March Migrants.

Having had one of my worst weeks for birding in many a year, Birds2blog came close to having a seven day blank, but it was salvaged by an attempt to see a few birds on Wednesday along the coastal path between Aldcliffe and Glasson Dock.

The day turned into a near flop, but I did see my first Wheatear of the year on the flotsam at high tide, a stunning male, though not a Rock Pipit in sight. Also scurrying across the floating flotsam towards me, was what I regarded to be an unmistakable jet black Water Shrew, which unknown to the unfortunate creature, turned out to be heading towards its demise. The shrew disappeared below the bank, but 15 seconds later it reappeared between the teeth of a Weasel to disappear once more below the bank on the other side of the footpath.

I aborted my plans and wandered back to Lancaster via the embankment along Aldcliffe Marsh, to see 8 Snipe along the way, exploding into the air ahead of me. As I walked along the path parallel to Freeman's Pools, a stag Roe Deer was resting by the central reeds.

Ring Ouzel Cockers Dyke 23 March. Paul Ellis.

In addition to the early arrivals of Sand Martin, Swallow, and Wheatear in the March Migrants in my last post, a male Ring Ouzel was found on Thursday. This bird was seen one day after the first spring arrival of a Ring Ouzel at the Verne, Portland Bill on Wednesday 22 March, where the first spring Willow Warbler was seen on Tuesday 21 March the day before.

Some other interesting early arrivals and on the waiting list in our area....

28 Feb Little Ringed Plover Hampshire.

1 Mar Osprey Hampshire.

2 Mar Whinchat Isles of Scilly.

12 Mar Yellow Wagtail Norfolk.

12 Mar Hoopoe Cornwall.

18 Mar Sedge Warbler Hampshire.

19 Mar Hobby Dorset.

20 Mar Common Tern Cornwall.

Conder Pool Common Tern.

An interesting record to be noted, the first ever Common Terns on Conder Pool, didn't arrive until the late date of 2 July 2014, they successfully raised two young and were last seen at Cockersand on 14 September.

Conder Pool Avocet.

On Friday *30 Avocet were present on Conder Pool, a record which developed into an interesting discovery. The book of wisdom, and papers written about the age of Avocet before breeding is 2 years. However, last year on Conder Pool two Avocet chicks were colour marked with flag codes in 2021. These birds were both female, and were paired up to breed on their return to Conder Pool as yearling's in 2022, both pairs hatched 4 chicks each....Maybe time to update the literature!

*A report of 39 Avocet on Conder Pool Saturday per FBC.

Time For A Rant.

Spare a minute to take a look at the video and reach your own conclusions about the sickening attitude the countryside Rambo's from the dark ages with guns have on the surplus Pheasants from a shoot, then ask yourself questions like....is this why Natural England - Unnatural England actually - decided to hand out licenses to shoot Buzzard's to protect another bird species so that it can be shot then dumped in a stink pit to rot.

I can assure you there's nothing new here, I've found similar dumps in Bowland over the years, where I go as many times as anyone else does, and more times than most. On one occasion, as if to add to the sickness, the birds had been torched, which is what these same people will be doing to the moors shortly, all in the name of keeping an industry which kills for fun, thriving.

All this is the side salad of a multi-million pound industry, an industry involved in setting traps to kill anything which gets in the way of the success of it, the Fox, Stoat, and Weasel, are but a few examples, along with thousands of Mountain Hare slaughtered in Scotland annually.    

Another bit of depression....

....but don't fret there are some brilliant pics too, in any case I'm going to keep 'the depression' brief and void of too much waffle.

I'm determined to have the benefit of a blog to pump out the news now and again about the kind of problems our wildlife look set to endure for evermore....perhaps you'd like to take a look at THIS 

If you visit the vast upland areas of Bowland as I often do you can't fail to come across traps, cages, and people with guns to 'control' just about anything that can possibly be labelled a 'pest', not least of all if its a raptor or a corvid, but also if its a Fox, Stoat, Weasel and more, I even came across a trap recently which I discovered was to catch a Grey Squirrel. OK....so what's the problem with a Grey Squirrel in Bowland, it's as if you name it and its a problem and a pest if it comes into contact with the Red Grouse and the Pheasant the 'Darling birds of Bowland', and certainly is if it's 'suspected' of having them on the menu....but a Grey Squirrel!

Well I said I'd keep it brief and you will have noted the joke about this 'person' in Scotland who was fined £450 for being responsible for the unnecessary death of the Buzzard which was his intention in the first place....wasn't it, well he did'nt release the bird - a protected wild creature - from a cage, in any case his employer will probably earn that much by the day - and more - and he'll pay the fine anyway....this is called justice, in this case for the Buzzard.

On a lighter note, and to celebrate the Spain 4 Italy 0 Euro 2012 result, heres another 3 from Spain to make it 7-0 which is what the score would have been had either of these teams played England.

Great-spotted Cuckoo Ana Minguez

If you're living in the UK like me you'll need to be lucky to get this one in your book of ticks. The Great-spotted Cuckoo, this one is a juvenile. The first record of GSC in Britain was in 1870 in Northhumberland, though one was found in Ireland 28 years earlier in 1842 at  Omey Island, Galway. 

Penduline Tit Isidro Ortiz

And another the Penduline Tit, you'll need some luck to see one of these in the UK though certainly possible as an accidental here, the first record of which was only claimed  46 years ago in 1966 at Spurn, East Yorkshire. 

Crested Tit Antonio Puigg

The Crested Tit, is largely confined to the ancient Caledonian Pine Forests and Scots Pine Plantations. Thanks to AM/IO/AP for these excellent images.

A Weasel and other things!

Weasel. David Cookson.

I don't ever recall seeing an image of the Weasel taken by someone I know and in any case this has to be the best you'll ever see of a creature difficult to find and see let alone photograph. I think you excelled yourself here David....great stuff, and many thanks.

Notes of interest for today....

There is - and has been for a day or so recently -  a significant movement of Rough-legged Buzzard through the UK. I've done no searching for when this happened last but this one is certainly notable with 'several' birds seen. Locally the bird making a name for itself is a Red-breasted Goose, initially found on Fluke Hall Lane NW of Pilling, and later on Pilling Marsh. On all sightings the bird has taken up the company of Pink-footed Geese. On a personal note, involved with 'other things' but with my birding eyes firmly in place in their sockets, I saw a Little Grebe from a moving car this morning on the River Lune just upstream from Carlisle Bridge, and in the afternoon saw c.25 Fieldfare flying NE over Skerton in Lancaster. There are still lots of Lapland Buntings in the country, and the Waxwings are here and have also been showing themselves in fair number, the nearest of which at the time of writing are/were in Kendal. 



OK, so this post is my latest gap filler until I free myself from the chains of 'other things' and get out birding again. There's some interesting reading about the state of seabirds in the UK which tells us of the good....the bad....and some all time lows in the breeding season of 2010 HERE

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!