A Little Pick Me Up!

Little Gull Conder Pool 30 May. Pete Woodruff.

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

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

The Conder Common Terns.

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

Image. Ian Pinkerton. (Clik the pik)

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

Cockersand....The Rebirth.

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

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

Corn Bunting Simon Hawtin

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

Image. Martin Jump.

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

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

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

A Bowland Bonus.

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

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

Bonus Flycatcher.

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

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

Bowland Crossbills.

Crossbill Antonio Puigg

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

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

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

Human Remains!

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

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

Seeing is believing. 

Welcome to Bowland Landfill.

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

A Day In The Life Of....

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

The Goosander. 

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

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

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

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

Common Tern. Ian Pinkerton. 

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

Keep up the good work Ian.

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Lily Beetle. Pete Woodruff.

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

Larry The Cuckoo.

Cuckoo Stocks Reservoir May 2018. Paul Foster.

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

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

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

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

A Little Birding Magic.

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

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

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

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

Goosander at Conder Green.

I was pleased to see the report yesterday - LDBWS - of a female Goosander with four small ducklings at Conder Green, which seems to confirm a suspicion noted in my last post....'a female Goosander disappearing round the river bend out of sight upstream from the road bridge, try though I may, I was unable to find a viewpoint beyond the bend, it almost certainly had young with it'.

Swift at Kendal.

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

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

Meagre Fare.

Don't usually express a days birding experience as meagre as none of it ever is, but Wednesday really did lack a bit of quality and quantity.

Both the Oystercatcher and Common Tern are now on eggs at Conder Pool. Also of note, 13 Black-tailed Godwit, only one of which was in stunning breeding plumage, 15 Tufted Duck, with 52 Mute Swan in the creeks. Three Whitethroat heard, and a female Goosander disappearing round the river bend out of sight upstream from the road bridge, try though I may, I was unable to find a viewpoint beyond the bend, it almost certainly had young with it....frustrating.

Dunlin Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, high tide Plover Scar held a pretty even mix of up to 300 Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A Lapwing had a chick in the field by Lighthouse Cottage which has now been ploughed, 3 Stock Dove and a Sedge Warbler seen. The Shoveler pair are still in the large ditch through the field at the Moss Lane/Slack Lane junction, but a bigger surprise was a drake Gadwall which accompanied them, my first ever at Cockersand and certainly never in a ditch.

Green-veined White. Warren Baker.

Two Green-veined White and an Orange Tip were my only butterflies. 

Game On!

Ian Pinkerton has taken it upon himself to monitor the pontoon on Conder Pool as often, and for as long as possible in a session.

Common Tern Conder Pool 16 May. Ian Pinkerton.

This year the Oystercatchers have beaten the Common Terns to the pontoon which have also decided to utilise it, and to make matters worse, in close proximity to the waders. It will be interesting to see how all this pans out, but take it from me, it could be ugly, fatal even for some. This image shows a CT attacking an Oyk at the beginnings of the outbreak of a tense period for what could well be a total of 10 adult/young birds in a confined space, and not prepared for tolerance.

Many thanks for the updates and images Ian, they are much appreciated, and will be by anyone interested in this years birds and what is about to unfold.

Common Tern & Non Breeders Conder Pool 16 May. Pete Woodruff.

Thirteen Months Later.

The last time I was on Clougha was 4 April 2017. There was a time when I would never had thought I'd be saying it was over 13 months since I last went up Clougha, and I had to search my records to see I never checked out the area last year for breeding Stonechat after the April visit. But yesterdays evidence suggests I missed nothing, as I came away empty handed after a three hour survey, and it looks like a second successive year of no Stonechat on Clougha....All a bit depressing.

It was 2hrs 45minutes after I left the car park on Rigg Lane that I found the first of 3 Stonechat on Birk Bank, a male at the west end, and a pair at the east end, so I reckon 2 pairs on here today.

Red Grouse Clougha 15 May. Pete Woodruff.

Fourteen species noted in six hours on Clougha/Birk Bank included, a lone Red Grouse which was the only one seen, and took me 1hr 30 minutes to find, 14 Meadow Pipit was a low count comparable to the recent equally low counts of 19 on Hawthornthwaite (West), and 11 on Hawthornthwaite (East) 18 April, and only 11 seen on Harrisend 8 May. Two singing Garden Warbler were seen as the best birds of the day, 13 Willow Warbler, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Tree Pipit, and a lone male Linnet. Raptors seen, 5 Buzzard, and 2 Kestrel one of which flew by me with small prey in it's talons.

