Normal Service Resumed.

I was wrong....The other things in life didn't take over from my birding for the week as predicted, in fact they've gone away - I got rid of 'em - and yesterday normal service was resumed....Alleluia.

On Conder Pool, 27 Black-tailed Godwit were still hanging around as are the summering 2 Wigeon drakes, a 'few' Tufted Duck and even fewer Teal were also noted. 

Mallard Bob Bushell 

Two female Mallard had 22 ducklings, nine on Conder Pool, and thirteen downstream from the old railway bridge, with a nasty Grey Heron looking on.

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was pretty deserted, though as if to contradict that a mix of c.350 waders was broken down to 250 Bar-tailed Godwit and 100 Knot, 4 Eider noted.

At Cockersands high tide, an impressive c.3,500 waders on Plover Scar were seen as at least 2,500 Dunlin, and 1,000 Ringed Plover. I'm quite certain the Ringed Plover count here was an all time highest in my records. A total of 36 Eider seen were 24 off Plover Scar, and 12 off Crook Farm. 

Grey Partridge Brian Rafferty

Also to note on a 2.5 hour Cockersands trawl, 2 Grey Partridge which take the 'rarest bird I saw all day' award, 9 Wheatear, a good count of 12 Stock Dove, 3 Skylark, a Whitethroat, and good to see a Lapwing with three young, having chosen to nest in an 'unworked' field. There are good numbers of Swallow still moving through, and when I arrived back at the motor a Peregrine Falcon put to flight the wader mass I'd seen three hours earlier on Plover Scar before perching up on the lighthouse railings.

Stonechats.

 Stonechats Marc Heath

Had some regular and excellent news on the Stonechats at various upland locations from a contact who tells me of 4 pairs on Bradford Fell recently....sounds good to me.

Thanks to Bob for the Mallard, Brian for the Grey Partridge, and Marc for the Stonechats....Excellent images - even more excellent with a 'clik the pik' - and much appreciated.  

MMM Again.

Its good to see some forward movement on the MMM issue, and the House of Commons debated the 'UK policy on the protection of migratory birds in Malta' on Wednesday 7 May 2014....Well at least its a start, and a move in the right direction.

If you haven't already done so, you may be interested in reading Chris Packhams report on this HERE 

Ministers in attendance at the debate.

I wrote to my MEP and recieved the following reply.... 

Dear Mr Woodruff,

Thank you for your recent email regarding Malta and the European Wild Birds Directive.

This is an issue which has long been a concern for Labour Euro MPs and we have raised our concerns with the European Commission on several occasions. Personally I raised a parliamentary question to the Commission last year (details can be found at:http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+WQ+E-2013-004468+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=en)

My colleague Brian Simpson MEP also has written to Mr Clint Mario Borg, First Secretary at the High Commission of the Republic of Malta raising this matter and received the following response:

'Malta is fully committed that any possible future spring hunting derogations will be based on a rigorous assessment of the necessary scientific data and will be in line with the strict controls, enforcement and supervision required by the Birds Directive and enshrined in Maltese national legislation.

Malta remains committed to its increased efforts in order to ensure strict enforcement of the established rules. This commitment is clearly noted through the establishment of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, with in the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.

The main aim of this Unit is to deal with all aspects of sustainable hunting governance.

In October 2013, the Government implemented a legal reform with regard to the enforcement of illegal hunting, doubling the penalties for hunting offences. Malta's legal deterrent against illegal hunting offences may be considered to be amongst the harshest regimes in Europe'.

Bird hunting in Malta continues to be monitored by the Commission and raised with the Maltese authorities. However the European Parliament is currently on recess due to the European elections and therefore you would be best to raise your concerns on this issue directly with the European Commission at this time.

I am due to step down as an elected European MP following the European elections on 22 May and therefore I would recommend that you make contact with your newly elected European MPs for the North West region, following the elections, in order for the matter to be raised in the new parliamentary term.

Yours sincerely

Arlene McCarthy

Mr Borg's comment which I have highlighted regarding Malta's legal deterrent against illegal hunting is a bit rich don't you think.

Back Down To Earth.

