Long Time No See

Long-time no see my friends. The less said about the October weather and lack of birding days the better. Before today our previous visit to Oakenclough was Friday 16 October, almost three weeks ago. 

We met up at 0600 this morning, an earlier start than 3 weeks ago, 0600 dictated by a move to the Winter Clock. 

Prolonged spells of bad weather tends to clear out the birds from Oakenclough. We reckon that local birds head off to places more sheltered, at lower altitude than here at 700ft above sea level. Meanwhile migrant birds like thrushes and finches that we expect to both see and catch have no rhyme or reason to stop in inclement weather but simply find alternative routes and times to continue their migration. 

And so it proved today with a catch of just 15 birds – 7 Coal Tit, 2 Redwing, 2 Chaffinch, 1 Fieldfare, 1 Great Tit, 1 Goldcrest, and 1 Robin. 

We caught the two Redwings at first light, the Fieldfare an hour or more later.  By some margin Fieldfares outnumbered Redwings and we thought that our count of the 180+ Fieldfares and 30 or so Redwings had exited an overnight roost rather than being fresh migrants. By now, early November, the autumn passage and visible migration of both species may well be over; our 3 weeks of inactivity cost us dearly. 

Once again the local Coal Tits found us but the Blues and Greats stayed mainly around the feeders at the nearby house - Thanks George and family for your sterling work. 

Fieldfare

Redwing

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

By coincidence on this day of Coal Tits, it’s unusual to receive a report of one of our ringed Coal Tits being found elsewhere. 

The Coal Tit is known as one of the most sedentary species of Britain and Ireland whereby ringing has shown that few Coal Tits travel far from their natal area. Strangely enough it is Coal Tits from the North West of England that travel furthest from the average of just 20km between seasons. This thought to relate to the distribution of suitable habitats between this and other regions. (BTO Migration Atlas). 

The further recovery of Coal Tit ALJ 4344 ringed here at Oakenclough on 21 July 2020 becomes one of the very few that Fylde Ringing Group has received in many years and 1120 captures of Coal Tits.  When Andy and I caught ALJ4344 bird on 21 July we confidently aged it as a juvenile born just several weeks before. The yellow cheeks alone were a dead giveaway. 

Coal Tit

 

We did not see ALJ4344 again during the summer and autumn of 2020 during many visits to Barnacre. A week ago we received notification that it had been recaptured by another ringer at Hoylake Shore, Wirral, Merseyside on 16 October 2020. This is just 67km from Oakenclough but represents quite a movement south for a Coal Tit and an example of autumnal movements that are more likely to be undertaken by first year birds than by adults. 

Coal Tit - Oakenclough to Hoylake

The south-south- west direction of travel might suggest that this Coal Tit was on its way to the extensive conifer forests of North Wales (see map) where it would join up with others of its kind and prove able to survive the winter? 

We have a good recapture rate of Coal Tits so there is every chance that during the spring and summer of 2021 we will recapture ALJ4344 when it returns to Oakenclough looking for somewhere to nest. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

Our flip-flopping chaotic Government changed the rules again to tell us to lockdown again. Therefore today could be the first and last opportunity for a while to carry out our crucial work of monitoring bird populations. 

Meanwhile, and via the website of BASC (British Association for Shooting and Conservation) - a lobby group with a great deal of influence with the gun-toting Establishment of Britain and Ireland. 

“Rough shooting, wildfowling and deer management may continue during the lockdown period as outdoor recreational activities, as long as you comply with the guidance. This includes making short journeys to your place of exercise, where you can only exercise with people you live with, your support bubble (if you are living alone), or one person from another household”. 

Such guidelines must now include bird ringing, unpaid voluntary work that is surely more vital than “rough shooting”? If rough shooting is a “recreational activity” it is also a proven fact that participation in outdoor pursuits like birding or bird ringing relieves the strain on NHS resources through the promotion of physical and mental well being. 

In forcing people to stay indoors for another month, or more, the Government is complicit in an act of self-harm to a large proportion of the population. 

The policies of lockdown, Stay at Home/Save Lives/Protect the NHS and social distancing have cost at least as many lives as saved but with cruel consequences, callously so for the most vulnerable elderly by denying hospital treatment to many people suffering from serious, sometimes incurable illnesses. 

Two of my own family wait for hospital appointments and operations that may now be deferred or even cancelled because the government say that they do not have priority. 

That's all for now back soon. Stay focused on the truth everyone.

Linking today with https://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com

 

Elephant Bird

Another week of rain and wind goes by with no birding or ringing. We’ve had something like 150% of the expected October rain, but still it comes. 

