Finches Make My Day....Again!

On Friday a pleasant couple of hours in Morecambe, where I walked along the Stone Jetty to find a lone female Common Scoter well offshore into the bay, also 8 Eider to note and 2 Great-crested Grebe.

Along the promenade off Broadway, 74 Eider were in two groups, 2 Great-crested Grebe seen, and up to 200 Pink-footed Geese flew north.

A 1st winter female Scaup behaved impeccably, close in and diving constantly on a flat calm sea. 

I've traced four past records on the internet from 1 December of Scaup off Morecambe Promenade in the area around Strathmore/Broadway, all except one have been recorded as a female, the exception being that of a 1st winter female which is what Fridays bird was. 

1st winter female Scaup. Pete Woodruff.

  

The Bullfinch.

A pair of Bullfinch made my day when I found them in Lancaster Cemetery during the week, my eighth record of the species at this location. I'm not the tree expert here, but I think the one they were feeding on was a Hornbeam.

Bullfinch Female. Simon Hawtin.

I was quite surprised when searching through my records. I was reminded that I had found my first Bullfinch in Lancaster Cemetery over 10 years ago, and doubly surprised to see the number of birds there in 2014....

2014 Oct 30 5 birds

2021 Dec 17  male

2022 April 3 3 birds

2022 Nov 13 4 birds

2022 Dec 6 pair

2023 Feb 6 pair

2023 May 1 pair

2024 Jan 15 pair 

....And Impressive Wintering Stonechat Records.

On this visit to Conder Pool I practiced one of my occasional stock taking exercises the result of which came up with, 19 Wigeon, a Little Grebe, 12 Redshank, 21 Black-headed Gull, a Lesser Black-backed Gull and Common Gull, 3 Mute Swan, 3 Canada Geese, and best till last a female Stonechat.

At Glasson Dock, 12 Goldfinch were accompanied by 2 Greenfinch, and on Jeremy Lane, 7 Whooper Swan were seen as 4 juvenile and 3 adult.

Reed Bunting. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, 14 Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch, 3 Reed Bunting and 11 Blackbird. In fields, 625 Golden Plover, 12 Fieldfare, and up to 220 Whooper Swan were seen over four fields.

When I arrived back at the motor, I was pleasantly entertained by a pair of Stonechat constantly foraging on and off the marsh, from where I watched a Barn Owl appear but soon lost to view behind Bank Houses.

The Cockersand Stonechat wasn't very obliging and the light was fading too, but I had to get some footage as it was my only opportunity of the day.

Stonechat.

Over these first 12 days of January, I have collected records of 24 Stonechat wintering at 14 sites, mostly on the Fylde. I also now have 7 upland records of wintering birds. 

Great Northern Diver....Continuing the saga of an ill fated bird.

I gleaned the opinion of an experienced angler in an attempt to reach some sort of conclusion about the foreign body the bird had 'picked up' since it arrived on the lake nearly a month ago.

This is a copy of the e-mail.... 

Hi Pete, I have just seen the images, and it looks fairly certain to be a Pike fishing rig. Usually 18 inches of a strong braided metal material with 2 treble hooks to hold the dead fish bait, unfortunately it looked like this was snapped off and the diver has ingested the fish dead bait intended for pike. This wire corrodes very slowly, and in my view isn't good news for this bird. 

The end of this message didn't surprise me at all, but definitely saddened me....The demise of a beautiful bird seems inevitable.

On A Lighter Note!

I monitored Clougha and its surroundings, all seasons every month primarily for Stonechat for in excess of 10 years 1999-2010. For the record, that's at least 120 visits, lasting on average 5 hours, making a total of up to 600 hours spent on Clougha/Birk Bank.

Who would have thought, that 2 years after my observations drew to an end, I would move into a house that had a brilliant view - albeit between the rooftops - of the place I loved the best, looking for the bird I loved best.

I recently took this shot of Clougha from our bedroom window, looking splendid in a nice coating of snow. I took another 2 minutes later, and heavily cropping it during processing....

