Mother & Child Comp......

.....or more appropriate 'Natural Born Killers'. The Leighton Moss Greater Black - backed Gull adult and juvenile pictured above of which one of the adults killed an intruding bird of the same species last year when it foolishly landed on the island opposite the Public Hide which had been claimed as strictly their territory for the purposes of bringing up a family, and which decided to stay put and face the consequences the result of which resulted in its demise. Also on the island today were 5 Greenshank and 26 Redshank all of which made hasty departures on more than one occasion when any one of the three gull's made as much as a wing flap. A Buzzard and Marsh Harrier were noted as was a pair of Great - crested Grebe to which I must add, in all the years I visited LM I never yet observed this species with young......have they ever bred here I ask myself.

From the Griesdale Hide I noted 5 Little Egret, a male Marsh Harrier gave excellent views flying past the hide, and 3 Red Deer stag's seen. At the back of the pool along the hedgerow at the bottom of the field I watched c.60 'finches' which I never did get to grips with before they soon disappeared but were considered to have been Goldfinch in which case my third 50/60 flock in two days.

From the Eric M'cbe Hide birds to note were, 12 Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, a Common Sandpiper, 4 Little Egret, no more than 6 Black - tailed Godwit, and a Little Gull (think there are still two here yet) the smallest gull in the world and staying on the EM Complex for an unprecedented period of time......Looks like the RSPB bug may have taken a hold of me just now but over the years this place has turned up so many scarce and rare birds for my records that I just enjoy a good 'rake' around and wonder what next and when.

Some editing required here and whilst I have no intention of covering up my error I'm truly grateful to my informant re this matter. In the brief headline story in this post apparently it was the intruding Greater Black - backed Gull which killed the resident male then nested. This makes the whole thing even more intriguing and interesting and is the perfect example of the complexities of bird behaviour of which I have a large number of examples in my records some of which I intend to bring to this blog at times.

WoodRuff!

That must qualify for just about the most unoriginal title ever, but when I visited Conder Green this morning the first bird I found was Mondays Lune Estuary Ruff, it ran as an equal to the juvenile Mediterranean Gull which was on Conder Pool along with a Kingfisher and Little Grebe. In the creeks and channel 12 Common Sandpiper, 5 Black - tailed Godwit, c.160 Redshank and 6 Dunlin, about six House Martin are still around River Winds feeding young. The Lune estuary at Glasson Dock was a little depressing with similar numbers to Monday of c.1,000 Redshank, and 130 Dunlin, and little else of note. On Jeremy Lane a flock of c.50 Goldfinch and another flock seen later in the day brought thoughts of whether or not the same numbers would show again at Conder Green this year as in 2008 when c.400 were observed on Monday 22 September. Cockersands was about as depressing as Glasson Dock with a lone Whimbrel, up to 30 Eider off Plover Scar, and no more than c.120 Oystercatcher on the scar.

So after some consideration I made the 30 minute steady drive to Marshaw which amazingly transforms watching wader's to watching Hen Harrier's (but not today) in such a short space of time. The decision was all worth while if only to find two 'Red Listed' birds the Spotted Flycatcher, one in the small plantation just beyond the cattle grid and another later in the plantation behind Tower Lodge. Also here, a male Redstart, a Treecreeper, Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, and a flock of c.50 birds in the air which were initially too distant to hear and gave me quite a run around whilst imagining I was on to the best number of Redpoll I ever saw but turned out to be my second good number of Goldfinch.

On the way home I called in - probably for the last time this year - to check out the House Martin's at Christ Church at Abbeystead to conclusively confirm just one nest being attended to by a pair. At the risk of being a bore I have to once more record this is from c.15 nest's visible still at the church from previous years. There was no sign of the Spotted Flycatchers here today.

Unable to find a suitable pic of my own for this post - nothing new there then - this excellent one of a wing stretching Lapwing is thanks to Peter Guy.

Struggling On.

Still struggling with the birds in late July but a juvenile Ruff on the Lune Estuary from Glasson Dock this morning was both excellent and a bit like finding a rarity these days for this species in the area, also to note were 10 Bar - tailed Godwit, the Redshank number here today I would estimate at around 1,000 birds with a red'ish Knot amongst one of the groups, c.130 Dunlin were also to note, I saw no evidence of any Lapwing or Curlew numbers of note. Earlier I had seen a 'record' number of 8 Greenshank on Conder Pool along with a roosting Spotted Redshank which has now almost assumed its winter plumage, a Little Grebe was also present on here today. In the Conder channel downstream from the old railway bridge c.250 Redshank and 22 Dunlin were noted, and in the creeks at least 11 Common Sandpiper continued to maintain this location as one of the best in the area for this early returning wader which have been showing here for over a month now.

