Wrong Time Wrong Day....Again!

My third visit in three weeks to Birk Bank, proved conclusively that I'm out of luck when it comes to getting it right regarding the weather. 

Leaving home on Thursday, I was encouraged with some sun and the hope of improvement as the day progressed, but little more than 15 minutes later, on arrival at Birk Bank the grey clouds rolled in, and the wind was no better than chilly. I reckoned I was on a loser again, and with no improvement in the weather, for the whole time spent here I was proved right.

The yellow flowers of the Bog Asphodel have now turned to their orange fruiting colour.

Birk Bank Bog 20 July. Pete Woodruff.

I paid two visits three hours apart to the bog, and given the poor conditions, considered myself fortunate to find one male Keeled Skimmer, a male Common Darter, and the surprising bonus of a Golden-ringed Dragonfly. 

One Keeled Skimmer is the total over the three visits here, and I can only assume the weather conditions are responsible, blistering heat for three weeks, followed by wet and windy for three more weeks, can't be good news for Odonata.

Although Birk Bank didn't look anything like it should do on 20 July, I made a three hour trek around the area. Three Stonechat were seen as a lone female and later on the west side of Ottergear Bridge a pair. A Jay was something of a surprise, 2 Buzzard and 3 Raven were overhead, and a hovering Kestrel were as good as it got. 

On the day before I was at Birk Bank, Ian Mitchell had better luck than me, when he found Purple Hairstreak again in the Oaks by Ottergear Bridge. 

Purple Hairstreak Birk Bank 19 July. Ian Mitchell.

Wherever there are Oak, the Purple Hairstreak can be found mainly in the canopy. In some areas in the south, even one Oak tree can support a colony, though they can be easily be overlooked when searching for their food source of honeydew. The better chance of seeing this butterfly is in the evening of warm summer days.

Birk Bank Bog.  

Out of interest, Ian made a couple of pH water tests on the bog at Birk Bank, and found both samples returned a score of 6. I was as surprised as Ian by the reading, thinking it would be more than 'slightly acidic'. Water in the home is regarded as fit for drinking at a score of between 6.5 and 8.5! 

Ruddy Darter.

A male Ruddy Darter was found yesterday at Saltcote Pond near Glasson Dock. My take on this discovery is open to challenge on statistics, but this is what I can say with the most up to date data from 2015.

The Ruddy Darter Sympetrum sanguineous is one of the rarest of our areas breeding dragonfly species, second only to the Golden-ringed Dragonfly Cordulegaster boltonii, a statistic I would personally be inclined to doubt, but that's another issue. The Ruddy Darter requires still waters for breeding, alongside another of Lancashire's least widespread breeders, the Emerald Damselfly Lestes sponsa. 

The number of probable/proven breeding sites is no more than a mid-single figure and includes Heysham and Middleton Nature Reserves, and Bank Well at Silverdale, from where a worrying event took place following the last record of Ruddy Darter in 2011, when it was suggested that the introduction of Goldfish into the site, may have had a detrimental effect on the dragonfly fauna there.

As far as abundance of Ruddy Darter is concerned in our immediate local area of Lancashire, just two sites can claim to have had double figures counts, those at Middleton and Bank Well, with 12 at the former in August 1999, and 10 at the latter in 2010.

Ref:The Dragonflies of Lancashire and North Merseyside.

So a Ruddy Darter at Saltcote Pond on 20 July 2023 is excellent news for our area....Well done Martin Jump, and congratulations. 

Life On The Pool.

Conder Pool.

There was probably 400 birds on Conder Pool when I arrived there on Monday, at least 50% were 250 Redshank, with a large male Ruff in near black summer plumage, also 12 Greenshank, c.30 Dunlin, and a solitary Black-tailed Godwit.

A count of 24 Common Tern represents a good breeding season this year, which I don't have details for. Nine chicks were on the pontoon and six fledged birds seen on the wing, and at least 10 adult including birds seen as I walked the coastal path back and forth to the Lune Estuary with fish.

Avocet CA enjoys some new found independence

Nine adult Avocet, with seven fledged and three young still to do so, also a pair in the creeks with at least one young. I had three sightings of an adult Little Ringed Plover, probably the same bird which chased a Common Sandpiper around the pool for several minutes. I've never seen this behaviour by a LRP towards another small wader before. Two Little Grebe and 2 Stock Dove, a Kingfisher put in an appearance perching briefly on the outlet.

