Return To The Birk Bank Circuit.

On Tuesday I was in the good company of Steve Graham to do the Birk Bank circuit again following our visit here on 7 May, which in turn followed a visit here in May 2023 which started with failure to find the Wood Warbler in Gibson Wood, though we did settle for hearing the bird singing.

Todays circuit started in fine style, when at least 200 predominantly Black-headed Gull with a few Common Gull were accompanied by 6 Mediterranean Gull which were seen as 3 x adult, 2 x 2nd summer, and a 1st summer, they were in a slurry field at the junction of Rigg and Littledale Lane. Two dragonflies hawking over an area by Rushy Lee had us scratching our heads, eventually with size and brown colouration we agreed to call them early date female Migrant Hawker.

When we arrived at Cragg Cottage, 2 Swallow were seen to enter nests under the eaves, a Spotted Flycatcher was seen as a Chiffchaff flew into the scrub. A Golden-ringed Dragonfly and a pair of Common Darter in cop were over the River Conder.

In a state of disbelief, the only birds of note between Cragg Wood and our arrival at Birk Bank bog one hour later, were a pair of Stonechat and 3 Kestrel. Steve Graham would vouch for the fact we saw not a single Meadow Pipit in 4 hours here today.

Bilberry Bumblebee Birk Bank. Ian Mitchell.

The highlight for me was finding my ninth Bilberry Bumblebee this year, this one was around Ottergear Bridge.

Keeled Skimmer. Pete Woodruff.

At the bog, 9 Keeled Skimmer were seen as 6 male, a pair in cop, and a female. Also, a Golden-ringed Dragonfly put in a couple of appearances, 4 Large Red Damselfly and a pair in cop, and the Emperor Dragonfly had Steve claiming the first he has ever seen here, which gives credence to my records of the species present in Bowland at four locations.

Butterfly sightings were better than those on our last visit here in May, or in fact any of those this year, when we recorded just three individuals. Today we saw 10 Ringlet, 9 Meadow Brown, 3 Red Admiral, 2 Green-veined White, and a Small Tortoiseshell. 

Thanks to Martin Jump for the header image of Small Red-eyed Damselflies mating in flight. Thanks Martin, I may have to get on my bike to Preston to see any of these!   

Two For The Price Of One!

Being the summer finally decided to show up again, I managed a couple of trips into Bowland this week.

Wednesday 17 July.

Grisedale Bridge Looking To Harrisend

Well as I saw it, the weatherman said sunny clear skies and humid, but when I arrived at Grisedale Bridge with dragonflies in mind, I thought I'd made the wrong choice and come to the wrong place.

Undeterred, I set off to look for the quarry with golden rings, to find a male Stonechat as a welcome sight to start with. The only other birds to note were a Meadow Pipit and a Raven over. I saw no more than a dozen butterflies here, seen as a mega count by recent standards, the best of which was a Red Admiral, with Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, and Large White to note.

All was not lost as I got back to the bridge....There's something magical about seeing a Golden-ringed Dragonfly - not in the video - coming into view under the bridge and flying downstream. It's just so disappointing, that on 14 June last year I searched Grisedale Brook to find 12 Golden-ringed Dragonfly in one hour.

On a circuit of the pond at Catshaw, I found no dragons or damsels, but flushed out 2 Snipe in the process. On Hawthornthwaite I found 2 Stonechat, 6 Meadow Pipit, a Kestrel and 2 Sand Martin. I saw just two butterflies, a Red Admiral and Small Heath. The 'best bit' here came in the form of a male Emperor Dragonfly.

With dragonflies in mind, my day ended nicely, with a Golden-ringed Dragonfly on Cam Brook at the foot of Cam Brow. But I'm convinced there's been no Sand Martin colony at Cam Brow this year, nor do I think there's been one at Hawthornthwaite on Catshaw Grieve....Food for thought! 

Friday 19 July.

Keeled Skimmer Birk Bank Bog 24 July. Ian Mitchell.

At Birk Bank, 6 Keeled Skimmer was good enough for me, they were seen as three male, a mating pair, and a female egg laying, all seen at close range. Also an Emperor Dragonfly, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and 4 Large Red Damselfly.