Green Hairstreak Clougha 15 May. Pete Woodruff.

Butterflies seen, a lone Green Hairstreak, surely more, perhaps I wasn't trying, 7 Orange Tip including a male in pursuit of a female on the wing, probably up to 80 Large White, and a similar number of up to 80 Latticed Heath moths seen....Two visits to Birk Bank bog six hours apart saw it lifeless. 

Cockersand/Conder Green.

Cockersand.

Sandwich Tern Richard Pegler

Armed only with binoculars, I walked across Plover Scar out to the lighthouse to get a positive ID on 4 Sandwich Tern which were plunge diving and highly vocal with their loud grating 'kerrick' flight call, a pretty impressive display. 

A few Eider were off Plover Scar, 4 Wheatear along the headland, with 2 Sedge Warbler, a Whitethroat, and 3 Stock Dove seen.

The Lapwing.

Since I was at Cockersand a week ago, two large fields have been 'Lapwing trashed' keeping the population number down as is the annual tradition. The Lapwing is a species having suffered a 53% population decline over the past 25 years, and is something that could be addressed if more appropriate options were in place within agri-environment schemes.

Conder Green.

I got my first viewing of the pair of Common Tern which returned to Conder Pool on Tuesday via IP. All three hirundines were over the pool, probably up to 50 birds descending numerically, Swallow, Sand Martin, and at least one House Martin, of which c.15 were around River Winds/Cafe 'd Lune, with a Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting both singing upstream from the A588 road bridge. Also on Conder Pool, at least 8 Swift over, and 35 Black-tailed Godwit were accompanied by a lone Bar-tailed Godwit, they were on the Lune Estuary by the Conder mouth 30 minutes later.

Common Tern v's Oystercatcher.

War is about to break out on Conder Pool, and in-fighting to settle territorial rights and overcrowding has already been observed. If any attempt to breed takes place, tolerance by two species of birds aside, the pontoon won't/can't accommodate ten birds, two boxes, and two dummies. Perhaps the Common Terns will relocate elsewhere on the pool, the Oystercatchers certainly won't, she's already sitting on eggs having staked a claim to the pontoon.

Thanks to Cliff Raby for the Common Tern header image. 

Two Fells....Well Nearly!

Harrisend.

On Tuesday I made my first visit this year, and not for 8 months since 1 September 2017. I had given up on the Stonechats on Harrisend, but didn't realise it was to this extent. 

But there was little joy in the visit, but thankful for small mercies I found just one pair of Stonechat, they were initially atop of the lone Hawthorn. Also seen, 11 Meadow Pipit, at least 4 Willow Warbler, 4 Curlew, 3 Raven, 2 Reed Bunting, 2 Red Grouse, 2 Swallow, and a Wheatear. Up to 8 Greylag came up over the ridge in ones and twos over a couple of hours, and flew off in all directions, though there are some upland breeding records, I have no idea from where. A kestrel and 3 Buzzard, one of which had missing primaries.

Latticed Heath. Harrisend Fell 8 May. Pete Woodruff.

The sun came out, and within 30 minutes had brought with it 12 Large White butterflies, also a Latticed Heath moth.

Hawthornthwaite.

The visit was thwarted and made brief by the weather, it came on to rain around 2.15pm. The forecast was for a shower in the afternoon, it was still raining four hours later at 6.15pm....so much for the shower! 

Wheatear. Hawthornthwaite Fell 8 May. Pete Woodruff.

Before the early retreat, 12 Sand Martin, 4 Meadow Pipit, 4 Red Grouse, a Wheatear, and a very vocal Wren. 

As a big surprise, I saw a Peregrine Falcon on the day, like other raptor species in Bowland, they have been 'driven' - that's me being polite - to extinction. I have appropriately reported the bird. 

First Records.

A Kestrel hovering before flying off, my first ever over the residential area of Bowerham, if not my first ever in urban Lancaster, also 3 Swift over the same Bowerham area.

Friday Birds....

....a Sunday wander, and an excellent Monday arrival.

Excitement level on Conder Pool on Friday was almost non existent, with 12 Tufted Duck, 21 Mute Swan, and several noisy kip-kip-kip'ing Oystercatcher as good as it got. Three Sedge Warbler were in the reeds upstream from the road bridge, a House Martin seen attending to nest building at River Winds, a lone Black-tailed Godwit in full summer plumage was in the channel below the iron bridge, and a Kestrel seen. Twelve Eider were on the Lune Estuary, and 5 Wheatear were again in a ploughed field on Jeremy Lane.