It looks like the curse of other things in life has taken over my birding addiction once again, and to make matters worse it looks like lasting all this week. So my birding is set to be patchy and I'm going to be stuck with grabbing every opportunity I get - when I get it - to put in some time with the birds, which is what I did on Friday when I found myself 5 miles north of Lancaster with a little time on my hands, so off I went to take a look over the Eric Morecambe Complex at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve for a couple of hours, better than no birding at all and thankful for small mercies.

After Thursdays brilliant Woodchat Shrike experience, I think this mediocre report below is called....back down to earth. 

Sedge Warbler Martin Lofgren 

A Chiffchaff was in song when I pulled into the car park, and I heard my first Sedge Warbler from the path to the hide. I grabbed a brief look at a flight of c.40 Black-tailed Godwit which promptly dropped down out of sight at the back of the flood where I could just make out 2 Greenshank. Between this pool and the Allen Pool there are currently up to 70 Avocet with some first chicks hatched I'm told. Also noted was a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull in the midst of a large number of screaming breeding Black-headed Gull, 3 Pintail, 4 Gadwall, 4 Shoveler, and 2 Little Egret.  

House Martin Astland Photography 

A brief visit to the Lillian Hide was well worth it if only to watch at least 100 Swift hawking, with which I kept seeing a 'few' House Martin and Swallow.

High pressure on the cards mid-week, and amongst lots of other places I need to get to I have a few upland locations in mind. So here's hoping the curse of 'other things' buggers off.   

The Pipit, The Shrike, And The Dove.

 American Buff-bellied Pipit. Stuart Piner.

I appreciated a personal text message recieved last Sunday evening telling me of an American Buff-bellied Pipit at Cockersands, a MEGA find and a first for Lancashire. Unfortunately for those hoping to see the bird the following day they were to be disappointed as it was never found again.

The nominate race of Buff-bellied Pipit breeds from Greenland, across northern Canada, down the Rockies into the USA. It winters in southern USA and Central America. Until 28 years ago it was treated as conspecific with the Water Pipit.

In 1910 two ornithologists spent the autumn on St Kilda in the Western Isles and found 35 new species of birds to the island. In late September they were attracted by an unusual call amongst a flock of Meadow Pipits which proved to be the first Buff-bellied Pipit Anthus rubescens for Britain, though two previous claims from elsewhere were rejected. Ireland's only acceptable report was of a bird in County Wicklow in October 1967.

I'm grateful to SP for the images of Sundays bird at Cockersands.

Woodchat Shrike. Dan Haywood.

Could I ever have dreamt that four days later whilst on a prowl around the Aldcliffe Marsh area I would find my own rare vagrant in the form of a stunning male Woodchat Shrike, seen as the kind of sighting which goes to spur us all on in our pursuit of birds.

I recalled 28 August 1999 when I was with my much missed mentor John Leedal, watching Honey Buzzard in the Rusland Valley in the Lakes when news came of a Woodchat Shrike found in a hedgerow north of the Eric Morecambe Complex at Leighton Moss and JL and I became instant twitchers and went off to get good views of this bird, a juvenile and not half as attractive as the Aldcliffe male on Thursday. The LM bird stayed on all day here and was enjoyed by many visitors to the site.

A rare vagrant, though it was removed from the list of BBRC birds in 1990, by which time almost 700 had been recorded in Britain, and didn't include in excess of 60 birds recorded Ireland. The bird winters in a broad band south of the Sahara, and breeds across southern Europe, through the Balkans and Asia Minor into Iran.

The first acceptable record of the Woodchat Shrike was of a bird in Bradwell, Norfolk in 1829 which had been shot by a farmer who had the bird preserved and kept in his possession, the bird was recorded by the Paget brothers.

Turtle Dove. Howard Stockdale.

According to a report the following day whilst at the Woodchat Shrike location at Aldcliffe, another rare bird - the Turtle Dove - put in a brief appearance in flight, though no mention of this bird has been made since, it made up a trio of quality birds in our area of North Lancashire over five days. 

I'm grateful to Dan for the image of Thursdays Woodchat Shrike at Aldcliffe, and to Howard for the photograph of the Turtle Dove.

Shrike It Lucky!

I had dealt with some business in Lancaster by 12.15pm, but had to return there by 2.30. My best plan was to give Aldcliffe a couple of hours, a walk along the embankment, check the flood, and return via the path back to the depot at Keyline. 

