Early Garden Bird!

Four hours on a circuit of the Birk Bank area which had one or two nice surprises, not least of which was a Garden Warbler, the bird sang just once, but briefly obliged close by me in the tree. This is an early bird, the earliest Garden Warbler in Lancashire being 14 years ago on 6 April 2011, three days earlier than this bird on 9 April 2025.

I first went to check out the bog at Birk Bank in the hope perhaps the decent weather we've had the past two weeks, would have encouraged some early Large Red Damselflies out but hadn't.

Looking North Birk Bank Boardwalk. Pete Woodruff.

We will have to wait and see any results the new boardwalk will have had, but in a conversation with someone from the estate, I was encouraged by being told the welfare of the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary had played a major part in the project.

Stonechat Male. Pete Woodruff.

I counted at least 22 Willow Warbler on the circuit today, 2 Buzzard were over the bog soaring together, and 3 Greylag flew north over here. I soon came across 3 Stonechat, seen as a pair and lone male singing atop a distant tree.

More totals were, 4 Robin, with some coming in two's, 2 Red Grouse, 2 Wren, 2 Blackbird, and 2 Chaffinch, a Pied Wagtail, Nuthatch, Chiffchaff, and my first Swallow was overhead.

Meadow Pipit. Pete Woodruff.

A Meadow Pipit seen was surprisingly the only one.

Bee-fly. Pete Woodruff.

Insects seen were 2 Bee-fly, and my first of the year Red-tailed Bumblebee, also at least one Buff-tailed Bumblebee and White-tailed Bumblebee. Butterflies seen....4 Peacock, 3 Small White, 2 Large White, and a Green-veined White.

Coal Tit. Pete Woodruff.

With Pied Flycatchers reported at 4/5 locations in Cumbria, I had a look in at the Tower Lodge area to see if the Pied Flycatchers had arrived there with no success, but I did find a pair of Coal Tit checking out a nest box....Well there's a surprise, I had no idea the Coal Tit ever took to the nest box?

At Hawthornthwaite, 3 Wheatear and 4 Stonechat seen, it's my belief that there are possibly 3 pairs of Stonechat currently on territory here. 

In Cumbria, hatchlings in the nest yesterday 12 April, first egg date estimated at 24 March....John Callion

Ring Ouzel. Ian Mitchell.

Also in Bowland this week, I found a pretty smart male Mountain Blackbird. 

And Finally...

It was good to see a few butterflies around Birk Bank this week, and 3 Speckled Wood in the garden.

Thanks to Howard Stockdale for allowing his excellent SEO in Bowland to be my header image.  

Lost And Found.

The title not quite appropriate, but if you do decide to read on I think you'll get the gist of it.

My first visit to Harrisend since 7 April, needed a little determination to find 5 Stonechat, which means my records read 'a probable 3 breeding pairs on Harrisend 13 May'. Just 9 Meadow Pipit seen, compared to at least 34 on Harrisend 29 April last year, puts the species in my 'lost' section of the title.

Lesser Redpoll. Pete Woodruff.

The rubbish pik - my Sony camera died recently - was overtaken by the excitement of an opportunity for a grab shot of one of the 3 Redpoll seen. Also in the low number category was 4 Willow Warbler, with 2 Wren, a Reed Bunting, and a Raven overhead. A few Large White and a lone Peacock were the only butterflies seen. Also noted, a Red-tailed Bumblebee, and at Grisedale Bridge, I found 2 Stonechat female, and heard a Cuckoo in the area around Nicky Nook, annual here.

On Hawthornthwaite, I made a count of 5 Stonechat, this means another 'probable 3 breeding pairs' in my records. I made a count of 12 Meadow Pipit which seemed to correspond better than Harrisend with last year count of 10 seen on 29 April. Two Wheatear seen, and a Kestrel was in the centre between 2 Buzzard all hovering in a line above the ridge within a few metres of each other. A Cuckoo called, heard around the plantation to the west.

Sand Martin Cam Brow. Howard Stockdale.

I have to note, whilst the Sand Martin colony continue to thrive around the brook on Hawthornthwaite. With thanks to Howard Stockdale who reported 30 Sand Martin to me recently, I have doubts about the success of any at the bank on Cam Brook. Despite the notice 'Sand Martins breeding here' a family with two car loads of ten were enjoying their picnic at the site, including paddling in the stream, whilst the adults enjoyed the delights of throwing stones into the brook below the bank....Nice!!  

Local News.

In Lancaster Cemetery, a Bullfinch pair seen on Monday 1 May. This is the first breeding season record for the little black book here. Also as last year, the breeding Nuthatch found in the cemetery Cypress again, must keep tabs on these two records, in particular the Bullfinch.

I don't feel at liberty for too much detail, but the Avocet on Conder Pool have lift off for the breeding season, with chicks having put in a appearance. The Common Tern are looking determined for their ninth year, with a pair having taken a liking to the new raft, and one colour ringed bird returning to the pool for its third year.

The issue around the eradication of the Hen Harrier aside. For an insight to the kind of cruelty inflicted on our wildlife, I would urge you to....PLEASE READ THIS 

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!

.................................................................

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.

Picture This!

Bombus lucorum Hawthornthwaite Fell. Pete Woodruff.

I'm walking along the grit track on Hawthornthwaite Fell and finding lots of White-tailed Bumblebee on Thistle. 

Bombus lapidarius Hawthornthwaite Fell.  Pete Woodruff.

