Joining The Hunt.

 Yellow-browed Warbler Cockersands Copies Permitted

For once I let the birds and their often unpredictability get the better of me on Tuesday when I joined in the hunt for a scarce passage migrant from Siberia the Yellow-browed Warbler. Having seen language like....'shed loads of 'em on the east coast just waiting to be blown west by the easterlies'....I'd thought my best move was to do a crawl from the far end of St Georges Quay in Lancaster to Glasson Dock along the old railway line now better known as the Coastal Way, hopefully littered with 'tits' and definitely littered with sycamore, surely one of the best locations in the area to make contact with one of these little beauties....dream on!  

But I was grateful both for the text telling me of one found at Cockersands on Wednesday, and the subsequent photographs sent to me.

Chiffchaff Warren Baker  

Checking the 'gulls' on the River Lune downstream from Skerton Bridge I noted 4 Goosander. Having passed Keyline and reaching the start of the serious stage of the exercise I actually very soon got quite excited, the first three birds I saw where a Blue Tit, Great Tit, and yes, its a 'warbler', ahhhh not the target bird....its a Chiffchaff. Little did I know this was going to be the height of my excitement for the day. Thanks for the excellent Chiffchaff Warren.

Three Little Grebe, 8 Wigeon, and 5 Teal were noted on Freeman's Pools, but now I had the dilemma,  do I go forward via the embankment or keep to the footpath, I can't do both and no time for a circuit....I kept to the path, and to Conder Green took note of, 4 Little Egret, 8 'alba' Wagtail, c.90 Golden Plover on the opposite bank from Nansbuck Cottage, and a 'few' Swallow over on the way....this is not front line/top of the range birding, nor are the results!

By the time I arrived at Conder Green I had to keep to the coastal path to catch the bus back to Lancaster, but did find a small group of 'tits' flitting about the picnic area from tree to tree, mainly Long-tailed with Blue and Great Tit. I came across another Chiffchaff towards Glasson Dock, this one 'hweeting' louder than any other I ever heard, an excellent sight and sound. I also counted 8 Red Admiral butterflies all in pristine condition, and a similar count of Speckled Wood. 

Red-necked Grebe. Marton Mere 30 Sept. Copy Permitted.

Thanks to RBA I was alerted to a Red-necked Grebe at Marton Mere, Blackpool on Monday. A rare winter visitor from eastern Europe and Russia, less than annual in Lancashire and North Merseyside, the last one being a 1st winter bird at Fairhaven Lake 4 - 31 January 2011.  

And finally, a non-bird photograph....

Garden Cross Spider Martin Jump

    

....of a Garden Cross Spider....Couldn't resist this one Martin....Brilliant. 

Please Note.

Although I have left the caption to the spider image unedited I'm grateful for the ID as being Araneus quadratus and not Garden Cross. Many thanks for this to David at Lalows

Stonechats in 2013....Part 2.

A post without pics on Birds2blog....disgusting.

I appreciated both comments below to the previous post 'Stonechats in 2013' and thought it interesting enough that I make a brief reply on the front page of Birds2blog, the comments section not being the place for discussion.

Comment 1....'Are you absolutely certain, when you started surveying Pete, that the areas you looked at were prime first choice habitat/areas. If not, the discrepancy between your findings and the source you quote may be due to the birds re-colonising what they consider to be prime sites. Hopefully the populations will then again reach a level where they recolonise your survey areas. I urge you to investigate this as it may account for the discrepancy. In this respect, do you have data on the spread of Stonechats in Bowland after the previous low ebb e.g. which sites were recolonised first. This might be very helpful, especially if the habitats have not changed a great deal, facilitating comparison'.

I'm not sure what a 'prime first choice habitat/area' for the Stonechat would actually be. What I do know is that vast areas of Bowland - like the ones I visit - are 'perfect habitat/areas' of bracken, heather, and gorse for the species to breed in, and for this reason the Stonechat could be found during a period of at least 10 years between 1999 and 2009 at all the locations I've mentioned on numerous occasions over a 15 year period both in and out of our recording area. Therefore in my view re-colonising due to the Stonechat considering prime sites is not connected with 'pairs in all the main valleys and side valleys' and my observations at other localities resulting in finding the Stonechat having deserted.

