Briefly Post Meridian.

A bit of PM, with just time for a look in at Conder Pool, and a bit of time for some playing around to try for some piks at Cockersand. 

IP continues to monitor the goings on at Conder Green, and documents the inmates of the pontoon on Conder Pool with illustrations. His latest pictures show the intensity of the situation between the Common Terns and Oystercatchers, showing the male CT weighing up the young Oyks in his top pik, before attacking them in the bottom one....

Things can only worsen when the CT's hatchlings turn up on the scene.

Herring Gull Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

A small group of age assorted Herring Gull were with barely a total of 50 Ringed Plover and Dunlin on Plover Scar, whilst in the field behind me, five Stock Dove, 2 Reed Bunting singing, and Skylarks.

Reed Bunting. Pete Woodruff.

I always vowed I'd never combine photography with my birding. But I was quite pleased with this bit of improvised photography, the singing Reed Bunting was 1/3 mile away with a digi camera hand held to a zoom telescope lens.

In On The Action.

Plenty of action to entertain on Conder Pool yesterday.

Oystercatcher with young Conder Pool. Ian Pinkerton.

The three young Oystercatcher are now up and running, though not running very far, imprisoned in the confines of the pontoon for five more weeks and dependant on their parents to deliver the much needed food supply, unless they can jump up on to the frame, to dive off and swim to freedom. Oystercatcher chicks normally remain in the nest for only a couple of days after hatching, when they leave to follow the parent birds and collect their own food like the ones are able to do on the island in IP's pik above.

Grey Heron Conder Pool 4 June. Pete Woodruff.

Meanwhile the Common Tern is sitting tight in the pontoon, with much dive bombing at every thing that moves around them, the tern on the island was also sitting tight, that is until the dreaded Grey Heron turned up on the scene to get attacked by 2 Common Tern and a couple of Black headed Gull.

So the records on Conder Pool yesterday read....4 Common Tern, a Bar-tailed Godwit, two pair of Oystercatcher with young, 17 Tufted Duck, a Mallard female and six ducklings, the sick/injured Whooper Swan, and the result of an extended search was of 3 Little Ringed Plover adult, with much flying around and some display by one individual at the back of the pool. A Reed Bunting seen, a hovering Kestrel over the creeks, and an Orange Tip butterfly was the only one seen.

Banded Demoiselle Conder Green 4 June. Pete Woodruff.

Seven male Banded Demoiselle were upstream at on the quiet flowing river. This was my third sighting of this brilliant 'riverside butterfly', my first was one at this very spot on 28 July 2014, the second on the canal at Glasson Dock on 31 May. 

As Britain's commonest riverine species, it nevertheless excited me no end to see this creature on the River Conder again SD460588 UK Grid Ref Finder.

Six adult Common Tern reported at Conder Green yesterday per LDBWS.

B'dale....Part 3.

On a third visit to Barbondale, I found an excellent 10 Pied Flycatcher, it also gave me my first Spotted Flycatcher here which I saw from the gate into the plantation where I stood for several minutes to also see, 4 of the 10 Pied Flycatcher seen on the day, one of 4 Redstart, a Nuthatch, and heard the Garden Warbler singing again. 

Willow Warbler. Cliff Raby @ Fylde Coast Wildlife 

Singing Willow Warblers were resounding through the woods, 3 Dunnock were in pursuit zipping through the trees, a male Great-spotted Woodpecker seen, and a Dipper on Barbon Beck over which was a lone Swallow, notably seen as the only one on the visit, 2 Meadow Pipit, a singing Reed Bunting, Buzzard and kestrel. With the exception of a few Large White, a Small Heath was my first this year, and the only other butterfly seen....Thanks for the Willow Warbler Cliff.

Bull Beck.

Broad-bodied Chaser. Warren Baker.

I called in at Bull Beck on the way back to Lancaster. Along the path through the trees to the river, 2 Garden Warbler, and 2 Blackcap. I found a lone Little Ringed Plover on the shingle bank, with 55 Lesser Black-backed Gull loafing further upstream, a healthy looking uncounted colony of Sand Martin, and a Broad-bodied Chaser patrolling a shallow stagnant pool which it had to itself, with no competition to chase off.    

Missing.

Birds missing from my records at Barbondale include, Common Sandpiper not seen here for up to 10 years when I previously saw them breeding here, Whinchat not seen since 2015, no Wheatear, and no Stonechat.

Many thanks to Paul Foster for his Serin header.

A Little Pick Me Up!

Little Gull Conder Pool 30 May. Pete Woodruff.

Bird of the day was the Little Gull, a 1st year which was initially in the creeks, but later graced Conder Pool to claim a first record there. Another excellent record was 3 Pochard drake, as far as the number goes, another first for the pool. Also noted, 4 Common Tern, 3 Black-tailed Godwit and 17 Tufted Duck.