I began to make my notes having heard a Blackcap and Chiffchaff both singing, a Song Thrush always a nice bird to see, and at Marsh Point a Whitethroat, male Reed Bunting, a Dunnock, and a distant Common Sandpiper along the edge of one of the smaller pools. I turn south to do the embankment trundle, a nice little Whinchat off here would have been nice. But never mind that, I've just lifted my bino's to take a good look through the stubble field from Dawson's Bank and the hedgerow running along the edge of it when....

 

Bank Pool From Dawson's Bank. Pete Woodruff.

....atop of this tree was a stunning male Woodchat Shrike waiting to be spotted and to send my passion for the birds through the roof once again.

Woodchat Shrike 8 May 2014. Joanne Bradley.

Thanks to Joanne Bradley for the much appreciated excellent image. 

Up And Down.

On Tuesday with my services needed to taxi a family member with a transport problem, the destination being Dolphinholme for 11.00am and collect at 2.00pm the obvious thing for me to do was to go into Bowland and dig around in some nooks and crannies off the beaten track for a couple of hours or so.

Garden Warbler Warren Baker

Nothing spectacular but I did find my first Garden Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher. I watched a Mistle Thrush feeding a fledged young, a Robin with a recently fledged young in tow, and saw up to 4 Song Thrush which included a pair also with a fledged young....The day of the fledged young, and very nice too. 

Treecreeper Phillip Tomkinson

I saw a Treecreeper doing what it does best - and as its name implies - creeping up a tree. I also found a perfect location for butterflies and saw my first 4 Comma of the year.

Returning to Lancaster with my 'unpaid' taxi fare, I went off for a brief visit to Conder Green to find c.75 Black-tailed Godwit in the creeks, with 2 Whimbrel on Conder Pool, being a first for the species on here in my records book, and a Whitethroat 'scratching' away loudly on the coastal path.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, c.225 waders gave excellent and reasonably close views, being 160 Bar-tailed Godwit, two of which were in stunning breeding plumage, 50 Knot, which also had four in their brilliant red breeding plumage, 12 Dunlin, and 3 Redshank.

An enjoyable couple of hours up to Bowland, then down to the coast for another hour. 

Thanks to Warren for the Garden Warbler, and to Phillip for the Treecreeper.

More BTG.

Virtually all wintering Black-tailed Godwits in Britain are of the race islandica, the population size of which is estimated to be 47,000, having increased over the past 100 years and showing no sign of levelling out.

There is a strong suggestion that individuals don't use fixed wintering sites or migration routes, born out by multiple sightings of birds ringed on autumn passage on the Wash and recovered at various seasons in Lancashire, together with further multiple sightings of colour ringed birds in Britain, Ireland, France, and Holland.  

Black-tailed Godwit. Martin Jump.

The Black-tailed Godwit has featured highly in my birding this spring. An amazing c.700 were on Conder Pool 17 April, and these and another 200 birds made the total up to at least 900 later the same day on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, good counts were also made around the same period at Cockersands.

On several occasions recently Conder Pool has offered the best of opportunities to get close to the Black-tailed Godwits from the viewing screen and easily read any ringed birds, and I've had the pleasure of finding five such birds with another find forwarded to me.

With the reliable and co-operative Böðvar in Iceland I have been forwarded some excellent histories of ringed birds, including two visiting Porto Alto, Lisboa, W.Portugal, and one visiting six different sites in France. 

Black-tailed Godwit. Martin Jump.

Ringed as chick 13.07.12 Bragholt, Road 811, Hjalteyri, Eyjafjordur, N Iceland.

GW-RY=Green over White ring left leg. Red ring over Yellow flag right leg. 

GW-RYflag 07.11.12 Warren Farm, Talacre, Flintshire, NE Wales.

GW-RYflag 29.03.13 Ladys Island Lake, Co. Wexford, S Ireland.

GW-RYflag 08.07.13 Marshside RSPB Reserve, Merseyside, NW England.

GW-RYflag 28.04.14 Glasson Dock, Lune Estuary, Lanc's, England. P Woodruff.

This bird could be my last one to be found ringed on the Lune Estuary this spring, my best ever for such sightings both in number and ringed birds. 

The two images above are of the Black-tailed Godwits at Newton Marsh, the bottom one of which illustrates a bird of the continental sub-species limosa which has bred in small numbers at Newton Marsh in the past, but egg collectors took clutches and the site was forced to be wardened against this and other forms of predation. Thanks to Martin Jump for the images. 

