Friday Flight

I was on my way north but decided to stop off at Lane Ends when I saw lots of Pink-footed Geese coming off the marsh from their night time roost and dropping for breakfast in the nearest field. It was the closest field but also a large one, the wary geese sticking close to the furthest fence from the road where noone would trouble them. The geese didn’t so much as drop in but glide down, treating me to a superb display of synchronised landing into the wind, wings bowed at the appropriate angle with tail and feet applying the brakes for a perfect landing. 

 Pink-footed Geese

 Pink-footed Goose

Pink-footed Goose

Geese were constantly arriving and leaving in small groups, staying to feed or heading off inland for pastures new. In all I estimated 1800 birds on the field before the first person on foot along the lane sent the geese off in noisy flight. Click on xeno-canto to hear the geese panicking off.

At Conder Green two Spotted Redshank still explored the channel, while on the pool Little Grebe numbers have fallen to just 3, Wigeon increased to 12 and Tufted Duck to 3. I struggled to find much else and even the dependable Teal numbers have declined to 120+.

It was an icy cold morning but at Glasson I found an angler, head in his chest and fast asleep in a chair at the side of the dock. Maybe he’d been there all night as anglers often do, but there didn’t seem to be a layer of frost so I left him in his slumber and counted the wildfowl, many of them sleeping head down too - 80+ Tufted Duck, 42 Coot, 1 Scaup and 1 Pochard.

 Scaup - Courtesy of The Crossley ID Guide: Britain & Ireland

I hope a blog reader was a winner of the recent Princeton University Press competition for a signed copy of The Crossley ID Guide: Britain & Ireland. See who won here at Another Bird Blog .

I decided to head back to Lane Ends to check out the stubble field - still consistent with 90+ Black-tailed Godwit, 220 Lapwing, 200 Jackdaws, 40 Carrion Crow, 25 Redshank, 3 Snipe, 8 Curlew, 2 Golden Plover, 70+ Skylark and then 2 Reed Buntings in the spent maize.

Carrion Crows chased a Buzzard out of the plantation at Pilling Water and as I walked back to Fluke the crows had found a Peregrine to chase as well; they don’t miss much those crows.

Buzzard

At Fluke itself, a Jay in the trees and several Tree Sparrows along the hedgerow.

There's more soon from Another Bird Blog, stay tuned. In the meantime I'm linking to Camera Critters and I'd Rather Be Birding.

Away From The Coast

Here’s a quickie report of two hours at Rawcliffe Moss, an inland haven from this morning’s strong and snow-threatening winds and the Pilling shoot on my coastal patch. 

A good mixture of species fed along the main hedgerow, in excess of 140 Tree Sparrows, 15+ Chaffinch, 4 Yellowhammer, 4 Reed Bunting, 4 Blackbirds, 2 Fieldfare and a single Mistle Thrush. And boy that last species is hard to come by nowadays. 

Blackbird

As I headed north for a walk the Tree Sparrows scattered ahead of me and more Fieldfares erupted from the Buzzard wood. There were 15/20 Redwings mixed in with approximately 100 Fieldfares, the whole flock heading off south with much calling. A couple of Fieldfares had found a circling Sparrowhawk, perhaps the reason they’d all left the trees rather than my presence. The sprawk quickly drifted off high and west and lost interest in the proceedings. 

Fieldfare

A single Skylark was to be found on the big fields. ther's been a recent change of farming regime from stubble to yet more winter grass with supplementary sheep, the whole change looking like a bad omen for a birder looking to find more than one bird. 

I walked to last year’s feeding station where Bramblings, Reed Buntings and an unexpected Little Bunting turned up. Another rarity today in the form of a Song Thrush, more Blackbirds and Chaffinches then an exploding Woodcock giving no clue until it burst from the deck and crashed through the trees. Two Roe Deer sauntered across the wintry grass, pausing to look at me emerging from the trees, then they were gone and running for all they were worth. 

Watching You Watching Me - Roe Deer

There is a stubble field on the way off the farm, a spot I found a huge flock of approximately 300 Linnets, more than I saw all summer. There were 5 Corn Buntings too, the whole flock sitting on overhead wires. They will be there another day for sure, so will I. 

Linnet

At Town End I slowed the car to see 4 Goosander sat on the riverbank and a hovering Kestrel nearby. 

The old notebook wasn’t exactly full but when you’re a birder there’s always something to see from an hour of two in the fresh air. 

Log in tomorrow to see what transpired on Another Bird Blog. 

Pilling And A Pipit

Domestics meant that a couple of hours after lunch were the best I could do today. No point in being too ambitious either when most birds start thinking about bedtime, and head for their beds long before I do. But there was time for a walk out Pilling way where birds would be guaranteed for a couple of hours. 

The shooters were out on the marsh leaving food in readiness for the next big shoot on Wednesday. There will be guaranteed birds for the paying guests as long as they don’t mind getting their boots dirty when kicking overfed and tame Mallards from beneath their feet. There’s little else on the pools apart from Mallards now, just 8 Pintail and a couple of Teal, the autumn passage of wildfowl over. 