On a wander around the area, a Stonechat pair, a Raven over, 4 Buzzard soaring and mewing together, and a Kestrel in a direct flight with a large gull above it was calling repeatedly 'kee-kee-kee-kee'.

Anting Gulls.

Too many for the camera to pick up on one frame, but a few hundred anting gulls over the house yesterday tea time. 

Emperor Dragonfly.

I have had my Emperor Dragonfly records accepted on iRecord, all with the comment attached....'Coordinate is outside known range for Anax imperator'....Clearly this is incorrect, and in this regard iRecord needs to be updated. I am reliably informed, there are a few records of Emperor Dragonfly on moorland other than Bowland, where I have recorded the species this year and in 2023.

Early Peaking Numbers!

There were some impressive numbers to be seen on Thursday. I started my day at Conder Pool where - after an earlier visit to find c.700 - I returned there at high tide to find up to 800 Redshank. To say this is my best count ever of Redshank here is a bit of an understatement, and has you wondering if this early returning wader is the result of a poor breeding season. I have no records for 2023 yet, but for comparison the Morecambe Bay WeBS count for July 2022 was 553 Redshank.

Another peak count at Conder Green on Thursday, was at least 20 Common Sandpiper which I counted from upstream from the railway bridge, to downstream in the Conder Channel. Conder Green is traditionally the place for good counts of this wader, rated only below Skippool where 31 Common Sandpiper were recorded 29 June 2022.

Other notes from Conder Pool excluding the Common Tern colony and Avocet, third time lucky for me to pick up the adult Little Ringed Plover, I understand only one chick survived to fledging this year. Also seen, 15 Greenshank of which the nearest corresponding date for comparison was 12 Greenshank here on 17 July 2023. The long staying 'black' Ruff and 3 Black-tailed Godwit, and there was a small group of 18 Lapwing to note on an island.

 

In the midst of the Redshank horde was an adult Mediterranean Gull hidden by a Black-headed Gull, but one of the three Black-tailed Godwit stood out amongst the Redshank.  

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, 3 Mediterranean Gull, 12 Avocet, up to 130 Curlew and 250 Lapwing, a lone adult Common Tern and a female Eider, 16 Little Egret and 62 Canada Geese.

I watched a House Martin enter a nest at the crossing cottage, and a Chiffchaff was at Saltcote Pond were I saw not a single dragonfly.

Garden News.

Recent goings on in the garden have been, a recently fledged Blackbird, the video made from the patio window in the dull early morning light at 5.27am on Friday, with adult Goldfinch on the feeders. The Robin also returned yesterday, last years return date to the garden was a day later on 13 July.

iRecords.

I was pleased to see my 8 Bilberry Bumblebee on Birk Bank, and up to 100 Southern Marsh Orchid in Lancaster records accepted.

Grey Start....Golden Finish.

With the weather we are having recently, it wasn't the start I had hoped for at Birk Bank on Monday. Nothing had changed at the bog, and to be honest I'd refer to it as being grim, and with a dark grey cloud hanging overhead didn't have things looking like they were going to change anytime soon. But sightings from the path to the bog cheered things up, with a Garden Warbler, a male Blackcap, and Song Thrush seen as I set off for a wander to Cragg Wood.

The Willow Warbler seems to have gone silent, but I did get good views of one, along with a juvenile Robin, 3 Wren, and a Red Grouse. A male Stonechat was alarmed at my presence, but I've yet to find evidence of breeding anywhere I have been this year so far, though there are a few 'probable's' according to pairs and behaviour I've observed.

Stonechat. Ian Mitchell.

Ian Mitchell is one up one me regarding Stonechat breeding records, with two juvenile seen on Hawthornthwaite on Monday.

When I arrived at Cragg Wood, a Spotted Flycatcher was seen again as it had been on 26 June, but I saw no Golden-ringed Dragonfly on the River Conder in the brief time I spent here.

Bilberry Bumblebee. Pete Woodruff.

