Other Peoples Birds To The Fore!

Invasion.

There has been an unprecedented invasion of some species into our area in recent days, and if I'm going to keep a website with local birding interests, then this certainly has to be documented on Birds2blog.

Ringed Plover Plover Scar 19 May. Howard Stockdale.

Howard Stockdale must have thought he was hallucinating when he found c.1,200 Ringed Plover on Plover Scar 19 May. I know of no previous records of RP in such number on Plover Scar. The record of 160 Ringed Plover on the River Lune at Glasson, is also unprecedented in my book. Many Thanks to Howard for the record and image. 

Sanderling Heysham 23 May. Malcolm Downham.

If I'd have been at Heysham on 23 May, I certainly would have thought I was hallucinating at the sight of at least 500 Sanderling on Heysham skeer. As far as I am concerned, a record of historical proportions. Many Thanks to Malcolm for the record and image.... Heysham Bird Obs

 

Curlew Sandpiper Rossall Point 24 May. Jonathan.

Brilliant find west of Rossall Coastguard Tower, a Curlew Sandpiper advancing into breeding plumage. For permitting the record and image of this stunning bird onto B2B, Many Thanks to Jonathan.... Fylde Bird Club

Spotted Flycatcher Fluke Hall 22 May. Paul Ellis.

There has also been a large influx of flycatcher into the area recently, with up to 33 Spotted Flycatcher on the morning of 22 May, and still coming through today FBC WhatsApp....Many Thanks to Paul for the image.

Foulshaw Moss.

In company with Ian Mitchell, we managed a pleasant couple of hours around Foulshaw Moss, with nothing seen to called unexpected, and on a date too early for dragonflies, though one or two damselflies were seen, being Large Red/Blue Tailed/Common Blue Damselfly.

Of course we were able to view the two Osprey nests through the haze, and other birds to note, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, and Reed Warbler, with just one moth seen, a Common Heath. The butterfly had to be the highlight of the visit, with at least 6 Brimstone seen.

Garden Magic.

It was our treat of the year when the Goldfinch family turned up in the garden for lunch yesterday.

Hit & Miss!

More misses that hits on my latest visit to Bowland, which causes more than a little disappointment. But the day started off in good style when I found a Spotted Flycatcher in the small dense and dark plantation at Marshaw, which is where I had also found a male Pied Flycatcher on 25 May, but that bird decided not to hang around there, and hasn't been seen since.

In a list of priority birds around the Tower Lodge area, I found these hard to come by today....

Pied Flycatcher.

I concluded these birds had already dispersed, so no activity around the nest boxes, with the exception of one which was being attended by both adults. But with some combined records from Andrew Cornall and John & Kath Darbyshire, the conclusion was, 4 pairs of Pied Flycatcher have bred here this year.

Watch for the young putting in a brief appearance at the nest hole in the video.

Spotted Flycatcher.

It was by far my worst ever productive visit to this area, having only located the one bird in the planation at Marshaw, and none seen thereafter. But again, the combined records indicate that up to 5 breeding pairs are currently present in the area this year.

Common Sandpiper.

With 5 Common Sandpiper seen today - including an adult calling to a juvenile seen at Marshaw - and others known to be present, I'm confident to record there are up to 5 breeding pairs along the length of the Marshaw Wyre Marshaw - Trough Bridge.

Grey Wagtail.

The best count of my three visits here, was of 8 Grey Wagtail with no idea of breeding successes to date.

Dipper.

Big disappointment with no sightings today, but my records read, possibly 3 pairs have bred here this year. And the question is, are there any 2nd broods to come?

House Martin.

The House Martin breeds at Tower Lodge annually, but there's bad news from here this year. Although I observed a single bird here on 25 May, there are No House Martin breeding here this year....That's nothing short of a disaster in my book.

Best Of The Rest.

There are good numbers of Sand Martin around the Marshaw Wyre at Marshaw, including up to four nest holes active in the bank upstream from the green bridge. Not much 'noise' from the Willow Warbler, but two gave excellent views, and I had single of Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, and a female Mallard with 4 duckling on the Marshaw Wyre.

The paucity of butterflies continues, with 2 Red Admiral, and one Small Heath seen.

Claim To Fame.

As far as I'm concerned, Ian Mitchell has a justifiable claim to fame, in that not only has he recently found one, but two Bilberry Bumblebee, one on the lower path at Birk Bank, and his latest one at the summit of Clougha burrowing its way underground.

