Better Late Than Never!

 A bit behind with the blogging, but I do keep trying....honest!

The Lune Estuary.

My latest visit at Glasson, produced notables of, an Avocet, 38 Snipe, 7 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Greenshank, 3 Goosander, and an adult Mediterranean Gull. To my shame, I failed to take notes on the Redshank, Dunlin, and Lapwing, but note I've yet to find the first returning Golden Plover anywhere.

With Plover Scar near submerged beneath the high tide, a circuit of Cockersand was waderless, but I found 4 Wheatear along the headland, where I saw 2 Small Tortoiseshell by the abbey, and heard Skylark in the stubble but saw just one in the air, 32 seen here 23 Sept. 

I had a trio of raptors at Cockersand in the space of 10 mins, when a Buzzard flew from the east towards Abbey Farm, followed by a male Merlin, followed by a Kestrel, both flying in the same direction as the Buzzard. As I returned to the motor, a Raven came down outside the entrance to the Caravan Park.

Dragonflies.

I walked the 2.75 mile length of the canal towpath - Glasson to Galgate - on Monday, to find 10 Migrant Hawker. Birds noted, 2 Jay in flight together, a Kestrel and a skein of 52 Pink-footed Geese >south.

Migrant Hawker 11 Oct 2021 View Full Screen

With two previous treks along the same canal route 15/20 September, this brings the total to 100 Migrant Hawker seen in 27 days.

Heysham Raven.

Raven Sunny Slopes Heysham 10 Oct. Pete Woodruff.

With KT on Sunday, we were entertained by the aerobatics and antics of a Raven, including collecting a twig, to drop it and collect it again.

Garden Butterflies.

A Brimstone flew through on Friday, with 2 Small Tortoiseshell also of note.

Birding Upland Magic.

Perfect weather for some time on Harrisend to find 6 Stonechat, it being early October looking like they're set to winter there, with relations already having left for the coast or maybe further afield to southern Europe or the northern Africa coast.

At least a total of 8 Raven seen, coming into view over the ridge then dropping back down out of view for much of the 3 hours I spent here, it was impossible to say whether I was seeing the same birds all the time. Their behaviour is interpreted as playful, with impressive aerobatics, and very entertaining from a human perspective.

Also several sightings of at least 6 Buzzard with five together at one point, making it difficult to know if six was the total.

In this video, having made a few attempts at some footage, it's difficult to know if they are all 7 Raven in the frame, with Buzzards occasionally in company with them during the visit....View the 40sec video Full Screen and take the test!

Runners up on Harrisend, 8 Red Grouse, 2 Wren, a lone Meadow Pipit, and Kestrel. A butterfly flying fast and purposefully south, was almost certainly a Red Admiral.

My visit to Hawthornthwaite turned out to be with little purpose, with no Stonechat seen. But 20 Red Grouse, included 18 in a Red Arrows style fly past.

I couldn't resist another repeat short video of the water falling down Catshaw Grieve, with the 'Ring Ouzel' Oak in the background showing signs of slowly turning toward autumn gold.

Notes from the history book.

Precisely one day earlier than this year, on my visit to Hawthornthwaite Fell 5 October 2020,  I saw a 1st winter Ring Ouzel, 9 Stonechat, and 40 Red Grouse, which included a flight of 35 birds together.

Garden News.

In my absence....A 'late' Brimstone was through the garden on Friday, courtesy of the Woodruff's. 

Report 2020.

The Lancashire Bird Report 2020 was through the letterbox on Thursday. A welcome sight, something of interest for me to read, and a large-format publication with comprehensive accounts of the birds of Lancashire in 2020, accompanied by pages of excellent images by some of the best local wildlife photographers around.

Cover Image Gary Waddington

I soon found myself at page 125, where there was a full page coverage of the Stonechat, listed as 'Fairly common, increasing breeding bird in upland and coastal areas; fairly common passage migrant and winter visitor'.

There was over 1,200 reports of the Stonechat, and the reporting rate on BirdTrack showed it was reported across Lancashire and North Merseyside more frequently in most months than the same month in any of the past 10 years. It was good to read examples like, 'the total West Pennine Moors SSSI population is probably now approaching 100 pairs, the species is now widespread and common in many moorland edge/fringe habitats, in-bye and some moorland habitats'. 

With the exception of two breeding records within the LDBWS area at the Langden and Hareden Valley's, there was no other mention of, passage, territorial, breeding, or wintering records in the LDBWS recording area. Perhaps not too surprising, when you take into account a year of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a drastic reduction of coverage, and my personal inability to cover some of our upland areas, most notably in what was once the stronghold of Clougha/Birk Bank.

My only three Stonechat breeding records in 2020 were....

Hareden 1 June 11 birds including juveniles

Hawthorthwaite 24 July pair with a juvenile

Caton Moor 26 August 18 birds including juveniles

Stonechat Caton Moor 26 August 2020. Pete Woodruff.

This record was seen as an autumn movement by these birds, they were observed in no more than a mile along and around a wall above the length of a track above the wind turbines on Caton Moor.   

Dragonflies in Lancashire 2020.

With my developing interest in Odonata, two records were of note, the recent colonist Keeled Skimmer, failed to move beyond Birk Bank Bog in 2020, and as usual very few reports of the Golden-ringed Dragonfly were received in 2020. 

Note....According to my records, I think these two reports will read differently in 2021!

Vagrant Emperor Heysham Harbour 9 November 2020. Kevin Eaves.

Other interesting reading in the report....The first confirmed sighting of Hairy Dragonfly, was of a male at Lunt Meadows in May 2020. A Lesser Emperor was at Birkdale in August, and 2 Vagrant Emperor, the first of which was a male at Little Thornton on 3 November, and the second six days later at Heysham Harbour on 9 November, was also a male. The Small Red-eyed Damselfly continued to spread in 2020, being found at several new sites around Liverpool, and the Large Red-eyed Damselflies remained confined to their two historic Merseyside sites at Eccleston in St Helens and Aintree. As a continental migrant, the Red-veined Darter is now expected annually in Lancashire, where the majority of records came from the Sefton Coast between Crosby and Ainsdale.

I'm grateful to Dave Bickerton and Steve White for permitting me to use material in the Lancashire Bird Report 2020. Also thanks to Richard and Kevin for their respective images, both permitted and much appreciated.

Winter Visitors.

Up to 100 Pink-footed Geese >SW over Bowerham Friday afternoon courtesy of KT. Also I note 6 Whooper Swan at Nateby Saturday, courtesy of FBC.