How To Keep A Sense Of Humour

We approached this morning’s ringing session with some apprehension as it was our first for a month, the four weeks interval devoted to bemoaning our luck with the continuous bad weather of a so called “summer”. 

We were right to be cautious in our expectations with a four hour session yielding just 9 birds of which three only were juveniles. Last year we ringed over 130 Whitethroats in this prime warbler location at Out Rawcliffe, today nil Whitethroats. The seven new birds comprised 4 Blackcap (3 adults) and 1 each of Wren, Robin and Willow Warbler. The Wren and Robin were juveniles, the Willow Warbler an adult in heavy moult, the moult indicating a bird which has completed its (probably unsuccessful) breeding season. Two recaptures were a Blackbird and a Dunnock. 

Blackcap

Willow Warbler

Robin

Birding wise was equally quiet, a noticeable feature being an early morning movement of Siskins heading south with a minimum of six individuals. Others: 1 Kestrel, 1 Little Owl, 3 Corn Bunting, 4 Yellowhammer, 2 Reed Bunting, 15 Goldfinch, 8 Linnet, 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker. 

Readers of a squeamish disposition should maybe skip the next gruesome paragraph and picture because there’s a reasonable shot of a Grey Heron at the end of the post. In between bouts of netting boredom Will and I mooched about, looking at butterfly larvae, reminiscing about the summer ringing of 2011or then searching the sky for Swallows, when we came across the fresh entrails of an animal. Not far away we found the corpse, a headless, partly eaten Brown Hare. Countryman Will explained how a Fox had killed the animal, and unable to carry the heavy carcass off, had eaten a meal but would be back later for another helping of now slightly less fresh meat. OK it’s a grisly tale but at least it’s filled another paragraph about an otherwise dismal session. 

Brown Hare

Brown Hare 

This was another grey, wet and miserable morning when I looked out of the window hoping for a spot of sunshine but spotted the Grey Heron on a neighbour’s roof. They do say that herons often land on wet roofs as from a distance they mistake the shiny surface for an expanse of water. Well there have been plenty of those around lately. 

 Grey Heron

Now excuse me as I really must get back to my evening meal, but more from Another Bird Blog soon. 

Sparring Session

A visit to a Sparrowhawk nest found a couple of weeks ago revealed 3 healthy sized chicks. Five is a more normal brood in these parts, but 2012 is far from a normal breeding season. 

On checking the tarsus width of each bird (males and females take different size rings) it was found that all three were females needing a size “E” ring. The old baseball cap came in handy again while rings were located and the young back in the nest in a minute or two. 

Sparrowhawk chicks

Sparrowhawk chick - female

Other ringing sessions have been dire of late with cancelled or aborted visits due to wind, rain or both the normal outcome. A couple of sheltered garden sessions produced a few Goldfinch and Greenfinch with a single juvenile of the former and a couple of Greenfinch juveniles.

Juvenile Greenfinch

More from Another Bird Blog tomorrow I hope. 

No News Good Views

There was little chance of getting north this morning. Head Dyke Lane was still closed after Friday morning when a tanker carrying 20,000 litres of LPG turned over on the A588, destroying the carriageway in the process. I didn’t fancy the long detour over single track Union Lane where non-locals coming from the opposite direction seem not to understand the principle of “passing places”. 

I went local instead and spent a happy hour with a Little Owl at Staynall, so apologies for the lack of news, the blog is mainly pictures today. 

Little Owl

Little Owl - Watching you watching me

The owl spent a considerable amount of time watching the sky, perhaps for predators or a meal, with Kestrel and Buzzard about, but also nesting House Martins. Liitle Owls are known to raid the nests of both Swallows and House Martins.

Little Owl - Things are looking up

Little Owl - Way up

Little Owl - House Martins that way

Little Owl - House Martins that way

Little Owl - Preening

At one point a Tawny Owl called from a nearby wood, which made the Little Owl call for a minute or so. In the second picture below it's possible to see that the throat feathers are not dense, suggesting this bird is a juvenile of the year. Click on "xeno-canto" to hear the Little Owl.

Little Owl- calling

Liitle Owl - calling

Littlle Owl - "Had enough yet"? 

Tune in tomorrow for more Ringing, Birding or Photography on Another Bird Blog.

