Foot Patrol.

Drake American Wigeon courtesy of Mike Watson.

An excellent image of the drake American Wigeon currently present at Caerlaverock WWT Dumfries and Galloway to get today's post up and running.

Though it clouded over in the early afternoon it was great day to get on my feet and check out the bird life between Skerton Bridge and Glasson Dock and although its still a little too soon for anything other than 'an early' I did end up disappointed at not seeing some more Stonechats 'up from the south'....I'd seen twelve by this date last year.

Until I got to Freeman's Pools it had been a quiet but enjoyable walk checking the usual good number of gulls to find them all/mainly Black-headed and noting a drake Goosander and Red-breasted Merganser. At the pools the redhead Smew soon showed itself as did a Green Sandpiper and a calling Little Grebe, the 72 Black-headed Gull number showing interest in the island and the area has risen from my count of 60 last week, 8 Tufted Duck, a drake Wigeon, and 10 Lapwing made up the numbers on and around here today.

On Aldcliffe Marsh, c.3,500 Pink-footed Geese and 3 Little Egret. On the wildfowlers pool another Green Sandpiper seen and a Snipe noted on the flood. Between Aldcliffe and Conder Green I noted 18 Blackbirds, 3 Song Thrush, 2 Mistle Thrush, 6 Goldfinch, a Dunnock, and a Reed Bunting, a male Merlin on a fence post out on the marsh added some excitement to the day....hope you're still looking in on Birds2blog Tim (Crossley) to read about this bird you're 'after'....c.250 Curlew were in a field as I approached Conder Green picnic area, and a Brown Hare was seen en route. Two Little Egret were seen distant on Colloway Marsh from Stodday. At Conder Green I just had the time to find two of the areas 'star birds' in the form of Spotted Redshank and Greenshank.

I note with interest of a probable Mew Gull of the form brachyrhynchus at a location in Leicestershire up to 5.00pm then flew west.

Back Again!

Buzzard courtesy of David Cookson.

First to get the business of the photograph having nothing connected to the post out of the way, but an excellent image of the Buzzard which I appreciate having the permission to use....Thanks David.

Birds are truly amazing creatures in many different ways and I'm particularly intrigued by the way they have the ability to return - year after year in some cases - not only to the same country but virtually to the same spot and I suppose the Swallow has to be the perfect example of this as it returns to the same garage at the same house to nest under the same roof as it did last year.

Every time I've visited Conder Green again this winter I haven't failed to be amazed to find the Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, and Greenshank all back here again this year. Great Grey Shrikes - Dalton Crag today - are another example of a bird which has the habit of turning up in successive winters at the same location and you could go on about this kind of example.

This winter has been a particularly hard one across most of Europe and its not surprising that birds have found it necessary to move to find sufficient food and you would have expected the Waxwing to have been a species seen regularly this winter in the UK but apart from a very few sightings they didn't begin to appear here until February and in relatively small numbers even then. But winter 2010 has turned out to be an exciting and truly surprising winter after all for one village in Scotland all because a Waxwing returned having been ringed as an immature female the previous February in Kintore near Aberdeen.

This bird is only one of three confirmed records of a Waxwing returning to the UK in a subsequent winter from c.4,500 ringed birds and although there are many re-sightings and recoveries of dead birds, once the Waxwings leave their remote breeding grounds very few are ever heard of again.

But how about this....Another truly startling recovery was of a bird ringed as an adult male in Aberdeen in 2005, unfortunately and sadly this individual was killed by a cat twelve months later in Russia in a village east of the Ural Mountains almost 4,000 km north-east of Aberdeen where it was ringed the previous year.

I estimated in excess of 600 Black-tailed Godwits from the Clock Tower at Morecambe this mid-afternoon.

Birds2blog!

Water Pipit courtesy of Chris Batty.

