Good rewards for another visit to check out the area Marshaw, Tower Lodge, and east of Trough Bridge, and for one species at least, this area can again claim to be the recording area stronghold of 12 Spotted Flycatcher. I watched one take a Small Copper, and another take a small unidentified butterfly/moth.
Who knows how many Spotted Flycatcher this area might really have, given time and energy to explore the entire south side of the Marshaw Wyre here would be no mean feat....But why have I never done it I ask myself.
Common Sandpiper Marshaw Wyre 6 June. Howard Stockdale.
Calling in at Stoops Bridge on the way back to Lancaster, I saw a Spotted Flycatcher and Garden Warbler. At Christ Church, another Spotted Flycatcher....Fourteen in a days birding was rewarding and a record in itself.
Alternating Current!
AC was in touch to tell me about an 8 hour survey in Bowland which he took upon himself on 21 June resulting with an excellent find of 18 Spotted Flycatcher, 10 of which were in the same Tower Lodge area as my own 12 in this post. Earlier in the week he had seen 9 Keeled Skimmer at Birk Bank bog, including two female both seen mating and egg laying....Appreciate this Andrew.
Thanks to Howard for the Common Sandpiper info, and the young and header image.
Despite having found twelve early returning birds at Conder Green on Thursday, I saw 5 Common Sandpiper still up here with no intention of returning anywhere yet, including a young bird with adults downstream from Marshaw, probably the one in Howard Stockdale's image three weeks earlier, and an adult further upstream that I saw on 12 June alarm calling, suggesting two pairs have bred up here this year.
A good count of 10 Grey Wagtail were on the Marshaw Wyre, 3 Redpoll were over the small plantation where I saw a female Kestrel, with Sand Martin and Swallow noted. I heard just 3 Willow Warbler and saw 8 Meadow Pipit, 3 Nuthatch included a young bird being fed, as was a Great Tit young seen later.
A good count of 10 Grey Wagtail were on the Marshaw Wyre, 3 Redpoll were over the small plantation where I saw a female Kestrel, with Sand Martin and Swallow noted. I heard just 3 Willow Warbler and saw 8 Meadow Pipit, 3 Nuthatch included a young bird being fed, as was a Great Tit young seen later.
The House Martin are still active at Tower Lodge where this Mistle Thrush fledgling was alone at the bottom of the grit track calling frantically. When I came back down the track thirty minutes later, it had walked up a couple of hundred metres, and was still was calling all the time. A hopeless case of, if you find a young bird like this, leave it as there is nothing you can do to help, and hopefully the parent bird will return to find it.
Calling in at Stoops Bridge on the way back to Lancaster, I saw a Spotted Flycatcher and Garden Warbler. At Christ Church, another Spotted Flycatcher....Fourteen in a days birding was rewarding and a record in itself.
Alternating Current!
AC was in touch to tell me about an 8 hour survey in Bowland which he took upon himself on 21 June resulting with an excellent find of 18 Spotted Flycatcher, 10 of which were in the same Tower Lodge area as my own 12 in this post. Earlier in the week he had seen 9 Keeled Skimmer at Birk Bank bog, including two female both seen mating and egg laying....Appreciate this Andrew.
Thanks to Howard for the Common Sandpiper info, and the young and header image.
Fantastic count of the Spotted Flycatchers Peter,and great images of the Common Sandpipers.
ReplyDeleteEven if I deduct some the birds Andrew saw, as the same ones I saw in the Tower Lodge area, we found a minimum of 21 Spotted Flycatcher in Bowland in a birding day, impressive stuff. And yes, Howards Common Sandpiper images are also quality.
ReplyDeleteThanks for comments Martin.