Birk Bank And Miscellany

Willow Warbler. Pete Woodruff.

A whizz around the Birk Bank area on Thursday produced another good number of 18 Willow Warbler, and the miserable count of a lone Meadow Pipit. Best of the rest, a Garden Warbler and Chiffchaff, with a male Stonechat, 3 Red Grouse and 3 Wren to note. 

Butterflies. 

A decent show of 10 Orange Tip including two seen as a pair with a couple of intruders trying to get in on the act

Also up to 30 Small/Large White seen, 6 Green Hairstreak, 2 Green-veined White and a Peacock, with a few White-tailed Bumblebee seen.

Mini-Beasts.

Green Tiger Beetle. Pete Woodruff.

I can often come across the Green Tiger Beetle on the moors in Bowland, they lie in wait for an unsuspecting insect to come by and pounce on, and the little mobsters can fly too.

Pompilid. Pete Woodruff.

A member of the Pompilidae family, this is a formidable Spider-hunting Wasp.

Birk Bank Bog.

The Large Red Damselfly is always the first of the season and commonest species to be seen in our recording area, and should be found during the second half of April, but despite paying two visits to Birk Bank Bog today, one before my whizz-around and again after it, there wasn't a single Large Red Damselflies to be seen.

I took a series of photographs at the bog today, these two examples show this excellent location, which currently doesn't appear to be the best place for dragonflies in my opinion.

 

Although there is plenty of acidic water along the left hand side of the bog, and maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but worth noting, this is home to a scarce dragonfly, that of the Keeled Skimmer, first found here 10 years ago in August 2015 by Steve Graham, and seen here by myself every year since. It is also the site where I had sightings of 7 Golden-ringed Dragonfly on four dates last year, including a female observed ovipositing.....Only time will tell if any of this will happen again this year.

The Header.

Howard Stockdale has previously submitted to me, three of the same Spotted Redshank taken since 1 April. Paul Ellis took one 3 days ago on 24 April, it shows a near full moult into breeding plumage which will have been completed over 4 weeks.....Amazing stuff.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for the excellent Spotted Redshank header image. 

Wilfred The Cuckoo.

Wilfred has arrived back in the UK. He is the first of the tagged Cuckoos to have done so, he is back on his breeding grounds within the Broads National Park near Worlingham Marshes where he was tagged in early June last year, clearly highlighting just how site-faithful these Cuckoos really are.

Welcome back Wilfred, I think you are one amazing bird!

Edit.

FIVE SWIFT OVER FAIRFIELD WEST OF LANCASTER CITY CENTRE THIS EVENING 8.56PM.

CUCKOO BIRK BANK 20 APRIL.

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.  

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. 

Golden Moments.

On Monday, I gave Grisedale Brook 2 hours to find 12 Golden-ringed Dragonfly, the result of staking out for 1/4 mile at three positions to Holme Wood. Of these twelve sightings, I eliminated four as duplicate counts, bringing the count to eight.

Also seen in the area, 14 Meadow Brown, 4 Small Heath, 4 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Ringlet, and a Small Skipper.

Fast forward to Hawthornthwaite, where I found just one female Stonechat, which promptly flew off some distance to disappear from view on the east side of Catshaw. A Painted Lady was nice here, also 4 Large White and 2 Small Heath seemed to continue the paucity of butterfly records for me.

White-tailed Bumblebee. Pete Woodruff.

A few White-tailed Bumblebee seen on Hawthornthwaite are regarded as probably Bombus cryptarum, being the species that occupies upland habitats. In July last year, I found at least 60 here, this visit produced less in number.

A heads-up a couple of weeks ago from AC, had me finding 5 Golden-ringed Dragonfly on Cam Brook, to give me the total of an impressive seventeen sightings on the day.

Human Remains.

There's never any shortage of examples of human remains to be found in the Forest of Bowland.

This person - that's me being polite - leaving his dogs crap in a bag at Grisedale Bridge, obviously has a sick sense of humour, with a university degree in ignorance to go with it.

This litter was left behind in the stream below Hawthornthwaite Fell, by some lout who wouldn't have the care to realise they were leaving their empty cans of lager in an AONB....Sad i'nit!

A late record....On Sunday, a walk along the canal to Deep Cutting, was rewarded by 6 Emperor Dragonfly all male.

Weather Permitting!

I've not had a days birding since Thursday 5 May, and it hurts for me to have to say that I'm in danger of suffering from a bout of depression. 

But hey....Wildlife always has something to interest, and one of a few events this week for me, was a couple of visits to check out the cemetery Nuthatch nesting in the Cypress tree. The video shows, first the female enters the nest hole, and doesn't emerge, the male then visits the hole, it doesn't appear to have food to offer the female, but something white shows at the nest hole, there's no exchange, and the object in the females bill disappears back into the hole with what appears to be a fecal sac....See for yourself. 

