The Flycatchers Have It.

I gave Marshaw-Tower Lodge-Trough Bridge a good going over today and it took me 4.5 hours legwork to do so on a day more like 9 April than June....but what results!

Pied Flycatcher. Peter Guy.

The Flycatchers get the Gold Award for today, not least for the first record for the area of 3 Pied Flycatchers two of which were a pair feeding young 10 mtrs up an Oak Tree, the other was a female which I encountered briefly but couldn't find thereafter despite a 15 minute 'stand'.

Spotted Flycatcher. Brian Rafferty. 

Today this location established itself once again as the best in our area - and beyond - for the species when the final tally was of 8 Spotted Flycatcher suggesting the strong possibility of five pairs based on my observations. 

Redstart. Brian Rafferty.

Also noted on this excellent visit to this equally excellent area of Bowland, 2 Cuckoo were heard, one somewhere distant behind Tower Lodge, the other in the Trough Bridge area, 2 Redstart, 4 Common Sandpiper, 5 Grey Wagtail, 2 Dipper, 6 Mistle Thrush, a Song Thrush, 4 Nuthatch, 2 Red Grouse, and a Buzzard.

I gave a look in on Stoops Bridge at Abbeystead to find no activity at the Pied Flycatchers nest hole in a fifteen minute 'stand'. A Garden Warbler and 2 Blackcaps all sang half heartedly, not surprising given the positively lousy weather, the sight of a Nuthatch feeding a begging young bird was a delight and ended a day which can be best described in my book as one of many perfect examples of what I think birding is about. Having found a species in an area for the first time - being the Pied Flycatcher - possibly five pairs of a species in serious decline - being the Spotted Flycatcher - and hearing another species in serious decline, being the two Cuckoos.

    Christ Church Abbeystead. Pete Woodruff.

I couldn't resist putting up another pic of Christ Church at Abbeystead, home to at least 16 House Martin nests occupied in years past but not a bird in sight today, and few - if any - bred here in 2010....Mmmmm!

Thanks to Peter Guy and Brian Rafferty for the photographs.