On the return leg I came across this smart little Bilberry Bumblebee which gave me no opportunity for a decent picture, but it was my eighth this year, all seen around Birk Bank.

Sexton Beetle. Pete Woodruff.

Another smart little critter I came across, was the Sexton Beetle complete with phoretic mites which travel with the carrion beetle to scavenge on leftovers, and help keep the beetle clean.

The Golden Finish.

I was in the good company of MJ/AC/MP at Birk Bank bog during my two visits here on Monday, when I had given the best part of an hour on the first to connect with nothing.

Keeled Skimmer. Martin Jump.

But there was life on the bog on the second visit when 3 Keeled Skimmer were seen, including a mating pair. Things really took off when AC called Golden-ringed Dragonfly close in and coming closer, until the female came within touching distance and decided to start egg laying giving us the chance in a million opportunity of close scrutiny.

The Golden-ringed Dragonfly is the only Cordulegaster species in a large part of western and northern Europe including the British Isles. The female has a long needle-like ovipositor which can be seen in the video as it characteristically jabs repeatedly down into the bed of shallow water, as if on a pogo stick! It typically breeds in acidic waters which makes Birk Bank bog the perfect habitat for this brilliant dragonfly.

Claver Hill.

On Sunday I decided to check out Claver Hill which has a nature trail and is an area I have never heard of until I saw a piece in the local newspaper about an open day there at the end of July. There is a pond which I was keen to see, and found 6 Emperor Dragonfly including a mating pair.

Thanks to Martin Jump and to Ian Mitchell for their images, they are much appreciated. My header of Heather on Clougha I chose at random. 

Sterna paradisaea At Conder Pool.

It was good news this week from Conder Pool, when I hear of a 60% increase in the number of nesting Common Tern on the platform compared to last year, but the sad news is it has been the worst season for the Avocet and Black-headed Gulls since 2020 due to predation by Fox.

My news from Conder Pool on Friday was a little slim because of a major distraction, but 5 Mediterranean Gull were seen today, with 4 Greenshank and 4 Common Sandpiper. A Peregrine Falcon came over, it did a circuit of Conder Green before returning to take out a Starling and departing to the Lune Estuary.

A Major Distraction.

Howard Stockdale saw the arrival of an Arctic Tern on Conder Pool on Thursday, and in message to me he referred to....'Conder just keeps giving'....well comments like that can't be more appropriate now can they!

I became the twitcher on Friday, in the hope of a connection with this little beauty, but a birder was leaving as I arrived at Conder Green. I asked if the bird was still around to receive a negative reply as he left. Disappointed I turned the camera on to get some footage of three terns, it  wasn't until I played back the footage that I realised it was my lucky day, as one of the birds was indeed a 1st summer Arctic Tern apparently playing nursemaid to the immature Common Tern.

The Arctic Tern.

1st Summer Arctic Tern Conder Pool 4 July. Pete Woodruff.

The bird on Conder Pool is the second 1st summer Arctic Tern in recent years to visit our area, one was at Heysham on 9 July 2020. The same bird paid a visit to Conder Pool the following day 10 July, this is only 6 days later from being the same day, same location again in July 2024. 

1st Summer Arctic Tern Conder Pool 10 July 2020. Howard Stockdale.

The Arctic Tern moves on a global scale, breeding in the northern hemisphere and migrating south to the Antarctic, making the most extensive and remarkable migratory journeys of any other bird, literally crossing the world in travelling between the polar regions, the consequence of which this small bird experiences more daylight than any other living organism on the planet.

The distribution of the Arctic Tern is such that neither ring-recoveries nor observations will ever reveal the full extent of this birds movements in which there are major gaps in understanding them. It's breeding grounds are sparsely populated in the high Arctic, wintering grounds are largely uninhabited, and much of its movements occur in small groups at high altitude across open oceans. In the north they breed at a higher latitude than any other tern species, whilst populations breeding in Britain are at the southern edge of their breeding range where strongholds are in Orkney and Shetland, with a small number breeding in northern  England and on Anglesey.

Heading south to the Antarctic Seas in the non-breeding season involves a return journey for a far north breeder of a truly staggering 20,000 km at least.