Coastal Path.

Gatekeeper male. Pete Woodruff.

By way of a change at least 40 butterflies seen, 24 Large White, 9 Gatekeeper were within a few metres of each other, 4 Red Admiral, a Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown.

Saltcote Pond.

Painted Lady. Pete Woodruff. 

A nice pristine Painted Lady was here, with a lone Emperor Dragonfly male on patrol, also a male Common Darter, and a Common Blue Damselfly.

Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper. Pete Woodruff.

When I took this photograph I thought it was of a pair of Gatekeeper. But viewing the image on my computer, whilst it had brighter orange areas on its wings than the male on the right, it should have lacked the sex brand but didn't....So did I find a coloured variant Gatekeeper?

Being I had a better day for butterflies this year so far, I thought it appropriate for the header image of a Small Skipper....Credit and Thanks to Martin Jump.

The Dead Duck!

Excuse the pun title, an American slang used politically in the mid 19 century and basically meaning useless....Rings true in the early 21st century, but politics and religion are barred on B2B.

My last two visits to Birk Bank have been almost useless, but truth is, there are never useless birding days, and Thursdays certainly wasn't one. 

Keeled Skimmer Birk Bank 13 July

I had to try for a video of the male Keeled Skimmer because it was the only dragonfly I saw on the day at Birk Bank or anywhere else, and was the only one seen on my previous visit there on 5 July. If this isn't related to the cloudy and breezy weather, then the hot dry conditions of late have had an impact on odonata....Nothing serious I hope!

Towards the end of the video, the Keeled Skimmer sharply lifts its head and opens its mouth....Quite a gape!

There was no sign of life when I went to Cragg Wood to find zilch on the River Conder. On my return to do a double check at the bog, I met Ian Mitchell who told me he had seen just the one male Keeled Skimmer I had found three hours earlier. In our conversation I told Ian I had found 2 Purple Hairstreak in the Oaks east of Ottergear Bridge. When we parted, Ian said he would take a look in the hope of finding a butterfly he had never seen before....There is evidence that he was successful with his brilliant header image of the Purple Hairstreak.

Common Carder Bee/Cuckoo Bee. Pete Woodruff.

At Birk Bank, a Common Carder Bee, and a faded male Cuckoo Bee which I am unable to identify to species.

Sundew Birk Bank 13 July. Pete Woodruff.

And on the bog, after finding Sundew there in August last year, I found more again on Thursday, this time two plants seen. This plant is noted to be in need of protection. 

Garden Hovers.

Some sunny weather brought hoverfly and a leaf cutter bee of interest into our garden, to keep me entertained and to photograph them with their elaborate scientific names.

Eupeodes corollae on California Poppy

Eupeodes latifasciatus on Chicory

Eristalis arbustorum on Shasta Daisy

Xanthogramma pedissequum on Willow

Eupeodes corollae (right) with Megachile centuncularis (leaf cutter bee) on Elecampane

The Golden Dragon.

No....not the best place for a jar on Saturday night, but the four best places to find my all time best count of 18 Golden-ringed Dragonfly on a five hour stint in Bowland. The top spot award as usual goes to Grisedale Brook, where in one hour Martin Jump and myself, taking into account the risk of duplication, found at least 11 Golden-ringed Dragonfly. 

Though the species doesn't sharply decline until late July, it was a little surprising to find a Large Red Damselfly hanging on vegetation. It was interesting that a single House Martin flew through, also in the air, a Buzzard and 5 Raven were thought to be family group.

Stonechat Grisedale Bridge. Martin Jump.

Four Stonechat were seen as a male and female with two juvenile. There are a few Willow Warbler breeding in the area, also a few Goldfinch, a Reed Bunting, and a Grey Wagtail was on the brook.

Butterflies continue to be seen in low numbers, today at Grisedale Bridge they just nudged into a double figure, Small Heath, Meadow Brown, Large Skipper, Small Skipper, and 2 Red Admiral seen.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Martin Jump.

Cam Brow was the next port of call, where a walk the length of Cam Brook towards Hawthornthwaite, found 4 Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Apart from a couple of Sand Martin still attending nests, the only other bird of note was a female Redpoll, though a small number distant in flight were almost certainly the same finches, 2 Red Admiral were seen.

An hour to get the feel of what it was like to be on Hawthornthwaite on such a pleasant day, turned up another Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and another Large Red Damselfly. I got a glimpse of just one Sand Martin here, 10 Meadow Pipit, and thinking it was looking like a chat'less visit, a lone female Stonechat put in a brief appearance before flying off.