The best bit to come out of Cockersand was the sight of 5 Lapwing chicks recently out of the nest. I also found c.120 Linnet again, with the Shoveler pair still in the flooded field opposite.

Whimbrel. Pete Woodruff.

Thee Whimbrel were driven close in by the tide on Plover Scar, which also held up to 350 Dunlin and 60 Ringed Plover. Elsewhere, 4 Wheatear and 3 White Wagtail, with a Sedge Warbler singing in the roadside reeds, I also saw 11 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the day.

The Sunday Wander.

A pleasant wander with KT over Heysham Barrows produced, 5 Whitethroat, a Wheatear, and 2 Song Thrush being the sighting with more value than the migrants. In the woodland, 2 Chiffchaff and a Jay.

Many thanks to Antonio for the stunning Black-necked Grebe header image. As a scarce visitor to Lancashire, mostly in spring and autumn, one was found on Kincraig Lake, Blackpool last Friday, and is still present there today. 

The Monday Arrival.

I just received a text to tell of 2 COMMON TERN on Conder Pool 9.45am this Monday morning, one day earlier than last years arrival of 8 May....Many Thanks to IP. 

Birding On The Edge....

....the edge of winter.

It was more like the beginning of March than May when I made my first visit of the year to Barbondale on Wednesday. Dull with a cold wind, but nothing dull about finding 6 Pied Flycatcher, all mobile and behaving like there was no intention of breeding just yet. In fact I had sightings of nine birds over a period of time, including at one point, two males on the same branch with less than a metre between them. But with lengthy observations, I regarded six birds seen as three pairs.

The 4 Stonechat I found take top spot from the Pied Flycatchers for me, they were seen as two pair. The place held a good number of Willow Warbler, singing within earshot pretty much all the time I was there. I heard up to 6 Redstart, but saw not a single one, 4 Tree Pipit, 2 Wheatear, 2 Mistle Thrush, and of the 3 Nuthatch seen, there was some interaction between two of them. A stunning male Grey Wagtail was on Barbon Beck, where up to 6 Swallow were flying up and down.

Quite a good number of Chaffinch were notable in the area, and 3 Small White butterflies were seen on a day when the weather had me thinking it unlikely.

The Barbondale Stonechat.

When I first started to visit Barbondale a 'few' years ago, if the Stonechats were ever present there I certainly never saw them. But I did begin to find them, eventually in double figures, for example....13 including juveniles on 15 August 2005, and 19 including juveniles on 24 August 2006. Since then numbers fell away to nothing as had been the case historically, until - with the exception of a lone male on 7 May 2015 - today's was the first multiple sighting here since I saw a pair six years ago on 29 May 2012.

Stonechat. Ana Minguez @ Naturanafotos

Nothing short of a brilliant record in my book. Hopefully signs of a come back for the Stonechat at Barbondale, and certainly warrants another excellent image on Birds2blog....Thanks Ana.

Warblers, Wheatears & Others.

The Warblers. 

Of the 2 Whitethroat seen on Monday, one showed well on the coastal path at Conder Green, with one singing on Jeremy Lane. A Sedge Warbler sang briefly in the roadside reeds at Cockersand, as did a Blackcap, Chiffchaff, and Willow Warbler in the wooded area around Christ Church at Glasson Dock.

The Wheatears.

Of 10 Wheatear seen, I had to sweep two adjacent fields recently turned to soil on Jeremy Lane, to find eight all over the place, two were later on Slack Lane at Cockersand. 

The Others.

Two Goldeneye have stayed behind on Conder Pool. Eight Eider were the only birds to note on the Lune Estuary at Glasson where I saw a Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. Up to 20 Sand Martin were over the canal basin. At Cockersand, c.450 Dunlin and 50 Ringed Plover were on Plover Scar at high tide. A single House Martin flew through, I saw no more than 12 Linnet here today compared to two recent sightings of 120/140, and the Shoveler pair were still on the flood.

The 32 Swallow seen by me today, represents barely 70 seen in four consecutive birding days, and has you wondering if this is just a delay to the spring migration, with an avalanche due anytime soon.

Butterflies.

Chances of butterflies were minimal, but 3 Large White, a Small Tortoiseshell, and Orange Tip seen. A Speckled Wood in the garden was my first this year.

The Common Tern.

If the Conder Green Common Tern are on time for matching last years date, they are due at Conder Pool in six days on 8 May.

Common Tern Conder Pool. 20 June 2017.

In which case I hope we can enjoy a sight like this in June maybe.