OT.

On a suggestion by the team, more occupational therapy was required. So armed with a pair of binoculars I could turn the therapy into a welcome spell of birding with KT through Williamson Park on Friday....Chocks away!

An influx of at least 12 Blackbird were attracted to berries on a beautiful Yew at Fenham Carr, they were accompanied by 2 Redwing and 2 Goldcrest, with 2 Robin seen, and a small number of Blue Tit, Great Tit, and Chaffinch. Most impressive was the 9 Nuthatch seen/heard on the visit.

Comma Lancaster Cemetery 26 October. Pete Woodruff.

Four October butterflies seen on a brief wander through Lancaster Cemetery on Quernmore Road, 2 Comma and 2 Red Admiral all pristine individuals on Ivy. Not many birds seen, but a Song Thrush is an excellent record in any birders notebook these days, and up to 12 Magpie and at least similar Wood Pigeon. 

This was OT at its best.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Ring-necked Parakeet was reported seen in flight over Freehold on 14 October. Presumably the same bird had been heard three days earlier at the University of Cumbria, and I'm belatedly and reliably told of a bird heard again from St Peter's Road around the cathedral last Sunday 21 October.

Ring-necked Parakeet. Warren Baker.

Almost certainly, this is the same bird heard twice since the first sighting, and possibly still in this area.

No Escape!

There's really no escape from birds for me, and a visit this week to London - which was certainly in no way connected to birds/birding - had me with an hour to kill before catching a train back to Lancaster from Euston and time to spend in Hyde Park which I have since discovered has a quite impressive bird list to its name over the years. The morning was perfectly still and sunny, and knowing absolutely nothing about the birdlife in Hyde Park my big surprise was seeing a good double figure number of Ring-necked Parakeet (RNP) also known as the Rose-ringed Parakeet. OK, perhaps I shouldn't have been too surprised, but I know little about the RNP or where it can be found, more to the point I've never seen one, so this was a double for me.

Ring-necked Parakeet. Copy Permitted.

There has never been any conclusive evidence of breeding RNP in Lancashire/N.Merseyside, language like 'almost certainly' and 'it is likely' has been used in the past, in particular regarding a small population in Liverpool around 1970 until the mid 1980's when they died off, there has also never been any evidence of juveniles being seen at any time.

The RNP may have been in GB for over a 100 years but birds were not seen regularly until 1970 with breeding confirmed in 1971. Fifteen years later the population had spread to most counties in SE England and elsewhere. The numbers of individual RNP is difficult to assess, but there are at least several thousand, a roost in Surrey regularly holds up to 2,000 birds. The rapid increase and spread of the species is ascribed to breeding at a young age, longevity, and the lack of any competition.

Please have a listen to this....   

Kestrel Geoff Gradwell

Other birds casually noted in the heart of London included a Magpie carrying nesting material consisting of a twig the length of itself onto a ledge on a tower of the Parliament Buildings, a Sparrowhawk backward and forward off the top of Nelsons Column in Trafalgar Square, and a Kestrel above the concourse of Euston Station....a captive bird and pigeon deterant presumably!

Thanks for the brilliant Kestrel GG much appreciated.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....Monday with luck.

Moving On.

In late October/early November huge numbers of Fieldfare, Redwing, and Blackbird made landfall on our east coast, in the case of the latter I observed a figure of up to 60 Blackbird on a walk in our area on 29 November. My observations of the Redwing in each winter appear to indicate fewer in number than those of its cousin the Fieldfare. These arrivals on the east coast quickly move on inland and spread themselves out across the country, and a walk in the countryside around our area today would make it clear with fewer sightings that they have moved on even further south in search of food in a suitable wintering area, most likely to be in France and northern Iberia.

The Waxwing also arrived in the UK in 2012 and eventually there was an estimate of c.5,000 birds, the figure now stands at more like 1,500 and in recent weeks some have been seen leaving the south coast. If we get a prolonged spell of harsh icy weather there will be difficulties for more bird species to find food which becomes hidden and locked under frozen water and Herons and Kingfishers which aren't already on the coast will move to get there where the saline waters remain largely ice-free. A couple more examples of bird movement in these icy conditions are those of the Skylark and Wood Pigeon which will also leave the country if forced to and in spectacular numbers too. 

Smew. Copy Permitted.

  

Converse to all this movement, if these kind of conditions are prolonged on the continent wader and waterfowl numbers may see an increase and species like the Smew and Goldeneye may well move to our estuaries as a lifeline. In the case of the Smew a bird long overdue, and the Goldeneye, January is the peak period for this one.

And talking of the Waxwings....

Waxwing Martin Jump

Yet another waxwing image, and yet another brilliant one with a difference. I don't know this as a fact, but I reckon this bird is launching into a dive to retrieve this berry it had but lost. Excellent stuff as always Martin.

And some more exotica....

Ring-necked Parakeet Brian Rafferty 

The Ring-necked Parakeet which BR saw at Lytham recently. I've yet to see my first one of this species, the UK's only naturalised Parrot, in flight it has pointed wings, a long tail, and a very steady direct flight. Nice one Brian, and thank you.