I have to subscribe to Coolcut Video Editing to remove the watermark in the video. 

Maiden's Blush. Ian Mitchell.

Add to this, Ian found a Maiden's Blush in his overnight moth trap, being only the 3rd record for V60....Great stuff, keep up the good work Ian.

Thanks to Martin Jump for his dramatic and excellent image of the Buzzard being attacked by three Lapwing and an Avocet.    

The Cattle Egret That Wasn't!

This image was posted on Birds2blog yesterday, along with a claim that it was of 2 Cattle Egret at the east end of Moss Lane. The result of a distant photograph, and not given the attention to my birding required to maintain the status of my being amongst the best. In fact it's a Cattle Egret accompanied by a Little Egret.

To be honest and blunt, I made a complete balls of this record, but the truth is, I'm not too proud to admit an error....ever!

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Red-tailed Bumblebee on Verbena Bonariensis. Pete Woodruff.

There has been a good number of Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius on the Berberis in our garden in recent days, all queens and my favourite bumblebee. We have also had 3 Brimstone and an Orange Tip in the garden.

Large Red Damselfly. Ian Mitchell.
 

It was good that Ian Mitchell had seen the female Large Red Damselfly at Foulshaw yesterday. A sure sign that some excellent days of Odonata are on the way.

Thanks to Ian Mitchell for the images, especially the Spotted Redshank in the creeks at Conder Green....Stunning image of a stunning bird.

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.

Darters On The Bog!

Another pleasant spell at Birk Bank bog. Nothing overwhelming, but with plenty of interest to keep me happy for a couple of hours, not least because I witnessed my first copulating Common Carder-Bee's on the boardwalk....A pity the bees were in shadow.

Common Carder Bees. Pete Woodruff.
 

As always, view the videos Full Screen. 

When I came across this pair, it took a while to work out what was going on, but enquiries confirmed what was pretty obvious to me....I'm grateful to Ben Hargreaves for his expertise help on this one.

There was much activity on the bog, with at least 20 Common Darter seen, including pairing and ovipositing.

Black Darter Immature Male. Pete Woodruff.

Also seen, up to 6 Black Darter were all black males with the exception of an immature male. The best and biggest surprise was a Golden-ringed Dragonfly, probably the last one of the year for me. I'm not aware of any September records in Lancashire for the species.

This Common Lizard was one of four I saw on my last visit here on 12 August.

The trek to Cragg Wood in the hope of finding Purple Hairstreak around the oaks along the way, and Golden-ringed Dragonfly on the River Conder, was the road to nowhere. But I did find a female and juvenile Stonechat, also a Buzzard overhead, with Chiffchaff and Coal Tit seen.  

I noted just thirteen butterflies in four hours, 6 Small Tortoiseshell, 4 Small Copper, 2 Speckled Wood, and a Peacock.

Some much appreciated quality and colour images for B2B. They were sent to me by Martin Jump and Ian Mitchell.

Brimstone. Martin Jump.

One of Martin's many extraordinary images, this one of the Brimstone butterfly coming in to land on Purple Loosestrife. 

Gold Spot. Ian Mitchell.

Fairly common throughout the whole of Britain, but takes nothing away from this attractive and colourful Gold Spot moth in Ian's trap recently. 

The Hairstreak Experience.

Brown Hairstreak.

The first confirmed record of the Brown Hairstreak in Lancashire, came from the Silverdale area in 2011, and was the result of an unauthorised release. The species is restricted to the south, the nearest colonies being in Worcestershire c.150 miles away from Silverdale. A colony has now been established at Gait Barrows, and is recorded annually for 4 years since 2017. However it is noted, the species is not fully protected, and unofficial releases are strongly discouraged by Butterfly Conservation.

Yesterday I was in the excellent company of Steve Graham, he had agreed to accompany me on a guided butterfly safari.

Brown Hairstreak Egg. Pete Woodruff.

The day started a little sluggish, but within the hour Steve was soon showing his skill to me, and finding an egg resembling Sea Urchin tucked away under a spur branch.

Brown Hairstreak Female. Pete Woodruff. 

From then on, the day turned into a Brown Hairstreak spectacular, we had six sightings of this elusive butterfly, three individuals around and in the tree tops, and three at lower ground level.

View Full Screen

Other butterflies seen continued the dearth, and were particularly worrying, with just singular Small Copper, Gatekeeper, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, with 6 Speckled Wood, 2 Brimstone, and a Sliver Y moth.

Common Darter Gait Barrows 24 August. Pete Woodruff.