....I discovered a bird had appeared on the scene over Clougha. It's obviously a bird of prey, but not too obvious a Buzzard perhaps, maybe a Harrier or Kite.

Thanks to Martin Jump for the header image of a male Sparrowhawk that thought it could hover like a Kestrel.

A Tale Of Two Divers

The Pacific Diver.

Two Pacific Divers actually, one having been found recently as a first for the Netherlands, and bringing in the crowds from near and far. This diver breeds in much of Arctic Canada and Alaska.

The Pacific Diver is a bird which is included in my list of twitches which is about as rare as the bird itself.

Pacific Diver Juvenile Farnham G.P. February 2007. Pete Woodruff.

February 2007 was a double whammy day for me 18 years ago, the Pacific Diver was the follow-on of a twitch to see a American Robin in Bingley not many miles away from the Pacific Diver in the Knaresborough area.

American Robin. Martin Lofgren.

Great Northern Diver.

The second diver is a Great Northern Diver, found on 15 December on a lake on the Lancashire/Cumbria border. Being closely related to the Black Throated Diver, this bird was a failed attempt to be seen by me, but many birders/photographers have seen this seemingly healthy example of a 1st winter bird.

But there is something of a mystery surrounding this bird, some images of it from its earlier days at the lake show it to be in pristine condition, but this is not the case in the images to be seen on various sites today. 

 

Great Northern Diver 8 January. Copy Permitted. 

The bird has a hole on the right side of its neck, and although not visible in this image, also has what appears to be 'string' coming out of both sides at the base its bill in images currently published on Facebook.

I'm not passing any comments on this blog about the unfortunate situation this bird finds itself in, save to say this is surely connected with fishing. Hanging out of the mouth in one image I have seen today, is what I can best describe as a piece of metal.

Delight and disaster on one page!   

Sluggish Start To 2025!

Sluggish and little to report, but never any less the pleasure of birding for me.

The tide was well advanced when I arrived at Glasson on Thursday and had driven most of the waders off the estuary. But I noted a pair of Goosander, and it was good I saw two drake and a female Goldeneye, seen as the only three individuals found here this winter, and looking like a scarce bird for our area now. This despite its status being recorded 3 years ago in the LDBWS Annual Report as....'a fairly common visitor to the Lune at Glasson'....I doubt that the Goldeneye will be recorded as 'common' in the next report!

I couldn't resist a video of the ducks on a cold but beautiful January day, on a calm river in an attractive setting....Pump up the volume to hear 17 secs of 22 delightful whistling Wigeon.

There was nothing to report at Glasson Dock, until a Kingfisher flew across the canal basin toward the marina. Neither was there much action at Cockersand, but over a couple of hours here, it did turn out to be something of a mini raptor fest.

Although the high tide was a little under 10m, 4 Rock Pipit were pushed off the marsh and were on the shingle. There was up to 1,500 Golden Plover in fields, with 150 Curlew, and possibly 180 Whooper Swan scattered over three fields.

The raptor foursome started with views of a Barn Owl followed by a Merlin soon followed by a Buzzard.

The Little Owl was again basking in the sun on its favoured girder on the farm building at Bank Houses with a horse appearing to be on guard duty.

The Cockersand Barn Owl.

I had the same experience with the Barn Owl today as I had at the start of the year on 7 February, the account of which is copied here.... 

The Barn Owl took off from Bank Houses at the same time I started my circuit of Cockersand. It was in view for up to an hour as I walked along Moss Lane until I reached the Lighthouse Cottage at 2.25pm. In the hour, the owl crisscrossed every field in the area, and hunted along every ditch and hedgerow, diving to the ground at least six times without success, and perched on fence posts about the same number of times.

Thursdays sighting ended with views of the Barn Owl flying south toward Abbey Farm, I then picked up a female Merlin rocketing south across the same field to cause up to 2,000 Golden Plover/Lapwing/Curlew and Starling to panic. I myself panicked when I saw the Merlin mobbing the Barn Owl, but the pair disappeared behind bushes. I didn't see the Merlin again, but was sure the Barn Owl escaped the attentions of the raptor to take refuge at Abbey Farm.

