The Heysham Brents.

Keen as mustard, I was off to Heysham on Thursday to keep myself up to date on the phenomenon that is 'The Heysham Brents'.

I was at Heysham a good three hours before high tide, to find 60 Pale-bellied Brent Geese and a single Dark-bellied Brent Goose feeding on the exposed skears as viewed from the promenade by the children's play area. Watching the geese as the tide flowed in, their food source eventually became submerged and the geese drifted on the tide towards Heysham Head before lifting off the sea at 12.50pm to fly south.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose Heysham 30 Jan Pete Woodruff 

Underexposed and looks darker than it really is. A record shot of the DBBG....Clik the pik  

Sending MD a text to tell him they were on their way, I got a reply a little later to say he was at Red Nab watching the geese in the hope two birds ringed in Canada would reveal their marks, and to tell me the earlier 61 birds had been joined by two more. We enjoyed excellent close views of the geese at Red Nab until they all took off at 1.40pm and flew further south, presumably to Potts Corner were they had gone on Tuesday.

The video is of the Brent Geese at Red Nab. One of the Canadian ringed birds can be seen coming into view near the end of the video, it's the second of two birds seen standing on a rock before going left into the sea.

View Full Screen

There's a more up to date website for the Heysham Brents Here 

We are only at the start of a new year, but I reckon the three visits to see the Heysham Brents are going to be hard to beat as the most interesting and inspiring birding experiences for me in 2020.

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Hardly a huge leap towards eradicating wildlife crime, but it's a starter in the right direction, and calls for a loud ALLELUIA from everyone.

The Leadhills Estate in Lanarkshire has lost its appeal against a General Licence restriction, imposed on the estate last November, after 'clear evidence of wildlife crimes' was found on the grouse moor here. The alleged offences of shot or trapped included, 3 Hen Harrier, 2 Buzzard, and a Short-eared Owl. 

Photo Ruth Tingay

This male Hen Harrier was found with its leg almost severed in a trap set at the nest, and despite valiant attempts by a top wildlife surgeon the bird died. 

Brent Adventure.

It was a bit of an adventure with the geese on Tuesday, not least because I had to turn my back on the birds for while, to avoid being hit in the face with hailstones during a heavy shower with a howler behind them coming in off the sea.

I was determined to keep up to date with the invasion, and paid a follow-up to Mondays visit to Heysham to see if I could add to the 72 and arrived at a count of 88 Brent Geese including at least one Dark-bellied Brent Goose, MD had recorded two earlier in the day.

Clik the pik....there's more to see if you do.

The path from the promenade climbs up towards Knowley's Road, from where I waited then watched the geese fly off south at 11.30am. I sent MD a text to tell him about the movement, to get a reply later to say he had seen 10 Brent Geese at Red Nab, but they soon flew off heading down the coast towards Potts Corner.

A brief look in on the shore at Half Moon Bay saw 2 Rock Pipit. 

The Brent Goose.

Brent Geese Heysham 27 January. Pete Woodruff. Clik the pik

Two distinct populations of Pale-bellied Brent Geese winter in Britain and Ireland, those from Svalbard on Lindisfarne, and those from high Arctic Canada around Strangford Lough.

Enquiries about the unprecedented numbers of Pale-bellied Brent Geese currently at Heysham - including two Canadian ringed birds - lead me to understand, that these birds are from Walney Island in Cumbria - 170 there on Tuesday. On the other hand, British wintering Dark-bellied Brent Geese all originate from the central Siberian Arctic, mostly around the Taimyr Peninsula.

I must say I really enjoyed the exercise on Tuesday despite the less than poor - pretty awful - weather conditions. It was surreal to see this number of Brent Geese at Heysham. 

Southern Comfort....

....is an American Liqueur originally created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874. 

But what's this got to do with birding except I went on a trip south down the A588 on Tuesday which turned out to be a good idea, and had one or two nice rewards.

Pied Wagtail. Peter Rhind.

The flooded and wrecked field to the west of the car park at Fluke Hall was quite lively and I saw eight species, including up to 35 Pied Wagtail, 30 Skylark, a few Linnet, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Meadow Pipit, and a Rock Pipit, but the best was a count of at least 130 Twite.

A walk along the coastal path to Cockers Dyke had me watching a Buzzard engaged in an ariel survey over Hy-Fly Game Hatcheries....I call that living dangerously. I saw 4 Little Egret on the way, and at the dyke, a mixed flock of 200 Dunlin and knot dropped in, with a good number of distant waders of which I could just pick out c.40 Grey Plover and 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, at least 450 Curlew were scattered along the shore. At Pilling Lane Ends I found 2 Dark-bellied Brent Geese with c.4,500 Pink-footed Geese, also noted off here, in excess of 100 Whooper Swan. 

