But There We Have It!

To be honest I was hoping for my first Wheatear at Cockersand on Monday - last year at Cockersand 1 April - and my first Little Ringed Plover on Conder Pool - two last year 26 March with the male displaying - but it was just wishful thinking in the end.

It wouldn't sound to make much sense if I was to call my last visit to the Lune Estuary and surroundings, a little dull and cold like the weather, then go on to record almost 4,000 birds seen, albeit with just 9 species....but there we have it!

Spotted Redshank Conder Creeks. Pete Woodruff. Clik The Pik

Numbers were falling on Conder Pool, today up to 600 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Shoveler, the summer plumage Little Grebe. In the creeks a Spotted Redshank, and 3 Buzzard were soaring together over woodland behind the Stork Hotel. On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, I found 23 Avocet, no surprise that non on Conder Pool then. Also noted was a pair of Red-breasted Merganser. 

Wigeon. Martin Jump.

Otherwise the estuary was almost deserted by the winter birds, save the usual gathering of gulls and uncounted Wigeon still. Martin Jump sent me some images yesterday, by coincidence one was the portrait of a smart drake Wigeon with reflection. Thanks Martin....Clik The Pik for a quality result.

At Cockersand, I spent the best part of 3 hours walking, having legged it to Bank End for the Black Redstart, it was the road to nowhere, though AC reported a female along the coastal path at the farm at 11.58am....Mmmm! This was followed by my quest to find a Wheatear, but by the time I got to Plover Scar I'd dipped again 😡 

But a reward for my efforts was up to 2,000 Golden Plover in the field north side of Abbey Farm, some acquiring breeding plumage. Thanks to Howard Stockdale for the excellent header image. 

Unlike my usual experience of seeing them on the ground in tight flocks, the Golden Plover were very thinly spread out through the whole field. 

The Whooper Swan were in two fields today, c.250 north side of Bank End, and as I drove away from Cockersand along Moss Lane, another c.100 were at the east end at Thurnham, making a total of up to 350 Whooper  Swan.

Wood Warbler.

As I searched my records for first dates of past spring migrants, I came across some interesting data regarding the Wood Warbler, it contained the remarkable number of 38 records for the species over the 31 years 1992-2023.

Wood Warbler. Mike Watson.

My first Wood Warbler was found 13 May 1992. I was on a walk around Ingleton Falls in North Yorkshire, by which time I was able to separate a Raven from a Wren! 

The other 37 records followed....

1996

Littledale May/June 6 sightings  

Gibson Wood 8 June 2 birds

Gibson Wood 14/15 June feeding young at the nest

1997 

10 May Gibson Wood 

19/20 May Botton 

23 May Claife Heights Cumbria 

26/31 May Botton 

17 June Botton possible breeding

1998

3 May Gibson Wood 

12 May Botton 

13 May Gibson Wood 

15/23 May Botton 

23 May Barbondale 

1999 

16 May Gibson Wood 

12 June Rusland Cumbria 

18 June Barbondale

26 June Ellterwater Cumbria 2 birds

2000

21 May Gibson Wood

22 May Barbondale

27 May Botton

29 May Bolton Abbey 4 birds

7 June Barbondale

2003

19 May Dunsop Bridge

2006

13 June Barbondale

2007

22/31 May Tower Lodge

2008/09

30 May/11 May Barbondale

2023

3 May Gibson Wood

Worth noting, I found Wood Warbler in Gibson Wood for 5 years consecutive 1996-2000 including breeding. On a negative note, I've not seen a Wood Warbler anywhere since May 2023, and the truth is....not many other Lancashire birders have either. I found no more than 20 records in Lancashire over the 3 years.

The Birk Bank Circuit.

Tuesday was the anniversary when Steve Graham accompanied me on a circuit of Birk Bank in May 2023. Primarily the reason that day, was to locate a Wood Warbler which had been found a few days earlier in a private woodland. But the hopes of visually finding this locally rare warbler soon died a death, though we did here the distinctive call which is often likened to a spinning coin on a marble slab.

Todays circuit with Steve was a 4 hour experience of some excellent birding which produced 7 Garden Warbler, one up on last years tally of six. Also enjoyed was 5 Cuckoo records which were represented by two audible and three visual, one of which was a female heard to call, then viewed atop of a tree with a Meadow Pipit in attendance and mobbing at times. Six Mistle Thrush seen, including one in flight carrying food into Cragg Wood.

