WTP On Tour....

Short-eared Owl. Geoff Gradwell.

....but first, an excellent image of the Short-eared Owl and my way of thanking Geoff for allowing me to use his photograph on Birds2blog and becoming another photographic contact for me. Geoff hasn't been blogging long and your support would be most welcome HERE ....Thanks for the photograph Geoff. 

There's currently a White-tailed Plover on tour in this country and in 2007 there was another tour of the same species when a one was found at Caerlaverock in Dumfries and Galloway on 6 June 2007, then four days later at Leighton Moss RSPB reserve in Lancashire on 10 June. The next sighting of a WTP is three years later in May 2010 when another is found at Seaforth on Merseyside, then two months later and four days ago on Rainham Marshes in London on 7 July, the bird then decides to make a move and is found two days later at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire on 9 July and 'blow me down' the bird is on the move again and now is present at Dungeness in Kent. A bird in County Durham in May 1984 was regarded as 'conceivably' the same one in Shropshire later the same month.

The first record of a WTP concerned a bird in Warwickshire in July 1975 and was then a totally unexpected addition to the British List. However, records show that there had been eight other sightings in Europe during the same year of 1975 including two birds in Austria. This movement appears to be linked to a severe drought in southern Kazakhstan - one of the birds breeding regions as well as in Iraq - in 1974-5. At the time of the 1975 individual the record seemed to have been a one-off occurrence, but surprisingly there have been more subsequent records including this up to date bird in Kent.

Nearer to home - well actually outside mine in Bowerham, Lancaster - 40 House Sparrows is an unprecedented record for me from our kitchen window yesterday Saturday 10 July.

Two Megas, a Moth, and a Tern.

Burnished Brass. Katie Fuller.

There's a couple of 'Megas' in the country at the moment so if its another tick in your little book you're after you'll need to fly off to Norfolk and London. But first an excellent image of an excellent moth the Burnished Brass. OK this is a common moth but non the less a smart one which looks like it has gold leaf on its wings. Thanks to Katie Fuller whose website is HERE and currently has some rather stunning photographs of moths and are well worth a look....thanks again for the BB moth Katie it is much appreciated. 

The River Warbler is - and has been since it's discovery - at Thorpe-next-Haddiscoe in Norfolk on land with no general access but some negotiations have been successful and ongoing to gain access at designated times for birders to view this rarity the first record in Britain of which was as recent as just under fifty years ago on Fair Isle, Shetland, 24 September 1961, it was found  by four men who gained very brief views of the bird before erecting a mist-net.The bird was soon caught but ironically escaped the hands of its captor during a photographic session, but it was soon caught again and taken to a safe place for release.

I myself remember racing down the M6 after work one evening in 1995 with my old pal and mentor John Leedal to Scotsman Flash in Greater Manchester to observe a River Warbler at a distance with its amazing song which is given with the bill fully opened, it is a high-pitched, pulsating z-z-z-z-z-z which rises and falls in pitch as the bird turns its head from side to side, the song is even more amazing in that at the same time it gives a metallic undertone which is more cricket-like and reminiscent of a slowly spinning bicycle wheel....a truly amazing experience to see/hear. 

The other rarity is that of another White-tailed Plover at Rainham Marshes in London, to follow the one in May this year at Seaforth in Liverpool which itself followed the famous Leighton Moss bird which stayed for eight days from 10-17 June 2007.

And finally....

Common Tern. Gary Jones.

Another cool image of another cool Common Tern at Preston Docks. I had no idea the terns were being accommodated and breed at this location until I read about them on Garys website HERE....Thanks for this photograph Gary. 

  

Roseate & Arctic Terns....

White-tailed Plover. Chris Batty.

....but first I'm grateful to Chris Batty for sending me this image of the recent White-tailed Plover at Seaforth in Liverpool. I highlighted some facts about this bird in a post on Thursday 27 May 'The Works' which breeds mainly in the desert regions of Soviet central Asia and Kazakhstan as well as in Iraq, and winters in the Sudan, Iraq, Pakistan, and northern India.

Roseate Tern. Chris Batty.

The Roseate Tern is a scarce passage migrant mostly from Ireland and came very close to extinction in Britain and Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century before numbers began to build up, but the species began to decline once again to around 2,400 pairs in 1960-70 and more seriously so by 1988 when their number fell to c.500. Today - as in the past - the vast majority nest on the east coast of Ireland, some colonies in Anglesey supported about 250 pairs until late in the 1960's but by the 90's had dwindle to single figures, and in Cumbria just one or two pairs hung on until the end of the 60's. Over the past 50 years the virtual extinction of the Roseate Tern in the eastern Irish Sea has been reflected in the changing pattern of occurrences in Lancashire.

One well known ornithologist claims there has never been any evidence of breeding in Lancashire and birders are lucky to find one on passage these days although I'm aware of odd ones seen including records from coastal sites like Knott End, past records have included a bird seen at Leighton Moss on 2 June 1974, and an interesting one on the River Lune at Arkholme on 21 May 1978. 

Arctic Tern. Chris Batty.

Much to be said - perhaps another time - about this incredible bird the Arctic Tern which migrates in excess of 20,000 miles and experiences more daylight than any other living thing on this planet. This photograph was taken at Cockersands recently where I found one myself off Plover Scar on Tuesday 15 May.

Many thanks for these three images Chris they are much appreciated.  

The Works.

I'll get rid of my weather whinge first as I was on Clougha/Birk Bank on a day more like 27 March rather than May, cloudy most of the time with a stiff and cold westerly wind. The Cotton Grass on the bog at Birk Bank was looking quite nice although my pic doesn't really do the scene any justice but I just keep trying. I had returned here before wandering back home in the hope a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary would be showing but sadly no luck. My records from giving Clougha and Birk Bank 'The Works' for almost five hours follows.

I was greatly encouraged as I found a pair of Stonechats just two minutes out of the car on the right of the track, but it was false encouragement as it was two and a half hours later before I found the only other pair here this year and were the same pair as seen on my last visit a month ago on 27 April, neither of these pairs show any signs of breeding so no help in the numbers game for the Stonechats with these four yet. The pic above is yet another of my moderate attempts at photography.

Also into the book were 2 Garden Warblers singing within a few metres of each other, a single Wheatear, only 8 Willow Warbler and 7 Meadow Pipit, 3 Mistle Thrush, a Linnet with three possible over, singles of Buzzard, Kestrel, Raven, and only 2 Red Grouse seen but I had to remind myself it's the breeding season, a Cuckoo was heard distant from the top of Birk Bank and was regarded to be in the Long Ellers area, 2 Brown Hare seen here today.

MEGA NEWS. 

A White-tailed Plover (sometimes apparently Lapwing/Plover) was found today at Seaforth LWT in Liverpool and is still present as I write. Link to Bill Aspins blog HERE  to see three excellent images and read Bills account of this equally excellent bird, unfortunately I don't have Bills permission to copy them on to Birds2blog.

Britain's first WTP was only found as recent as 35 years ago in Warwickshire in 1975. Interestingly an investigation at some point in time had eventually proved that several birds had been imported into Britain but an influx of this species into six countries in Western Europe in 1975 had brought about the acceptance of the WTP on to the British List with the Warwickshire bird an obvious part of the influx.