Taking It Easy.

Three times in ten days the A588 to Pilling, infamous as one of the most dangerous roads in England, has been closed off by police. Once for the stolen car slewed across the road, the second time for a burning barn on the appropriately named Burned House Lane, and again this morning for what appeared a nasty smash near Lambs Lane junction. A roundabout route go me to Pilling where three hours later the police still manned the closed road entailing a second detour over Pilling Moss, Union Lane and Stalmine Moss; let’s hope no one was seriously hurt.

Hereabouts and from 7am onwards some drivers appear so desperate to get to work it’s a wonder there aren’t many more serious accidents on our narrow lanes. For goodness sake, chill out and slow down folks, especially the clown in the silver grey Honda Civic glued to my bumper through Scronkey.

At Lane Ends I have tried for weeks to make the cautious Jays play ball and pose for the camera. Finally today, and although a little distant I managed to grab a few shots in between them scooting back into the trees at the approach of every vehicle.

Jay

Jay

Jay

In the plantation and area of the car park and in addition to 2 Jays, were 3 Blackcap, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Kestrel and 1 Sparrowhawk.

A slow walk from Lane Ends to Fluke Hall via Pilling Water and then the return journey gave 15 Goldfinch, 15 Linnet, 5 Greenfinch, 8 Pied Wagtail, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Corn Bunting, 8 Swift and a minimum 18 Skylark. I’m still looking but there’s no evidence of second Skylark nests yet.

 Pied Wagtail

A number of hirundines at Pilling Water included a single Sand Martin with 10 Swallows and 8 House Martin.

Swallow

Sand Martin

Swallow

 Waders today: 230 Curlew, 60 Redshank, 20 Dunlin, 22 Oystercatcher, 90 Lapwing, 2 Ringed Plover and 1 Common Sandpiper.

Ringed Plover

Bang on time today was the first autumn Little Egret out on the marsh. 2 Grey Heron also.

Over Pilling Way even the sheep join in the roost to wait out the tide. There’s no sense in rushing about and ending up in deep water or worse is there?

 Pilling Marsh

Reach for The Umbrella

Yes, it was Pilling today, where although it proved fairly quiet I came away with a half decent list of birds which included the first autumnal Dunlin, thirty or so birds out on the incoming tide at 11am. The Redshank count at 50+ was slightly up today when extra Redshanks joined the local post-breeding birds which stayed on the marsh through May and June. Completing the wader count were 80 Curlew, 110 Lapwing, 22 Oystercatcher and 2 Common Sandpiper. 

Dunlin

Other birds out on the tideline - 220 Black-headed Gull, 3 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Grey Heron, 44 Shelduck and 11 Cormorant. 

A Peregrine flashed over the shore early on heading towards Cockerham, and then 15 minutes later came back from that direction and briefly overhead. Although the sun was out briefly, the camera wasn’t set for an overhead Peg so it was point and hope for the best, or fiddle with the settings and lose the bird. 

Peregrine

Peregrine

Other birds: 20+ Skylark, 2 Corn Bunting, 6 Pied Wagtail, 14 Goldfinch, 3 Linnet, 5 Greenfinch, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Blackcap, 2 Meadow Pipit, 1 Reed Warbler, 4 House Martin, 8 Swift. There still aren’t many Swallows about the normal places with many people reporting a lack of nests with slow plus low productivity. I did see a family party of 8 birds at Pilling Water which included newly fledged juveniles, posing in the usual location, 

Barn Swallow

Now it’s official, the wettest June since records began and more of the same promised for this week. Never mind, Another Bird Blog will be out somewhere, with an umbrella if necessary - stay tuned.

News With Views

Just birding this morning, beginning at Knott End where the time of year begins to dictate a few visits, particularly when early morning rising tides push waders and hopefully terns in from Morecambe Bay. 

No terns this morning although Oystercatcher numbers are building with 220+ today as they leave inland breeding haunts to congregate on the sands and the mussel beds. It was mostly Oystercatchers today, with just a couple of Redshank, 35 Curlew and several Shelduck. From the jetty I counted 9 Eider and then a fly past from a visiting Peregrine again. It’s just a glide across the River Wyre to Fleetwood where the Peregrines have bred again this year, rearing one youngster. Alongside the golf course I could see 3 Pied Wagtails along the first fairway and in the nearby conifers a Whitethroat was busily feeding a fledged youngster. 