As indicated in my previous post I have no spreadsheets with figures of Stonechats in Bowland. I was privileged to be forwarded a summary of birds in Bowland for which I made it known I was grateful at the time, and as such have no idea of the extent of successful breeding of Stonechats here and am unable to investigate the suggestion of re-colonising birds to prime sites even if this did occur. So as previously stated, what 'pairs in all the main valleys and side valleys' accurately means in hard fact numbers isn't known.

I personally think the Stonechat has returned in 'small numbers' to some of the upland areas of Bowland which are covered regularly to some degree by the RSPB, whilst I have found they have not yet returned to the locations I regularly cover, remembering also that vast areas are rarely - and in some cases never - covered by anyone at all in our recording area.

Another point to make in connection with this subject of the Stonechat slow to make its return to our upland areas. If British winters like those of 2009/10 and 2010/11 are anything to go by, the conservation implications of climate change and global warming swinging the balance in favour of sedentary behaviour of Stonechats is along way off as I see it.

Comment 2.   

'I kept a close eye on the Scout Scar Stonechats this year, a pair of juveniles in August and a pair earlier on in the year. I got the impression there was only one pair of adults all Summer. This follows last year when there were definitely 2 pairs both of which produced young. Do adults produce more than one brood in a year.

In 20 visits to Helsington Barrows and Scout Scar between 1st August and 20th September amongst many other birds seen, 52 Spotted Flycatcher, 42 Redstart and most surprisingly of all a grounded Yellow Wagtail on Scout Scar'.

Note the excellent tally of birds between the dates in Aug/Sept at Helsington Barrows and Scout Scar, two areas I'm well overdue a visit. Three broods in a Stonechat breeding season Mark with the potential of 15 young, 18 rarely. But your records here from Scout Scar, and those sent to me throughout the year by other birders/photographers, are in line with just about everything I've said about the status of the Stonechat in 2013. 

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....But haven't been able to since last Thursday.

Stonechats In 2013.

A summary of Stonechat in 2013.

A bit early for writing up a review about the Stonechat in 2013 with three months still to go, but an excellent record of fourteen birds at one location recently posted HERE has prompted me to do so, though I would suggest the majority of these are passage birds. I'm personally obliged to Gary Sharples for getting in touch with me and for posting this record.

Many other birders/photographers have forwarded Stonechat records to me throughout this year for which I'm very grateful. I'm also grateful to Howard Stockdale for the excellent image of the young Stonechat below....What I would have given for a few more Stonechat in 2013, let alone young ones. 

Stonechat. Howard Stockdale. 

But the reality is, the Stonechat has shown little sign of its return to the uplands of the north of England according to my observations, though I have had news of young being seen at seven locations - not all in our recording area - Whitbarrow, Foulshaw, Bleasdale, Croasdale, Bradford Fell, Hareden and Whitendale, but these sightings of young have been in low number compared to the records pre two harsh winters.

I've visited several upland locations during this year and found only one with proof of breeding, that of a female with three young at White Greet on 5 July, evidence in my records that the Stonechat is still absent from every site I've been surveying for over 15 years, and that the Stonechat has been absent in 2013 at Birk Bank, Hawthornthwaite, Harrisend, Barbondale and Newby Moor, but a pair was seen on Clougha on 2 May and 7 August, this pair were seen at exactly the same area on both occasions in 2013 as indeed they had been in 2012, and I found no young on any of these visits.  

However, I have to say that documentation of Stonechat in Bowland forwarded to me earlier in the year appears to contradict my claim that the species 'hasn't generally returned to our uplands to breed' when it reads....'with pairs found in all the main valleys and side valleys appearing to do well and fledglings being noted in May'....void of any figures I have no idea what the true definition of 'appearing to do well' means in this case, but no doubt about it, this is in stark contrast to my findings.

Stonechat Ana Minguez 

I'm hoping all this will change for the better in 2014, and that the fortunes and status of breeding Stonechat will begin to improve once again. Brilliant portrait of a brilliant bird....Thank You Ana.

....and the Goldeneye is back.

Well blow me over....The Conder Pool Goldeneye is back, it spent the greater part of summer here, the last time I saw it was on 19 August, but it had a section of the creeks to itself when I found it yesterday....so where's the little bugger been to these past five weeks.