Couldn't think of a title for the post today but certainly didn't have any problems selecting three great pic's all taken locally. The Water Pipit, smart bird, smart pic and not a species to be found just anywhere but if you can find your way to The Heads on the Fylde you may just be lucky but I'll tell you what....for a start it needs to be on a high tide, and for seconds you may need to be blessed with a good amount of patience and searching. Watch out for the next suitable tides and....good luck!

Twite courtesy of Phil Slade.

Well you've had ample time to see the Twite at Knott End for a few weeks now and it's where this pic was taken today....another smart bird, another smart pic.

Something of a repeat of yesterday for me with BT today and we first called in at Conder Green but must confess didn't move from the pool viewing platform where I noted yesterdays 18 Wigeon and just one Little Grebe. On Moss Lane yesterdays 19 Whooper Swans remain, and a brief visit to Cockersands produced the female Stonechat again, about 8 Tree Sparrows were noted around the horse paddock at Bank Houses. 

In the Pilling area at least 2,000 Pink-footed Geese were seen from Back Lane, and at Fluke Hall c.75 Twite were in the same field as yesterday when I noted c.50, also in the field today at least 25 Skylarks, a Great -spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming in the woods, and a Ruff was in the stubble field again. A Little Egret flew over the A588 as we turned into the west end of Gulf Lane where the resident Little Owl starred at us as we pulled up to view, I reckon every time it sees birders do this it thinks to itself something like....Oh no not another of those idiots come to gloat at me/us! 

Pretty routine stuff today but that's birding and any birding to me is good birding.

  

Rock Pipit courtesy of Phil Slade.

I reckon this is as good a pic as you could hope for of the Rock Pipit....razor sharp. Thanks for these three images Chris/Phil.

Another day....

Corn Bunting courtesy of Phil Slade.

....nearer to spring and another Stonechat 'up from the south' and the pic above which has absolutely nothing connected with today's proceedings but is an excellent image of a Corn Bunting one of which I'm prepared to take bets you won't see in the LDBWS recording area this year and possibly/probably never again....sad thought and hope I'm proved wrong one day....Thanks for the pic Phil.

At Conder Green the traditional circuit with eyes peeled and peering into every nook and cranny revealed the Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, and Greenshank. On Conder Pool  3 Little Grebe - and one upstream from the road bridge - 18 Wigeon, 22 Tufted Duck, and 26 Common Gull. For the second consecutive visit to the area I decided to skip Glasson Dock preferring to go Jeremy Lane where the swans have deserted the area but 19 Whooper Swans were seen from Moss Lane.

At Cockersands my second returning Stonechat was a female foraging the tide wrack and had taken over from the wintering male which was last seen in the same area on 22 February. Also on a quiet headland only visit I noted 7 Eider by the lighthouse, a single Skylark, and a Stoat. A relatively short visit to Fluke Hall produced c.50 Twite in the field just west of the slipway, also c.1,500 Pink-footed Geese, and 2 Ruff were in the stubble field opposite the Wheel Lane/Fluke Hall Lane junction.

American Wigeon/Whooper Swan courtesy of Angie Bushell.

And hows this picture for long odds on achieving a drake American Wigeon and Whooper Swan in the same frame at Dumfries and Galloway Friday 5 February....excellent and many thanks Mrs B! 

Golden Eagle.

No not a Golden Eagle but there is a link with the White-tailed Eagle in the story below, this one Mike Watson saw and photographed at Hortobagy National Park in Hungary 2007....Thanks for the pic Mike.  This news is something we should never tire of hearing about although you'd be hard pressed to know what we as individuals can actually do about this tragic situation in the 21st century.

A young Golden Eagle has been found poisoned at Truskmore Mountain on the Sligo/Leitrim border in Ireland, the bird was 10 month old and had been reared in an eyrie in Donegal last year. This bird had been tracked and found using a sophisticated satellite tracking device fitted to the birds back and the corpse was recovered on 18 February. A post mortem was carried out and revealed the young male to be in excellent condition prior to its death, subsequent tests proved the bird had been poisoned by Nitroxynil poured over the fleece of a dead newborn lamb.