A wander produced 2 Reed Warbler, and a Sedge Warbler, all showing well in the reeds upstream, also a singing male Reed Bunting. From the coastal path, a Willow Warbler and Song Thrush, 2 Swift were over Glasson Dock. 

The Conder Common Terns.

There are now two pairs of breeding Common Tern on Conder Pool, with a second pair arrived on the pool last Saturday, both female are sitting, one on the original Tern Island.

Image. Ian Pinkerton. (Clik the pik)

In this photograph we can see a Common Tern has already taken a dislike to the Oystercatchers on the pontoon which now have three chicks. The Common Tern chicks will be next....then the fun really starts, though in reality it'll be anything but fun.

Cockersand....The Rebirth.

I made a comment to a birder just the other day, that Cockersand seems to have died a death, I've been putting far too much time in recently, and walked many a mile in the process for poor reward. But fear not, Cockersand has renewed its claim once again, of being at the forefront of local birding with 'goodies' seen in recent days. 

On Sunday an adult male Red-backed Shrike was found in the set aside area, the last one in our area was a juvenile at Sunderland Point on 2 September 2015.

Corn Bunting Simon Hawtin

Fifteen Corn Bunting found at Cockersand last Thursday, can't go recorded without a comment on the significance of the sighting. An excellent record, unprecedented in a double figure in our recording area. A species extinct as a breeding bird, at best an irregular summer visitor, and certainly not usually this far in the north of the area. I found just one Corn Bunting in all my Cockersand wanderings on 30 May 2015, and not since....Thanks for the image Simon.

Image. Martin Jump.

In this perfectly timed photograph, the trio of Lapwing in pursuit of the Grey Heron, being a serious threat to any young they might have had with them, appear to be in the path of a direct hit from the rear gunner....'clik the pik' for the full effect.

There are thoughts by some - including me - that this might well be an attack/defence strategy by the Grey Heron as opposed to pure coincidence that the Lapwings were in the wrong place at the wrong time. One birder who has seen this picture has claimed to have observed this behaviour before, to fend of the Lapwing attack on the bird.

A perfectly timed photograph, the thoughts that this looks like intended behaviour by the Grey Heron seems plausible to me....Thanks for the image Martin. 

A Bowland Bonus.

A rewarding visit to give Marshaw - Tower Lodge - Trough Bridge a good five hour bash and note 26 species, began by finding a Common Sandpiper at Marshaw, the only one seen, a few Swallow here were also on the 'only one seen' list today.

The beauty about this area in Bowland, is that you can have the Marshaw Wyre in view the length of the near 3 mile route from Marshaw until going back out on to the moor east of Trough Bridge. I hadn't gone very far when a bird dropping on to the stream to have me muttering Grey Wagtail to myself as I Iifted my binoculars, but I was wrong, it was a Crossbill drinking all too briefly before flying into a conifer then quickly moving on never to be seen again. A Dipper was seen flashing past me downstream, a total of 3 Grey Wagtail noted on the visit. Also included in the species count, up to 8 Willow Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 2 Mistle Thrush, Redpoll were heard calling in the plantation behind Tower Lodge and elsewhere, House Martin are breeding again this year with three nests at the lodge. Of the 3 Pied Flycatcher, and 3 Spotted Flycatcher seen, three and a male Siskin are accounted for below. 

Bonus Flycatcher.

It was great to find a male Pied Flycatcher, the bird turned out to be one of a pair nesting in a tree hole, by far much more rewarding than seeing them lured to a nest box a mile away.

Staking out for 45 minutes, I watched the male entering the hole obviously feeding a female sitting on eggs, she also came out to disappear briefly, before soon returning to take up her sitting again, this pair added to the male I had seen earlier at Tower Lodge. A Spotted Flycatcher also put in an appearance and added to the nesting pair seen earlier which were also at Tower Lodge, it was soon followed by a male Siskin....A decent worthwhile and rewarding stake-out.

Bowland Crossbills.

Crossbill Antonio Puigg

In 1997 there was an irruption of Crossbill, during which an amazing c.130 were seen at Tower Lodge on 27 June, but the status of the Crossbill in our recording area is that of a passage migrant, occasionally recorded from conifer plantations. Breeding record locations aren't published, but I did find one at an undisclosed location nearly 20 years ago in 1999, when a pair were seen with 3 young at a private plantation, and more up to date, three breeding records in 2015.  

This was my fourth record of Crossbill found in Bowland, and was a juvenile bird, previously I have found 6 including 2 juvenile on 16 June 2011, a lone male on 16 May 2012, and 8 on 7 July 2016, all these were seen in the Tower Lodge area.

Many thanks to Antonio for the juvenile Crossbill, and to Howard for the header image of the Goosander and four young currently at Conder Green.

Human Remains!

I was birding in Bowland yesterday....Brilliant.

But unfortunately I'm out of blogging time probably until Saturday. So Birds2blog is running late....nothing new there then. But some 'good stuff' wasn't the only thing I found in Bowland.

