February Stonechats.

On 7 February I received e-mails from two Fylde birders reporting Stonechats in areas where none had been reported during the winter, in both messages it was suggested that Stonechat movement was underway.

So this is the first week in February, and both suggestions proved to be spot on, Stonechat migration was well and truly underway, and by the last day of the month I had collated an impressive 53 records of 102 individual Stonechats with not a single duplicated record. With 11 records in the LDBWS area, the rest were from the Fylde. 

All the records are regarded as migrants, good numbers were in many areas unfamiliar to me, or are new areas for the species, and interestingly most were inland birds, for example....

Hawes Water bird

Carr House Green Common male 

Westby pair

Mythop 4 birds

Singleton pair

Parrox Hall female

Whitters Lane male/female

Aldcliffe Marsh male

Thurnham Hall 2xmale

The Heads 4 birds

Preesall Flashes female

Holme male

Lower Ballam 4 birds

Lambs Lane pair

Longridge Fell 2xpairs

My personal best count has been 7 Stonechat at Cockersand on 23 February.

If the Stonechats behave so obligingly as this male did at Cockersand on Monday, then they are likely to feature regularly in videos on B2B.

Other notes from Cockersand on Monday, 4 Stonechat including another male and a female accompanying the male in the video, with a female seen on Slack Lane. Up to 350 Whooper Swan were seen in three fields, including at Clarkson's Farm where 150 Whooper Swan were accompanied by 2 Bewick's Swan, 7 Twite flew off the marsh by the caravan park.

A long time dead Razorbill was on the shingle below the Lighthouse Cottage car park.

If I'm honest, there was nothing to excite on Conder Pool, but noted were c.70 Wigeon, being almost entirely vegetarian, grazing in a compact group on the sloping grassy edges. Also 2 Stock Dove, a Little Grebe, a Snipe, and the seemingly annual visitors the pair of Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Avocet.

Yesterday 7 Avocet were seen feeding on the Lune Estuary as viewed from Conder Green, per LDBWS.

Many Thanks to Simon Hawtin who kindly sent me his image of the Aurora Borealis taken from Catshaw Fell on Monday night.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon who takes credit for furnishing me with Stonechat sightings in particular, but also Ring Ouzel records in Bowland.

Starting With The End.

The Beginning Of The End. Warren Baker.

This photograph marks the beginning of the end for a man in Kent who I got to know via the internet and blogging, but more importantly it marks the same beginning of the end for the birds and wildlife which this man has observed, studied, and recorded daily on his own chosen 'patch' in a more dedicated and comprehensive manner than most other birders and wildlife enthusiasts I know.

Warren Baker explains it all on his blog, he outlines the devastation both wildlife and himself are suffering, in both cases they will have to turn their lives around and move on to accommodate this crime against wildlife, a wildlife which cannot speak for itself and relies totally upon our doing so for it. We need to keep up the pressure on people at the top who we must continue to badger and protest against in order to get it through to them that they are getting it - and doing it - all wrong. We must let them see that their views and decisions don't go unchallenged, and that we are taking note of what they say and do, maybe we should start here with....David Cameron/George Osbourne, the NFU, and Landowners/Gamekeepers.

You can find the first post on Monday in which Warren points this tragedy out to his followers on Pittswood Birds and then his follow up post the next day HERE  

Sparrowhawk. Warren Baker.

Warren also takes some excellent photographs as the Sparrowhawk testifies. Thanks for this Warren. This really isn't the end for you, it's just the beginning....honest. 

Puffin David Cookson

Hundreds of Puffin and other sea birds like the Razorbill and Guillemot, are being found dead on east coast beaches from Aberdeen to Northumberland, believed to be related to severe weather which is leading birds to struggle to find food or sheer exhaustion. It is being suggested that this could be the start of the worst Puffin wreck for almost 50 years.

Although the Puffin is a small sea bird, they are quite hardy birds, adept a coping with all the hazards of life at sea. They are approaching the start of the breeding season, and tens of thousands of seabirds are returning to their colonies, but the tragedy unfolding now could have a devastating effect on their success in 2013, adding to the already population decline particularly of the Puffin. The fear now is that the hundreds of dead seabirds already found may well turn into thousands, and the breeding season will need close monitoring to find the results of many breeding seabirds throughout the summer months.

Footnote.

If the weather bulletin I watched this evening is anything to go by, this weather we are experiencing in the country right now is not expected to improve much - if at all - throughout April.

What a depressing - 'but this is the real world' - post. 

Absent without leave!

No post on Birds2blog for three days, this is a record I wasn't looking for and am not prepared to hold. But little birding opportunities coming my way still - though I'm not prepared to launch another sob story on that one - and I don't want to make matters worse with no blogging. 

So....here are four brilliant randomly chosen photographs to fill the gap....the least I can do.

Greenfinch Ana Minguez

We don't see many photographs of the Greenfinch, in fact we don't see that many Greenfinch in the area I live in and beyond, the last I heard they were in trouble and in decline, but I'm a bit behind on this one so need to do some reading up on this bird before I 'put my foot in it' and make some false claims about the status of the Greenfinch....Thanks Ana an excellent image of this bird.

Turnstone Marc Heath

The Turnstone, surely one of our smartest waders in its stunning breeding plumage, and a long distance migrant too....A brilliant photograph of this individual Marc, thanks.

 Razorbill Gary Jones

Looks like a bit of a disagreement going on between these two Razorbills. Nicely caught on film....keep 'em cumin Gary.

Black Kite Antonio Puigg

What a bird....I'm not expecting seeing a Black Kite any time soon, though who knows, but still to see my first. Another of your stunning images Antonio for which I'm very grateful.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!

Out....but nowt about!

Well on the face of it the title will sound just about as silly as it possibly could do, as we're currently surrounded by 'goodies' some of them 'Americans'. But I turned my nose up at 'em to give the rounds - Conder Green/Glasson Dock/Cockersands - a bit of a bashing to no avail....but no complaints.

Razorbill. Peter Guy.

I met PG at Glasson Dock this morning where I gave the Lune Estuary a pretty good grilling for almost two hours to find 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls, and noted c.250 Golden Plover as quite a reduction in number as of late, a remarkably small reeve Ruff, up to 40 Bar-tailed Godwit, and at least 6 Swallows south. Other waders here were rather unremarkable today. The juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs apparently showed at 2.00pm about two hours after I left....of course! 

Conder Green has been pretty quiet of late and today was no exception, but Conder Pool has seen an increase with 8 Little Grebe seen today, with the 2 Wigeon summer residents. The circuit was worth the effort if only to find the Common Sandpiper in the creeks. 

I gave Cockersands a pretty good shot from the lighthouse down to Bank End where you need to know - if you don't already - the sun glares into your face, the birds are all silhouettes, and just about the only ID you can achieve is that they vary in size. I saw 5 Wheatear along the length, and noted roosting on Plover Scar at high tide estimates of 650 Oystercatcher, 55 Ringed Plover, 40 Turnstone, 10 Dunlin, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, and a solitary Grey Plover - an uncommon bird here - was off the car park at the lighthouse.

Not the most exciting days birding of my life, but you've just got to get out there....do it....and be rewarded by degrees whilst not dwelling too much on finding the likes of Siberian Rubythroats and Audouin's Gulls. 

And finally....

The Fylde Coast. Peter Guy.

I'm always up for showcasing excellent photography - birds or not - and this is a dramatic one of the Fylde Coast at Blackpool, looks perfect for a sea-watching session to me. Thanks for the images PG much appreciated, and good to see you again today.