And Finally.

In my inbox I received two brilliant images recently, both of which represent my appreciation and respect for the ability to freeze a moment in time with excellent photography. 

Goosander. Martin Jump.

This one from Martin shows the Goosander with the catch of an Eel and lookers on, one showing anger, and one with envy.

Blue Tit. Ian Mitchell.

This one of a Blue Tit coming in to land on Ian's garden feeders. Thanks Martin and Ian....Amazing stuff. 

Wandering Through 2024.

With the recent crap weather combined with the inevitable seasonal disruption, I had an opportunity to put together some of my random highlights for each month throughout the year.

January

Spotted Redshank Lune Estuary

Cattle Egret (4) Snow Bunting Cockersand

White-fronted Goose 1st winter Jeremy Lane

Hen Harrier male Cockersand

February

Hen Harrier/Merlin/Barn Owl Cockersand

March

Scaup drake/5 Mediterranean Gull/c.4,000 Black-tailed Godwit Conder Pool, the highest number ever recorded here.

April

Cattle Egret (2) Conder Pool

Emperor Moth female Hawthornthwaite

May

Pied Flycatcher possible 5 breeding pairs Stoops Bridge

Cuckoo 5 birds including a female calling/7 Garden Warbler Birk Bank area

Woodcock Tower Lodge

June 

Southern Marsh Orchid up to 200 spikes east of Lancaster

Cuckoo 5 including interaction between 3 birds Bowland

Bilberry Bumblebee 5 Birk Bank area

Golden Ringed Dragonfly 17 all Bowland

July

Arctic Tern 1st summer Conder Pool

Mediterranean Gull 6 in field off Rigg Lane

Yellow Wagtail juvenile Conder Pool

August

Emperor Dragonfly 23/Brown Hawker 12 Lancaster Canal

Great White Egret Conder Pool

Green Sandpiper Conder Pool

Purple Hairstreak 4 Birk Bank

Banded Demoiselle 16 Lancaster Canal 

September

Mediterranean Gull 11 Lune Estuary Glasson

October

Little Owl Cockersand first here for 9 years

November

Short-eared Owl Cockersand

December

Common Scoter pair/Scaup female Morecambe

Brent Geese 112 Heysham highest count here

Blackcap male in the garden

Garden Blackcap 30 December 2024

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL  

Seasons Greetings

Brent Goose.

It looks like this goose might be bird of the year for me, this is because I found 112 Brent Geese on the north shore at Heysham on Thursday 19 December, representing the peak count for 2024 so far. I picked out a LDBWS Annual Report for 2014 to find the Pale-bellied Brent Goose wasn't even featured anywhere in the recording area 10 years ago.

The history of the Brent Geese in number at Heysham doesn't start until 2019, when the count peaked at 43 Pale-bellied Brent Geese in March. The species was recorded then as, 'a scarce winter visitor but a regular late-winter feeding area is developing at Heysham'....This is the status still recorded in the last published LDBWS report in 2021, but surely won't be recorded as 'scarce' in the next report.   

I'm really chuffed to send seasonal wishes to all followers of B2B, dedicated, occasional, or even rarely. Chuffed because the peak count of views was 162 to a recent post. This includes my thanks to those who regularly forward news and info about the presence of birds in our area....'who needs WhatsApp anyway'....and the little army of photographers who also forward excellent images to add some colour and often excitement to the blog. 

I'm grateful to Ian Mitchell for unwittingly taking on the role of providing me with a Christmas header image of the Cockersand Barn Owl. Perfect timing Ian, I was struggling to find one when the owl arrived in my inbox....Thank You Ian. 

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE  

Brent Geese, Sea-Ducks, And The Diver That Wasn't!

Heysham Geese.

The geese numbers at Heysham have been picking up, with a three figure count nearly reached recently. So I decided to pay a visit on Thursday, parking up on Knowleys Road and walking down to the promenade, the high tide was around 1.50pm which was 90 minutes away when I arrived.

It wasn't easy to initially get to grips with the count, they were weaving through the stones and boulders on the north shore.