Last year another satellite-tagged Golden Eagle was found poisoned with Paraquat just a day later than this years discovery on 19 February 2009 in West Donegal. In total 9 White-tailed Eagles, Golden Eagles and Red Kites have been confirmed poisoned in Ireland over the last two and a half years and recent monitoring by the Golden Eagle Trust proves that up to four different poisons have been used illegally in four different areas in Ireland but the same trust believes that over 95% of landowners in Ireland do not use poison. Its a case of the 'old story' of the Irish Government who - like some other governments who are members of the EU - are failing in the need to implement legislation protecting these rare scavenging birds of prey.  

Tragically much good work in educating farmers has been undone by the publication in an Irish farming journal which advised sheep farmers that....'Alphachloralose is mixed with mincemeat and fat placed alongside a fresh stillborn lamb'....this appalling advice on a reckless use of a poison appears to indicate a total disregard for regulations and from a voice of Irish farming no less.

Birdwatch Ireland have commented that it can only be hoped that public anger over this sad event will ensure that the barbaric practice of leaving out meat-based poisons by a tiny minority of farmers can be a major contribution to finally eliminating this unacceptable behaviour.

            

On a lighter note Ian Tallon sent me this excellent image of a Waxwing he saw this week at Dalton-in Furness in Cumbria....once Lancashire! Thanks for this Ian and for your interest in Birds2blog, it is much appreciated. And even more good news to end with is that of a Little-ringed Plover on Frodsham Marsh in Cheshire today, not many more miles as the LRP flies and it could have been on Conder Pool. 

On Cue!

With the last bird I found today in mind as far as I'm concerned its spring and the pic I took last year - in a private wood I was kindly given access to - is worth a reminder of whats around the corner. It was bloody cold still today and the aforementioned bird and the pic will help put us on for a while yet.

At Conder Green 2 Spotted Redshank today, a Greenshank, the Common Sandpiper - how much longer will we be able to call this bird 'the' - on Conder Pool 2 Little Grebe, 16 Wigeon, and a Snipe to note, and no more than 50 Teal in the creeks seems to bear out the opinion that numbers have been/are down here this winter. I had set a programme and decided to skip Glasson Dock and went on to Jeremy Lane where there was 12 Whooper Swans and 2 Bewick's Swans, on Moss Lane another 9 Whooper Swans and a Little Egret having a change of scenery from Jeremy Lane. I did the circuit at Cockersands but ended up wondering why, the tide was well up by now so the place was void of waders of significance and I finished up with just 4 Goldeneye and a Red-breasted Merganser noted for my efforts.

At Fluke Hall I found a flock of at least 60 Linnet which - void of a records search - represents the best number of the species for me in a long time. Bird of the day - and right on cue with the date - was the male Stonechat returning from 'the south' and hopefully the first of many, this was the very bird I had gone to Fluke Hall for and my hunch turned out to be the right hunch....next bird up will be the Wheatear unless the Sand Martin beats them to it.

I met three people today who - in the case of two of them - informed me of a Stoat just coming out of ermine on the far bank of Conder Pool, and in the case of the other of a Grey Wagtail seen here early in the morning, the significance of this being that I've not seen a GW at Conder Green in something like 9 months.  

'The Walk'

Two definite things about the pic....its definitely one I took and its definitely been on Birds2blog once before but I deleted it accidentally probably before anyone got to see it so its here again, its title is 'Coming to Bread'.

I did the walk from Skerton Bridge to Conder Green again, it was a brilliant day and its a brilliant walk and will be even more so in the coming weeks when it'll be alive with birds, today not quite so but here goes....