I reckon the odds against the sighting of a Song Thrush singing in the branch below a Mistle Thrush, is a million to one chance....Pump up the volume. Two singing Blackcap, Linnet, Greenfinch, and Redpoll over, and Kestrel.

Common Heath. Ian Mitchell.

To say butterflies and bees were sparse would be an understatement, with only singles of Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, and Small White, but the Common Heath moth was out in force.

I found my first Large Red Damselflies of the year, when a f. melanotum was basking on the boardwalk at Birk Bank bog, and at least 12 teneral drying out and warming up amongst the bilberries along the path and away from the bog....interesting.   

All About The Wood Warbler.

Recently privy to some excellent news about a bird in a Bowland woodland, I went off post - haste to see. The only down side of this little tale was, restricted by privacy I failed to see the bird, but did enjoy hearing it singing its highly distinctive and accelerating sharp notes ending with a pulsating trill sounding like a spinning coin on a marble slab....Magic!

This is quite amazing stuff, here we have history repeating itself for me, as it was in this very same woodland that I found a Wood Warbler 27 years ago on 1 May 1996 in the company of my mentor John Leedal. In fact it was on this first sighting that I had good reason to suspect there were two birds here, a suspicion confirmed on 14 June, when I was fortunate to see young being fed at the nest on the ground.

But this brilliant record didn't end here, the species returned to this woodland for four consecutive years....10 May 1997 - 3 May 1998 - 16 May 1999 and 21 May 2000....Then history repeated itself here 23 years later on 3 May 2023, albeit briefly as I'm reliably informed the bird has not been seen since.

Whilst searching for these records I dug up my Wood Warbler sightings at 16 locations, including 2 birds at two sites at Botton 31 May 1997, 2 birds at Ellterwater 26 June 1999, and 4 birds at Bolton Abbey 29 May 2000. 

The status of the Wood Warbler in our area doesn't go beyond an uncommon and decreasing migrant breeder, with no breeding records published. A search through 10 years of records to 2021, shows a sample of the all time scarcity - now verging on rarity - of this stunning phylloscopus.

2015 Only four records of the species. 

2017 Three records.

2018 Three records.

2019 Just two records, a passage migrant at Heysham, one Tower Lodge 16 May.

2020 Two migrants and one upland record.

2021 Two migrants and one bird in woodland at Lowgill.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for his excellent image of a Wood Warbler at Fluke Hall in late April 2022.

.............................................................

Conder Pool.

Many Thanks to Ian Mitchell who achieved some excellent images from Conder Pool on Friday. 

So far so good for these two Avocet youngsters....

And this pair of Common Tern behaving with an intention to breed.

The Damp Squid.

A visit to Harrisend Fell then on to Hawthornthwaite, turned out to be something of a damp squid, but as with any birding, not without interest including a first.

It was a bitter disappointment that I struggled to find just one pair of Stonechat at Harrisend, 7 Red Grouse, and a Magpie calling and flying purposefully south across the fellside below the ridge, in itself something unusual and a first 'Moorland Magpie' for me. On Hawthornthwaite, just 18 Red Grouse seen. 

Stonechat Behavior....I had been on Harrisend 1.5 hour, and was on the return leg before I found the pair of Stonechat providing me with a first record. 

The male was atop of a gorse bush, the classic view of an upland Stonechat. The bird soon took to the wing and was seen to be in pursuit of a female, flight was fast and direct until the female changed direction, then soon went to perch, followed by the male going to perch close by her. This was soon followed by the female taking off again, with the male in hot pursuit to repeat a similar pattern, the pair going to perch again.

Having spent 15 minutes watching this pair of Stonechat, during which time this behaviour was repeated at least ten times, covering quite a large area of about 100 square meters, before I left them to it.

I was in touch with John Callion about the Stonechat observations at Harrisend on Tuesday, and he asked if I had any evidence of a third bird involved, in which case the male was seeing off an intruder. In fact I saw no other bird throughout my observations.

In our correspondence, John passed on to me some pretty impressive records, one of which was c.130 nestling Stonechats ringed this year. John added a footnote to this, within 10 miles of his house approx 40 nestlings were colour ringed this year, at least six of the broods successfully fledged, yet no colours on any of the six wintering pairs close to him have been seen....Fascinating.

