The Warbler....The Wader....And The Terns.

Following the discovery of a 'puzzling' Siskin in the garden on 30 March. Remarkably, our garden has produced another bit of magic, which at first glance had me thinking I had found an appropriately named Willow Warbler on the Willow tree!

I had to take a good look through the video and several images, to arrive at the ID of a Chiffchaff having made a stopover in our garden on 13 April, 2 weeks after the Siskin on 30 March.

Chiffchaff 13 April. Pete Woodruff.

Some plumage detail would have you think the bird was a Willow Warbler, but the legs were dark, primary projection is short, and the tail was persistently dipping which is another ID feature for separation from the Willow Warbler. 

Chiffchaff 13 April. Pete Woodruff.

But to be honest I've never been settled by the yellowish tints about this bird.

The Conder Green Spotted Redshank.

To view the collage at its best it is essential to....Click the pik 

Howard Stockdales images are an excellent example of monitoring the Spotted Redshank during the process of its amazing transformation toward summer plumage over a four week period in 2025.

Spotted Redshank Conder Green 14 April. Kevin Eaves.

Kevin Eaves took the image of this years Spotted Redshank edging towards near full breeding plumage. Thanks to Howard and Kevin for allowing the images on to B2B. 

Spotted Redshank Conder Green 16 April. Susan Dooney.

This Spotted Redshank was seen and photographed by Susan, and is the perfect example of how the weather conditions, light, and photography, can deceive into thinking this is a different bird than the one seen by Kevin Eaves 2 days earlier.

The Conder Green Common Tern.

The Common Terns have not yet returned to Conder Pool, and if they still haven't done by tomorrow Monday, they will be later than last years arrival on 20 April....Just saying!

Common Tern Conder Pool 30 May 2019. Ian Pinkerton.

Let's hope we can all see plenty of action with the Common Tern on Conder Pool again in 2026....Photograph courtesy of Ian Pinkerton RIP....For old time sake Ian, Thank You.

02 July 2014

22 May 2015 

06 May 2016 

08 May 2017

07 May 2018 

05 May 2019 

02 May 2020 

24 April 2021 

24 April 2022 

22 April 2023 

28 April 2024 

20 April 2025

Miscellany!

In order to bring my second passion back to life, I've recently had to make a few diversions away from the birds.

Being one of the many thousands affected by the terrible Dr Beeching who wielded his axe on the  railways in the mid 1960's, in my case the footplate firemen. On Wednesday I found myself at Hest Bank for the purpose of trying for some footage of a train enroute to the renowned scenic Settle to Carlisle railway. 

The video turned out OK, and for the benefit of anyone not solely hooked on birds, and perhaps with a liking for steam locomotives and railway preservation....here it is.

When the train had passed I decided to check the channels off the shore at Hest Bank, and found up to 140 Eider here.

Conder Pool.

Numbers of waders continue to dwindle with just 86 Iceland bound Black-tailed Godwit seen, also a similar number of 80+Knot a good count for Conder Pool. Another good count, was of 25 Avocet, this is the same combined number of 25 Avocet seen at Conder Pool and the Lune Estuary at Glasson 2 April. Also seen Spotted Redshank, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Snipe, and a pair of Shoveler. One birder at the pool, told me he had seen 4 Little Ringed Plover but I found no evidence of his claim.

Lune Estuary.

At Glasson, 450 Black-tailed Godwit the majority being on the north side below Colloway Marsh, also  a pair of Red-breasted Merganser were to note. 

The Conder Spotted Redshank.

Image Courtesy of Howard Stockdale

The two images of the Conder Green Spotted Redshank were taken a year and one day apart, and a three way consensus including myself, is that this could be one and the same bird. Last years bird completed a full moult in 5 weeks. Howard Stockdale intends to monitor this years bird to see if there is a repeat of this amazing transformation....This will be interesting.

Chocolate Tip.

Ian Mitchell had quite a smart little moth in is trap on Thursday morning 9 April.

Chocolate Tip Moth. Ian Mitchell.

The Chocolate Tip has a disjointed distribution, mainly to be found in the south but expanding northwards. 

The first record away from the south was found at Astley Moss in 2010, followed by sightings at seven locations including one at Heysham in 2021 and at Longridge in 2022. I have no knowledge of records in our area of the Chocolate Tip moth beyond 2022, until Ian Mitchell's on 9 April 2026.

Garden Birds.

Summertime and the living is easy....Well that's how the song goes, but I reckon the Blue Tit collecting nest material on the Plum Tree in our garden, was thinking life is anything but easy! 

Setting The Record Straight.

