Meagre Fare.

Don't usually express a days birding experience as meagre as none of it ever is, but Wednesday really did lack a bit of quality and quantity.

Both the Oystercatcher and Common Tern are now on eggs at Conder Pool. Also of note, 13 Black-tailed Godwit, only one of which was in stunning breeding plumage, 15 Tufted Duck, with 52 Mute Swan in the creeks. Three Whitethroat heard, and a female Goosander disappearing round the river bend out of sight upstream from the road bridge, try though I may, I was unable to find a viewpoint beyond the bend, it almost certainly had young with it....frustrating.

Dunlin Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, high tide Plover Scar held a pretty even mix of up to 300 Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A Lapwing had a chick in the field by Lighthouse Cottage which has now been ploughed, 3 Stock Dove and a Sedge Warbler seen. The Shoveler pair are still in the large ditch through the field at the Moss Lane/Slack Lane junction, but a bigger surprise was a drake Gadwall which accompanied them, my first ever at Cockersand and certainly never in a ditch.

Green-veined White. Warren Baker.

Two Green-veined White and an Orange Tip were my only butterflies. 

Game On!

Ian Pinkerton has taken it upon himself to monitor the pontoon on Conder Pool as often, and for as long as possible in a session.

Common Tern Conder Pool 16 May. Ian Pinkerton.

This year the Oystercatchers have beaten the Common Terns to the pontoon which have also decided to utilise it, and to make matters worse, in close proximity to the waders. It will be interesting to see how all this pans out, but take it from me, it could be ugly, fatal even for some. This image shows a CT attacking an Oyk at the beginnings of the outbreak of a tense period for what could well be a total of 10 adult/young birds in a confined space, and not prepared for tolerance.

Many thanks for the updates and images Ian, they are much appreciated, and will be by anyone interested in this years birds and what is about to unfold.

Common Tern & Non Breeders Conder Pool 16 May. Pete Woodruff.

Thirteen Months Later.

The last time I was on Clougha was 4 April 2017. There was a time when I would never had thought I'd be saying it was over 13 months since I last went up Clougha, and I had to search my records to see I never checked out the area last year for breeding Stonechat after the April visit. But yesterdays evidence suggests I missed nothing, as I came away empty handed after a three hour survey, and it looks like a second successive year of no Stonechat on Clougha....All a bit depressing.

It was 2hrs 45minutes after I left the car park on Rigg Lane that I found the first of 3 Stonechat on Birk Bank, a male at the west end, and a pair at the east end, so I reckon 2 pairs on here today.

Red Grouse Clougha 15 May. Pete Woodruff.

Fourteen species noted in six hours on Clougha/Birk Bank included, a lone Red Grouse which was the only one seen, and took me 1hr 30 minutes to find, 14 Meadow Pipit was a low count comparable to the recent equally low counts of 19 on Hawthornthwaite (West), and 11 on Hawthornthwaite (East) 18 April, and only 11 seen on Harrisend 8 May. Two singing Garden Warbler were seen as the best birds of the day, 13 Willow Warbler, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Tree Pipit, and a lone male Linnet. Raptors seen, 5 Buzzard, and 2 Kestrel one of which flew by me with small prey in it's talons.

Green Hairstreak Clougha 15 May. Pete Woodruff.

Butterflies seen, a lone Green Hairstreak, surely more, perhaps I wasn't trying, 7 Orange Tip including a male in pursuit of a female on the wing, probably up to 80 Large White, and a similar number of up to 80 Latticed Heath moths seen....Two visits to Birk Bank bog six hours apart saw it lifeless. 

Cockersand/Conder Green.

Cockersand.

Sandwich Tern Richard Pegler

Armed only with binoculars, I walked across Plover Scar out to the lighthouse to get a positive ID on 4 Sandwich Tern which were plunge diving and highly vocal with their loud grating 'kerrick' flight call, a pretty impressive display. 

