More Therapeutic Than Birds...

....and notes about moorland burns, the bog, the cemetery, and the diver.

Another beautiful calm sunny early February day on Thursday, had me pleasantly sauntering around the Birk Bank area. As I left then car behind me on Rigg Lane, I had been thinking this was going to be a therapeutic day rather than a day for birds, and so it was.

I'm known on B2B to often say, upland birding can produce quality, but not a bag full of birds, today that is something of an understatement. In the 3 hours here I saw just four birds - yes just four birds - 2 Blue Tit and 2 Wren, heard Raven calling high and distant, six times I heard the 'bouncing bark' of Red Grouse, and not a raptor in sight.

Moorland Burns.

I haven't been in the area since last September, and was surprised and puzzled by several small areas with patches of burnt heather....I have no idea what that was about!

Birk Bank Bog.

The old boardwalk has been replaced by a new one running straight out and across the bog. 

With machinery used in erecting the new boardwalk, there has been the inevitable damage to the bog, and there is now a wide ditch on the left side. In the image above, the bottom right hand is the corner of the old boardwalk.

This image was taken from what was the corner of the old boardwalk. It shows a ditch where the walk was, but the wall remains in place. So maybe not all bad news for the Common Lizards, which I suspect are currently in hibernation perhaps somewhere in the wall, they could often be seen basking in the sun on the old walk.....It remains to be seen where they will bask this summer.

It is my understanding that consultations where made during the planning for work undertaken to retain the water level at the far end of the bog, dragonflies and butterflies were taken into consideration. My informant concludes by telling me....'the site will have room for everything'.

Lancaster Cemetery.

An hour in the cemetery was well rewarded with excellent views of at least 8 Siskin flighty but briefly feeding on Alders, also equally excellent views of a Goldcrest.

Treecreeper. Pete Woodruff.

But the best bird was a Treecreeper, initially picked up flying from one tree to the foot of another, then creeping spirally up before moving to the next tree, soon to disappear from view on the backside. I stalked the bird to get views again and observed some interesting behaviour, it was motionless for a few minutes, then slowly looked to the left, then to the right, its eyes blinking slowly. 

Great Northern Diver.

The Great Northern Diver remains at Pine Lake, having been present there since it was first recorded last year on 15 December 2024.

Great Northern Diver Pine Lake. John Wallace.

This is the diver I predicted was doomed to die after seeing a line with a Pike fishing rig hanging out of the side of its bill, and a hole the size of a 10 pence piece in the left side of its neck. One birder I spoke with had a genuine suspicion the line was wrapped around the underside of the bird, and thought it was probably unable to fly, and that could well be the case today. Not good for a seabird trapped on an inland lake for 7 weeks unable to return to the sea.

I'm grateful to John Wallace for allowing me to use his excellent image of this bird dated 25 January, showing it to be in pristine and healthy condition.   

Great Northern Diver Pine Lake December 2024 (Facebook)

Hard to believe this Great Northern Diver appears to have fully recovered from the terrible injury inflicted upon it obviously since it's arrival on Pine Lake in December last year.

....And Impressive Wintering Stonechat Records.

On this visit to Conder Pool I practiced one of my occasional stock taking exercises the result of which came up with, 19 Wigeon, a Little Grebe, 12 Redshank, 21 Black-headed Gull, a Lesser Black-backed Gull and Common Gull, 3 Mute Swan, 3 Canada Geese, and best till last a female Stonechat.

At Glasson Dock, 12 Goldfinch were accompanied by 2 Greenfinch, and on Jeremy Lane, 7 Whooper Swan were seen as 4 juvenile and 3 adult.

Reed Bunting. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, 14 Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch, 3 Reed Bunting and 11 Blackbird. In fields, 625 Golden Plover, 12 Fieldfare, and up to 220 Whooper Swan were seen over four fields.

When I arrived back at the motor, I was pleasantly entertained by a pair of Stonechat constantly foraging on and off the marsh, from where I watched a Barn Owl appear but soon lost to view behind Bank Houses.

The Cockersand Stonechat wasn't very obliging and the light was fading too, but I had to get some footage as it was my only opportunity of the day.

Stonechat.

Over these first 12 days of January, I have collected records of 24 Stonechat wintering at 14 sites, mostly on the Fylde. I also now have 7 upland records of wintering birds. 

Great Northern Diver....Continuing the saga of an ill fated bird.

I gleaned the opinion of an experienced angler in an attempt to reach some sort of conclusion about the foreign body the bird had 'picked up' since it arrived on the lake nearly a month ago.

