The Swans Have It!

Bewick's Swan. Copy Permitted. 

On Monday 4 Bewick's Swan easily qualified for my best of the day award and were - and always are - a delight to find, they were in a field east of Abbey Farm with 5 Whooper Swan. Sadly the splendid Bewick's Swan suffers a continuing decline and finds itself of European concern and on the Amber List. Twenty two Whooper Swan flew over going south, and 3 Whooper Swan on Jeremy Lane included a juvenile. 

Turnstone. Howard Stockdale.

A 9.7m tide was almost at its height when I arrived at Cockersands, but Plover Scar held just 25 Turnstone, with a single drake Eider off here. The fields held variable numbers of feeding waders, Lapwing, Curlew, and Oystercatcher, with at least 100 Golden Plover in a distant inland field seen from the path to Bank End. I made no attempt at counting but saw at least 30 Skylark over one field, also of note, c.30 Goldfinch, 8 Tree Sparrow, a 'few' Pied Wagtail, female Kestrel, and 2 Little Egret. As I left I noted a single Grey Plover on the mud opposite Crook Cottage.

At Glasson Dock on the Lune Estuary, I failed to find anything with the gulls, but noted 30 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Little Egret. On Conder Pool, try though I may the count didn't get beyond 14 Little Grebe, with a Little Egret on here. In the creeks 2 Spotted Redshank, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Snipe, 5 Goosander, and up to 200 Teal.

Dunnock Warren Baker 

A bird close by in the hedge by Conder Pool initially had me guessing, it called persistently for several minutes before I saw it, and despite my birding for a year or two I'm not acquainted with the call of the Dunnock....always learning something new.

Thanks to Howard and Warren for their respective excellent photographs. 

Below is a recording of the 'seep' call I heard at Conder Green, but you may need to pump up the volume.

Pushed For Time....

....for blogging, but I can manage a little time to report seeing a moth and dragonfly at Cockersands yesterday.

Silver Y. Olaf Leillinger.

Silver Y can be found from spring until late autumn, and especially at coastal watch-points in the right conditions, the Silver Y moth can turn up in their thousands and can occur anywhere in Britain. In autumn the breeding population from spring migrants is swelled by further migration and I found mine on the path to Bank End behind the caravan park at Cockersands.

Common Darter. Pete Woodruff.

The Common Darter is probably the most widespread and numerous darter and is common in most areas. In northern Europe it appears from early June and becomes abundant in July. It is one of the last dragonflies to be encountered in autumn and I was a little surprised to find this mature male charging its battery in the sunlight on the wall behind the caravan park at Cockersands just five minutes after I had seen the Silver Y above, they can rarely be seen in December. 

The other rewards for my days birding yesterday to follow when time allows.

Bird Behaviour.

Looking through some back dates of British Birds magazine one of the first articles I found was about a Cuckoo I observed at Barbondale in June 1997 and noted its call was made with the bill closed. The article brought about a reply from another reader in a later issue of the magazine, who - having spent 34 years living in Pakistan - noted in the Himalayan Foothills....'the Common Cuckoo, Oriental Cuckoo, and Lesser Cuckoo all called with their bills closed, whilst the throat ballooned out visibly during each call'.

Following this interesting observation of the Cuckoo at Barbondale, I decided to keep a book on bird behaviour. Sixteen years later I find the book contains 109 interesting notes titled 'Bird behaviour and other oddities', the last of which was entered on 21 March this year and noted Mallard and Shelduck at Glasson Dock, both species seen diving. 

Yellowhammer. John Darbyshire.

Another interesting note early in the book, was of a Yellowhammer at Out Rawcliffe which I was watching for 20 minutes during the 'Golden Days' of delivering car parts, I decided to time this bird singing and found it did so 8 times per minute which resulted in my discovery that this individual - which sang constantly for the whole period I was with it - had done so an amazing 160 times....some singer. 

The book reads, in December 1998 at Middleton Sands I watched up to 1,000 Dunlin in flight, observing these birds for in excess of 30 minutes they never once came to land whilst flying around the area as a flock in every direction....an expensive use of energy, and why. 

And finally....A Spotted Redshank on the Eric Morecambe Complex at Leighton Moss was feeding alongside a Teal which was obviously stirring up a food source for the wader, this Spotted Redshank was also noted to upend as does the Mallard for example, I had no idea this species engaged in either of these activities. And a Ruddy Duck at Leighton Moss in mid October had 4 very young chicks, all victims in later years no doubt, of a controversial and mass cull costing an estimated eventual £5.5 million to save the globally threatened White-headed Duck .

