned British summer where the sun shines from dawn to dusk, a knotted handkerchief the must-have headgear and Lobster Red in vogue.  After the coldest May on record we may be headed for the sunniest July. 

All well and good but hot sunny days and clear sky nights do little for bird migration or to hear the “ping” of a birding WhatsApp message. It’s changeable weather that fetches the birds, common or rare whether here in the British Isles, the Mediterranean, the Aegean or across the pond in North America & the islands of the Caribbean. Here in Lancashire showers through the night and rain before dawn can be the precursors to a “fall” of birds, especially if such conditions include an easterly blow. 

This, the first week of the school hols, was a busy week for grandparents keen to go birding despite the “unseasonal” weather, accustomed as we are to rain in July. Friday morning presented the first opportunity to hit the road without kids so off I went towards Cockerham; the breeze was a little blowy for ringing. 

2021 has been a funny year for Barn Owls too. Poor success in 2020, a cold spring in 2021 combined with a shortage of voles has meant the farmer’s friend is only now catching up, breeding only when everything is hunky dory.  In Pilling village I met up with one of the locals strangely absent for months but now back on the trail of rats, voles and much besides. 

Barn Owl

 

Here at Cockerham farmers have taken the dry weather opportunity to take a cut of silage, the newly cut fields quickly discovered by mainly Curlews, Stock Doves and assorted Gulls (Lesser Black Backs, Herring and Black-headed. The cut fields mean there are less places for Brown Hares to hide from view while leverets have yet to learn that man may not be a friend. One ran towards the car. 

Leveret (Brown Hare)

 

The Sand Martin colony at Hillam Lane was fairly busy if difficult to count at around 120+ birds, both adults and juveniles present.  Also here was a family of Moorhens, 4 Curlew, 1 Grey Heron and a single Common Tern from nearby Conder Green 

Common Tern

Sand Martin

After the lack of rain with corresponding hot weather the water level at Conder Green is possibly as low as it has ever been with lots margins that are mostly distant or hidden from view. However while the sum of birds on view was not high, the number of species via combined pool and tidal creeks was very impressive. 

Waders amounted to 22 Redshank, 14 Lapwing, 10 Oystercatcher, 7 Curlew, 6 Avocet, 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 Snipe, 2 Greenshank and 2 Little Egret. 

Little Egret

 

Curlew

 

Add to those waders the odds and sods like 3 Little Grebe, 4 Tufted Duck, 1 Grey Heron, 16 Mute Swan, 45 Greylags and then the obligatory Swallows and Sand Martins, it all amounts to more than acceptable birding. Greylags are now a constant sight at Conder Green at almost any time of the year, even more so in autumn following a successful breeding season. 

Greylags

 

If the wind drops a little for tomorrow I may try a little ringing. Saturday looks a touch breezy, Sunday less so but either way more sunny days beckon. How unusual! 

Linking this weekend to Anni in Texas and Eileen's Saturday.

And then take a look at my lovely friend Rain Frances in New Brunswick, Canada who via You Tube will show you how to sketch and draw - Rain Frances on You Tube.