But hang on, this one has a red tail, and for about five seconds I'm thinking, bloody hell have I found my first Bilberry Bumblebee....Well no, 'cos this is a Red-tailed Bumblebee, known to be essentially a lowland species, with a few records in upland areas, and possibly none on moorland. Well....looks like I found something of a scarcity in them thar'ills.

Emperor Male Lancaster Canal. Pete Woodruff.

Moving on, and just a few paces up the track there's this dragonfly patrolling Cam Brook, conspicuous in its large size and predominantly all-blue abdomen, it had to be Emperor Dragonfly, apparently having deserted its still water and canal habitats, and is regarded as absent in the uplands....But not today!

Sightings have been quite sparse here this year, and I struggled to find just one male Stonechat on Hawthornthwaite this time, with my only confirmed breeding record being that of six birds seen 27 May including two young. Up to 24 Sand Martin are still active at the small colony, 5 Meadow Pipit, and a Green-veined White noted.

Though the weather didn't contribute, it was a disappointing search along Cam Brook, with five seen here 11 July, just one Golden-ringed Dragonfly and a Brown Hawker seen, also 3 Grey Wagtail on the brook, and up to 8 Sand Martin were still attending four nest holes at the small established colony here.

On Grisedale Brook, 5 Golden-ringed Dragonfly was the total count between Grisedale Bridge and Holme Wood, with a Buzzard 'mewing', and a Raven calling 'korrp-korrp' overhead.

Small Skipper Grisedale Bridge. Pete Woodruff.

Butterflies at Grisedale Bridge, 8 Meadow Brown, 6 Small Heath, and a Small Skipper.

Thanks to Steve Graham for the excellent header image of the Beautiful Demoiselle he saw whilst visiting the deep south recently. I think you would struggle to find one in our recording area in Lancashire, with only one of three recorded in the county, all in unsuitable breeding habitat, including 19 years ago at Middleton NR in 2003. 

Resolution.

Not something I've ever looked for, but no birding, and no blogging for me this week, you cannot be serious!....I've entered the record for inclusion in the Guinness Book Of Records.

But I did get something conclusive about a couple of puzzles I needed to solve.

Four-spotted Chaser. 

Four-spotted Chaser. Pete Woodruff.

Both these Four-spotted Chasers were found on the bog at Birk Bank on two different dates. But in the bottom image we see a male which shows all the right characteristics except it's abdomen that I would call olive green. I think this result is down to a combination of some photographic inaccuracy, but more likely the age of the dragonfly....I'm grateful to Graham and Roland for help in establishing these details.

Red-tailed Bumblebee.

Red-tailed Bumblebee. Pete Woodruff.

I made some further enquiries regarding this Red-tailed Bumblebee, which confused me with two bands across the body in the bottom image. They were established to be the result of a photo inaccuracy, in a photo artefact....I'm grateful to Ben Hargreaves for help in resolving what was a mystery to me.

Pellucid Fly.

Pellucid Fly. Pete Woodruff.

With its striking ivory-white band across its middle, and large dark spots on the wings, the Pellucid Fly is one of the largest flies in Britain.

Community....It Matters!

View Full Screen

Something wrong with the header image, I'm working on it....again.

A Closer Look.

Some recent encounters I've had, have warranted a closer look and some expert opinion sought. 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly.  

A murderous crop, but quite clearly shows a dragonfly eating what appears to be a beetle for lunch on the boardwalk at Birk Bank on Wednesday 23 July.

Alder-leaf Beetle.

I had an interesting response from an invite to hazard a guess at what the Golden-ringed Dragonfly was having for lunch at Birk Bank. If you've seen the video in my previous post, something blue falls from the dragonfly's mouth, and given the beetles colour is a deep metallic blue with a violet reflection, I would say the reliable suggestion fits what we see in the video.

With no records between 1946 and 2003, the Alder-leaf Beetle was considered extinct in Britain. But in 2004 larvae and adults were found in Manchester, probably arriving with plant imports. Now widespread in north-west England and spread into north Wales. It was discovered in Hampshire in 2014, and is now widespread in the south-east.

Keeled Skimmer.

This is a rubbish video which I binned, then retrieved it when I noticed some behaviour which puzzled me, in that the Keeled Skimmer dips and touches the stone with the tip of its abdomen. On the day, the temperature was something like 28 degrees, how this skimmer settled and stayed a while on the stone is beyond me.

View Full Screen

Dipper.  

View Full Screen

I was doubly pleased about the Dipper on the Marshaw Wyre. Although I was correct in the claim that, despite lengthy searches over many hours, I had seen no Dipper in the area this year. Howard Stockdale found a pair breeding in the Tower Lodge area, and eventually got an excellent video of a juvenile at the location. Thanks for this Howard.

Red-tailed Bumblebee.

A very distinctive bumblebee, being entirely black with a red tail. I identified this as a Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius. But this one has two pale bands across its body, which - according to two experts - are tricks of sun and shade in the resulting photograph. I remain baffled, but....Red-tailed Bumblebee it is then! 

Oak Eggar.

I was grateful for the image of the Oak Eggar sent to me by Ian Mitchell. 

Black-tailed Godwit.

Black-tailed Godwit. Martin Jump.

How's this for studying finer details of the breeding plumage of a Black-tailed Godwit.

Thanks to Ian and Martin for these excellent images, adding some much needed quality and colour to B2B.