But a couple of times disturbed and split, and the tide pushing the geese ever closer, I checked through at least four times, I eventually arrived at the count of 112 Brent Geese....'the highest count so far this winter'. Thanks to Malcolm Downham for some info regarding Brent Geese movement in the area earlier in the day.

Broadway Ducks.

My next move was to Morecambe to see if there was any sign of last weeks sea-ducks, but this time as opposed to flat calm sunny weather, there was a cold wind and a swell to contend with, and it wasn't going to be as easy to search, but I eventually latched on to 8 Common Scoter.

Common Scoter. Malcolm Downham.

My sighting was much further out into the bay than these, and with a bigger swell on the sea on Thursday, but almost certainly the same birds as MD's on 17 December off the Stone Jetty.

I later picked up a 1st winter female Scaup, again almost certainly my Wednesday 8 December bird.

Pine Lake Diver.

Great Northern Diver. Brian Rafferty.

My quest to find the Great Northern Diver at Pine Lake was a failure, the bird had moved on, but a little compensation came with a lone adult Whooper Swan, 5 Goldeneye, and a drake Goosander.

All in all a decent couple of hours, resulting in the best count this winter of Brent Geese at Heysham, and 8 Common Scoter, regarded as an erratic visitor to our recording area, and in my book, verging on a rarity to the inner Morecambe Bay.  

Of Geese And Swans....And A Skipper.

A bit depressing when I stepped onto the viewing platform at Conder Pool on Thursday, there was precisely five birds to be seen on the pool, and more noticeably not a Little Grebe in sight. Three Mute Swan were accompanied by a pure white farmyard goose and a Goosander, 2 Blackbird and a Robin were along the hedgerow. But a female Stonechat around the long grasses at the east end, pulled the experience out of the gloom for me.

Goldeneye January 2024. Pete Woodruff.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, it was good that I found my first 2 Goldeneye drake of the winter. Waders to note were, at least 2,500 Lapwing, 1,550 Golden Plover, 450 Dunlin, and 4 Black-tailed Godwit. Miscellany, 560 Wigeon, a Little Grebe, Great-crested Grebe, a drake Goosander, and a small flighty flock of 18 Goldfinch.

Geese And Swans.

Up to 900 geese in the field off Jeremy Lane by Saltcote Bridge pumping station, they were seen as 750 Greylag, 116 Canada Geese, and 34 Pink-footed Geese. At Cockersand, 425 Whooper Swan was the best count this winter, the bulk of which was in the field behind Crook Cottage, and they were in company with 2 Bewick's Swan.

Bewick's Swan Cockersand 12 December. Pete Woodruff. 

A sight we should relish and appreciate as a bird seen today as an uncommon and declining winter visitor in Lancashire. This bird seemed determined not to face me for a portrait, the other one was asleep to its left.

And A Skipper.

This is a copy from The Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside Butterfly Report 2023....I have highlighted the relevant section. 

In some parts of the UK there has been a significant decline in the distribution of the Dingy Skipper and a moderate decline in its abundance, although recently this trend has in some cases been reversed. In Lancashire its distribution seems stable although the species is almost confined to the limestone pavement around Silverdale where it favours open patches of sparse vegetation and bare ground. It also continues in low numbers at Birk Bank and at its sole known site in Greater Manchester, a location unfortunately without public access, on a former coalfield. There have been no further reports from the location near Burnley where a single example was seen in 2018.

Dingy Skipper Janice Sutton (Butterfly Conservation Lanc's Branch)

With a mutual interest in Birk Bank and the surrounding area, Steve Graham and myself had a conversation about this report in 2023 and thought it was doubtful.

Below is a copy from the Lancashire Butterfly Conservation latest magazine, which carries proof that our doubts were well founded....Again I have highlighted the relevant section at the end.

Erratum.

The Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside Butterfly Report 2023 reported the presence of Dingy Skipper at Birk Bank. However, concerns were raised over the validity of these records, and following a number of visits to the site and an appraisal of the habitat it has not been possible to verify the records of Dingy Skipper at this site and the records have been deleted.

Goodies Off Broadway!