This is a copy of the e-mail.... 

Hi Pete, I have just seen the images, and it looks fairly certain to be a Pike fishing rig. Usually 18 inches of a strong braided metal material with 2 treble hooks to hold the dead fish bait, unfortunately it looked like this was snapped off and the diver has ingested the fish dead bait intended for pike. This wire corrodes very slowly, and in my view isn't good news for this bird. 

The end of this message didn't surprise me at all, but definitely saddened me....The demise of a beautiful bird seems inevitable.

On A Lighter Note!

I monitored Clougha and its surroundings, all seasons every month primarily for Stonechat for in excess of 10 years 1999-2010. For the record, that's at least 120 visits, lasting on average 5 hours, making a total of up to 600 hours spent on Clougha/Birk Bank.

Who would have thought, that 2 years after my observations drew to an end, I would move into a house that had a brilliant view - albeit between the rooftops - of the place I loved the best, looking for the bird I loved best.

I recently took this shot of Clougha from our bedroom window, looking splendid in a nice coating of snow. I took another 2 minutes later, and heavily cropping it during processing....

....I discovered a bird had appeared on the scene over Clougha. It's obviously a bird of prey, but not too obvious a Buzzard perhaps, maybe a Harrier or Kite.

Thanks to Martin Jump for the header image of a male Sparrowhawk that thought it could hover like a Kestrel.

A Tale Of Two Divers

The Pacific Diver.

Two Pacific Divers actually, one having been found recently as a first for the Netherlands, and bringing in the crowds from near and far. This diver breeds in much of Arctic Canada and Alaska.

The Pacific Diver is a bird which is included in my list of twitches which is about as rare as the bird itself.

Pacific Diver Juvenile Farnham G.P. February 2007. Pete Woodruff.

February 2007 was a double whammy day for me 18 years ago, the Pacific Diver was the follow-on of a twitch to see a American Robin in Bingley not many miles away from the Pacific Diver in the Knaresborough area.

American Robin. Martin Lofgren.

Great Northern Diver.

The second diver is a Great Northern Diver, found on 15 December on a lake on the Lancashire/Cumbria border. Being closely related to the Black Throated Diver, this bird was a failed attempt to be seen by me, but many birders/photographers have seen this seemingly healthy example of a 1st winter bird.

But there is something of a mystery surrounding this bird, some images of it from its earlier days at the lake show it to be in pristine condition, but this is not the case in the images to be seen on various sites today. 

 

Great Northern Diver 8 January. Copy Permitted. 

The bird has a hole on the right side of its neck, and although not visible in this image, also has what appears to be 'string' coming out of both sides at the base its bill in images currently published on Facebook.

I'm not passing any comments on this blog about the unfortunate situation this bird finds itself in, save to say this is surely connected with fishing. Hanging out of the mouth in one image I have seen today, is what I can best describe as a piece of metal.

Delight and disaster on one page!   

Brent Geese, Sea-Ducks, And The Diver That Wasn't!

Heysham Geese.

The geese numbers at Heysham have been picking up, with a three figure count nearly reached recently. So I decided to pay a visit on Thursday, parking up on Knowleys Road and walking down to the promenade, the high tide was around 1.50pm which was 90 minutes away when I arrived.

It wasn't easy to initially get to grips with the count, they were weaving through the stones and boulders on the north shore.

But a couple of times disturbed and split, and the tide pushing the geese ever closer, I checked through at least four times, I eventually arrived at the count of 112 Brent Geese....'the highest count so far this winter'. Thanks to Malcolm Downham for some info regarding Brent Geese movement in the area earlier in the day.

Broadway Ducks.

My next move was to Morecambe to see if there was any sign of last weeks sea-ducks, but this time as opposed to flat calm sunny weather, there was a cold wind and a swell to contend with, and it wasn't going to be as easy to search, but I eventually latched on to 8 Common Scoter.

Common Scoter. Malcolm Downham.

My sighting was much further out into the bay than these, and with a bigger swell on the sea on Thursday, but almost certainly the same birds as MD's on 17 December off the Stone Jetty.

I later picked up a 1st winter female Scaup, again almost certainly my Wednesday 8 December bird.

Pine Lake Diver.

Great Northern Diver. Brian Rafferty.

My quest to find the Great Northern Diver at Pine Lake was a failure, the bird had moved on, but a little compensation came with a lone adult Whooper Swan, 5 Goldeneye, and a drake Goosander.