The other equally impressive record from John, was of 74 Wood Warblers - 13 adult and 61 nestling - colour ringed in the Borrowdale Valley this year....Need to get myself into Cumbria next year.  

In The Garden....A Goldcrest graced our plum tree and conifer yesterday morning.

The counter on B2B reached a viewing count of 2167 views for one post recently. To each and everyone, my little Robin friend 'Bob' and I would like to wish you....

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS   

Foot Soldiering.

With the weather half decent on Monday and no wind, I thought the best idea was to do a stroll through some ideal habitat for the odd Yellow-browed Warbler to turn up perhaps, sounding like a 'proper birder'....not before time!!

Old railway routes given back to nature always make for ideal habitats for birds, there's one in the Lakes which can/could turn up numerous Wood Warblers in a season....not in October of course. So of I went from the bus station in Lancaster to dawdle, stop, look, and listen along the coastal path to Glasson Dock. Well, I was kidding myself really, to do this lengthy stretch any justice for 'finding' birds would take you a full long day at least....but I did my best and managed to collect at least 50 species, most of which I expected to find and I'm not going to labour the list on here, but notable were as follows....

A Jay flew across the River Lune from St Georges Quay to Ryelands Park, a few minutes later a lone Goldeneye was seen on the river. 

 Will you help save Freeman's Wood  

I arrived at Freeman's Pools to note 10 Gadwall and 3 Little Grebe. The flood at Aldcliffe has now become a lake large enough to take boats - well almost - as has the wildfowlers pool where I saw 5 Little Grebe of note, and by the time I got to Conder Green - adding to the 50 list along the way - I'd seen 7 Little Egret. 

Looking over the marsh at Conder Green. Pete Woodruff.

At Conder Green I found 2 Spotted Redshank and noted 3 Snipe and a Goosander. On Conder Pool I found the number now in a double figure and counted 10 Little Grebe and a Goldeneye, by which time one of those unfriendly showers which come down by the bucketful had arrived and I had to dive for the cover of a small bridge over a culvert. 

Conder Creeks. Pete Woodruff.

I got a little fed up of waiting for the rain to cease so I hot-footed it to Glasson Dock to find a juvenile Scaup - the recent female now disappeared - on the canal basin, by which time....my bus was coming!

Birding days like this are all very well but, there's no way I'm being weighed down with a telescope and tripod for a six mile hike. OK, you don't need a telescope to find passerines hiding in the bushes, but birding otherwise with half your optics left at home....I'm afraid it's a bit like going out without your pants on.

Footnote.

A quick search revealed all the websites I found about Freeman's Wood - including the link above - were badly out of date....Anyone out there have any updated one's as Birds2blog might generate some support. 

Hitting the Headlines.

This is certainly worth viewing.

I did a bit of digging into my records again today and found some of interest hitting the headlines from the past which I either found or observed, but first....

Ringed Plover. Cliff Raby

A brilliant photograph of the Ringed Plover coming in to land....great stuff.

1996.

Ferruginous Duck. Skerton Weir 23 April.

Wood Warbler. Gibson Wood 1 May. *

Dotterel. (13) Ward Stone 6 May.

Wood Sandpiper. Conder Green 5 August.

Painted Lady. Path to Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss 11 August. A three figure number in excess of 100.

Black-winged Pratincole. Carnforth Marsh 25 August.

Little Stint. (70) Eric Morecambe Complex 21 September. 130 here during Sept 24-28, an all time record.
Black Brant. Pilling Marsh 21 December. **

1997.  

American Wigeon. Heysham Harbour 25 January.

Rough-legged Buzzard. Whitendale 12 April.***

Glossy Ibis. (2) Pilling Marsh 23 April.

Sanderling. (10,000) Ainsdale Beach 24 May.****

Crossbill. (30) Langden Brook 28 June.

Lesser Yellowlegs. Eric Morecambe Complex 18 October 1995 and 13 September 1997.*****

Crossbill. (50) Helsington Barrows.

* The Wood Warbler returned to Gibson Wood for five consecutive years, but not since to my knowledge.