Despite checking through several hundred 'gulls' all the way to Conder Green I could locate not a single Med Gull. I counted 6 Goldeneye distant and all upstream from Skerton Bridge toward the weir but the rest of the way to Freeman's Pools resulted in a nothing of significance. At the pools the Smew was soon seen but with my lingering limited I noted just 3 Goldeneye, 2 Gadwall, a drake Shoveler, and a Little Egret. Up to 60 Black-headed Gulls with Lapwings and Oystercatchers were all showing interest in the island perhaps as a breeding ground....Mmmmm!

On Aldcliffe Marsh 2 Little Egrets to note, and something put c.3,000 Pink-footed Geese up off Colloway Marsh, and I noted 26 Moorhen around the main wildfowlers pool. From the path to Conder Green, 15 Blackbirds, 4 Song Thrush included one in full song at CG, 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Robins, a single Wren, and c.180 Curlews were noted in a field close to the picnic area at CG.

Green Sandpiper courtesy of Brian Rafferty.

At Conder Green on a much more brief visit than is my norm produced the Common Sandpiper, 2 Grey Plover, 3 Snipe, and singles of Back-tailed Godwit, Goldeneye, and Little Grebe. The last - and best - bird of the day five hours after leaving Lancaster was initially thought - briefly at a distance - to have been the Common Sandpiper until it flew to show the white rump of a Green Sandpiper.    

Simply the best......

....Tina Turner....not an avid fan but this one was quite good.

But I'm talking about Brian Rafferty's image above and I'm tempted to claim this is simply the best Barn Owl photograph you're ever likely to see....thanks Brian.

And beat this for an excellent image of the White-tailed Ptarmigan. I recommend you visit Mike Watson's Diary - which can be linked from my sidebar - to see the story behind this bird. Recommended reading about exactly where this bird was found, not to mention some other exciting events on this trip to Colorado in 2007.

Here is a run down on some of my birds in February.

Conder Green continued to support the wintering Common Sandpiper though it goes unnoticed for days on end, also Spotted Redshank and Greenshank were seen regularly and its always a good idea to be here on a high 10m+ tide as it pushes out into the open birds like the Jack Snipe and Rock Pipits which are much more difficult to find otherwise, I watched 23 Snipe come up off the marsh here on 1 February and six Rock Pipits were found on the tide wrack at Cockersands as was the wintering male Stonechat on just about every visit here throughout the month. I did the Skerton Bridge to Glasson Dock walk one day and was interested in finding at least 300 Black-tailed Godwit off Marsh Point, the redhead Smew was seen on Freeman's Pools on more than one occasion as was Green Sandpiper. Brief visits to Morecambe rewarded me with an adult Mediterranean Gull, 2 Scaup female off Broadway and a reasonable count of 130 Eider, up to 500 Black-tailed Godwit were also here on another visit, and on 17 February another adult Mediterranean Gull was at Teal Bay. Bewick's Swans and Whooper Swans were seen in varying numbers on every visit during February at Glasson Dock/Jeremy Lane/Moss Lane and a Merlin was seen on some of the visits to the marshes around Conder/ Glasson and also at Cockersands. Little Egret sightings are commonplace these days and one is often seen now on Jeremy Lane and another in the Cockersands area. The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock continued to support up to 2,500 Bar-tailed Godwits as it did the Goldeneye with the best count being 140 on 15 February and remains by far the best area for this species in the recording area and beyond. Two Ruff were seen from Fluke Hall Lane on 5 February and a tundra Bean Goose was with around 4,000 Pink-footed Geese on 15 February.

The down side of this month was the conclusive evidence that for the first time in more than 10 years no Stonechats were found at any of the upland locations I visit and I have reliable information that the Bowland birds are also absent with one observer having seen not a single bird this year. 

Looking forward to the progression of March and seeing my first returning Stonechat/Wheatear and Sand Martin....and others perhaps before the month is out.        

The 9 o'clock News....

....well nearly 9 o'clock. And now take a good look at the pic above and be really honest with yourself about your ID skills until you reach the end of my post....and if it makes you feel any better I think it would have taken me a while too.

