What A Difference A Day Makes!

I'm in receipt of some brilliant images of some equally brilliant birds which have recently been on and around the River Lune.

'Probable' Siberian Chiffchaff Tuesday 6 January. Howard Stockdale.

The header for this post - and the one above - is of a 'probable' Siberian Chiffchaff, found on St Georges Quay in Lancaster, and recorded by two local birders.

'Redhead' Smew Tuesday 6 January. Howard Stockdale.

On the very same day 6 January, a 'redhead' Smew was an excellent find by another Lancaster birder. As opposed to the Chiffchaff, this little diver excited many a birder for a couple of days....What a difference a day makes!

I am grateful to Howard Stockdale for the permit to use his images in this post.

I'd sooner be birding, but unfortunately I'm not at the moment 😢

A Twitching Double.

A text to AC on Friday morning to ask if there was any news on an Iceland Gull seen on Thursday at Knott End was negative, but resulted in a good day for both of us when he suggested I met him at Eagland Hill.

 VIEW FULL FRAME

The weather was perfect with calm sunny conditions, and a Purple Heron was out in the open in a field opposite Birk's Farm and giving excellent views with the bonus of a Barn Owl flying over the herons head, to return complete with a vole in it's talons. Also, up to 30 Corn Bunting close by, they were up and down on to the telephone wires in varying numbers.

On to the sewage plant on Backsands Lane at Pilling, and more excellent views, this time of a Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita tristis, with the advantage of the bird being accompanied by a 'yellow' collybita, as opposed to our bird being overall much paler. Also seen, a Grey Wagtail and Pied Wagtail on the beds. In the field opposite the works, c.350 Pink-footed Geese and 230 Curlew. At Fluke Hall, up to 900 Pink-footed Geese, also noted 7 Blackbird in 50m of hedgerow, and a lone Tree Sparrow. 

Over our house on Friday, at least 450 Jackdaw at 4.05pm flew NW towards Aldcliffe. This is a daily occurrence, but I'm struggling to work out where exactly they go to roost. When we lived elsewhere in Lancaster 8 years ago, we saw the Jackdaws gather nightly towards dusk on the  top of the tower block at the then called St Martins Collage - now the University of Cumbria - when they would fly off towards Ashton Hall, where 900 Jackdaws were recorded going to roost on 15 December.

The Purple Heron.

The Purple Heron has the reputation of an over-shooting spring visitor with some even through to October. It breeds as close as France and Spain, but many records are linked to breeding colonies in the Netherlands. I reckon this bird should really be wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, and certainly not in a field at Eagland Hill on the Fylde in January.

The first record of a Purple Heron in Britain was at Middlesex in 1722, but although today it is regarded as an annual vagrant to Britain, the next record didn't come until 88 years later in 1810. Since 1983 the species ceased to be considered by the BBRC, by which time over 700 records had been accepted.    

In The End....Another Barnie.

Hardly riveting on my first days birding in 2016 yesterday, but the visit to Cockersands was rewarded by yet another Barn Owl. Reasonably obvious the same bird as seen 28 December behind Bank Houses horse paddock, which is where this one ended up quartering again today. I had picked the bird up as it flew through the yard at Abbey Farm. It would have been good to have seen it coming out of one of the buildings at the farm as proof that this is where the bird is currently hanging out. I've never seen a Barn Owl at or anywhere near this farm before.

Back to the beginning....At Conder Green, despite a full circuit, the creeks were deserted save a solitary Curlew and two of the 8 Little Grebe seen here today, the other six on the pool. Also on Conder Pool, a single Snipe was on one of the nest boxes which look like they are never going to float off the island as I predicted they may, unless the weather has other ideas. Up to 50 Mallard and Teal, with 15 Wigeon, 5 Tufted Duck, and 2 Shelduck....I've not seen the Spotted Redshank at Conder Green since 7 December, nor the Common Sandpiper since 15 December. 