Dragonflies seen, at least 6 Common Darter, a few sightings of Migrant Hawker, and a Brown Hawker. 

Birds sighting were, 2 Buzzard and a Raven overhead, a small flock of Long-tailed Tit in flight between trees, Bullfinch and Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Garden Birds.

Robin 25 August 2021. Pete Woodruff.

I managed to grab a shot of our young garden Robin this morning, 3 Buzzard were soaring together over Bowerham, and about 5 Long-tailed Tit looking interested in the feeders according to the Woodruff's.   

Birk Bank.

A pleasant spring day for upland birding, with one or two good rewards and three decent butterfly records.

Not the most attractive of woodlands at the start of the path to Clougha, but by the time I got here 20 minutes from the car park on Rigg Lane, I had seen/heard 10 of the 22 Willow Warbler on the day.

View Full Screen Volume Up

Finding 5 Stonechat on Birk Bank today, including two seen as a pair. I reckon possibly four breeding pairs here to date. One lone male seen, had the largest white wing patches and neck collar I've ever seen. I really need to get back up here again to try for an image of this 'unusual' Stonechat.

My other notes include, 2 Green Woodpecker, one around the area of Rigg Plantation, the other at Gibson Wood. Also, 5 Red Grouse, 4 Wren, 3 Mistle Thrush, surprisingly only 2 Meadow Pipit, one of which I watched take off to take out a small white moth on the wing flycatcher style. Raptors seen, 2 Buzzard, and a Kestrel.

Butterflies.

Green Hairstreak. Pete Woodruff.

I made casual records of 12 Green Hairstreak, no doubt many more to be found here today if my focus had been on them. Also, 9 Peacock, and an Orange Tip.

Particularly with dragonfly larva in mind, I definitely didn't like the look of this pair of Mallard on the bog at Birk Bank. Despite throwing a few small missiles to flush them, they remained unmoved. 

Rare & Scarce. 

A Brimstone was rare, and the first ever in our garden, and a scarce here male Orange Tip also seen.

Can't Win'em All!

Limestone Pavement Gait Barrows. Pete Woodruff.

The landscape at Gait Barrows has been shaped over years, large areas of the reserve lies on Carboniferous limestone laid down millions of years ago. 

I have only ever once been to Gait Barrows, and that was probably up to 30 years ago and I know next to nothing about the place. My visit here on Friday turned out to have been little more than a recce than anything else, with little of the Flora and Fauna noted. The main purpose being to find the butterflies, perhaps Duke of Burgundy, High Brown Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary and others, but in particular the Brown Hairstreak which had been seen and photographed here in August 2015.

Brown Hairstreak back in Kent....I found this news on the internet yesterday.

The first Brown Hairstreak of the season - a good three weeks earlier than in 2019 - was seen at a location in Kent. A search of the bridleway in Keston during a brief spell of sunshine, encouraged a female into the warmth. Settled, the butterfly posed beautifully for 15 minutes or more and then was gone.

Ahhhh well....Can't Win'em All!

Brimstone on Betony. Pete Woodruff.

A Brimstone was butterfly of the day at Gait Barrows, with 15 Meadow Brown being the most abundant, 2 Peacock, a Speckled Wood, and Comma. The only dragonfly seen on the day were 6 Brown Hawker. A female Blackcap was a nice alternative to the usual males being seen, and 2 Coal Tit, with a Buzzard and Sparrowhawk seen.

Scarlet Pimpernel. Pete Woodruff.

Though the Scarlet Pimpernel is known by many names including Shepherd's Weather Glass, and is widespread and common, it took my eye for its colour.

Peacock. Pete Woodruff.

This Peacock in pristine condition was on the Elecampane in the garden when I got home.

Found in Tomatoes on a vine, a product of Kent according to the package. I reckon a moth spinning a cocoon? 

Seen Any Butterflies Yet?

I don't expect to see any for a while just yet, but as with with my birding motto....'what next and where'....I'm going to be looking for my first butterfly of 2018.

A Red Admiral was spotted three weeks ago in two counties on New Years Day, and has been reported widely across the south of England since, the temperature in Plymouth yesterday was 12C/53F. A Peacock was also seen on 1 January, and since then, there have been reports of Brimstone and Comma, and nearer to home, a Small Tortoiseshell was seen at Banks near Southport on 7 January.

On the subject of butterflies....

Small Tortoiseshell. Pete Woodruff.