With limited time on my hands today for birding I decided to do another one of those calorie burning exercises and legged it to Cockers Dyke from Fluke Hall - hoping to find 'something' on the way - to see 2 adult Mediterranean Gull, up to 650 Dunlin, and 65 Golden Plover. From the sea wall back to Fluke Hall I noted a single Small Tortoiseshell and 8 Painted Lady butterflies, and at Pilling Lane Ends butterfly life seen here consisted of 16 Gatekeeper and at least the same number of Painted Lady, 2 Common Blue - if my memory serves me right - were my first this summer.

The pic is courtesy of Peter Guy and is not only an excellent image of these birds but is also one of my favourite waders, the male of which must be regarded as one of our smartest in its fine breeding plumage. The Turnstone isn't a species found in large numbers in our area and my personal best ever count to date was on 3 December 2008 when I did a steady walk from Teal Bay to Broadway and counted 170 birds on the various groynes which they appear to have taken a liking to as opposed to the wooden jetty at Heysham Harbour where they used to roost in large numbers.

A Bit Thin!

When BT suggested to me that we start at LM today if I'd have thought I could have got away with it I would have jumped out of his car and run a mile, but with my respect for BT I readily agreed, a good idea......but oh dear two LM days in succession!

Interesting that there's no fear of becoming a bore and repeating yesterday's records because when we entered the Eric M'cbe Hide the place had changed with the overnight high tide from being the best location in the North West and beyond to just about the worst, as the complex was more reminiscent of Lake Windermere and not a wader in sight, not quite true actually as I found 6 Dunlin in the distance, 2 Little Egret were here as yesterday, as were 2 Little Gull, but the best had to be the female Ruddy Shelduck which I failed to find yesterday, though a bird not to be taken 'seriously'. A Raven went over, and from the path a Sedge Warbler and 2 Whitethroat all gave excellent views. At the Griesdale Hide I noted 2 Little Egret, a juvenile Marsh Harrier showed well, and 2 Red Deer one of which was a smart stag. At the Lillian Hide I counted 340 Coot and little if anything else whilst beginning to understand what the guy meant when he said to me yesterday as he departed from the Public Hide 'the excitement is becoming too much for me here'.

So now wer'e off to walk over Yealand Allotments to Gaitbarrows to search for butterflies which is precisely what it turned out to be 'a search'. Meadow Brown's were the most numerous, followed by much fewer Speckled Wood, 4 Painted Lady, and obviously by far the best find eventually were 4 High Brown Fritillary. Birds seen were a Buzzard and a mixed flock of 'tit's' which held at least 8 Coal Tit's.

I think maybe today's post title is a little untrue but there you go. As for the pic, well......despite yesterday's threat to keep him out in cold and off the blog BR has yet again won the day with a stunning image of a male Marsh Harrier at Leighton Moss......what else is there for me to say.

Owt about!

Having had enough of the weather yesterday I turned shy of risking the same experience again today - and in any case I was already in the North of the area - so where did I decide to go......Leighton Moss where at least I would have a roof over my head, but needn't have bothered as it turned into quite a nice day.

From the Public Hide I saw at least four of the Marsh Harriers which were all juveniles save an adult, stunning creatures which we should be pleased we have on our doorstep. Other raptors were 2 Buzzard, and a Sparrowhawk flew across the mere, a Greenshank was on the island, also flying across the mere were 3 Little Egret which brought about thoughts that just a few years ago my mobile would have been set on fire with calls about these three birds at Leighton Moss, how things change......Oh and by the way I saw three Little Egret too. Its also worth a mention that just a few minutes after I saw most if not all of these birds and wrote them in my notes, a man got up from his seat in the hide and as he walked past me said (in humour I assume but sounded sarcastic) quote....'the excitement is becoming too much for me here'.... unquote. I'm quite convinced this person saw none of the five species I've just recorded here nor some of the other species I've not noted in this post......how unfortunate for him. A brief visit to the Jackson Hide produced 6 Little Egret lingering over the Griesdale Hide which was closed for reed cutting, unfortunate as I think this is one of the best hides on the reserve and almost certainly holds a Green Sandpiper I was denied finding because of the closure.

At the Eric M'cbe Hide I saw another 2 Little Egret (so did I see eleven here today?) 2 Little Gull, 8 Greenshank, and an estimated 600 Black - tailed Godwit. The only butterflies seen today at LM were a Comma in the car park, and a Red Admiral from the path to the Eric M'cbe Hide.

Just a little 'fun pic' today called 'Find the Spotty', not really difficult at rest on Conder Pool recently.

BR Does It Again!

No not British Rail......Brian Rafferty has been doing the rounds at Leighton Moss once again and if you really want to see a Hobby or a Bittern you obviously could do much worse than follow this guy about. This blog isn't for singing the praises of - or advertising - BR and his excellent photography but if he's intent on being this successful in both seeing and photographing these birds then that's what I'm going to do. I've already told him about the hordes who travel miles to see the Bittern and Bearded Tit at LM to travel more miles to return from whence they came invariably empty handed. This BR bloke has been more than lucky of late and his image of the bird in flight may interest the ringing fraternity and LM staff as it clearly illustrates the Bamber Bridge bird in A1 condition and enjoying life at LM.