Cold, overcast, and calm in the days before Darragh arrived, it was good enough for me to take a look at the incoming tide along Morecambe Promenade.

Strung out in groups of various size from Broadway to Bare, I counted at least 110 Eider. Also between Broadway and Teal Bay, 7 Great-crested Grebe and 5 Red-breasted Merganser. 

At Teal Bay, a Bar-tailed Godwit, was with Redshank and four other species. I always think it odd to see usually flocking waders as lone individuals. Also to note, 38 Wigeon, 8 Pintail, and a Wren seen a little out of context on the saltmarsh.

Scaup And Scoter.

 Scaup 4 December. Pete Woodruff.

One of the best from the visit was a female Scaup off Broadway, seen as an erratic and scarce winter visitor to Morecambe Bay.  

The Scaup was distant, but it was good to get some record footage of the scarcity, my first since I found a drake on Conder Pool 6 March. Last year there was just 21 records of Scaup in Lancashire, but included three singles in Morecambe Bay in November/December....Lancashire Bird Report 2023

Common Scoter. Paul Ellis.

But star birds were a drake and female Common Scoter which were also off Broadway. The Common Scoter doesn't feature very often in my records, in fact a clear indication of the rarity status for me, is that this is my first record since I found a female on Conder Pool 16 years ago on 27 October 2008. Seen as another duck scarce to our area, at best erratic, though sometimes seen as a common passage bird, for example flocks of 30 and 57 south past Heysham in August 2021....Birds of Lancaster & District 2021

Interesting that c.30 miles south of Morecambe, conversely I could have seen up to 2,000 Common Scoter off Blackpool North Shore on 16 November 2023....Lancashire Bird Report 2023.  

Thanks to Paul Ellis for his image of the Common Scoter at Shard Bridge 10 years ago in August 2014.

Stonechats.

It pleased me to receive three more wintering Stonechat records from Bowland recently, with a male seen on the top of Grit Fell by the adventurous Ian Mitchell. Also birds seen recently in Bowland by the ever reliable Andrew Cornall, a male by the Mountain Rescue Centre east of Langden, and a pair on Abbeystead Lane.

Godwits And Plovers Hit The Fields.

Best sight of the day for me, was the Stonechat perched briefly on the post close to the viewing platform at Conder Pool....It says in my book, if you see a Stonechat get some footage if it!

Also on Conder Pool, 46 Mallard, 32 Wigeon, 4 Little Grebe, 3 Goosander, and a Snipe.

To note on the Lune Estuary, 348 geese were seen as last weeks 252 Greylag on Jeremy Lane, and 96 Canada Geese. Also, at least 300 Dunlin, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 450 Wigeon, and 2 Goosander.

Another great sight was c.500 Black-tailed Godwit in a field south end of Jeremy Lane, with a 'few' Curlew/Redshank/Lapwing/ and a lone Golden Plover.

Little Owl Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, nice to find another Stonechat behind Lighthouse Cottage, and nice to see the Little Owl sunning itself behind the barn at Bank Houses. 

In excess of 1,000 Golden Plover were scattered over three fields north and south of Abbey Farm, and by Cockersand Abbey. A wonderful sight, which would have looked even more wonderful in the sun, but waiting for it to come from behind the clouds didn't happen, so the ones with backs to the light, look more like Lapwing in the video!

A healthier number of c.113 Whooper Swan again at Cockersand and surrounding area, with 7 off Slack Lane, an uncounted estimate of a distant 50 from a moving car Thursland Hill area, and 56 Jeremy Lane.

Bird Of The Year.

Barred Warbler Conder Pool. Howard Stockdale.

I received some interesting data about the Barred Warbler on Conder Pool 19 November, including that it is thought to be the first ever to be photographed in the county of Lancashire. From a selection of images taken by Howard, one is to be used on the front cover of Lancashire Bird Report 2024....Many thanks for information from Howard Stockdale.

Little Owl.

My header of the Little Owl at Cockersand is the best I can manage at the distance with my standard Sony camera at 30x zoom. As a bird in serious decline, I know of no other Little Owl currently to be found in our recording area.