I need to do some detailed research on movement of the Arctic Tern. As I see it, this bird shouldn't be in the Northern Hemisphere, let alone on a pool in Lancashire.

I'm grateful to Howard Stockdale for the info re Conder Pool breeding data, also his image of the 1st summer Arctic Tern.

Swift. Paul Ellis.

Also I would like to point readers to an excellent set of six images worth viewing of Swift Here

A Good Day At The Office!

I was a little surprised to note the last visit made to Conder Pool was 15 May. I was overdue because my focus on wildlife had shifted elsewhere, but I was off to make that right and chose a good day to do so.  

Common Tern Conder Pool 2 July

With little attempt at accuracy my records read, at least 38 Common Tern adult and up to 20 chicks with three fledged and out on the island close to the nesting platform. There are some colour ringed adults, including one thought to have been marked in South Africa according to a source who was viewing with me. I found it both educational and entertaining watching the young running up and down the platform in anticipation of the bird coming in being the parent bird with fish.

Mediterranean Gulls Conder Pool 2 July

There was some added interest in the 4 Mediterranean Gull, seen as two adult and two 2nd summer birds. One of the 2nd summer birds was ringed in France and bearing a Green Darvic R9UJ....There are only three of the four gulls in the video in which there's some commentary by MP.

It's difficult in this murderous crop of the 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull, but it can be seen bearing the left leg Green Darvic ring.

Uncounted, so not the faintest idea of the Avocet number currently on Conder Pool, but some advanced juveniles noted with a good number of adults....An Emperor Dragonfly flew past the viewing screen.

Ruff Conder Green. Paul Ellis.

It was good to see the black male Ruff in the creeks, with up to 220 Redshank seen as a large number returning early on 2 July, also 6 Common Sandpiper and 2 Greenshank seen.

Ruff Male Conder Creeks 2 July

There was good news at River Winds when I counted ten House Martin nests with three seen attended by adults....There wasn't a bird in sight when I visited here six weeks ago in mid-May. 

Ringlet. Pete Woodruff.

Along the coastal path to Glasson Dock, I saw the only butterfly of the day, but it was a good one in my book, a Ringlet. At Saltcote Pond, an Emperor Dragonfly and probably 20 Common Blue Damselfly with a few Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Common Blue Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

There was good numbers of damselflies along the canal towpath, including this Common Blue Damselfly paired with a dull green female.

Dunnock In The Garden.

The Woodruff's were delighted to see a young Dunnock in the garden recently.

The Bog Is Alive And Well....Just!

Well at least the weather bucked up, and by Wednesday to some small degree, so did the bog at Birk Bank, although on my first of two visits today, I struggled to find much life other than a couple of Azure Damselfly and Large Red Damselfly. 

On my return visit 4 hours later, I eventually found a male Keeled Skimmer, along with an even bigger surprise of another of those 'upland' Emperor Dragonfly, 4 Four-spotted Chaser, a Black-tailed Simmer, and up to 10 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, which were the only butterflies I saw in 5 hours, save 2 Small Heath and a Speckled Wood.

A saunter to Cragg Wood was definitely worth it as I found 2 Golden-ringed Dragonfly on the River Conder, and a Spotted Flycatcher as a nice little bonus. Other birds were represented by a male Stonechat, a Linnet....

....and a Tree Pipit which was singing....Pump up the volume!

Bilberry Bumblebee 26 June. Pete Woodruff.

As I approached the east side of Ottergear Bridge, I found another 2 Bilberry Bumblebee, my seventh this year, and when I got back to the car park to end the day, a Garden Warbler was singing.

Norfolk Hawker.

Little more than 30 miles from Lancaster, and a species slowly expanding north.

Norfolk Hawker. Frank Bird.

When Fylde birder Frank arrived on the scene at Birk Bank I heard some excellent news. In an interesting conversation, Frank told me of the Norfolk Hawker he had found in his garden on 2 June. This was a news story I had somehow missed, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear about it today. 