With few birders venturing out even WhatsApp news is devoid of bird sightings except for recent day “pings” about Cattle Egrets from three local apps - Lancaster, North West, and Fylde.  Just a day ago came news of a local record number of 16 Cattle Egrets together at Freckleton, Fylde, plus a sighting of two more in the Cockerham, Lancaster area on the same day. 

Although I have seen Cattle Egrets all over the world, it was only in 2017 that I saw my first one in the UK, early December 2017 at Cockerham a few miles from home, quickly followed by a second in the spring of 2018. 

The Cattle Egret is now following the example of two other egrets, Little Egret and Great Egret, of  expanding to the north and west of Britain. But it must be said that the Cattle Egrets that plod around muddy cattle fields in mid-winter England rarely look as striking or exotic as the ones seen on the bright sunny days of Egypt, India, Menorca or West Africa. 

Cattle Egret - Cockerham, Lancashire

Cattle Egret - Cockerham, Lancashire

Cattle Egrets - Menorca

 

Cattle Egret - Egypt

Cattle Egret - Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Strictly speaking, the Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis is not an egret, despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus Egretta. It is a member of the heron (Ardea) family, the single example of the monotypic genus Bubulcus. Some authorities regard two of its subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret. Although similarly and mostly white, where there are hints of orange and yellow the eastern version is more strikingly colourful than the western.

Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe, the Cattle Egret has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised much of the rest of the world in the last century. This is probably due in large part to due to its relationship with humans and their domesticated animals and where it acquired colloquial names such as cow crane, cow bird, cow heron, elephant bird, and even rhinoceros egret. 

Cattle Egret - Egypt

Cattle Egret - Menorca

Cattle Egret - India

Originally adapted to a relationship with large grazing and browsing animals, the Cattle Egret was easily able to switch to domesticated cattle and horses. As the keeping of livestock spread throughout the world, the Cattle Egret began began to occupy otherwise empty niches. 

Many populations of Cattle Egrets are highly migratory and dispersive, a trait that helped the species' range expansion. The Cattle Egret may be one of the few species to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the “wrong” direction by first arriving in North America in 1941, those early sightings were originally dismissed as escapees. The species bred in Florida in 1953 and spread rapidly, breeding for the first time in Canada in 1962. Cattle Egrets were first sighted in the Americas on the boundary of Guiana and Suriname in 1877, having apparently flown across the Atlantic Ocean. Cattle Egrets are now widely distributed across Brazil and other parts of South America. 

Breeding in the UK was recorded for the first time in 2008 only a year after an influx seen in the previous year. A pair bred again in 2017, and in 2008 Cattle Egrets were reported in Ireland for the first time. 

The Cattle Egret now has a niche in Britain, where it does not directly compete with other species and from where it will soon establish a viable breeding population. Unlike most herons the Cattle Egret is typically found in fields and dry grassy habitats, reflecting a greater dietary reliance on terrestrial insects and other quarry like earthworms rather than aquatic prey. With its perceived role as a bio-control of cattle parasites such as ticks and flies, the Cattle Egret should be seen as a welcome and permanent addition to British birdlife. 

Cattle Egret - Cockerham, Lancashire

Cattle Egret - Menorca

A glance at the latest local weather forecasts predicts yet more day of rain with perhaps an improvement by the middle of next week. I hope so. 

Stay tuned to Another Bird Blog or your WhatsApp birding news.    

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.

 

The Old Ones (AreThe Best)

There’s little chance of birding or ringing until next week as an Atlantic storm heads this way towards us for the weekend. Friday looked a possibility but Sue and I have to go for our flu jabs at precisely 1012 on Friday morning. 

Instead and for this post I’m raiding the archives for pictures from Skiathos, Greece, this year and past years. Birds, landscapes, people. Enjoy and come back soon. Don’t forget to “click the pic” for best effect. 

The Bourtzi- Skiathos

Street Entertainer - The Bourtzi

 

The Bourtzi from the harbour

Near Xanemos

Spotted Flycatcher

Yellow Wagtail

Kanapitsa

 

Kechria, Skiathos

 

Notice Board - Skiathos Town

 

Eleonora's Falcon

 

Kastro - Eleonora's site

Great Egret at Strofilia

 

Little Egret at Strofilia

Skiathos Town

 

Xanemos

Hoopoe

 

Skiathos

European Shag

Skiathos Town

  

Lonely Seat - Skiathos

 

Red-backed Shrike

Whinchat

 

Souvlaki

Skiathos Town

Back soon. Don't go away.

Linking this post to Eileen's Blogspot and Anni's birding. 

That Friday Feeling

After Thursday morning’s monster movement of thrushes Another Bird Blog, I wondered if Friday might see similar, even though experience says that rarely does lightning strike twice. 