Bewick's Swan. Jan Larsson @ Vingspann 

On the way back to Lancaster I noticed a group of swans on Moss Lane at Thurnham from the main road, turning down the lane I found 4 Bewick's Swan were with 32 Mute Swan. As I drove off Jeremy Lane, I saw a brief Barn Owl in flight, but by the time I found somewhere to park the motor to go look for the bird it was lost.

Unable to drive past Conder Green, I panned Conder Pool for three minutes in the semi-dark to see 5 Little Grebe and a drake Goldeneye, with thirteen still on the canal basin at Glasson Dock on Monday which I overlooked noting in my last post.

And a good time was had by all....but storm Frank was on the way and was showing it's effect yesterday, with devastating results in places.

Many thanks to Peter and Jan for the images.

Doing it again!

A re-run of Tuesday, plus a trip 'down the road'....and a couple of  'Cookies Feeders'.

Swallows. David Cookson.

The first of which is a brilliant photograph of the young Swallow being fed by the parent bird and reminder that I saw a late one this afternoon at Cockersands. The second 'feeder pic' bears no relationship to today's birding but is another DC picture with the brilliant tag.

Great-spotted Woodpecker. David Cookson. 

The young GSW being fed by the parent bird, with thanks to DC for these two photographs. If it's excellent photographs you're after there's loads of 'em HERE   

I first checked out Conder Pool this morning but could only find 6 Little Grebe and nothing else of note. On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, a Curlew Sandpiper was distant by the Conder Estuary, 3 Spotted Redshank, an adult and 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull, 4 Goosander and 8 Snipe were of note, and an increase in numbers of estimated 2,500 Golden Plover, and 150 Bar-tailed Godwit. From Jeremy Lane, a lengthy sift through another field full of several hundred Black-headed Gulls - and a farmer in a tractor pulling a slurry tank - were accompanied by 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls.

At Cockersands a Dark-bellied Brent Goose was off Plover Scar - which itself was disappointingly void of birds - was initially in the company of 9 Eider but took off to fly south, a Rock Pipit also soon took off west and high out to sea before doing a u-turn to fly high inland north east. Also of note, 4 Wheatear, a 'few' uncounted Tree Sparrow, just 8 Linnet in the set -aside with a single Greenfinch, and a lone Swallow heading south.

On Pilling Marsh c.4,500 Pink-footed Geese were accompanied by at least 7 Barnacle Geese, frustratingly distant with PFG with neck collars seen. A smart little female/juvenile Merlin moved from place to place on the marsh showing its characteristic threatening glare and bobbing head. At Fluke Hall I saw 2 Wheatear, 3 Little Egret, and another 30 Pink-footed Geese joined several hundred others flying inland off the marsh. On the day I counted 14 Red Admiral with probably at least the same number seen but unidentified at a distance.

And finally....

Yesterday this adult pale morph Pomerine Skua was 'hanging around' at Fleetwood Golf Course before being relocated on Cleveleys Beach. By all accounts it was an approachable individual on the beach. I have been given permission by the author to post these photograhs.

Spring....not in the air!

Merlin Geoff Gradwell 

To get the post off to a good start an excellent image of the Merlin....I know you're reading this Geoff and a special thanks for the brilliant pic of my favourite raptor.

Today couldn't ever possibly have been more of a contrast to yesterday when everyone must have thought spring had arrived. Today was unbelievably depressing and never really got daylight. I drove home from Pilling with lights on my car at just after 4 o'clock, but enough of this gloom....

I started my day at Conder Green - again - to note 2 Spotted Redshank and a Greenshank, with the lone Goldeneye on Conder Pool and a Dunnock singing sweetly with its warbler type song. On the Lune Estuary from Glasson Dock 6 Eider which are by no means a regular occurrence here, 2 Red-breasted Merganser also noted. On Colloway March, being much closer to me today I estimated up to 2,000 Pink-footed Geese here still.

I took note from Jeremy Lane, the Whooper Swans had gone from here, also at Cockersands I noted no Linnet at the winter seed field. Off Plover Scar 7 Eider, as I walked along then headland the movement of two small birds on the shingle below the abbey initially made me jump to attention but soon proved to be 2 Pied Wagtails. The 'swans' seen from here distant and in haze by Bank End Farm yesterday and on two previous visits proved today to be 10 Whooper Swans seen through the gloom but haze free conditions.