The image is much appreciated Frank, many thanks for allowing it on B2B, and congratulations on this amazing find in your garden....Hope to see you again soon, when maybe you will be telling me of a Hairy Dragonfly you found in your garden!

Patient Perseverance.

On Monday, a couple of hours patient perseverance at Grisedale Brook from Grisedale Bridge downstream to Holme Wood, eventually resulted in finding 3 Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Something of a disappointment, as I had seen 12 GRD here on 14 June 2023, and by coincidence the same number of 12 the previous year on 11 July 2022.

Not part of any Odonata strategy that I'm aware of, but this one was well camouflaged as it set down on the stone. 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Mike Atkinson.

Not only did Mike Atkinson find the first GRD of the year at Birk Bank on 9 June, he found this one freshly emerged and drying out....Great stuff Mike.

It was another of those days that started off in fine style for me, when I got out of the car to be greeted by a pair of Stonechat on gorse by the side of the road. I've seen Stonechat here last year, and as I recall, also the year before. It was interesting to see a continuous stream of at least 60 Carrion Crow flying north over Harrisend. Also on Grisedale Brook, 2 Grey Wagtail and a Large Red Damselfly, with butterflies represented by  2 Small Heath and a Speckled Wood.

I looked in on Catshaw Pond to find a male Emperor Dragonfly, and saw a Broad-bodied Chaser too brief and distant to sex. With Ian Mitchell's Emperor Dragonfly at Birk Bank 6 June, this is the second one found in Bowland and is a species regarded as 'remaining absent in the uplands', though this reference is 9 years out of date!

On to Hawthornthwaite, where in little more than an hour I found 8 Stonechat, having my records to read possibly 4 breeding pairs here in 2024, though this lacks evidence of young.

 
                 

But having seen a female leaving the ground nest whilst its mate was close by, I took the opportunity to record the male which, having perceived danger at my presence, was alarm calling whilst on guard duty.                     

I found 2 Golden-ringed Dragonfly here, and made a count of only 8 Sand Martin and 3 Meadow Pipit, with another 4 Small Heath making my total of seven butterflies on the day.

Swifts.

We had the pleasure of up to 30 Swift over our house in Bowerham yesterday evening at 9.00pm, also c.20 Swift in the Fairfield colony on Monday evening.

Bombus monticola.

Bilberry Bumblebee Harrisend 25 June. Ian Mitchell.  

A visit to Harrisend yesterday paid off handsomely with Bilberry Bumblebee seen, also Stonechat as in my header image. Thanks Ian, your records and pictures are much appreciated.

Dragons In The Night!

Drawing the curtains on the patio, I was amazed to see a dragonfly patrolling the garden in the near dark of 10.15pm. It spent several minutes here, but the best I could get on the creature as it darted around the garden, was that it was dark in colour. In the end I was convinced we had a visit by a male Common Darter....Impressed! 

More Mixed Fortunes.

On a trek around the Birk Bank area, on the one hand I find the Bilberry Bumblebee again, on the other it was another step in the direction of a disappointing and increasingly worrying visit to the bog for dragons.

My visit to the area started and ended at Birk Bank bog, a site of interest to Odonata enthusiasts, one of whom I hear had the same experience as me when he visited this week, and referred to the bog as 'dead'. In the long run, I'm hoping both of us are wrong, but the truth is we're looking toward the end of June and this prime site has little if anything on offer.

Azure Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

My records at Birk Bank bog read, 2 Azure Damselfly, and up to 6 Large Red Damselfly. The records also have to read, No Keeled Skimmer, Four-spotted Chaser, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Common Darter or anything else.

Green Oak Tortrix. Pete Woodruff.

Some compensation came in the form of a single and immaculate Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, and a Green Oak Tortrix moth. Quite unbelievably, the fritillary was the only butterfly I saw on a sunny warm day towards end of June....Yes the only one!

Although I did notch up 3 Stonechat, also quite unbelievable that I otherwise saw just one Buzzard, 2 Meadow Pipit, a Siskin, and heard a Blackcap half-heartedly singing in the car park. That's seven birds in 5 hours....yes only seven!

Now The Best Bit.