Birds....they fascinate me in a million ways, and I've discovered and noted 109 different habits/behaviour/characteristics over the years most of which I didn't previously know about.  

The Cockersands Crawl....

....and ten minutes at the dock.

 

 Penduline Tit Noushka Dufort

Other than being a bird, this image of the Penduline Tit - a vagrant from central or eastern Europe - is nothing remotely connected with what follows, but its a stunning photograph of a stunning bird. Thanks Noushka.

Stock Dove. Copy Permitted.

I made another three hour 'crawl' around Cockersands on Wednesday and found 2 Mediterranean Gull both adult, and 5 Stock Dove in the 'Lapland' stubble. Between Crook Farm and Plover Scar I noted 43 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, up to 200 Dunlin, with uncounted but nothing like big double figures of Redshank, Lapwing, and Curlew, 3 Eider, and a Sparrowhawk. The rest of the time spent here turned out to be a void, empty, fruitless affair, and I ended up counting in excess of 100 Herring Gull on Plover Scar. Now when you're birding is reduced to counting Herring Gull its time to go home and think about taking up knitting!

With a few minutes to spare on the way back to Lancaster the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock showed little of note, but I eventually picked up a - routine these days  - Mediterranean Gull and noted 2 Red-breasted Merganser. But by now it was 4.30pm, the light had been fading for thirty minutes, and the rain was coming in....its winter.

Twite and Stock Dove at Cockersands.

Twite. Howard Stockdale.

I'm reliably informed of 11 Twite at Cockersands last Saturday 26 October. Thanks for the photograph of one of them Howard....look no rings! Also at Cockersands on Wednesday, 60 Stock Dove reported, an unprecedented record hot on the heels of another unprecedented record here of 17 Greenland White-fronted Geese last Sunday.

The Harbour, The Green, And The Dock.

I decided as the Firecrest had hung around at Heysham Harbour and was still present yesterday morning into its third day, I should go to twitching mode and get on down there to see this bird.

Firecrest Antonio Puigg 

Well I can't resist another photograph of one of these little beauties which gave me excellent views down to a few metres at Heysham Harbour. I was so delighted at the sight of this Firecrest that someone who joined me to watch this bird couldn't have helped but notice my unashamed excitement, the bird was reported still showing at 4.05pm in the afternoon. An adult Mediterranean Gull followed the ferry into the harbour.

Later a quick - by usual standards - look in at Conder Green was rewarded by an all time best count of 17 Little Grebe on Conder Pool, I actually think there may be eighteen present but gave in after counting them five times between their dives. A Little Egret and 2 Wigeon were also noted on the pool, with the Common Sandpiper and up to 120 Teal in the creeks.

At Glasson Dock on the Lune Estuary off Fishnet Point, I counted at least 650 Golden Plover, 600 Wigeon, 100 Tufted Duck, and saw 3 Little Egret, a Peregrine Falcon was on Colloway Marsh.

Twite at Heysham Harbour.

Twite. John Darbyshire.

Whilst at Heysham Harbour yesterday I realised I'd seen no reports to date of the Twite returning here yet this winter, the past two years they had returned on 9 October 2011 - the same date twenty returned to Cant Clough Reservoir this year - and 10 October 2012, so almost three weeks late. Forty Twite were at Fleetwood Marsh yesterday.

And finally....

Little Egret Ana Minguez 

A brilliant pose and a brilliant image of the Little Egret, thank you Ana. Also thanks to Antonio and John for their excellent images.     

The Pale Swift.

One or two Pallid Swift have been seen in the country including in Norfolk and other east coast locations, with more than one bird seen on the south coast in Kent.

Pallid Swift. Marc Heath.

The Pallid Swift is so closely similar to the Common Swift that it mitigates against its discovery, and an individual found in Cleveland has caused some discussion about its ID. But if you use the link below to see the discussion, be warned it was six pages long last time I viewed it but very interesting HERE

Considering the species is locally common in the Mediterranean, and breeds as close as southern France it is remarkably rare here. An interesting historical fact about the Pallid Swift is that the first record for the UK lay in a museum for 77 years after being collected at St John's Point in Co Down, Ireland in 1913, before being positively identified in 1990. The first record for Britain was at Stodmarsh, Kent in 1978. 

Pallid Swift. Marc Heath.

Thanks to Marc Heath for his excellent images of the Pallid Swift he saw at Foreness in Kent, in particular the lower image which shows the bird about to take an insect....Amazing Marc and many thanks.

Nearer home....

 

White-fronted Goose.Copy Permitted.

