Pik's With Notes.

Blackcap.

Blackcap. Gary Barton.

Gary Barton took this photograph of the Blackcap in Mike Atkinson's garden. When I heard about this bird I was keen to find out the date, when told it had been present in Mike's garden on 19 November, it became clear that this was almost certainly the same male Blackcap that had briefly visited our garden the day before on 18 November just a couple of hundred metres to the south.

Little Owl. 

Little Owl. Gary  Barton.

Gary has sent me some excellent images recently, including this Little Owl which he found on the Lancaster Canal and has been watching it regularly since. This bird is seen as a seriously declining species in our area, and now at best scarce.

Little Grebe.

Little Grebe. Noushka @ 1000-Pattes

The Little Grebe is refered to in our area as a rare resident breeder, and fairly common winter visitor. In my last post I reported the first double figure count of Little Grebe at Conder Green since 28 November. 

The Conder Green Little Grebe's are usually beginning to fall in number by this time of year, but they can be seen here during the winter months in numbers in excess of twenty birds at their peak, before they disappear back to their summer quarters. Goodness knows where all these grebe's come from each year to Conder Green, though it's no surprise they do, as in Noushka's image the bird's take small fry out of Conder Pool like there was no tomorrow.

Black-tailed Godwit.

David Balding has been keeping in touch with me since he found a marked Black-tailed Godwit at Sunderland Point on 23 January and has kindly let me have the history of the bird which I have seen myself on Conder Pool 17 April 2014, and at Cockersand 25 February 2016. The bird was marked as a chick in NW Iceland July 2012. 

OR-GYflag    07.07.12  Ytri Lambadalur, Dyrafjordur, NW Iceland
OR-GYflag    28.02.13  Sunderland Point, Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, NW England

OR-GYflag    17.04.14  Conder Green, Lanc's, NW England. Pete Woodruff.

OR-GYflag    25.04.14  Holt, Önundarfjörður, NW Iceland

OR-GYflag    27.04.14  Holt, Önundarfjörður, NW Iceland
OR-GYflag      9.08.14  Leighton Moss, Lancashire, NW England 
OR-GYflag      9.09.14  Allen Pools, Leighton Moss, Lancashire, NW England
OR-GYflag    22.10.14  Leighton Moss, Lancashire, NW England 

OR-GYflag    10.04.15  Lune Estuary, Cockersands, Lancashire, NW England

OR-GYflag    27.04.15  Grafarvogur, Reykjavík, SW Iceland
OR-GYflag    25.02.16  Cockersand, Lune Estuary, Lanc's, NW England. Pete Woodruff. 
OR-GYflag    23.01.17  Sunderland Point, Lanc's, NW England. David Balding.

Thanks for this David, I'm looking forward to finding my next marked BTG sometime soon, when I do I'll let you know.