I took this shot of the ST in our garden in August last summer, but until I got the image up on my computer screen, I hadn't realised there was a moth to the right of the butterfly.

Even with a serious crop like this, I was only able to ID the moth as the difficult to seperate P.purpuralis or P.aurata, and certainly so with an image of poor quality like this, but according to the experts, the latter.

Back to birds today, but need the time to do the write-up.

Thanks to John Whittle for the excellent Dunlin in flight header.

Target Practice At Barbondale.

Pied Flycatcher. Noushka Dufort @ 1000-Pattes

I was asked if I was available to check out the birdlife at Barbondale last week and duly obliged on Thursday....I found 5 Pied Flycatcher, seen as a pair, two singing male, and a female. The only other birds seen were a single male Redstart with two more heard, and a Treecreeper feeding young.

If you're planning to visit Barbondale for some 'target' birding in the near future, be informed, there's no footbridge over Barbon Beck, and you'll need to be cautious if you intend crossing to the other side via one or two areas with a few stepping stones to negotiate with a little sense of adventure. 

Down the River Wenning from Hornby, and up the River Lune towards Lloyn Bridge. A singing male Blackcap, 3 Song Thrush, 3 Blackbird, a Wren, Long-tailed Tit, Greenfinch and Chaffinch were noted at the start of the walk from the road bridge at Hornby. To Lloyn Bridge, a Common Sandpiper, Willow Warbler, Pied Wagtail, with 2 Swift and a Redshank over, and 2 Orange Tip butterflies seen.

Sand Martin Simon Hawtin Photography

I probably saw up to 250 Sand Martin on the Wenning/Lune walk, and whilst I have little detailed knowledge of the history of the River Lune Sand Martin colonies, I regarded as healthy, a small colony on the south bank of the river Wenning which showed up to 40 nest holes, and another larger colony on the west bank of the River Lune at the confluence showing up to 85 nest holes. 

The Bar-headed Goose.

Bar-headed Goose. Conder Pool 13 May. Pete Woodruff.

In the area on Friday, I was unable to drive on and ignore Conder Green where I found this Bar-headed Goose on Conder Pool. An attractive bird but not one to be taken seriously, the species is in the 'Escaped/Unknown Provenance' category, though it is recorded almost annually once or twice per year scattered around the county of Lancashire, with no evidence of breeding. I also saw my first Brimstone butterfly here.


Many thanks to Noushka and to Simon for their excellent images, including Simon's header of the in flight Black-tailed Godwit, they are all very much appreciated.

Is It A Bird!....No 2.

No....it's another butterfly, but this one didn't quite get the award as the Painted Lady did last Friday, to much bird competition this time.

Brimstone. Warren Baker @ Pittswoodpatch 

But it was good to see the Brimstone butterfly yesterday over the horse paddock at Bank Houses, Cockersands, an excellent follow-on to the Painted Lady last week. Thanks for the image Warren.  

Curlew Sandpiper. Cockersands. 20 April. Pete Woodruff.

It was also good that Sunday's Curlew Sandpipers had hung around for me to see them on Plover Scar yesterday. A visit at high tide produced the birds, one in summer plumage, the other in the process of attaining it. A return visit two hours after high tide had the same two on the scar, plus another off the lighthouse cottage car park. Also on Plover Scar, estimates of 500 Dunlin and 150 Ringed Plover, with a Whimbrel seen. 

White Wagtail. Cockersands. 20 April. Peter Rhind.

Off Crook Farm I counted 108 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Wheatear were along the headland, and I saw 3 White Wagtail including the classic in the image above for which I thank Peter Rhind. At least 100 Linnet were flighty and fragmented, and c.150 Golden Plover are still loafing around in the fields.  

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock showed c.120 Black-tailed Godwit, 50 Bar-tailed Godwit, and 25 Knot. And at Conder Green, a Goldeneye, at least 15 Tufted Duck, and a Little Egret were on Conder Pool. In the creeks, a Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, 3 Common Sandpiper, and the lone Black-tailed Godwit. And on the circuit, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Long-tailed Tit, and a Kestrel. Two pair of House Martin are repairing last years nests at Cafe d' Lune. A Stoat was on the pool perimeter, not good news for the nesting birds there. 

I watched a Dunlin come within a whisker of loosing it's life to a powerhouse Peregrine Falcons talons at Cockersands today, the falcon few off to make a strike somewhere else. 

Mellow Yellow.

Donovan....Scottish singer/songwriter 1967.