An amazing 17 White-fronted Geese - an unprecedented record - were found at Cockersands yesterday in a field at Abbey Farm. Struggling to find a photograph of adult birds, the one above is of a juvenile at Eagland Hill on 17 October....Beware of what you may think is a Greylag in the middle of 10,000 Pink-footed Geese perhaps!

Firecrest Martin Lofgren

And a little gem the Firecrest was found on the South Harbour Wall at Heysham yesterday too, and was still there mid-afternoon today. And these records are topped by a Black Redstart at Heysham Harbour today, and one on the sea defences at Heysham near Grosvenor Road yesterday. 

So who was it said birding the west coast will never be birding the east coast. Well maybe it won't ever be....quite!!

                                     Red Deer Grisedale Hide Leighton Moss. Copyright Paul King.

Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve, Lancashire. Autumnwatch 8.00pm BBC 2 Tuesday for four nights....be there.

Yes you guessed it....I'm off the birding scene once again.

Was It Worth It!

I waited six days to get back out birding again on Thursday....but was it worth the wait. 

It was a day of two halves as I had to have a break at noon to meet an appointment in Lancaster, after which came birding part two. But the 'buzz' never came, though the day was excellent weatherwise given it was 24 October and Cockersands was pure magic....so why the whinge!

Common Sandpiper Antonio Puigg

At Conder Green the Common Sandpiper appears to have settled in for the winter and showed in the creeks, apart from a lone Snipe it was the only bird I noted in the creeks, two skeins of 30/90 Pink-footed Geese went over south.  I was my intention to visit Conder Pool later in the day but I ran out of time, so shock of shocks missed the pool altogether. Thanks to Antonio for the excellent Common Sandpiper. 

Common Gull Arkive

I decided the healthy thing was to leg it to Glasson Dock from Conder Green to see 42 Goldfinch, and whilst checking the Lune Estuary from a few viewpoints along the coastal path I noted at least 300 Common Gull to be the dominant of the gulls today, an adult Mediterranean Gull was excellent as ever and though distant appeared to have a metal ring on its right leg though I saw no sign of any other marks on the left leg from several angles. Other estimates in the book, 680 Golden Plover, 110 Bar-tailed Godwit, 55 Dunlin, a count of 4 Goosander, and a Little Egret, on the Marina I noted up to 50 Tufted Duck.

Cockersands Lighthouse Off Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

The ship having past the Cockersands lighthouse is as big - 'clik the pik' - as they come for Glasson Dock, a small port just around the river bend upstream from where I'm standing on Plover Scar when I got back to my birding after the return from Lancaster at high tide to find, 420 Oystercatcher, 70 Turnstone, 7 Dunlin, and 5 Redshank. A Kestrel inland was a welcome sight as wherever I go I'm not seeing many these days, also 10 Tree Sparrow and 2 Skylark to note. I had five butterfly sightings of 3 Red Admiral and two brief and distant which escaped ID. 

The Little Grebe and Spotted Redshank at Conder Green.

Little Grebe Phillip Tomkinson

I note a record of 16 Little Grebe seen at Conder Green last Sunday 20 October, this equals that of the same number I saw here on 18 October 2010 and the best count to date. I know of no other location in our recording area where so many Little Grebe congregate. Thanks to Phillip for the Little Grebe, not seasonal with the adult in breeding plumage and the young one having a lift, but a brilliant image.

Spotted Redshank. Geoff Gradwell. 

I've seen no Spotted Redshank at Conder Green since 15 October, but I note one recorded here on Thursday, both this and the Common Sandpiper have wintered here in recent consecutive years and are almost certain to do so again this winter. Thanks to Geoff for the excellent winter plumage adult Spotted Redshank.  

Death Chemical.

Still no birding for me since last Friday I'm afraid, so a little politics/conservation to fill the gap once again.

Guillemot Arkive 

There's some excellent news that the discharge of high-viscosity polyisobutylene (PIB) from ships during tank cleaning operations is to be banned. The classification of high-viscosity PIB's is to be changed to require full tank pre-wash and disposal of all residues at port and prohibit any discharge at sea. PIB was the chemical responsible for the deaths of over 4,000 seabirds on the south-west coast earlier this year, and thousands of people were shocked to hear about the worst marine pollution incident since the Torrey Canyon in the spring of 1967 when this was the worlds worst oil spill, and to date remains the UK's worst.

Of the 4,000 seabirds between February and April this year, most of the 18 species involved were Guillemot washed up on beaches from Cornwall to Dorset, most were dead, but some were alive and taken into care. The same substance of PIB was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of seabirds off the Dutch coast in 2010. 