** The Black Brant - Eastern Siberian/North American - on Pilling Marsh from 17 December 1996 until 22 February 1997 at least, is the only Lancashire record for the species.

*** This - or another - Rough-legged Buzzard at Whitendale was observed on several occasions by many birders here between February 1996 until March 1998 at least, albeit with long periods of absence. 

**** I think it may be some time - if ever - before I see the amazing sight of 10,000 Sanderling on Ainsdale Beach - or anywhere else - again.

***** The Lesser Yellowlegs were both found on the Eric Morecambe Pool at Leighton Moss and is my best 'double' to date. 

And finally....

Red Kite. Chris Raby

Another of CR's brilliant photographs, this one of the Red Kite....Appreciate these Chris.

Notes and a pic....

Himalayan Griffon Vulture. Richard Shilling.

....from Richard and is of the Himalayan Griffon Vulture he saw whilst trekking in the Anapurna Himalaya in Nepal. Thanks for this Richard, not only a brilliant photograph of a brilliant bird, but also with a dramatic backdrop....Great stuff. Richards website is HERE and always a pleasant relief from the birds whilst viewing some truly creative 'Landart'.

Curlew Sandpipers have been showing well in the past few days in particular at Cockersands and Conder Green where I have seen three and four respectively. You can't have a Curlew Sandpiper in your sights without marveling at the travels of this bird which is the most easterly of any occurring wader in our area the breeding grounds of which are on the high-Arctic coastal tundra of Siberia.

It is interesting how their migration varies from year to year, and a search through old records shows Conder Green to come into the reckoning very often with an amazing flock of 65 there in September 1969, whilst 20 years later in 1989 only one bird was recorded there in October. There are occasional wintering records in Lancashire and North Merseyside and to put Conder Green in the picture once more, one remained there from October 1984 to March 1985 which leads me nicely into the next species likely to winter at Conder Green.

When I arrived at Conder Green yesterday there was twelve birds resting in an orderly line at the back of the pool which turned out to be nine Greenshank and three Spotted Redshank quite a rewarding sight. With regards to the latter it has wintered here 'a year or two' now and - along with the Common Sandpiper which has done so for the past two winters - I reckon the Greenshank will be the next to join them to winter here there already being an exceptional record of three birds here during the winter of 1953/4.

A chance look back at old comments buried down the list of posts revealed a quite astonishing one - which I could well have missed but thankfully didn't - from Mike Bainbridge on 1 September who commented on 'The Wood Warbler' which I posted nearly five months ago on 14 April which read as follows....

Hi Pete, I'm currently working on the Castoro Sei Laybarge and the ship is currently 'mobbed' by Wood Warblers at the moment. Perhaps I should explain we are building the Nord Stream Pipeline from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea and we get lots of hitch hikers.

Well I say WOW to that....you really never know who is viewing your blog and where.

    

Did you know!

Bass Rock. David Cookson.

But first this stunning image of Bass Rock, location for up to 80,000 occupied nests and photographed by David earlier this year.

I've been rooting through some 30 year old Cumbria records and have noted the following ones of interest in varying degrees all from 1980.

King Eider. One recorded from Walney B.O. as it/one had also been the year before in 1979.

Ruddy Duck. A North American species introduced into Britain in 1948, it is thought that over a period of time seventy juveniles flew away from the captivity of Slimbridge. The species was admitted to the official British and Irish list in 1971 and this bird was found on Longtown G.P. on 27 August 1980 and was the first record for Cumbria.

Black Grouse. Was recorded at six locations in Cumbria in 1980.

Corncrake. Records of calling males were collected at three locations.

Little Ringed Plover. This bird is noted as a rarity in Cumbria in the 1980 records and was located at three sites in this year....I must now look up it's status in 2010.

Dotterel. This record I found very interesting and was of a successful breeding at an undisclosed Cumbrian site.

Turtle Dove. Another very interesting record in that it was claimed that over-wintering of these birds had increased over recent years....How things change!

Short-eared Owl. Now this one really intrigued me and gave details of a study of pellet content at a roost near Barrow which it is claimed contained five rings, those of a British Turnstone, plus two British, one Swedish, and one Norwegian Dunlin....amazing.

Stonechat. Showed a recovery from 1979 when there was a decrease in numbers recorded but still remained scarce inland in 1980.