Kingfisher Marc Heath

Also of note at Conder Green yesterday, a Kingfisher flew the entire length of the pool moments after a Grey Wagtail had flown the breadth, I could only find 6 Little Grebe on Conder Pool, a Ruff, Little Egret and a Snipe. Fifteen Goldfinch noted, and c.50 Teal not one of which could have been turned into a Garganey seen here recently. The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was quiet again saved by at least 550 Golden Plover, a Mediterranean Gull, and a Little Egret, wader numbers were at an absolute minimum though the usual - uncounted - Lapwing were present in good number.

Little Stint Cockerham Sands. Copy Permitted.

At Cockersands an 8.00m tide saved the waders from being 'washed out' and large numbers fed on the Cocker Estuary tide line as viewed off Cockersands Caravan Park and included 3 Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint, a Mediterranean Gull gave excellent close views, and a single Bar-tailed Godwit and Little Egret were also noted. A Red Admiral and a 'few' Small Tortoiseshell seen. 

And finally....

Curlew Sandpiper/Redshank. Howard Stockdale.

An excellent image of the Curlew Sandpiper on a fly past with Redshank. A great photographic opportunity used to good effect Howard....Many Thanks. Also Many Thanks to Marc Heath for the excellent Kingfisher image. Like you said Marc, with a camera in your hands and a Kingfisher in view....you just can't say no. 

Dire.

So off I went to Conder Green yesterday full of Mondays enthusiasm which lasted about 45 minutes to be ended by a phone call. But the enthusiasm didn't get me anywhere today and bird species and numbers were dire everywhere I went, but that's birding, some you win, some you lose....but enough of this. 

To add to Mondays notes for Conder Green, 10 Little Grebe was yet another increase for this species on Conder Pool and heading up nicely to the peak count of sixteen on 18 October 2010, also noted, 6 Snipe and 24 Canada Geese. A Grey Wagtail was upstream of the road bridge, and the Common Sandpiper was in the creeks again. The Lune Estuary carried forward the dire scene with c.450 Golden Plover, 2 Goosander, a Little Egret, and a Peregrine Falcon on a distant post on Colloway Marsh.

Unbelievably dire at Cockersands saved by 2 Mediterranean Gull in a field with c.320 Black-headed Gull taking advantage of the farmer complete with tractor and plough. But waders were in short supply, with no more than 180 Redshank between Crook Farm and Plover Scar where there was just 15 waders at high tide, 9 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plover, and 3 Turnstone. I noted 4 Wheatear and c.150 Wood Pigeon were put to flight en-mass out of a hedgerow by something....Like I said....dire. 

Apart from a few 'whites' the only butterfly species I saw was a decent c.40 Small Tortoiseshell.

 Mega Vagrants.  

Thanks to RBA we had news of two vagrants found in Ireland. The Eastern Kingbird was found yesterday in Inishbofin, Co Galway.... 

Wilson's Warbler Arkive 

....and the Wilson's Warbler which was found last Friday 20 September at Dursey Island, Co Cork, and was still there the following day, but not seen since. A little North American gem which winters in southern Texas, south to Panama, and a very rare vagrant with only one previous record, that of a bird found at Rame Head, Cornwall in 1985. This individual was seen by only a few local birders briefly for a few minutes and was never seen again. 

Well....That was Fun!

I left home this morning overflowing with enthusiasm for my days birding in the hope I could get a good six hours in. I arrived at Conder Green - the car drives me there automatically these days - to find yet another increase on Conder Pool with 9 Little Grebe there today, the all time peak count of Little Grebe on Conder Pool is of 16 found there on 18 October 2010. Another increase on the pool was of 6 Wigeon seen, the two drakes on here all summer having been joined by four relatives here for the winter. Eight Snipe and a Little Egret were also to note. Just one bird of note in the creeks was a Common Sandpiper, reasonable to suggest this is a/the wintering Conder Green bird. But hey....Iv'e only been at it for 45 minutes and I get a telephone message which dictates I have to abort the birding and head off back to Lancaster with no other options. 

Well that was fun....I threw my mobile into the River Conder in a rage!! 

Bonaparte's Gull at Heysham.

A visit to Heysham a couple of hours before high tide yesterday drew a blank with regard to the hope of seeing the long staying Bonaparte's Gull, but good views of a 2nd winter Little Gull and a 'good number' of Mediterranean Gull, at least eight seen with 1st winter, 2nd winter, and adult birds present on Red Nab including the Green ringed AKUR seen again, I first saw this individual on 17 July.