On Monday 30 March, by chance I spotted a bird through the patio window, in an instant I identified it as a fully feathered and fledged Siskin.

I decided to make a dash for my tripod to make a video of this quite remarkable sight. I was eventually able to combine two videos of the bird in the Willow and then on the feeder.

After I had processed the video's and got to grips with the date and data regarding the Siskin, I quickly realised the significance of a young bird seen on the 30 March, which was at best highly unlikely.

So I was in touch and made enquiries with BTO - British Trust for Ornithology - and received a very comprehensive and much appreciated reply, a few important bits about the issue I have highlighted here.

'It was completely understood why you had thought this bird to have been a 'youngster', being puffed up and downy, and looking lethargic. But several members of the BTO team having viewed the video, the general consensus was that this bird being void of a gape was a adult female Siskin which had probably contracted trichomonosis'. 

The author of this reply told me of a conversation with a another member of BTO involved in Terrestrial Ecology, has given three dates of earliest records of Siskin, one being, '4 live eggs 25 March 2010'.

Conclusion.

The best conclusion I can offer on this issue of a young Siskin in late March in our Lancaster urban garden is....With data I have, the earliest I could expect to see fledged Siskin is the end of April, obviously at least 4 weeks later than I thought one was in our garden on 30 March.

Taking into account, none of the footage could be rated as quality, I fail to understand how it could ever be labeled by anyone as an adult female Siskin, and it's my conclusion that the bird I found in the garden on 30 March was a stunted juvenile Siskin.

I welcome comments that contradict this claim.

Migrants At Last.

Conder Pool.

I found my first migrants this week, the first being a pair of Little Ringed Plover on Conder Pool.

The first bird was seen on the small island to the right of the viewing platform, it soon flew off. The next sighting was of a bird on the island behind the main Common Tern raft, was joined by a second bird. I was soon able to observe display behaviour, with posturing seen. I had seen the same behaviour between a pair last year on Conder Pool 26 March.

Other notes from Conder Pool, numbers of godwit continue to fall, with just 280 Black-tailed Godwit today, they were accompanied by at least 10 Knot. Also 15 Avocet in view, and 5 Tufted Duck noted, the Shoveler have departed.

 Cockersand.

My second migrant species was the 2 Wheatear male, seen off the headland. 

Wheatear. Pete Woodruff.

I'm not seeing the Tree Sparrow at Cockersand in anything like the numbers that used to be, though I did find 40 here last September. this time just 3 Tree Sparrow were around Bank Houses, 2 Stock Dove were in a field. The number of swans are dwindling, with no more than 160 Whooper Swan in fields off Moss Lane. I noted 3 Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

Deceased Gannet Plover Scar 2 April. Pete Woodruff.

Lune Estuary.

The estuary at Glasson Dock was near deserted 3 hours after high tide, but 10 Avocet saved the day. If this number is in addition to the birds seen on Conder Pool 3 hours earlier - I ran out of time to call back and check - the grand total would be 25 Avocet. A pair of Red-breasted Merganser were also to note. I saw not a single Wigeon here today, but a few lingering gulls also added a bit of life to the area. 

Red-tailed Bumblebee.

Bombus lapidarius. Pete Woodruff.

In the garden this week, I found my first Red-tailed Bumblebee of the year. 

Pleasantly Surprised.

I've had two sightings this week which have had my birding motto ring true once again....

Not what you will find but rather what you might

The element of surprise never fails to delight

The Siskin.

Siskin Young. Pete Woodruff.

The first pleasant surprise came in our garden on Monday 30 March in the form of a young fledged and fully feathered Siskin. Right place at the right time had me find the bird looking a little tired in the Willow by the pond. But it was my lucky day, as later it was seen again, this time on the feeder with proof it had already mastered the art of flying.

My enquiries about the significance of this sighting are ongoing, but one thing for sure, I wouldn't have expected to see this bird until around the end of April, the breeding season of the Siskin not starting until early this month....Global warming!

The Black-tailed Godwit.

My second pleasant surprise came the following day Tuesday 31 March, when I had good cause to pay a visit to the Lune floodplain viewed from Bull Beck. Last year I had two excellent sightings here in early April, resulting with my records reading....I found a Little Ringed Plover on the shingle bar, and distant in the sky, there's this large lumbering bird flying upstream, then dropping down out of view....Yep, it was an Osprey.

Black-tailed Godwit. Pete Woodruff. Clik The Pik

No LRP or Osprey today, but an excellent compensation came with at least 400 Black-tailed Godwit distant with 'large gulls' around a flood with Burrow Wood in the background.