A few Eider were off Plover Scar, 4 Wheatear along the headland, with 2 Sedge Warbler, a Whitethroat, and 3 Stock Dove seen.

The Lapwing.

Since I was at Cockersand a week ago, two large fields have been 'Lapwing trashed' keeping the population number down as is the annual tradition. The Lapwing is a species having suffered a 53% population decline over the past 25 years, and is something that could be addressed if more appropriate options were in place within agri-environment schemes.

Conder Green.

I got my first viewing of the pair of Common Tern which returned to Conder Pool on Tuesday via IP. All three hirundines were over the pool, probably up to 50 birds descending numerically, Swallow, Sand Martin, and at least one House Martin, of which c.15 were around River Winds/Cafe 'd Lune, with a Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting both singing upstream from the A588 road bridge. Also on Conder Pool, at least 8 Swift over, and 35 Black-tailed Godwit were accompanied by a lone Bar-tailed Godwit, they were on the Lune Estuary by the Conder mouth 30 minutes later.

Common Tern v's Oystercatcher.

War is about to break out on Conder Pool, and in-fighting to settle territorial rights and overcrowding has already been observed. If any attempt to breed takes place, tolerance by two species of birds aside, the pontoon won't/can't accommodate ten birds, two boxes, and two dummies. Perhaps the Common Terns will relocate elsewhere on the pool, the Oystercatchers certainly won't, she's already sitting on eggs having staked a claim to the pontoon.

Thanks to Cliff Raby for the Common Tern header image. 

Two Fells....Well Nearly!

Harrisend.

On Tuesday I made my first visit this year, and not for 8 months since 1 September 2017. I had given up on the Stonechats on Harrisend, but didn't realise it was to this extent. 

But there was little joy in the visit, but thankful for small mercies I found just one pair of Stonechat, they were initially atop of the lone Hawthorn. Also seen, 11 Meadow Pipit, at least 4 Willow Warbler, 4 Curlew, 3 Raven, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Red Grouse, 2 Swallow, and a Wheatear. Up to 8 Greylag came up over the ridge in ones and twos over a couple of hours, and flew off in all directions, though there are some upland breeding records, I have no idea from where. A kestrel and 3 Buzzard, one of which had missing primaries.

Latticed Heath. Harrisend Fell 8 May. Pete Woodruff.

The sun came out, and within 30 minutes had brought with it 12 Large White butterflies, also a Latticed Heath moth.

Hawthornthwaite.

The visit was thwarted and made brief by the weather, it came on to rain around 2.15pm. The forecast was for a shower in the afternoon, it was still raining four hours later at 6.15pm....so much for the shower! 

Wheatear. Hawthornthwaite Fell 8 May. Pete Woodruff.

Before the early retreat, 12 Sand Martin, 4 Meadow Pipit, 4 Red Grouse, a Wheatear, and a very vocal Wren. 

As a big surprise, I saw a Peregrine Falcon on the day, like other raptor species in Bowland, they have been 'driven' - that's me being polite - to extinction. I have appropriately reported the bird. 

First Records.

A Kestrel hovering before flying off, my first ever over the residential area of Bowerham, if not my first ever in urban Lancaster, also 3 Swift over the same Bowerham area.

Friday Birds....

....a Sunday wander, and an excellent Monday arrival.

Excitement level on Conder Pool on Friday was almost non existent, with 12 Tufted Duck, 21 Mute Swan, and several noisy kip-kip-kip'ing Oystercatcher as good as it got. Three Sedge Warbler were in the reeds upstream from the road bridge, a House Martin seen attending to nest building at River Winds, a lone Black-tailed Godwit in full summer plumage was in the channel below the iron bridge, and a Kestrel seen. Twelve Eider were on the Lune Estuary, and 5 Wheatear were again in a ploughed field on Jeremy Lane.

The best bit to come out of Cockersand was the sight of 5 Lapwing chicks recently out of the nest. I also found c.120 Linnet again, with the Shoveler pair still in the flooded field opposite.