Although 10 Whooper Swans and 45 Shelducks went at the arrival of Hi-Fly it was just minutes after the food appeared that 200 Jackdaws and several Carrion Crows homed in and join a bemused Mute Swan. Not without reason is the Jackdaw known as “the clever crow”, and there are no tame Jackdaws out Pilling way. 

 Jackdaw

There was a gang of 35/40 Black-tailed Godwits circling around looking for a safe spot, the birds eventually deciding on their usual flooded patch of stubble where a couple of Redshank and Curlew fed. Also on the stubble - 70+ Skylarks, 2 Snipe, 24 Linnet and a single Pied Wagtail. It was while watching the stubble that I noted a Buzzard drifting somewhere over Pilling village, and then along the sea wall brief views of a Merlin heading towards Lane Ends and the obligatory 10 little Egrets. 

I followed the Merlin’s example and took a trip to Lane Ends where in the field opposite were c450 Pink-footed Geese and 4 Greylag. 

Pink-footed Geese

And now for news of a pipit. Fylde Ringing Group has ringed almost 2500 Meadow Pipits over many years but to get news of a Meadow Pipit recovery is quite unusual as the species both lives and breeds in rather remote places. 

Y279058, an autumn juvenile I ringed at Out Rawcliffe on 20 September 2011 was recaptured by another ringer at Hasfield Ham, Gloucestershire almost 2 years to the day on 5 October 2013. By this date it could be safely aged as an adult and with a wing length of 86mm it was a definite male. Where the bird had bred in 2011, 2012 and 2013 is anyone’s guess, probably well north of Lancashire, maybe even Scotland or Iceland. 

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit recovery - 2011 to 2013 

Meadow Pipit

Log in to Another Bird Blog soon for trips to Pilling and elsewhere.

Linking today to Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday. 

Diversion Day

A grey old start to Friday saw me out birding at Pilling for a good three hours. While I saw a decent number of birds I didn’t get many pictures. Never mind there are sunny pictures towards the end of the page.

I set off from Fluke heading east and along the edge of the marsh, where if the Hi Fly blokes see anyone walking they will tell them it’s private. But it’s just a ten minute walk to join up with the public footpath and then two digits to Hi Fly. 

On the flooded stubble still lots of Black-tailed Godwits at 85+, Lapwings at more than 240, 18 Redshank, 6 Snipe, 22 Linnet, 60 Skylark and a single Curlew Sandpiper. It’s getting a little late in the year for Curlew Sandpipers, a species which is a spring and autumn migrant. 

On and around the Hi Fly pools were 2 Reed Bunting, 1 Green Sandpiper, 35 Shelduck and 5 Teal. On the marsh, 35 Whooper Swans and 11 Little Egret.

Reed Bunting

Back home Sue and I started to research a winter break in the sun in 2014, including looking at previous years’ adventures. There are pros and cons for each place whether that is cost, journey time, time of year to visit, previous experiences, Trip Advisor reviews, shopping, sight-seeing, and of course quality and quantity of birds or the lack of. 

So I’m sharing some pictures from recent years with blog readers for their consideration and/or advice as to where the next foray should be. What is perhaps surprising is the birds shown in these pictures also occur in the UK, the single exception being Southern Grey Shrike, however the closely related Great Grey Shrike is an autumn and winter visitor to the UK. 

I actually rather enjoy seeing familiar birds in unfamiliar places as it gives a perspective on the universal commonality or scarcity of a species, so while it can be stimulating to see new birds it isn’t the be all and end all of a sunshine holiday. Here we go in no particular order. I hope everyone enjoys looking at these touristy pictures. There might be a few reruns but there are also new ones. 

Don’t forget to “click the pics” for close-up views.

Fuerteventura

Little Egret - Fuerteventura

Bamboo - Fuertventura

Fuerteventura

Black Redstart - Cyprus

Lizard - Cyprus

 

Cyprus

House Sparrow - Cyprus

Egrets - Egypt

Cattle Egret - Egypt

Lanzarote

Southern Grey Shrike - Lanzarote

Woodchat Shrike - Greece

Skopelos - Greece

Skiathos - Greece

Red-backed Shrike - Skiathos, Greece

Menorca

Hoopoe - Menorca

Heerman's Tortoise - Menorca

 Tawny Pipit - Menorca

I just realised - the sun seems to be shining in each of those pictures. Fingers crossed for better weather soon on Another Bird Blog. 

Linking today to Camera Critters and Anni's Blog.

It's Not Life Or Death

Conder Green was the destination this morning, where a gentle walk and a dose of serious birding seemed a good option for the bright sunshine start. 

I stopped briefly at Braides Farm perhaps the most reliable spot in the Fylde to see Golden Plovers and where sure enough I saw a number of goldies, 45 or so distant in the rough grass field. Much more impressive were the large numbers of Curlews feeding in the soggy field whereby I counted a minimum of 430 birds. 