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Lancaster Swifts.

I saw my first 2 Swift yesterday 14 May high over our Bowerham garden. At least 8 Swift were in the Fairfield area where they breed annually, and I spotted 2 Swift from a moving car over Ashton Road.

Garstang House Martins.

To follow finding Tree Sparrows nesting on 9 April, there was another pleasant surprise for me at Garstang yesterday, when I found 6 House Martins with nests and one under construction, under the eaves of business property behind Booths in the town centre. 

Garden Bees.

Common Carder Bee in the garden performing acrobatic skills on Water Avens.

White-Tailed Bumblebee performing and briefly dangling from Aquilegia in the garden.

The next few days may see me avoiding any depression from lack of birding....Weather permitting.

Edit.

Not wanting to hide behind my errors....I was grateful to an admin at BWARS for the correction to the bottom video in the post, which I claimed to be White-Tailed Bumblebee Bombus lucorum which is how I have decided to leave it in the title above. It is in fact a Small Garden Bumblebee Bombus hortorum.

After The Fall, And Four Nice Chats

As the result of a fall in perfect conditions, in the four hours around the Birk Bank area, I recorded at least 22 Willow Warbler most heard only,  Otherwise, a lone Chiffchaff, 4 Meadow Pipit, 3 Buzzard soaring and mewing, and 2 Dunnock in the car park on Rigg Lane.

It was good to get myself back on the top of Birk Bank again on Thursday to find 4 Stonechat. A little early in the season to get the full picture of breeding birds here, but if I get myself back up at the end of April, the picture will be more convincing.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee on flowering Bilberry. Pete Woodruff.

I saw a few Buff-tailed Bumblebee, and also saw White-tailed Bumblebee, the taxonomy of which is complex and the subject of ongoing research. The label Bombus lucorum is used to include two other species, B.magnus and B.cryptarum, and are treated as 'aggregate' species....Add to this, much more science of interest....But I'm out of my comfort zone now!

Green Hairstreak. Pete Woodruff.

Other insect interest was 5 Green Hairstreak seen.

Up the path from the car park, I was confronted by a rogue Red Grouse, the second of its kind, with one behaving in the same manner was seen several times a couple of years ago in this area. They are aggressive, and the last one actually flew at me on one occasion. I reckon neither of these birds can fly any distance if at all, and behave for some reason in a retarded manner.

Bilberry Bumblebee. Copyright David Whitaker.

It would have been great to have found my Birk Bank Buff-tailed Bumblebee was a Bilberry Bumblebee like David Whitaker did. With the help I've had from some experts, I may decide to take on the quest to hunt them down in Bowland. 

I'm grateful to Ian Mitchell for being in touch with the moth in his trap recently.

Blossom Underwing. Ian Mitchell.

A scarce moth, not common anywhere, found locally in the south and Wales, and infrequently seen in NW England. Its name is given by the pink-tinged hindwings distinguishing it from most other species. Nice one Ian, many thanks.  

Owt About In Bowland.

Time flies by, and it was last week when the little black book says the weather was cloudy with a little sun, and I took a look in on Hawthornthwaite Fell.

I struggled to find 3 Stonechat, two seen as a distant pair far up on Catshaw, and a lone bird heard scolding. Also noted, 12 Meadow Pipit and 2 Wren, a Grey Wagtail was on Catshaw Grieve, with 8 Sand Martin, a Buzzard overhead, and 8 Small Heath butterflies seen.  

The most interesting aspect of the visit, was the sight of bumblebees, seen for around 100m along the grit track on the lower slopes of the fell nectaring on the nettles.

White-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lucorum. Pete Woodruff.

The taxonomy of the White-tailed Bumblebee is complex, and as I'm not a scientist, I'm going to avoid to much of it here. 

The Bombus lucorum label has been used to include two other species, B.magnus and B.cryptarum. I've recorded the ones I saw last week as 60 White-tailed Bumblebee, probably B.cryptarum which is to be found more commonly in the uplands, with Bombus lucorum regarded to dominate the lowlands.

I'm grateful to Dave Bickerton and Ben Hargreaves, for their help and contributions on this subject.

I was really chuffed to finally locate the Spotted Flycatchers at Tower Lodge, with excellent views of two adult and at least one juvenile seen. These are the only pair in this are this year, though I did find a lone bird 22 June at the plantation at Marshaw. The House Martins are still visiting the nests at Tower Lodge.

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A wander along the Marshaw Wyre to Trough Bridge. Along the way, I found the FOBMG nest box to be deserted and birds moved on. The female Pied Flycatcher seemed to have endless energy to and fro the nest box feeding young, with never a male in sight on every visit I made here. 

A welcome surprise was a Common Sandpiper still well upstream, also 3 Grey Wagtail. The only disappointment today was, I've still to find my first Dipper of 2021 in this area.