I arranged to meet Andy at Oakenclough at 0630 where the plantation swayed ominously in the easterly breeze, fiercer than the predicted 5 mph and closer to 10-12 mph. At the coast 30 minutes just earlier I’d left home to motionless trees.  Normally the other way around - breezier at coastal locations than inland sites. 

Very soon when nothing much happened we realised that this would be a quieter morning of both ringing and visible migration. Thrushes came in dribs and drabs rather than flurries of wings and the overhead calls of hundreds of Redwings and Fieldfares. This morning the thrushes arrived from West and North West, sometimes obviously so against a distant backdrop of Lancaster City and Morecambe Bay. 

In all we counted approximately 300 thrushes, split 50/50 Redwing and Fieldfare. Our catch was just 21 birds – 11 Redwing, 4 Goldfinch, 4 Coal Tit, 1 Chaffinch and 1 Great Tit. 

The Redwings were caught soon after dawn with the rest of the meagre catch coming soon after when other species seen was limited to 15-20 Chaffinches in ones and twos arriving from the North West.  We asked the question. "Where are the Lesser Redpolls and the Siskins this autumn?" Both species appear to be in remarkably short supply.

Redwing

 

Goldfinch

Chaffinch

At 0940 and when the thrushes dried up completely we called it a day - an uncharacteristic and early finish. 

On the way home and via Lancaster Road were 240 Lapwings on a still flooded field, 2 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and several hundred Pink-footed Geese. 

Buzzard

The geese have so far this autumn found a couple of new places to hide away out of sight, seemingly in fields that are not open to shooters - for now. The shooters of course will track the geese down and persuade the farmers to allow shooting access, often with the promise of a fat goose at the gate but destined for the Christmas table. 

Pink-footed Goose

 

Thrush Rush

Thursday morning was starlit, dry and clear. To catch migrant birds our mist nets needed to be up and ready at dawn. I met Andy at 0630 at Oakenclough to an easterly wind of 15-18 mph when the forecast had indicated speeds of 5 to 8 mph. Far from ideal, but we cracked on working and hoped that the forecast was accurate if mistimed and that the wind would subside. 

While I’d been in Greece Andy had caught the first Redwings of the year, including a likely Icelandic one. This is the time of year when we hope to catch thrushes. Not just any old thrushes but the five major migratory species of the family Turdus that arrive in the UK from now and for the next several weeks. Our main target is Redwings Turdus iliacus and Fieldfares Turdus pilarus. Normally we catch very few Blackbirds Turdus merula, Song Thrushes Turdus philomelus or Mistle Thrushes Turdus viscivorous at this site. 

In autumn, Redwings gather along the Scandinavian coast at dusk before launching off on their single 800 km (500 mile) flight across the North Sea to the UK. In rough weather, many may crash into the waves and drown. 

Some Redwings come from Iceland to winter in Scotland and Ireland. Others come from Russia and Scandinavia to winter in southern England and further south in Europe. Fieldfares arrive from Scandinavia and Russia but quickly pass through our area where for a week or two they can be seen to form large flocks, often in the company of Redwings. Both species gorge on hawthorn berries until the trees are stripped bare. 

Prior to today and in six seasons here at this Oakenclough site, we'd caught 310 Redwings and just 18 Fieldfares, an indication of which species is the easier to catch. 

Fieldfare

Redwing

Today followed a similar pattern with a total of 27 birds caught made up of 19 Redwing, 2 Fieldfare, 2 Chaffinch, 3 Blue Tit and 1 Treecreeper. 

Chaffinch

Redwing

 

Fieldfare

Small numbers of Redwings began to arrive in the half-light of dawn. At first and due to the cold stiff breeze we thought that these had come from a nearby roost. At the sky lightened the small groups turned into larger associations of mixed Redwings and Fieldfares, and then into larger flocks. Mostly these flocks arrived from the south east and then flew north and west towards the visible Morecambe Bay and Fylde coasts. We saw flocks of Redwings and we saw flocks of Fieldfares, but mostly the flocks were mixed and varied in the number and proportion of each species.   

By 1115 when we packed in to rain showers we estimated 1650 Redwings and 650 Fieldfares had passed through and overhead in four hours. 

It was about 1100 when the wind finally died a little by which time we felt sure that had the strength been less from the off, and because of the large number of thrushes on the move, we would have had a bigger catch.  Due to the direction of arrival and departure we thought that these 2000+ birds were arriving via the east coast then travelling through and over the Pennine Hills to the west coast. From there they would eventually continue their southward migration. 

The weather looks settled for a day or two. Maybe we will get another chance in a day or two?

Log in to Another Bird Blog soon to find out.

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