Bird Behaviour.

Snipe Antonio Puigg 

An amazing image of the Snipe in a behavioural pose. This is new to me, the first time I ever saw such behaviour by the Snipe. Brilliant Antonio....I'm intrigued.

And finally....You may not remember Mr Gonshaw - 'clik the pik' and you can read the ad much better - who was also featured on Birds2blog, but he's going to be on 'The One Show' BBC One at 7.00pm this evening. Most visitors to Birds2blog will probably see this post too late to view the film, but if you do read this in time....be there.  

Harbour And Honeypot!

With BT yesterday I was asked where should we go, having run through the 'what's about' routine for him he suggested we go to look for the Bonaparte's Gull at Heysham, then on to Leighton Moss to do some 'honey-potting' to see if any of the recent 'goodies' were still around. Why not was my reply thinking to myself....well after all its birding so what the hell! 

Although the aforementioned Bonaparte's Gull and Little Gull were both reported on Red Nab, we experienced a 'dip' even though I sifted through the birds present on Red Nab two hours before the high tide at least six times. There was of course a result with 12 Mediterranean Gull seen, of which I noted juvenile, 2nd winter, and adult birds, also 2 Sandwich Tern being an adult and juvenile, a solitary Bar-tailed Godwit, and at least 2,500 Oystercatcher, 32 Pink-footed Geese went over south.

Cormorant Ana Minguez 

On the old wooden jetty, 61 Cormorant counted, c.150 Turnstone, and a 'few' Redshank noted. Many thanks for the Cormorant image Ana, they actually have a certain glamour about them in your photograph. 

Avocet. Astland Photography.

At the Eric Morecambe Hide at Leighton Moss, 2 Avocet still lingering here, with a long distance Curlew Sandpiper and 5 Greenshank seen, also c.700 Black-tailed Godwit were a little behind the peak count of 850 seen recently here. Also of note, 8 Ringed Plover were also long range birds and the likelyhood of claiming a Little Ringed Plover with them wasn't possible at the distance, 2 Pintail and uncounted Wigeon, Gadwall, and Shoveler....And a good time was had by all!

Thanks to Peter and Susan Wilson at Astland Photography for the excellent 'coming in to land' image of the Avocets. 

The Cafe First.  

I claimed a first record for myself yesterday on leaving the Eric Morecambe hide, when I took up the invitation to visit the cafe at Leighton Moss for the first time in my life, with good company in the form of six Leighton Moss'ers and some excellent birding banter. Thanks guys, enjoyed it very much and quite a new experience for me. 

Armed And Dangerous.

A direct copy with no edits by me, this is an article by a top man in the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, he is a dangerous man with a dangerous mission if you are a Goshawk. The ignorance here is staggering, but he has many mates who will take note of what he has said and will act upon it with relentless persecution, not just of the Goshawk but other birds of prey and wildlife which they see as unacceptable pests to be eradicated.

Read on and make your own mind up about what you read. I have decided to keep any other comments I have about this dangerous crap too myself. 

'My local newspaper has just published an article on ringing chicks at a Goshawk nest on forestry commission ground. In the article, gamekeepers are criticised for persecuting Goshawks, without any attempts at providing proof, journalistic balance or an attempt to look at the history of the goshawk in Scotland. For the past 35 years I have lived with Goshawks on my doorstep. I strongly believe the Goshawk never was indigenous to the United Kingdom and there is absolutely no hard evidence to suggest otherwise. Those that illegally released this species into the British Isles could legitimately be charged, therefore, with a wildlife crime. These nests in the article are in commercial forestry where there is nothing whatsoever for the poor chicks to eat. What happens then? The young make their way out onto keepered ground, managed at significant cost and time to create a richness in biodiversity. Our local Red Squirrel population is now under severe threat and much of this can be put down to predation by the Goshawk. Most raptors will eat what they kill. The Goshawk will kill over and over again. The largest number of pheasant poults I lost on a stubble in one strike was 35. God knows what this could mean for our poor Curlews and Lapwings, teetering on the brink. Balance must surely be considered before we lose more precious species'.

Want to relax from all this rubbish....watch this 43 second video of Balearic Shearwaters passing Portland Bill yesterday 19 September. 

Think Pink!