Emperor Dragonfly Catshaw 7 July 

To the east of the plantation at Catshaw, on a small pond which is always worth keeping an eye on, I found an Anax imperator. The sighting confirms my record of an Emperor Dragonfly on Hawthornthwaite on 27 July 2022, a species that is regarded as absent in the uplands.

I needed to check a couple of things today, and on my way back to Lancaster, I called in on the River Conder at Cragg Wood, and found 2 Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and on the west and east side of Ottergear Bridge, I found 8 Stonechat, two females with young and not a male in sight, so well pleased to have found another two breeding records for Birk Bank.

Thanks to Martin Jump for sharing his images and an excellent day with me in Bowland. Also thanks to Ian Mitchell for another of his amazing aerobatics images on Conder Pool. I've never seen behavior of the Common Tern like this before, presumably a territorial battle. 

Conder Pool....A Personal Perspective.

Over the past two years, I've changed direction during the summer months to pay more attention to dragonflies. The change has resulted in my finding what I regard as the best site/s to see good numbers of the Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and the best site to see an expanding colony of Keeled Skimmer.

This change gives the appearance that I've turned my back on Conder Pool, but actually this is not literally true. But what is true, is that I have partially lost contact with a site that has given me endless enjoyment and many rewards over the years, a few examples include a White Winged-Black Tern in August 2003, a Black-necked Grebe 5 years later in August 2008, the following month  I found a Common Scoter in October 2008, and two months later, the first Common Sandpiper to winter here in November 2008, through to a Wood Sandpiper being found 9 years later in August 2017.....So I'm 6 years overdue my next goodie on Conder Pool! 

Conder Pool August 2017

Conder Pool doesn't quite look the same today as it did during management work 6 years ago in 2017.  

My last post highlighted a large new raft which is in place today and held 10 adult Common Tern including 5 sitting female, and 9 chicks. This number of Common Tern, and others not seen in my observations, represents an ever increasing colony of a species that bred in large numbers on the Lune Estuary saltmarshes, until it collapsed in 2008. A combination of factors was the cause of the collapse, natural predation and erosion of the marshes was always going to be a problem, but not least due to human recreational disturbance which was unnatural, unnecessary, and avoidable.

The Common Tern present on Conder Pool today in 2023, represent a mere fraction of this former estuary colony, but the hope is that all this will change over time. There are some credits due to this, funding by Natural England, the RSPB, and the Environment Agency, have all contributed to this project going forward. Credit has also to be paid to volunteers from the Fylde Bird Club who gave their time freely, also to management and staff at Glasson Marina who have been instrumental in making the project work, supplying salvaged marine pontoons, floats and timbers. 

In my opinion, a special thanks should also go to Howard Stockdale, who spends many hours in a week monitoring activity, data collecting for the RSPB, and assisting Ian Hartley (BTO), who does sterling work including ringing the Common Tern and Avocet. 

Little Ringed Plover With 2 Chicks Conder Pool 2 July. Howard Stockdale.

Conder Pool has been a large chunk of my birding over many years, and it's my hope that, through all the funding and labouring by the people involved in this project, Conder Pool is rewarded by a successful return to the former glory of yesteryear regarding a delightful and elegant bird that is the Common Tern.

When I see the recently fledged Common Tern in my header image, I find it exciting and rewarding enough that the colony is slowly being successfully increased to it's former glory by this individual.

Update.

As of yesterday, there is the grand total of 14 Common Tern nests, all active on Conder Pool. The latest I have on the Avocet, 6 are fledged of which 5 are colour marked, 2 more are still to fledge, and 2 are two weeks old.

Out Without Pants On!

Birding without optics, are you serious!

It wasn't until I got to Conder Green, that I realised I had left my binoculars at home....Might as well have been out with no pants on.

The Birds.

As far as the Common Tern and the new raft is concerned, I counted 10 adult, five of which are sitting female, and 3 broods of 9 chicks.

On the very low water level at Conder Pool, four Mediterranean Gull including a 1st summer....You might need to be determined to see it in the video. 

I have no idea of the current situation re the Little Ringed Plover, the last I heard 13 June, was one pair had lost three chicks, but were back on eggs again, and a second pair had produced one chick. The only bird I saw this visit, was a lone adult.