MMM.

Malta Montague's Murder....But for once I'll spare you one of my 'always justifiable' raging rants. 

Catching up with Chris Packhams visit to witness the Malta Migration Massacre season, I just watched Episode 4 of his video diary. 

If you've already seen this episode then you may as well close this page. If you haven't I ask you do so now if only to see for yourself the devastating effect of having to watch a Montague's Harrier euthanased had on Chris Packham because some Maltese Manic Maggot shot it for fun. 

To say the least I found it bloody hard going....he obviously did....and you will too.   

Sluggish.

....but we had lift off off eventually. 

I was actually going to give the title of this post 'Silent Spring', as I had decided to do the Skerton Bridge - Glasson Dock hike yesterday, and up to getting to the flood at Aldcliffe it was unbelievably just that....well at least 'Silent 2 May'.

Three Linnet and a Greenfinch took me by surprise on the salvaged stonework from the demolition boys on St Georges Quay, and a little further on I saw my first of 4 Whitethroat. But from there on I drew a blank save 2 Wren and the first of 10 Blackbird, most of which were in full song south to Glasson Dock. Then the job bucked up somewhat when I found 3 Little Ringed Plover on the flood and heard my first of 4 Blackcap, one of which was a 'harder to find' female just north of Conder Green.

Lesser Whitethroat Martin Lofgren 

Also to excite, I found my first Lesser Whitethroat which gave me excellent views as it rattled its way through the undergrowth. Along the way 4 Chiffchaff, and at Stodday I saw 2 Whimbrel briefly as they disappeared below the river bank, 2 Little Egret seen, and bringing up the rear, 10 Goldfinch and 2 Long-tailed Tit.

With less time to spare than usual at Conder Green I was able to note at least 75 Black-tailed Godwit feeding in the creeks. Two Coal Tit were on the coastal path, and hard to believe after 4.5 hours I heard the first and only Willow Warbler at Glasson Dock, last Mondays c.160 Bar-tailed Godwit were seen on the Lune Estuary from the bowling green.

Spring Blossom. Pete Woodruff.

There was some beautiful colours to be seen along the old railway route from Lancaster to Glasson Dock today.

And finally.... 

Ploughing Away. Pete Woodruff.  

Yes....if you look closely - 'clik the pik' - there's a Mr Farmer on his tractor in a stubble field yesterday, towing some sort of agricultural machine behind him, and turning young Lapwing chicks into pancakes whilst the adults fly around shrieking in terror....I wonder if he's ever thought of joining the Environmental Stewardship!! 

The Pilgrimage.

Good sunny, warm calm weather, an excellent location, and hopefully choice birds....it had to be my spring pilgrimage to Barbondale on Tuesday.

Cuckoo Marc Heath 

A few minutes here and my first bird was the Cuckoo which was distant at first but came nearer as the day progressed, though despite my efforts I never did see this bird. 

Whinchat Brian Rafferty 

Only a few minutes later and I could here a singing Whinchat, and a few more minutes after I saw what could have been a second bird, but too little time and distance between the sightings to be sure of two birds....the day was looking like being a good one.

A male and female Pied Flycatcher have returned to Barbondale, though they appeared to be unconnected and some considerable distance apart, the male was in full song. 

Female Redstart Simon Hawtin 

I had an excellent seven hours in the area including the brilliant ancient woodland, a walk up the Bull Pot track, and a wander a couple of miles to the east. Twenty two species were noted and included, five Redstart, two of which were females, 7 Wheatear, 2 Tree Pipit, 17 Meadow Pipit, 4 Reed Bunting, and a Grey Wagtail, a Raven and 2 Buzzard were overhead. I also unfortunately flushed a Tawny Owl from its daytime roost in the area I had seen the bird last year.

I also noted only a 'few' Willow Warbler heard/seen in an area I expected to be overrun with them. Of particular note I found no Stonechat, and saw no Dipper or Common Sandpiper, though the latter seems to have been absent from here for a few years now according to my records, it was too early for the Spotted Flycatcher.

The numbers at Barbondale will increase over the coming days/weeks, but from the start on Tuesday I was inspired to think my day was going to be a good day....and it was.

Thanks to Marc/Brian/Simon for the excellent photographs for this post.