Pink-footed Geese Brian Rafferty 

The Pink-footed Geese are back, though my sightings yesterday didn't reflect other claims of 'a massive movement' elsewhere. My records were of 160 on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock with 80 over here going south, and 60 going the same direction over Cockersands.

I got to Cockersands about an hour before high tide, though places like Plover Scar are not the best to be caught in a downpour and I had to spend the next 1.5 hours in the car waiting to see if the constant showers would pass over. By the time I got to Plover Scar the high tide was heading up to an hour past, but the waders - reduced in number - were staying put and I found 3 Curlew Sandpiper still here with a solitary Sanderling, in excess of 100 Turnstone, and 4 Black-tailed Godwit to note, with c.60 Dunlin and Ringed Plover noted as 'a few' by comparison to recent visits here. Six Eider were bobbing up and down like corks off Plover Scar, a single Wheatear seen, and a Little Egret passing the scar fought against the howler blowing today and eventually flew over the end of Sunderland Point towards Middleton. 

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was relatively quiet, though c.200 Redshank and no more than 20 Dunlin were feeding close by, a single Bar-tailed Godwit, just 4 Wigeon, a Little Egret, and a Red-breasted Merganser appearing to nearly choke itself on a large fish it caught, I'm often amazed at the size of the catch these divers make and manage to down.

A quick look in on Conder Pool on my way back to Lancaster revealed another increase of two with 8 Little Grebe seen, a Little Egret was the only other note I made. 

The Pelagic.

 Manx Shearwater. Paul Foster.

On a nice day in August, with clear skies and a light wind, Paul went on a pelagic trip out of Liverpool. I couldn't resist posting two of his photographic results, this one of the Manx Shearwater....

Great Skua. Paul Foster.

....and this of the Great Skua. Paul's account and images of the day are HERE  

Thanks for allowing me to put your day on Birds2blog Paul, much appreciated.      

Off The Road....And Poisoned.

Unfortunately for me 'other things' have taken over from my birding once more which don't create material suitable for Birds2blog. So an opportunity to take a look at another issue in the real world concerning and affecting the birds in a lethal way.

Lead....A highly toxic metal.

So why are waterbirds still suffering from lead poisoning (LP), well because they're ingesting lead shot, and these are the unlucky ones because if the shot had been a direct hit, death would have been more instant than the lingering one the LP will cause. If you ever had the misfortune to find a bird suffering from LP, they become emaciated, have convulsions, diarrhoea, and the inability to walk, all very distressing sights to see in a poisoned bird.

The use of lead shot has been banned since the early - mid 1990's in The Netherlands, Norway, and Denmark, and there are restrictions on its use in the UK, it is banned for shooting over the foreshore and specified SSSI, and for hunting wildfowl in all areas. But despite these restrictions lead is shown to kill waterbirds in Britain, and the vast majority of shot fired from shotguns falls into the environment and is never retrieved. There is no safe level of lead, and once ingested and absorbed into the blood stream it affects all body systems.

The Whooper and Bewick's Swans will be arriving anytime soon to spend the winter months on our shores and these are particularly susceptible to LP because they commonly forage on agricultural land where game birds are gunned down with lead shot which takes tens - if not hundreds - of years to breakdown leaving it accessible to feeding waterbirds all this time.

Compliance with the restrictions in England is claimed to be poor - nothing new there then within the shooting fraternity is there - with nearly three quarters of almost 500 ducks - including Teal, Mallard, and Wigeon - sold by game suppliers being illegally shot with lead. 

Which brings my piece on lead shot nicely to an end with a reminder that the question about the suppliers of Red Grouse to M and S hasn't gone away I can assure you.

  

Thanks to RBA and the weather being favourable for such happenings, I was kept informed all day yesterday of the movement of Leach's Petrel particular from the Wirral and the River Mersey, and a repeat today with in excess of 100 Leach's Petrel past Hilbre Island by late morning.... 

Leach's Petrel. Copy Permitted.

....but this little beauty was much closer to home yesterday, and came close in at Knott End in the afternoon. No need to be on a pelagic for this one the image of which easily qualifies for the 'BRILLIANT' tag.

Curlew Sandpiper. John Darbyshire.

Still lots of Curlew Sandpiper around too. Thanks for this JD and for being in touch again, much appreciated. 

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....With luck maybe tomorrow.