All in all a decent couple of hours, resulting in the best count this winter of Brent Geese at Heysham, and 8 Common Scoter, regarded as an erratic visitor to our recording area, and in my book, verging on a rarity to the inner Morecambe Bay.  

Housebound....With A Gull!

Off the birding road since last Friday, I was looking through some old posts on Birds2blog and copied this one which I posted on 5 April 2009 and thought it would help the blog overcome the gap with a little interest until my birding takes off again tomorrow....hopefully.

Ross's Gull.

The recent report of a Ross's Gull at Lytham St Annes on Sunday 22 March prompted me to recall the bird in 2008 which first presented itself at Marton Mere on 31 March and was found at Lytham St Annes on 18 April and continued to make many a birder happy until it was found dead on Friday 16 May. I have recently made enquiries about this birds demise, it had been noted by one expert to be regarded as unwell mainly because it had failed to show any sign of advancing summer plumage and also that a close approach was allowed by the bird. 

I myself enjoyed excellent views of this beautiful and enigmatic creature including some good photo opportunities which my second rate photographic equipment failed to deal with very well resulting in the images shown above having a 'bleached' effect resulting in the lack of plumage detail and falsely showing the bird to be a 'wholly white' individual.

In the 70's when my photographic interests were at their peak and my birding was in its early days I joined a group called Postal Portfolios and the chance of a lifetime presented itself to me in the form of a direct descendant of James Clark Ross (JCR) - Dr Shelagh Ross - who I eventually met and had a meal with at a rally in Kent the date of which escapes me. Sadly I lost contact with this person along with the winding up of my photo interests but am currently trying to re-establish the friendship.

The Ross's Gull was one of the great ornithological mysteries until 1905 when the Russian explorer Alexandrovitch Buterlin discovered the main breeding area only just within the Arctic Circle on the Kolyma River delta of Eastern Siberia. If JCR had still been alive it is unlikely that anyone would have been more surprised than he who undoubtedly associated the bird only with ice and snow.

Another intriguing piece of history related to James Clark Ross, was when he claimed to have found a new species of diver....

Around 1830 during his 4 year Arctic voyage he obtained three specimens of the then unknown White-billed Diver. Unfortunately Edward Sabine - of Sabine's Gull fame - who was with him on the voyage, persuaded JCR that these birds were very old males of the Great Northern Diver. The species wasn't rediscovered until 20 years later when Edward Adams found it in Alaska, the bird was first described by English Zoologist George Robert Gray who commemorated it to his friend Adams, hence its Latin name Gavia adamsii. The bird really should have been the Ross's Diver....never mind there is a Ross's Seal, the range of which is confined entirely to the pack ice of Antarctica.

The Great Northern Diver....

....and a couple of sketches from a book I required recently from a second hand bookseller who has some excellent publications for sale from time to time. This one is about C.F.Tunnicliffe, a man born 110 years ago at Langley, Cheshire in 1901 and who devoted a lifetime to his art in etching, engraving, and water colours mainly in natural history subjects.

Spotted Flycatcher. C.F.Tunnicliffe R.A.

In both these sketches Tunnicliffe manages to remind me of the halcyon days of summer now on their way around the corner from winter. A brilliant sketch of the Spotted Flycatcher with two begging young.

And....

Pied Flycatcher. C.F. Tunnicliffe R.A.

The other 'flycatcher' favourite of mine, the Pied Flycatcher.....coming soon - well in about 13/14 weeks - to a woodland near you!

A juvenile Great Northern Diver (GND) has been present in the Fleetwood area for 'some weeks' now and is currently at Fleetwood Docks in the Fish Dock. This is an exceptional record not only because of the length of time it is staying around, but also as a rare - and by no means annual - visitor to our area mainly offshore, though they do occur occasionally at inland reservoirs. 

Although the only European breeding of GND occurs in Iceland where there is an estimated 300 pairs, it has been held by some as a potential breeding bird in GB for many years, but a record review of claimed breeders in Scotland found not one to be completely satisfactory. The W.Isles and western coasts of GB are of international importance as wintering grounds for the GND, Scapa Flow has the distinction of holding the highest winter total of 780 in March 1999, and the waters off GB hold an estimated wintering population of 3,500-4,500 individuals thought to originate from Iceland and Greenland. But the GND is notorious for remaining offshore during the winter months, although they do come closer inshore to sheltered bays and harbours during periods of harsh weather which is perhaps what the Fleetwood bird has done, though it lingers too. 