Pied Wagtail

Peregrine

Eider

I noted a couple of Swift and House Martins then motored on to Pilling. Lane Ends car park was quiet, just the 2 regular Blackcap and a newly singing Chiffchaff but no sounds from the patches of reeds where Reed Warblers have been noisily singing of late. On my travels yesterday I checked two nests, one of Whitethroat the other of Goldfinch and both of them had been washed out, two nests better placed to survive the lashing from wind and rain that a typical Reed Warbler nest must have endured this past week. 

A walk to Pilling Water found 2 Common Sandpiper,105 Curlew, 30 Redshank, 14 Oystercatcher, 15 Goldfinch, 4 Linnet, 5 Greenfinch, 3 Swift, 8 Swallow, 3 Pied Wagtail, 16 Skylark and 4 Corn Bunting. The Corn Buntings are definitely making a breeding attempt here, confirmed as I watched a bird collect nest material from the sea wall and then accompanied by a second bird, drop with the material into the silage. I now think there may be two pairs in this field with others in similar silage fields towards Cockerham. As Corn Buntings are now so scarce in this area of Lancashire it’s good that they may be utilising this habitat, but more than a little risky if their timing coincides with silage cutting.

Corn Bunting

Down at Fluke I chatted with a HiFly guy who’s looking forward to the shooting season in 9 week’s time, if only the maize would grow and the silage become dry enough to cut. Its odd how according to our own particular interests we all take a different view of how things should turn out.! But over the recent controversy about Buzzards we agreed on one thing - Buzzards are too lazy to take game birds, they prefer to sit around and wait for a spot of road-kill or other carrion.

Tune into Another Bird Blog again on Sunday for more news and maybe a few views.

Ringing Recoveries Today

Details arrived from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) of a couple of birds handled at our farmland ringing site at Out Rawcliffe - a Chaffinch and a Lesser Redpoll. A third record was of a Reed Bunting handled at a separate farmland site at Myerscough, near Preston. 

During the warm spell of March 2012 there was a very noticeable but also early seasonal movement of Lesser Redpolls heading north to upland areas. From 29 February to 1 April Will and I handled 100 Lesser Redpolls at Out Rawcliffe, the one hundred birds including one bearing ring number L977497, a second calendar year male caught on 25 March 2012. This individual had been ringed during the previous autumn on 6 October 2011 at Cannock Chase, Staffordshire. In October and as a first year juvenile, the bird was almost certainly heading a distance further south than Cannock so as to spend the winter near the south coast of England or possibly France/Spain before heading north again in early 2012 when it was intercepted at Out Rawcliffe. 

Lesser Redpoll

Lesser Redpoll - Cannock Chase to Out Rawcliffe

Ring number Y279452 a first year female Chaffinch ringed during last autumn’s Chaffinch passage at Out Rawcliffe on 1 October 2011 was found dead at Holme, Cumbria on 3 June 2012. Although this isn’t a large or unexpected movement it ties in with the understanding that many juvenile Chaffinches passing through Lancashire in the autumn are leaving upland areas to disperse south and west. Although there are no further details of how Y279452 died the recovery in the month of June suggests the bird may have returned to its place of origin for the summer. For a more detailed discussion of autumnal Chaffinch movements in this part of Lancashire from the autumns of 2010 and 2011 see here.

Chaffinch

Chaffinch - Out Rawcliffe to Holme, Cumbria

The Reed Bunting recovery also involves Cumbria. Ring number V971432 a second winter male was caught at our feeding station at Lee Farm, Myerscough on 3 February 2010. There are no details of its location until 6 March 2012 when as an adult male it was caught by another ringer at Topthorn Barn, Cumbria. This location is 58 kms north of Lee Farm. The recovery accords with previous recoveries of Reed Buntings, a species which seems to make fairly local, almost coastal dispersals with north to south/south to north movements in NW England. 

Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting - Myerscough, Preston to Topthorne, Cumbria

I caught more adult Goldfinches in the shelter of the garden today, just males, so hopefully there are females persisting with nest sitting duties close by and juvenile birds appearing soon. 

 Male Goldfinch