Birds-foot Trefoil Birk Bank. Pete Woodruff.

I found the grand total of 5 Bilberry Bumblebee in this visit to Birk Bank, two amongst the patches of Birds-foot Trefoil, and three on Ottergear Bridge.

Not the easiest of creatures to capture on film, but this one did make life a little easier for me as it worked its way around the brambles and other plants.

Swifts Finally.

Two records brought to my attention. The first one prompted me to investigate, and resulted in up to 14 Swift seen just around the corner from our house in Bowerham, with one bird seen to leave a nest under the eaves. The second record was even more amazing, that of a number of Swift during the week, observed over the summit of Ingleborough.

At an elevation of 723m, Ingleborough is the second highest of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, and you have to ask yourself, why are a number of Swift over the summit of Ingleborough in mid-June!

The Header.

I took the photograph at Marshaw on 12 June, it is of a small number from two groups of up to 60 students in parties scattered along the length of the Marshaw Wyre between Marshaw and Trough Bridge.

This is an annual occurrence, and according to a leader of the group they are surveying in the name of Geography. I pointed out this should not be happening, giving the example that I was monitoring birds and had seen several pairs of Grey Wagtail, Common Sandpipers with young, and a pair of Dipper, all of which were breeding on the stream were the students were doing their surveys. I went on to suggest that the organising of this exercise should be made at a more appropriate time of year to avoid this unnecessary disturbance during the breeding season.

....And The Pied Flycatchers Tale.

I spent the traditional 5 hour on my trek around the Tower Lodge area and came away with a mix of good and bad feelings. 

But the day started out in good style, when 2 minutes after I arrived at Marshaw I picked up three birds in a line in flight which soon disappeared from view, but two returned over my head a minute later, then one of the two returned another minute later. A lot of 'cu-coo' calls heard throughout this several minutes spectacle which I regarded as some sort of dispute. This sighting resulted in my recording 5 Cuckoo on the day, but it has to be a possibility the two heard later were from the three seen earlier in the day though 1/2 mile away.

On the Marshaw Wyre, 6 Common Sandpiper seen, including two young having soon gained independence and able to fend for themselves.

According to my observations, probably three breeding pairs of Common Sandpiper here this year, also a decent count of 10 Grey Wagtail, and just the one Dipper. A Song Thrush was behind Tower Lodge, where 2 Siskin were noted.

One of the downside of things today was, there are No House Martin at Tower Lodge, though I'm aware that Swallows and House Martins didn't arrive back in the country in their normal numbers during May. So perhaps summer isn't here yet....Not too difficult to believe given the inclement weather.

I found my first 4 Spotted Flycatcher seen as 2 pairs, and the 6 Pied Flycatcher seen, which brings me to the bad feelings....

The Pied Flycatchers Tale.

On a day that was nothing like I expected or was forecast, by the time I left for Lancaster, I had spent the day here in cloud at little more than 11°C and no sunlight.

Although the 6 Pied Flycatcher I found where seen as three pairs within a distance of 80 metres, with two pairs frantically attending nests, and one male seen to take out an insect in flight, in itself an excellent sighting, but I think this area may have suffered the same fate as one in Cumbria.

I was in touch with John Callion a ringer of note in Cumbria. John has been dismayed at the high levels of mortality in some of the Pied Flycatcher nests. A few have had full broods dead, others part broods, sometimes just an individual. The persistent winds have been the result of reduced numbers of invertibrates available resulting in the high level of failure. I note ringers in Durham have had similar findings.

On my visit to Bowland this week, I didn't experience any dead birds in nests like John did, but with the possibility of up to eight breeding pairs here this year, two pairs this time not previously seen, and no activity seen today through 15 nest boxes. I think this area may have suffered the same failure as those in Cumbria.

With all this negativity behind us, and as a self confessed Stonechat nerd, I found it heartening that JC has recently had four pairs of Stonechat, all with healthy full broods of five....Alleluia! 

The Header.

Although obligingly posed, it's a pity the Spotted Flycatcher was on barbed wire for some pictures....N'er mind, you can't win'em all!