Seeing is believing. 

Welcome to Bowland Landfill.

Bring your waste to Bowland Landfill, and tip it there....It's Free. 

A Day In The Life Of....

....well, only five hours on Monday actually.

The Goosander. 

It was good that I finally caught up with the female Goosander with her 4 ducklings in the creeks at Conder Green, along with a female Mallard and her 5. A combined total of 9 ducklings from an absolute minimum of 17 between these two birds, an amazing 26 if they both had full broods which they probably rarely do, either way, some serious losses here then, 8 minimum loss, 17 maximum loss. I've so far found no breeding records of the Goosander anywhere near this area....a first. 

The pair of Common Tern and the Oystercatcher were loafing around - sitting on eggs in the case of the females - on the Conder Pool pontoon, appearing to totally ignore each other barely a half metre apart, also, 17 Tufted Duck, and 5 Greylag noted. A circuit produced, House Martins nest building at River Winds and the Cafe d' Lune, with 3 Swift over, 2 Sedge Warbler, a Song Thrush, an Orange Tip and Speckled Wood butterflies.

On Jeremy Lane, a Wheatear was looking lost and alone in a recently ploughed large field, a Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, a Skylark singing it's seemingly endless flight song, and 2 Buzzard together overhead one of which had up to four primaries missing.

Cockersand was hard work for the effort involved, best was a pair of Gadwall in the large ditch through the field, at least 60 Wood Pigeon were in two fields, 5 Stock Dove, 3 Sedge Warbler, and a pair of Dunnock on Slack Lane both had food in their bills, a Peacock was the only butterfly seen. Though I saw several Large White on the day....where are all the butterflies?

Common Tern. Ian Pinkerton. 

Ian continues to monitor the Conder Pool Common Tern, and apparently intends to do so to as much and as often as possible to the bitter end....'bitter' being the operative word I imagine.

Keep up the good work Ian.

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Lily Beetle. Pete Woodruff.

These Lily Beetles were in our garden yesterday, appropriately on the Lilies, they are a serious pest, having the habit of chewing Lily leaves and flower buds.

Larry The Cuckoo.

Cuckoo Stocks Reservoir May 2018. Paul Foster.

It was good to recieve this image of Larry the Cuckoo from Paul, the bird he found on 17 May in the Forest of Bowland. 

Quite amazing as, a) the bird arrived back in England in the early hours of the morning on 8 May, to the same area it was tagged, at Stocks Reservoir in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, in June 2015 as an adult male Cuckoo, b) this is the very bird Paul chose to sponsor, when he found it last Thursday he said....'I couldn't believe it when I saw the transmitter'....which is just visible in this shot.  

Great stuff Paul, you must have been really chuffed to find this bird....Thanks for sending me the image, much appreciated. 

You can follow through twelve pages of documentation, including a fascinating map which can be played to show routes this bird takes during the spectacular journeys it has made to Africa and back three times since June 2015 Here  

A Little Birding Magic.

On Friday I spent the best 3 hours birding I've had in ages, if only because I was at Barbondale at 7.30am on a beautiful sunny and calm morning, and had the place to myself for the entire visit, with just the brilliant ancient woodland, it's birds and their song for company....Magic.

What a difference a few days makes, compared to six birds seen on 2 May, five pairs of Pied Flycatcher were at Barbondale today. Also in my notes, 2 Redstart, one of which I watched being seen off by a male Pied Flycatcher, 2 Tree Pipit, 2 Dunnock, a Song Thrush, Willow Warblers were in ear shot the whole three hours, and a Garden Warbler was in full throttle just inside the plantation. A pair of Stonechat would have been one of the two pairs seen here 2 May.  Butterflies seen, a Green-veined White and 6 Orange Tip.

It was always the plan for me to then go to Newby Moor for the first visit here since 11 May 2017 when I found five Stonechat. On Friday I found none in a three hour search, 6 Meadow Pipit was a continuation of low counts I'm having on uplands this year, 2 Sedge Warbler, a Skylark, male Reed Bunting, 3 Linnet, a Buzzard, Kestrel, and just 17 Swallow in over three hours.  

By the River Wenning below Clapham Station, a singing male Blackcap, a Mistle Thrush, and 3 Orange Tip. Calling in at Bull Beck on the River Lune, primarily to see if I could find Little Ringed Plover on the shingle but did'nt, I did see a Common Sandpiper, and a good colony of uncounted Sand Martin.

Goosander at Conder Green.

I was pleased to see the report yesterday - LDBWS - of a female Goosander with four small ducklings at Conder Green, which seems to confirm a suspicion noted in my last post....'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'.

Swift at Kendal.

A decent number of at least 15 Swift were over central Kendal yesterday, seen from the River Kent where 5 Grey Wagtail and a drake Goosander also seen.

Thanks to Richard Pegler for his excellent Ring Ouzel header image.