Whimbrel. Pete Woodruff.

Thee Whimbrel were driven close in by the tide on Plover Scar, which also held up to 350 Dunlin and 60 Ringed Plover. Elsewhere, 4 Wheatear and 3 White Wagtail, with a Sedge Warbler singing in the roadside reeds, I also saw 11 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the day.

The Sunday Wander.

A pleasant wander with KT over Heysham Barrows produced, 5 Whitethroat, a Wheatear, and 2 Song Thrush being the sighting with more value than the migrants. In the woodland, 2 Chiffchaff and a Jay.

Many thanks to Antonio for the stunning Black-necked Grebe header image. As a scarce visitor to Lancashire, mostly in spring and autumn, one was found on Kincraig Lake, Blackpool last Friday, and is still present there today. 

The Monday Arrival.

I just received a text to tell of 2 COMMON TERN on Conder Pool 9.45am this Monday morning, one day earlier than last years arrival of 8 May....Many Thanks to IP. 

Birding On The Edge....

....the edge of winter.

It was more like the beginning of March than May when I made my first visit of the year to Barbondale on Wednesday. Dull with a cold wind, but nothing dull about finding 6 Pied Flycatcher, all mobile and behaving like there was no intention of breeding just yet. In fact I had sightings of nine birds over a period of time, including at one point, two males on the same branch with less than a metre between them. But with lengthy observations, I regarded six birds seen as three pairs.

The 4 Stonechat I found take top spot from the Pied Flycatchers for me, they were seen as two pair. The place held a good number of Willow Warbler, singing within earshot pretty much all the time I was there. I heard up to 6 Redstart, but saw not a single one, 4 Tree Pipit, 2 Wheatear, 2 Mistle Thrush, and of the 3 Nuthatch seen, there was some interaction between two of them. A stunning male Grey Wagtail was on Barbon Beck, where up to 6 Swallow were flying up and down.

Quite a good number of Chaffinch were notable in the area, and 3 Small White butterflies were seen on a day when the weather had me thinking it unlikely.

The Barbondale Stonechat.

When I first started to visit Barbondale a 'few' years ago, if the Stonechats were ever present there I certainly never saw them. But I did begin to find them, eventually in double figures, for example....13 including juveniles on 15 August 2005, and 19 including juveniles on 24 August 2006. Since then numbers fell away to nothing as had been the case historically, until - with the exception of a lone male on 7 May 2015 - today's was the first multiple sighting here since I saw a pair six years ago on 29 May 2012.

Stonechat. Ana Minguez @ Naturanafotos

Nothing short of a brilliant record in my book. Hopefully signs of a come back for the Stonechat at Barbondale, and certainly warrants another excellent image on Birds2blog....Thanks Ana.

Warblers, Wheatears & Others.

The Warblers. 

Of the 2 Whitethroat seen on Monday, one showed well on the coastal path at Conder Green, with one singing on Jeremy Lane. A Sedge Warbler sang briefly in the roadside reeds at Cockersand, as did a Blackcap, Chiffchaff, and Willow Warbler in the wooded area around Christ Church at Glasson Dock.

The Wheatears.

Of 10 Wheatear seen, I had to sweep two adjacent fields recently turned to soil on Jeremy Lane, to find eight all over the place, two were later on Slack Lane at Cockersand. 

The Others.

Two Goldeneye have stayed behind on Conder Pool. Eight Eider were the only birds to note on the Lune Estuary at Glasson where I saw a Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. Up to 20 Sand Martin were over the canal basin. At Cockersand, c.450 Dunlin and 50 Ringed Plover were on Plover Scar at high tide. A single House Martin flew through, I saw no more than 12 Linnet here today compared to two recent sightings of 120/140, and the Shoveler pair were still on the flood.

The 32 Swallow seen by me today, represents barely 70 seen in four consecutive birding days, and has you wondering if this is just a delay to the spring migration, with an avalanche due anytime soon.