Whinchat. I could find no mention of this species in the 1980 report which poses me the question....was it omitted in error?

Wood Warbler. A good breeding season throughout Cumbria. So how things have changed there in thirty years.

Nutcracker. Walney B.O. had the record of a bird seen on 1 December 1979 accepted by the BBRC. 

 

Bass Rock. David Cookson.

Woodland & Fell.

Stonechat. Peter Guy.

My pessimistic view of the weather almost got the better of me again today as it looked decidedly doggy as I set off to enter Holme Wood, but as well it didn't rule as it developed into a good day and for some time before my birding ended it had been blue sky wall to wall almost and and some nice birds too. I gave Holme Wood, down Grizedale and return three hours at a snails pace noting 20 species along the way of which the following qualify for the blog. The Gold Award was abandoned today....too much competition!

I'm not sure 14 Willow Warblers in three woodland hours is anything impressive but that's the total, 3 Blackcap is a species I get the impression is quite 'healthy' this year, a Garden Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, a lone Redpoll (Lesser) was a nice find, 2 Treecreeper, 4 Dunnock, a Jay, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, 4 Wren and 2 Grey Wagtail. The only butterflies seen were singles of Peacock and Orange Tip.

As I got to almost going out of Holme Wood I'd been wondering why had I no sightings of at least a couple of species in a woodland habitat ideal for them when a black and white miniature Magpie type of bird flashed through my line of vision....when I eventually picked the bird up again it was exactly what I had thought and hoped, a male Pied Flycatcher which - if only briefly - burst into song....nice one!

Part two of today's plan was to check out Harrisend where I managed to find 4 Stonechats, being a pair and two female though I saw no evidence of any breeding results despite lingering in their company for some time, 12 Meadow Pipits were counted, 2 Willow Warbler, a solitary male Linnet, and a Buzzard seen. As I reached my farthest point in my quest for birds on Harrisend I spotted a distant 'dot' on a fence post, too bright for Stonechat, too small for Meadow Pipit....there's only one thing for it, I need to extend my visit and get closer to find out what this bird is....

Whinchat. Pete Woodruff.

....nice one, it's a male Whinchat of which I even got at least a half decent picture. As I approached the car parked on the Oakenclough road a Cuckoo struck up somewhere in an area just north of Fell End Farm....another nice one!

   

Wood Warbler. Mike Watson.

The other bird I really should have seen in Holme Wood in ideal habitat - and probably would had it not been for the birds decline - is the Wood Warbler and being a sucker for 'a good pic' this is as good as you could ever wish for in terms of a brilliant image of this enigmatic bird part of whose vocabulary sounds like a ten pence piece spinning on a marble slab. Please take a look at Mike's website HERE 

The Swift.

Swift thanks to Simon Hawtin.

I've not seen Simon Hawtin for some time now but have recently been in touch and he assures me I'll be seeing him sometime somewhere 'on the road' like we used to mainly - but not exclusively - in the Forest of Bowland....I look forward to this Simon. Meanwhile, thanks for this excellent image of the amazing 'life on the wing' Swift.

I saw my first 2010 Swift this evening from our kitchen window and reckon if I'd have stayed around and looking out of the window I would have of perhaps seen more. Unfortunately there seems to be fewer of these amazing birds seen in our skies year after year to add to the ever increasing other migrants we see less  of each year. A walk through the woodland this year will probably result in all of us experiencing it less likely to find the Wood Warbler or Spotted Flycatcher as something like two thirds of our migrants seem to be declining and joining the Red List.

Though it is hard to understand precisely whats happening here it looks likely that habitat change in Africa, land use and land degradation with overgrazing and intensive farming could be the culprits posing the question....is it the habitat change which affects how much food is available to these birds? Hardships on their migration routes to and from Africa as well as in the UK could also play the part.

In 15 years the number of Wood Warblers have fallen by 60% but if we end where I started with the Swift, you also have to wonder if too many traditional nesting sites are disappearing making it more and more difficult as the years progress for birds like these - and the Swallow and House Martin - to find suitable spots for making breeding attempts.

The Tower Lodge area in the Forest of Bowland has - for the past couple of years that  know of - been reasonably good for the Spotted Flycatcher, and in 2008 a Wood Warbler was singing opposite the lodge so I've not yet completely lost hope that all this may well happen again this year.