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!

The Long List...

....but first.

Great Northern Diver. Brian Rafferty



Two more cracking photographs of the long staying Great Northern Diver at Fleetwood Marine Lake. If this bird can maintain this kind of eating, drinking, and sleeping on this lake then it's never going to move just yet. Thanks once again for these Brian, the only problem you have with this level of photography is....you have to keep it up and I for one know you will.

With JB/BT again today and as ever, if you think my records and JB's are going to 'line up' you'd be wrong, his are here at LDBWS

On Aldcliffe Marsh 14 Barnacle Geese seen again and a male Bullfinch seen briefly in flight. At Conder Green, the pool was almost deserted but noted elsewhere, 2 Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, Grey Plover, Little Grebe, and yesterdays c.180 Wigeon were in the channel again. At Glasson Dock as I watched the tidal bore approaching, life was made a little easier for me as it took with it a string of at least 60 Goldeneye past, I'd loved to have been on the water with them....riding the bore looks good fun, also noted, 4 Bewick's Swans were an excellent sight, c.12 Black-tailed Godwit were as distant as ever, and at least 100 Dunlin noted.

On Jeremy Lane, 3 Whooper Swans were in a distant field, and on Moss Lane c.60 Fieldfare from the moving car. At Cockersands the 'set-aside finches' appeared to comprise of 30/20 Greenfinch/Linnet, 22 Greylag came down on to the estuary, with 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 5 Eider, and a Great-crested Grebe, c.620 Oystercatcher were on Plover Scar, a count of 6 Grey Plover was high for this location, and the count of 84 Turnstone was an even higher count for here or any other location in our area in my observations, the Bank Houses Little Owl was seen again today, and 3 Snipe in flight over fields as we drove away from here.  

In fields heading towards Pilling Lane Ends, c.250 Golden Plover and 170 Curlew. On Pilling Marsh, 2 Whooper Swans and c.950 Pink-footed Geese noted. A decision was made to go back to Lancaster via the feeding station on Bradshaw Lane where I noted, 9 Corn Bunting, at least 35 Tree Sparrows, a Yellowhammer, and a Little Owl. On the day Little Egrets were seen at, Glasson Marsh, Crimbles Lane, Pilling Marsh (2), and Fluke Hall (4).

Greenfinch. John Bateman.



Thanks for the pic John, great stuff and a fair tour of the coast, with a fair number of species, a fair number of birds, and a fair good time was had by all....Another 'Good Friday'.

Back in the Trough!

But first....

Great Northern Diver. Brian Rafferty.



The GND was found on the Marine Lake at Fleetwood on last Sunday 7 November and still remains there today. There are three 'bits' of good news about this bird, firstly BR has been to see it, secondly he photographed it, and thirdly I have access to his photographs. So the plug is....Please visit his website HERE for more of the same.

Well BT's car - with JB and I inside it - didn't shoot off to Aldcliffe today, instead we started with a failed 'twitch' - oh dear - to see some Waxwings which were no longer in Booths car park in Lancaster, followed by what turned out to be a quite enjoyable days birding in the Trough of Bowland.

We first halted at Blea Tarn reservoir where I noted 2 Little Grebe, as with the rest of the day JB's records will show that we actually saw much more than these two little beauties on here. A call in at the car park on Rigg Lane produced a Raven over and a Mistle Thrush to note. At Abbeystead 2 Coal Tit, and 2 Dipper on the River Wyre with one just downstream from Stoops Bridge, and the other upstream, from the road away from here, 2 Buzzard and c.2,500 Starling turning a large portion of the field they were in black.

Between Marshaw and Tower Lodge, yesterdays 80 Brambling were eventually accounted for, but today they were even more mobile and fragmented into three flocks between these two points, up to 50 Wood Pigeon also appeared to be feeding on beechmast here, and a Treecreeper noted. At Langden, as we arrived 2 Raven overhead and a Kestrel. The short walk to the pump house produced not a single bird but of note was the serious erosion which has taken place since I was last here, at one point towards the small pump house little now remains of the track.

Fieldfare seen on the day probably numbered 400 with my 'at least' figures being, 50 on Long Lane, 200 on Rigg Lane with a 'few' Redwing with them, and 120 in the Cam Brow area.

In an e-mail from the WWF I was told of just eight days to go before the summit in St Petersburg to 'Save The Tiger'. The WWF have already had their target of 100,000 signatures smashed and are now hoping to collect a massive 150,000 to which we can contribute, so please will you Sign The Petition