Butterflies.

Chances of butterflies were minimal, but 3 Large White, a Small Tortoiseshell, and Orange Tip seen. A Speckled Wood in the garden was my first this year.

The Common Tern.

If the Conder Green Common Tern are on time for matching last years date, they are due at Conder Pool in six days on 8 May.

Common Tern Conder Pool. 20 June 2017.

In which case I hope we can enjoy a sight like this in June maybe.

Positive & Negative.

I managed three firsts on the migrant scene, all at Conder Green on Thursday, a lone Swift and a singing Whitethroat, with 2 Whimbrel on Conder Pool. 

Conder Pool was quite lively, showing 2 Common Sandpiper, a Greenshank, a Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Goldeneye, 8 Tufted Duck, a drake Goosander, 28 Redshank, and a single Linnet. 

A Turnstone was on the Lune Estuary, only seen here occasionally, it was with a small group of Redshank and Dunlin feeding close by off the bowling green. Ten Eider were all hauled out, with a pair of Red-breasted Merganser and a Great-crested Grebe noted. Around 20 Sand Martin were over the canal basin, and 2 Golden Plover were hunkered down in a field off Jeremy Lane.

It was pretty grim along the headland at Cockersand, cloudy, dull, with a howler, but at least 2,000 Dunlin and a few Ringed Plover seen feeding the length between Plover Scar and Crook Farm. Two flocks of c.30/90 Linnet seen at Bank Houses and Lighthouse Cottage areas, and a Buzzard over fields.

The Negative.

Where are all the Swallows?....I saw no more than 10 Swallow today, and have logged no more than 36 in total over the past four birding days/20 hours. On Friday Swallows were reported at Portland Bird Obs in their highest number so far this spring, including 800 over Chesil in 20 minutes, yesterday the Swallow got no mention in the Portland report.

The Mistle Thrush. 

Found last Monday 23 April, a Mistle Thrush on the nest in the fork of a Silver Birch and photographed 26 April.  

I was cut up when I viewed this shot on the computer. I had no idea at the time, that whilst I fumbled taking pictures, the male had visited the nest, and I had lost the opportunity of a pretty good image of both birds with what could well be a worm in the visitors bill just off centre top of image....with the birds head chopped off.

D For Disaster.

Well, not really a disaster, that's just me being as dramatic as I can.  

I rarely gamble with the weather if I'm planning some birding, but on Tuesday I did just that and lost the gamble big time. Setting out on the coastal path route from Lancaster to Glasson Dock, only for it to be raining - and windy with it - within 30 minutes of the start at Aldcliffe, and was still doing so in the evening 8 hours later. 

As a result of all this, the birds stayed at home, which is what I should have done, but remarkably some birds did sing in the wet and windy gloom as I went on my way, and 6 Chiffchaff and 4 Blackcap did. The only bird I saw of any note on Freeman's Pools was a lone Goldeneye, 2 Jay were on the edge of Freeman's Wood, I don't recall the last time I saw two together if I ever did, and I counted 14 Blackbird along the way.

When I arrived at Glasson Dock, up to 40 Sand Martin were hawking over the canal basin as I clambered not a little soggy onto the bus for Lancaster.

Butterfly Revival 

I saw a butterfly on the wing on Tuesday, too brief to identify for certain, though I reckon a Peacock. If the weather continues at this time of the year and into the summer months as it did in 2017, the butterfly revival will again be in jeopardy.

The butterfly revival was dashed by wet and gloomy weather in 2017. Even though butterfly numbers were up on 2016, which was the fourth worst year on record, two declining species, the Grizzled Skipper and Grayling both had their worst ever year in 2017, recording their lowest numbers since records began. 

But it isn't just the butterflies....The once common Garden Tiger moth has seen it's number fall by a staggering 92% since the late 1960's, and many other moth species are struggling.

If your interest is such, you can read more results of a study of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme Here