A change of days for us today as I was out with JB/BT instead of Friday, as a consequence my weakening brain will tell me its Saturday tomorrow. We also changed the schedule because of the state of the tide but at least that went towards easing the monotony of the same routine, though the birds are never monotonous.

At Conder Green - where once again the place was rapidly becoming entirely water - a Spotted Redshank, a Goldeneye, and c.135 Common Gulls were all on Conder Pool, and by the way JB's records won't tally with mine again today as they will be much more in depth. On Jeremy Lane 10 Whooper Swans, and on Moss Lane 9 Whooper Swans, these swan numbers are rarely the same two visits alike.

As we sped down the A588 - I think BT thinks he's Jenson Button sometimes - a Barn Owl was hunting the field opposite Wrampool House, and in a field opposite a Barnacle Goose was in the company of 2 Mute Swans and I was later to be reliably informed this was a case of AWOL from somewhere or other. At Braides scrapes a disappointing emptiness save c.100 Curlew in the distance below the embankment, plus 2 Little Egrets in flight, and 2 Brown Hares, another 3 Brown Hares were seen from Gulf Lane as was a Merlin and 2 Little Owls....do these LO's ever breed in these 'boxes'? Off Pilling Lane Ends 2 Dark-bellied Brent Geese flew west at around high tide.

John Batemans image of the Little Owl....thanks John. Someone said to him on the LDBWS website that it was good to see he was back birding again to which John replied that it was....if only at slow speed. We had a good day John, thanks for your company. 

I would never have believed I would ever....not ever post a picture like this and certainly not on Birds2blog but this blew me away when it was placed in front of me on the table this evening by three birds I've known for ages.

OK so its my birthday, big deal....but the cake is brilliant....isn't it? And by the way the bird at the head of this post is a hybrid drake Mallard x Pintail with my thanks to Chris Batty for both the pic and the ID.  

  

Todays Birding....

....never really got off the ground.

When I arrived at Conder Green I hadn't realised it was about 30 minutes from a very high 10m + tide and also what I hadn't realised was that being stood on the viewing platform overlooking Conder Pool I needed to move myself or I was about to get stranded there for quite some time. It was quite a revelation to see the tide spilling on to the road, coming up and from underneath the road - yes it does - and coming out of the gutters on the opposite side of the road from the River Conder....talk about time and tide waits for no man. So I abandoned any thoughts of birding in this area - the Lune estuary would be entirely under water.

OK so nothing went right today but above is an excellent study of one of Knott Ends resident Twite from one of the Fyldes resident birder/ringer Phil Slade....thanks Phil.

Before my escape from Conder Green I had managed to note the Spotted Redshank, a Little Grebe, and up to 160 Redshank were high tide roosting on Conder Pool. So I got to Jeremy Lane to try to get my four hours Monday birding allowance off the ground but wait a minute its all going wrong again as Mr Farmer is checking out his sheep and lambs on his 'four wheeler' and disturbing all the swans in the process but I did manage to count 6 Bewick's Swans and 17 Whooper Swans before they departed and flew off into the great unknown. From an undisturbed Moss Lane I counted another 12 Whooper Swans.

Though I never thought it a good idea I went off to Cockersands just to prove it and noted the Little Egret in its favourite ditch, 3 Meadow Pipits on the tide wrack at the caravan park end, 7 Blackbirds and a Song Thrush were in the Banks Houses horse paddock. Plover Scar had completely disappeared under the sea and that was my lot despite the 1.5 hour circuit....shouldn't I be doing something else?

A drive to Fluke Hall Lane in the hope the waders would have taken to the stubble fields here on this high tide turned out to have been another bad idea but I noted circa 1,800 Lapwing, 900 Dunlin, and 420 Golden Plover....I give in!

White-throated Toucan. Venezuela February 2010. Colin Bushell.

Worth an edit if only to add a little colour to an otherwise relatively dull post....Thanks Colin.