Feeding in the same field were approximately 600 Starlings, perhaps the reason a female Sparrowhawk was poised "ready to go" on a distant fence post.  Sure enough the hawk dropped to within inches of the ground and in one motion set off low across the field, scattering everything in its path, hoping to surprise some luckless prey. I lost the hawk in the melee but within a minute or two and after a panicked fly about, everything returned to normal. 

I’m posting a picture of Golden Plover courtesy of Princeton University Press which is from The Crossley ID Guide: Britain & Ireland.

  Golden Plover from  The Crossley ID Guide: Britain & Ireland

For anyone who missed it last week, it’s not too late to enter the free draw for a signed copy of The Crossley ID Guide: Britain and Ireland here on Another Bird Blog via Last Wednesday's posting.

There were more Curlews at Conder Pool, another 60+ refugees from the flooded fields nearby. Something had disturbed them from their usual hangout, some flying about the pool, others landing briefly but remaining as wary as only Curlews are inclined to be. Also representing the waders were a single Snipe, 1 Oystercatcher, 2 Spotted Redshank and 12 Redshank. 

Curlews

I had a good count of Teal when the wandering but resident cows pushed the duck from their favoured haunt behind the island. Together with the Teal in the creeks it made my count up to 270 birds, dwarfing the other wildfowl and waterbird counts of 14 Little Grebe, 10 Wigeon, 3 Cormorant, 1 drake Pochard and 4 Little Egret. Looking across the marsh I noted another large female Sparrowhawk, this one adopting a slow, gliding flight in the hope of flushing something in passing; with no luck it continued its path and into the caravan park where there will be bird feeders.

Pochard

I decided to try my luck at Glasson where the morning light for counting the wildfowl was dead against me, but there looked to be 150 or more combined Coot and Tufted Duck. 

I’m not in the least a religious person, but I quite like a mooch around a quiet churchyard where gravestones tell wonderful tales of life and death and where birds can be found; usually it’s Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Mistle Thrushes and in the summer if you’re lucky, Spotted Flycatchers. 

No big thrushes today, just 10 or more Blackbirds which found me a Tawny Owl huddled away in a tree, Chaffinches and Goldfinches joining in the scolding. There was even a Grey Wagtail on the topmost branch of the tree and a Chiffchaff adding its warning call. 

Tawny Owl

 

What a great way to a end a fine morning. There's more of this bird watching lark soon on Another Bird Blog.

Snow Good

Yes, it’s an awful pun but very good to catch up with that wanderer from close to the Arctic Circle, the elusive Snow Bunting. Still no northern thrushes, but all week there’s been Snow Buntings dotted around the UK, even a flock of more than 30 on the North East coast. 

Last week’s high tides left lots of tide wrack, an environment which Snow Buntings often exploit, and I’ve been half hoping to see the whitish buntings along local shores. It was the early morning walk at Pilling which turned up trumps when I recognised the clear “tew” calls and watched a party of eight arrive high from across Morecambe Bay to then settle down on the tideline ahead. 

Within minutes a jogger had sent the birds into the air, calling as they went, me cursing as I watched the birds fly off. Luckily I found a single one further along the walk, possibly a returnee of the original party or a ninth bird. This one hunkered down from the westerly wind and buried itself in the tidal debris where it rapidly found lots of seeds. It ate so fast and continuously that I had to use ISO400 to stop the action. The tide wrack is very deep, the bird so submerged in it that I couldn’t get a single shot to show its shiny black legs, but viewers will get the overall picture. 

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

It’s a number of years since I watched Snow Buntings at the top of the Cairngorms in Scotland, one of the species’ few UK breeding sites. For readers yet to see a summer Snow Bunting below is a photograph courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service which shows the species in its summery but snowy surroundings and wearing seasonal dress. 

Snow Bunting - courtesy of USFWS

After taking a number of shots I wished my Snow Bunting good luck, left it searching through the tideline and continued my walk west to Pilling Water. 

Kingfishers are the most frustrating bird, so tiny and inconspicuous, sitting silently on a featureless bit of the landscape where their fine-tuned eyesight can spot a human being from 100 yards to allow a quick escape. I was beaten again when one circled ahead of me at Broadfleet and then flew back in the direction I’d just travelled.

Sea Embankment - Pilling

Godwits were in force at the flooded stubble fields with 80 Black-tailed Godwits, plus 15 Redshank, 200+ Lapwing, 60+ Skylark, 1 Golden Plover, 6 Snipe, 2 Linnets, 3 Greenfinch and 8 Meadow Pipits. 

Meadow Pipit

Mute Swan

Out on the marsh, 35 Whooper Swan, 6 Mute Swan, 6 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Raven. Raptors seen: a pair of Kestrels together and a Sparrowhawk mobbed by the usual crows. 

That’s all for now but don’t forget that it’s not too late to enter the free draw for a signed copy of The Crossley ID Guide: Britain and Ireland here on Another Bird Blog via Wednesday's posting.

Linking today to Stewart's Bird Gallery .