And now for something much lighter and much more colourful, though they're both 'black'....

Black-eared Wheatear Ana Minguez 

The Black-eared Wheatear forms a species pair with the Pied Wheatear, and some individuals are inseparable. In spite of the fact that it breeds as close to Britain as southern France the Black-eared Wheatear is surprisingly rare here. A brilliant image of this bird....Thank You Ana. 

Black Redstart Noushka Dufort

A passage migrant and summer breeder, the Black Redstart was added to the British List when it was first recorded near London in 1829. Thanks for the excellent image of these youngsters Noushka. Photography at its best, as every one posted on Birds2blog testifies, you only have to 'clik the pik' to see why....But none of 'em are ever mine!

A Pallid Swift or Common Swift reported Wednesday from the Public Hide at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve at 1.40pm. Thanks to the RBA pager service for this information.  

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....Birding....what's birding!

Burning The Stubble!

Lapland Bunting Martin Lofgren 

On Friday last week Lapland Bunting were found at Cockersands which were later the cause of a brief discussion on a birding website I visit daily about the conduct of someone trampling through the stubble field in order to flush and get a more accurate 'picture' of the bird/s. Obviously there were those in defence of the action and those against it in the discussion. But my post isn't about whether or not 'burning the stubble' is good or bad, right or wrong, but is to highlight something I witnessed on the very same day two fields away from the Lapland Bunting/s and which went unnoticed by the entire world and was far more damaging to wildlife than trampling in a field for a small bird.  

Wood Pigeon Warren Baker 

I've seen this car - and others - parked up at Cockersands before, and as a consequence knew what was going on. Someone was in a ditch hidden from view and from the birds he was out to kill, I'm never surprised at the lengths these people will go to but this one was a first for me. This guy had placed three dummy Wood Pigeons well spaced out, I can only assume the dummies were fitted with a mechanical device, or perhaps filled with helium, they were rising and falling to create the impression of birds taking off and coming down in order to get the real thing to follow suit. In this instance if you're a Wood Pigeon these people are dangerously crazed and have warped minds, in my view they are at the other end of the spectrum of what's right and what's wrong when it comes to the welfare of our wildlife. No amount of trampling through a stubble field to find a bird can ever be regarded as a danger to the welfare of wildlife, unlike the 'sportsman' I watched for a few minutes who gets his kicks from blasting birds out the sky as a form of enjoyment....he killed a few Wood Pigeons whilst I was in the area. 

Meanwhile, the person two fields away looking for a small bird failed to do so on several occasions that I personally know of, and when he was successful simply put the bird to flight. I think there are issues for and against 'bush bashing' and 'stubble burning' when it comes to searching for birds, though not exactly life threatening like the actions of the guy from the Dark Ages.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....But no serious chance of doing so at the moment I'm afraid.

Missing Out!

In twitching language....'dipping'.

Collage of Lapland Bunting at Cockersands October 18. Copy Permitted. 

At 9.53am on Friday morning just as I was about to leave the house I received a text message to tell me of 3 Lapland Bunting at Cockersands. The first person I saw at Cockersands was my informant, soon followed by the farmer complete with tractor and slurry tank in the very field the birds were in, I decided to continue with my plan to visit Plover Scar at high tide. Some decision that was, it held 3 Oystercatcher and a Wheatear, it doesn't get any worse than this....does it? 

It was a lovely sight to see 29 Whopper Swan had pitched up in one of the Abbey Farm fields, the party included five juvenile. An hour later eleven Whooper Swan dropped into the field adjacent to Bank House Cottage, I assumed part of the earlier twenty nine, but they had gone thirty minutes later. Another hour later 41 Whooper Swan flew south west and landed on Cockerham Marsh, this group obviously included the initial twenty nine as the field at Abbey Farm where they had been seen was deserted by the time I got back there.

Other birds to note during a four hour stretch at Cockersands, for not much reward to be honest, c.80 Dunlin, 2 Grey Plover, 15 Eider, 5 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Great-crested Grebe - now there's a surprise - a Snipe, 4 Greenfinch, and a 'few' Tree Sparrow, 35 Pink-footed Geese came in off the sea and flew inland. 

The Lapland Bunting/s had apparently showed again just the once at 1.00pm - in my absence of course - so I suppose this is called a sort of....dip, dip, dip!

And finally....

Lesser Whitethroat Marc Heath 

Just a memory until next summer, but a brilliant image of the Lesser Whitethroat that I couldn't resist posting, with thanks to my man in Kent.