Having no intention of counting the Avocet, I reckon up to 14 adult present, with fledged and marked birds, young and a single chick, including a pair with two young in the creeks having walked across the busy B5290 to get there again this year. Also in the creeks - it must be the end of June - I saw 8 Common Sandpiper, 12 Black-tailed Godwit, and an adult Greenshank in breeding plumage....I set off to do a circuit to Glasson Dock, and back to Conder Green via the canal.

There are possibly three active House Martin nests at Crossing Cottage? - in an earlier life was once a cafe - whilst I saw no activity at Rivers Winds which appears to join Tower Lodge as being the first year to have no breeding House Martin.

From the canal towpath, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Chiffchaff.

The Butterflies.

At least by way of a change, the day produced 18 butterflies, with 8 Ringlet, 7 Large Skipper, 2 Red Admiral and a Gatekeeper. But the best was to come when I got to Glasson and saw a butterfly on the grasses. I went to grab a shot and found it to be a White-letter Hairstreak.

White-letter Hairstreak. Pete Woodruff.

My sighting carries the claim of being the first White-letter Hairstreak to be recorded this year on the Lancashire Branch of Butterfly Conservation.

The Dragonflies.

On Saltcote Pond, a Broad-bodied Chaser was egg laying, with Common Blue Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Emperor Dragonfly and Brown Hawker seen.

Along the canal towpath to Conder Green, 4 Emperor Dragonfly female including ovipositing, and 2 Brown Hawker.

A first experience for me, and perhaps the ovipositing Emperor Dragonfly, which had a lucky escape from the clutches of something under the surface, presumably a fish was the predator.

Please Note.

The figures regarding the Common Tern on the new raft are generated from personal observations and footage on Thursday 29 June, and therefore do not reflect the official number of Common Tern adults/juveniles/and chicks currently present on Conder Pool. Also, following a conversation, my claim of no House Martin at River Winds may prove to be incorrect, as two nests were reported there recently. However, based on no evidence found or seen by myself, my comments stand until my next visit to Conder Green.

Thanks to Howard Stockdale for the excellent header image of the juvenile Common Tern, the first to fledge from the best colony ever on Conder Pool this year.

Positive And Overloaded!

There's some positivity in this post, and it's difficult to know were to start, but this being Birds2blog, it has to be with the Stonechat.

Stonechat Young. Howard Stockdale.

To date I have collated some encouraging breeding records, 10 of which are confirmed, and 26 probable, not all of which are in our recording area, but of little distance outside, and some of which are at lowland locations not previously known to me as breeding sites.

Martin Jump has paid multiple visits to the Cam Brow colony, and has concluded there are up to 10 active nests and as many as 30 Sand Martin in the air at any one time. More interest from Martin was, a peer over the wall into the field opposite the plantation on the Catshaw track, he counted up to 50 Curlew feeding together as a flock. 

Windswept Female Stonechat. Martin Jump.

Martin also collected a record of Stonechat at Grisedale Bridge, where he suspects the female is sitting on a second brood....Excellent stuff.

Bilberry Bumblebee. Pete Woodruff.

It was satisfying to see an e-mail informing me that the Birk Bank/Clougha Bilberry Bumblebee records had been accepted. I'm grateful to Ian Mitchell and Ben Hargreaves for records and acceptance respectively....Scarce in Cumbria

A report from Conder Pool yesterday, claims 13 Mediterranean Gull of three age groups, 22 Common Tern including 8 chicks, and 14 Avocet including 4 juvenile....LDBWS Sightings

Ian Michell captured Blue Flag CJ....

....and a record shot of three juvenile Avocet, all marked and currently on Conder Pool.

I'm grateful to everyone who has contributed to this post - their names are appropriately credited - and to Ian Mitchell for his stunning header image of the amazingly aerobatic Common Terns.

Red Turns Gold!

Handsomely rewarded for a visit to a couple of my Bowland hot spots, namely Grisedale Bridge where mutt-minders abound, and Cam Brow, where at this time of year, sun worshipers flock....there's the pun!

The nicest surprise was, despite drawing a blank on two previous visits to Grisedale Bridge 29 April and 13 May, this time I found a male Redstart exactly one month later on 13 June, in precisely the same location it had been the two previous years.

But the Redstart which previously prospected the Ash, and the Nuthatch previously nested, haven't chosen to do so in  this year.