On Pilling Marsh a Dark-bellied Brent Goose and a Barnacle Goose were with c.7,000 Pink-footed Geese, and at Fluke Hall a Little Egret and 4 Skylark noted.

And finally....

Wigeon. Geoff Gradwell

A nice atmospheric shot of the Wigeon at sunset....Thanks again Geoff. 

Better than good!

A 'better than good day' today with JB who I guarantee enjoyed the birds we discovered just as much as I did.

But first.... 

Barn Owl. David Cookson

Yep, it's another one of those excellent photographs of the Barn Owl....can't get enough of these excellent photographs of Barn Owls. 

We first invaded some Fylde territory and at Knott End found a Dark-bellied Brent Goose roosting with Shelducks in turn roosting with estimates of 2,500 Oystercatcher, 250 Dunlin, 12 Bar-tailed Godwit, a single Black-tailed Godwit, and c.50 Knot. Also an adult Mediterranean Gull, and at least 15 Twite.

I took JB on one of my many routes during my 'car parts delivery days' through Out Rawcliffe, a decision which paid off handsomely with a pair of Barn Owl hunting, and the truly wonderful sight and record of at least 100 Corn Bunting in a tree on Union Lane. Also from here I counted up to 250 Whooper Swans distant from Lancaster Road which included at least 30 juveniles and probably many more, a count hampered by distance and hidden birds. At Eagland Hill, another count - hampered as above - of 12 Bewick's Swans with 88 Whooper Swans and just 10 Pink-footed Geese (PFG). 

Whilst at Eagland Hill this sign tied to a gate pleased me no end for all the right reasons.    

In the field opposite the entrance to Pilling Lane Ends c.180 PFG, and on Pilling Marsh another Dark-bellied Brent Goose was with at least 2,000 PFG. Also of note a Little Egret and another of those distant perched on a post hunting machines, the Peregrine Falcon. By now I'd been alerted to the bird I was alerted to yesterday, but I was confident this time it would still be there after we had called in to look over Bodie Hill to find 6 Bewick's Swans, c.80 Black-tailed Godwit, and 38 Goldeneye on the Lune Estuary. 

Green-winged Teal. Copyright Granted.

The Green-winged Teal above is the very bird still in the River Conder creeks at dusk this late afternoon and giving excellent views albeit being asleep for the short period I spent there on one of my rare 'twitches'.

And finally....not remotely connected with birds, not the feathered kind usually recorded and photographed on Birds2blog anyway!

Sarah Palin.

   

My flag counter informs me of my 382nd US Flag from Alaska. Could this new US visitor to Birds2blog be Sarah Louise Palin, American Politician and first woman Governor of Alaska, I very much doubt it but tell you what....I'm going no further down this political road for the time being!

Red-breasted Goose.

Red-breasted Goose. Copyright Granted. 

A Red-breasted Goose (RBG) is back in the Pilling area and showing well again today having been around and moved about quite a bit since it was first found at Martin Mere on 14 October 2010.

The RBG has a rather restricted distribution, principally close to the Taimyr Peninsula in Siberia, and winters in the S.Caspian and Black Seas having recently expanded into Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece. In 1994 there was a remarkable count of 75,000 in Bulgaria.

It is a popular ornamental wildfowl and birds seen in Britain nearly always carry with them a doubt of origin. However, young birds in autumn along the east and south coasts of Britain in company with Dark-bellied Brent Geese are believed to be more likely wild. As is the case with the bird currently within our area they are often found in the company of Pink-footed Geese, though whether they arrive with the PFG can never be clear.

The first accepted records of RBG in Britain goes back into the distant 1776 when a bird was found near London, with another later in the same year at Cleveland in Yorkshire, this latter bird was actually kept on a small pond with Mallards and survived there until it died nine years later in 1785.

Up to the late 1960's RBG records in Britain were traditionally associated with Russian White-fronted Geese, but an upsurge since 1975 has coincided with the tendency to occur with Dark-bellied Brent Geese which themselves had increased in number in Britain between the mid-1960's and early 1990's.

It's all very tragic when you hear that numbers of RBG in the early 1970's had declined to 25,000 due to disturbance and hunting as was the decline also of the Peregrine Falcon near to which the RBG nested as a form of protection. However, as with the Dark-bellied Brent Goose the Red-breasted Goose has enjoyed an increase in recent years. And finally.... 

Yesterday whilst driving back from the Lakes I spotted  - whilst traveling at 60mph - a number of birds at the top of a tree....'I think I've just seen something interesting at the top of a tree, says me to KT'....I did a u-turn as soon as I safely could and my ID skills at 60mph were rewarded by excellent views of 14 Waxwings....great stuff!