On the Lune Estuary, a Ruff was with a group separate from a total of c.450 Redshank, also c.2,500 Golden Plover, c.55 Black-tailed Godwit, a few scattered Bar-tailed Godwit, and at least 50 Dunlin. I saw a total of 14 Goldeneye, three on the estuary, and eleven on the canal basin.

A Kestrel was on Moss Lane, and off Crook Farm at Cockersands, c.1,500 Lapwing, 55 Golden Plover and 50 Dunlin. Around the winter cover crop on Slack Lane 2 Greenfinch, and in and around Bank Houses horse paddock, 10 Goldfinch, 7 Blackbird, a Song Thrush, and Mistle Thrush.

Back to the end....Enter the Barn Owl!

Garden Birds. 

Siskin. Noushka Dufort @ 1000-Pattes  

A smart little male Siskin visited our feeders yesterday morning, a scarce bird in our garden, the last one being 27 January 2015, later 2 Greenfinch appeared as another quite scarce garden species for us. 

And finally....

A Siberian Chiffchaff was on the RBA pager yesterday SW of Lancaster at Aldcliffe Marsh. 

Siberian Chiffchaff. Chris Batty.

This Siberian Chiffchaff was photographed in a Knott End garden precisely 3 years ago today on 5 January 2013. There's some interesting reading about the complexities of the Siberian Chiffchaff HERE 

Thanks to Noushka and Chris for the photographs, always appreciated. 

The Not So Happy New Year Has Arrived....

....Well at least the first bit of bad news for 2013 has come to my attention, and in using Birds2blog as my platform I'd like to share it with you just in case you didn't already know.

But please note this is going to be brief, and several hundred words shorter than it could be. I also have no intention of naming names, or slagging off political parties....not this time anyway!

Hen Harrier. Copy Permitted.

By the end of March funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) may well come to an end, but to be positive about this 'people power' has won the day before and can hopefully do so again if we all protest to this withdrawal of a paltry £136,000 to help the law to protect our birds/wildlife. I've written to an MP about this to ask if he has signed the Early Day Motion (EDM) on this issue and I'll post negative replies on here if I get any. 

I've always strived for, and wanted to be referred to as a birder in the true sense of the word, and I wondered if you - most visitors to Birds2blog are birders, though I appreciate not all are - would follow me and contact your MP to ask if he/she has also signed this EDM. If you have a tendency to follow and support the policies of the Conservatives I think you'll find he/she hasn't signed it, the last time I looked just three had done so, a bad start to the campaign to stop this funding to the NWCU but....check it out  HERE 

I did say at the top of this post that I wouldn't be slagging any political parties off or naming names, but in a polite and diplomatic tone I'll have to break that promise and the truth of the matter here is that D.Cameron and Co are not known to be a bunch of countryside lovers in the full sense, probably more akin to some of the other 'Guardians of the Countryside' I'd say and who will be rubbing their hands at the sound of all this funding withdrawal giving them an even freer hand to slaughter birds and other wildlife which gets in the way of their 'trade'.

Well, I did say I'd be brief, and at least I've kept that promise, so here endeth the first lesson. But do please try to help by making your voice known. Lack of action on wildlife persecution will become even more lacking, and crimes against it will become even more undetected, prosecuted, and punished for the sake of a mere share of £136,00 funding....Our wildlife/birds need us. 

Robin Isidro Ortiz  

A Robin sings regularly in our garden - it is also on the verge of feeding out of the hand - last night it sang full song in the dark at 4.45pm. I recall John Leedal once telling me the Robin sings the whole year round, but yesterday I also heard a Coal Tit singing....Lots to learn about birds yet, and learning something new every day. Thanks for your 'Spanish' Robin Isidro....Excellent and much appreciated.

Siberian Chiffchaff. Chris Batty.

This Siberian Chiffchaff represents the second excellent record to be collected recently, it was in the same garden the Pallas's Warbler took up residence in mid-October last year, another Siberian Chiffchaff and a Little Bunting are also to be added to this list in the same garden....Some garden, some 'on the ball' observations, numerous birds like this must go unnoticed in the UK annually.    

Thanks to CB for allowing all this on Birds2blog.