The bigger surprise was, in one hour downstream from Grisedale Bridge to Holme Wood, I counted 12 Golden Ringed Dragonfly which included accounting for duplication. This record equaled my count of 12 on 11 July 2022. I also noted 3 Small Heath, and as I arrived back at the motor, a male Stonechat greeted me atop of Gorse.

Young Sand Martin can be seen in the video at the left hand nest.

A wander along the side of Cam Brook from Cam Brow to the Hawthornthwaite Fell track, Sand Martin were at the colony, where no more than four nest holes were active, 2 Golden Ringed Dragonfly and a Common Hawker were seen over Cam Brook.

Hawthornthwaite Fell. Pete Woodruff.

An hour on the fell track drew a blank for Stonechat, but definitely not the sheep. The c.14 Sand Martin colony were in the air up and down the brook, with 4 Meadow Pipit one carrying food, and 2 Small Heath noted. A Kestrel here was the only Bowland raptor seen all day.

Garden & Fairfield.

It was good to see our resident Blackbird had introduced an offspring into the garden yesterday, and was showing the Starlings some aggression. Also a young Dunnock seen and being fed by the parent....There is a colony of up to 30 Swift present and breeding in the Fairfield area of Lancaster.

Birk Bank.

Keeled Skimmer Pair. Ian Mitchell.

From the ever reliable Andrew Cornall. On Friday, 12 Keeled Skimmer, 8 male/4 female, including pairing and egg laying. This is an all time highest count on Birk Bank Bog. Well done Andrew....Rock On!

Conder Pool.

Mediterranean Gull 17 June. Howard Stockdale.

An adult and 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull were present yesterday morning on Conder Pool with thoughts of breeding....apparently not, they soon departed, but four were present at one point.

Thanks to Martin Jump for the Golden Ringed Dragonfly header image. 

Hit & Miss!

More misses that hits on my latest visit to Bowland, which causes more than a little disappointment. But the day started off in good style when I found a Spotted Flycatcher in the small dense and dark plantation at Marshaw, which is where I had also found a male Pied Flycatcher on 25 May, but that bird decided not to hang around there, and hasn't been seen since.

In a list of priority birds around the Tower Lodge area, I found these hard to come by today....

Pied Flycatcher.

I concluded these birds had already dispersed, so no activity around the nest boxes, with the exception of one which was being attended by both adults. But with some combined records from Andrew Cornall and John & Kath Darbyshire, the conclusion was, 4 pairs of Pied Flycatcher have bred here this year.

Watch for the young putting in a brief appearance at the nest hole in the video.

Spotted Flycatcher.

It was by far my worst ever productive visit to this area, having only located the one bird in the planation at Marshaw, and none seen thereafter. But again, the combined records indicate that up to 5 breeding pairs are currently present in the area this year.

Common Sandpiper.

With 5 Common Sandpiper seen today - including an adult calling to a juvenile seen at Marshaw - and others known to be present, I'm confident to record there are up to 5 breeding pairs along the length of the Marshaw Wyre Marshaw - Trough Bridge.

Grey Wagtail.

The best count of my three visits here, was of 8 Grey Wagtail with no idea of breeding successes to date.

Dipper.

Big disappointment with no sightings today, but my records read, possibly 3 pairs have bred here this year. And the question is, are there any 2nd broods to come?

House Martin.

The House Martin breeds at Tower Lodge annually, but there's bad news from here this year. Although I observed a single bird here on 25 May, there are No House Martin breeding here this year....That's nothing short of a disaster in my book.

Best Of The Rest.

There are good numbers of Sand Martin around the Marshaw Wyre at Marshaw, including up to four nest holes active in the bank upstream from the green bridge. Not much 'noise' from the Willow Warbler, but two gave excellent views, and I had single of Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, and a female Mallard with 4 duckling on the Marshaw Wyre.

The paucity of butterflies continues, with 2 Red Admiral, and one Small Heath seen.

Claim To Fame.

As far as I'm concerned, Ian Mitchell has a justifiable claim to fame, in that not only has he recently found one, but two Bilberry Bumblebee, one on the lower path at Birk Bank, and his latest one at the summit of Clougha burrowing its way underground.

I have to subscribe to Coolcut Video Editing to remove the watermark in the video. 

Maiden's Blush. Ian Mitchell.

Add to this, Ian found a Maiden's Blush in his overnight moth trap, being only the 3rd record for V60....Great stuff, keep up the good work Ian.

Thanks to Martin Jump for his dramatic and excellent image of the Buzzard being attacked by three Lapwing and an Avocet.