Try Though I May.

Despite the excellent record of six Stonechat at Harrisend passed on to me at Conder Green recently, and my being encouraged by this to get myself back up there following an absence since 2 December when I found four birds, but try though I may, on Tuesday I found just one Stonechat ,a female distant and in flight. Twenty five Meadow Pipit, 4 Red Grouse, 2 Dunnock, a smart male Reed Bunting, and a Brown Hare were the other rewards for my time spent on Harrisend....But before publishing this post, I received an e-mail thanks to JW, to tell me of a pair found on Harrisend yesterday.

On Hawthornthwaite Fell, another huge disappointment here, with just one male Stonechat seen on the way up, but no sign of any female with it which I would have hoped to find on the way back down, 15 Meadow Pipit, 9 Red Grouse, and 3 Wren was my two hour tally here.

On my way back down off Hawthornthwaite I was deciding where to spend the next couple of hours, but by around 3.15pm the weather made the decision for me and I headed back to Lancaster in the rain, not quite the happiest birder in the land.


Stonechat Records. 

Tuesdays records at these two historically excellent sites - in particular Harrisend - were very disappointing, birds should now be on territory, and generally egg laying for first broods takes place mid-March for around four weeks until mid-April. 

I'm looking forward to checking out other upland areas during the summer months to try and get a picture of the current status of the Stonechat in our area of North West England. 

The Water Pipit.

Water Pipit. Conder Green 4 April 2016. Pete Woodruff.

I was reminded of finding this Water Pipit last year, just four days from today....eyes down look in!