A proper day on Tuesday, with wall to wall sun and the wind dropped off nicely, all this dictated that I should leg it to Glasson Dock via Aldcliffe,Stodday, and Conder Green which turned out to be another....'Well that was a good idea Mr Woodruff'....day, and I managed 52 species along the way, most notable of which follow....

Yellow Wagtail Marc Heath 

Bird of the day was on the flood at Aldcliffe and was a stunning Yellow Wagtail which was in the company of at least 10 White Wagtail.

Little Ringed Plover Antonio Puigg 

I was also well pleased to find 7 Little Ringed Plover, three of which were also on the flood. 

Onward....and I saw/heard 10 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap, and - disappointingly - just one Willow Warbler, but at least it represented my first of the year. Other notables were, a Gadwall pair on the wildfowlers pools, with 5 Little Egret and 10 Swallow on the route.

I had little time for anything too time consuming at Conder Green - you know about the bus don't you - but noted 2 Spotted Redshank, and a Common Sandpiper. A Great-crested Grebe on Conder Pool is anything but usual and I don't recall my last one seen on here. On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock a good number of Black-tailed Godwit were obvious despite no time to linger, as were 3 Goldeneye, and 4 Eider.

Brimstone Warren Baker  

Best butterfly was the fly by Brimstone, and though I made no notes on butterflies I saw single figures of Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Thanks to Marc, Antonio, and Warren for three brilliant and much appreciated images.

Butterfly Diversion.



Brimstone. Steven Cheshire

On Monday I found 5 Brimstone butterflies which - believe it or not - is an all time record for me, not being a butterfly hunter the only ones I see are those encountered on my birding days and the Brimstone has always been a species which has escaped me, though I do have some quite good butterfly records over the years, like the 100+ number of Painted Lady from the Allan Hide path a Leighton Moss a few years ago now, the other memorable count of this species was made during the mega influx in 2009 when I counted 149 on Clougha/Birk Bank on 30 May, another two excellent records  - void of searching my records - were both of the Clouded Yellow seen in numbers in the mid-teens in different years at Cockersands and along the coastal path from Fluke Hall towards Cockers Dyke. In Britain, any bright yellow butterfly seen in early spring is likely to be the male the Brimstone butterfly, the female may catch you off guard and think it's a 'white'....one did me for a moment on Monday. It is a common belief that the Brimstone was once known as the 'butter-coloured fly' a description which gave rise to the word 'butterfly'.

Red Admiral. Linda

A brilliant photograph of the Red Admiral showing to excellent effect the pattern of this beautiful butterfly's under-wing. The Red Admiral at rest is unmistakable, with its red and black wings outspread, it is a strong migrant and may appear anywhere in Europe, it moves north in the spring from its breeding grounds in the south, but few - if any - survive the northern winter.

Green Hairstreak. Linda   

The Green Hairstreak is the butterfly I usually find on my upland birding days during April-June in places like Clougha and Birk Bank though it occurs in a wide range of habitats, if this creature lands on the greenery of any of its many suitable food-plants it is then perfectly camouflaged and easily overlooked.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....but thanks for the photographs to fill the gap Steven/Linda. 

Around the moss!

Short-toed Lark. Fylde Bird Club

I almost went to see this bird - Lancashires first - today, present at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park, in the end I'm proud to say I gave in to my selfish ways by making a compromise with KT to do a wander around Leighton Moss where nothing unexpected was seen but notables included good views of five Marsh Harriers, at least 3 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff, a pair of Bullfinch, good views of the sub-adult Mediterranean Gull from Lillians Hide, and 5 Brimstone on the round.

The good thing about Leighton Moss is, that if - whilst keeping your eyes fully focused on the birds - you keep your ears fully focused on some of the things said in the hides you can learn quite a lot, most of which I'd categorise as 'rubbish'. However, I did learn a couple of interesting things on the rounds today whilst having to rely on what I heard to be fact, but first and foremost I must insist on announcing that I do not condone or subscribe to noisy chatter in hides, more to the point I oppose any unnecessary talk at all in hides. But according to what I heard in the first conversation, one of the Leighton Moss female Marsh Harriers carries an antenna - I assume - as an aid to some tracking device fitted to the bird....Mmmmm! Later in the day another conversation overheard claimed that the Warton Crag Peregrine Falcons have had their nest predated by Ravens which it appears resulted in all the eggs taken....Mmmmm! nature, though the result is the same I'd much sooner the Ravens than some moron down a rope to the nest.

Hopefully some more interesting birding to come!