As for me......well, today is best forgotten as I spent more time sitting it out in the car wasting my life away hoping for Mr Sunshine - or at least some blue sky - to put in an appearance......no chance, and I ran out of antidepressant tablets too. I did manage to count at least 12 Common Sandpiper in the Conder channel, a pair of Moorhen on Conder Pool have so far had the good fortune to have seven surviving young in tow, and counted 155 Lapwing on here. A drive in desperation to the Cockersands lighthouse was to no avail due to the rain which made dents in the roof of my car, but I did manage to count c.30 Eider, and 2 Whimbrel obligingly came down on the shingle in front of me......roll on summer whilst I roll on back home!

Eel for Lunch

Eel for Lunch
Originally uploaded by e s c h e r

This is a short video made by a non-birder friend of mine who visited Leighton Moss recently and watched this Cormorant tussling with the Eel which once caught by this formidable underwater hunter was doomed to be a meal for the bird.

The video is best viewed on 'full screen' by clicking on the arrows at the bottom right hand.

Ladies Day.

Theres always a feel good factor to getting out of the car at somewhere like Harrisend and wandering off for a couple of hours, though there was nothing feel good about the weather today when the sun disappeared behind the clouds - as it did most of the day - it felt more like 20 April.

I found 9 Stonechat on Harrisend today, in order of sightings they were seen as a pair, a single juvenile, a female and four juvenile, and a single juvenile. The most exciting observation was seeing c.25 Starlings flying NW at about c.40 mph when a Peregrine Falcon came into view following them at c.140 mph catching up in seconds and achieving nothing more than scattering them, so the 'falcons' master of the hunt title went out the window on this occasion. Also to note 2 Buzzard, a Kestrel, 4 Red Grouse, a Song Thrush, just 7 Meadow Pipit, and 6 Painted Lady butterflies.

At Hawthornthwaite as expected I found not a single Stonechat. I saw just 2 Meadow Pipit, a Buzzard, and at least 7 Sand Martin were around the recently discovered colony. An excellent record here today was 22 Painted Lady.

At Marshaw it was a pleasure to find the Spotted Flycatcher's have three juvenile in the area around the small plantation just beyond the cattle grid with all five birds observed, also a juvenile Redstart was in this area but I could find no adults. From the Hawthornthwaite access track I found only 3 Stonechat today being a pair and single juvenile, 6 Meadow Pipit, 4 Kestrel included three in the air together, a Buzzard, and a Song Thrush noted, and another 7 Painted Lady seen.

Today's best positive record was the 35 Painted Lady butterflies seen at three locations, whilst in the negative just 15 Meadow Pipit's were seen at the same three locations in six hours......food for thought.

I don't recall ever having had the opportunity to photograph the underwing of a Painted Lady as good as I had today giving me the chance to study this beautiful creatures markings in detail.

Heres Hoping.

I hope to get out tomorrow to check out the two H's, Harrisend and Hawthornthwaite though with regard to the latter I expect to see no Stonechat's from the Scorton Road access track. Despite four visits here already this year I found just one female on 16 March, so any found on my next visit will be something of a revelation. The Marshaw access track to Hawthornthwaite will be a different story hopefully as I found five birds on my last visit here on 8 June including three juveniles.

Meanwhile three more pic's from three more of my suppliers of photographic excellence to my blog. My sincere thanks go to anyone who gives me permission to use their pic's, and in the case of these three photographs, in my opinion there can be no way any of them can be improved upon and in my book can only be referred to as 'stunning'.

The Willow Warbler is credited to David Cookson and in photographic terms is sharp enough to cut your finger on. Excellent David and thanks very much.

The Golden Plover is credited to Peter Guy and is the ultimate shot of this or any other bird. Thanks Peter and for all the images you sent me recently.

The stunning male Stonechat is credited to Colin Bushell. Any photograph of a Stonechat is good enough for me and this one is much better than good enough. Thanks Colin.

Part Time Birding......

......and some more raptor pic's.

I could only allow myself a couple of hours today, in itself something of a change as I rarely - if ever - get out on Saturday leading a life with important matters to deal with other than birds. I established many years ago that there would never be a day when birding could be a seven day a week 'thing' for me......I wish......lucky the man who can!

At Conder Green c.250 Redshank were in the Conder channel, whilst I found just 3 Common Sandpiper here today, 2 Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank were seen, and 3 Linnet were to note on the edge of Conder Pool.. I paid two visits to the pool whilst out, one at the start and one at the finish of my couple of hours and despite viewing the pool from the only three viewpoints available void of trespass there was no sign of any LRP's. At Glasson Dock on the Lune Estuary a 2s Mediterranean Gull was excellent, and a Whimbrel was of note, at least 220 Greylag were on Colloway Marsh but others I reckon were hidden from view. I barely had time to visit Cockersands to do the place any justice but just about noticed c.14 Eider off Plover Scar when I had to leave.

I posed the question 'where are the Common Blue's' on my post yesterday and a contact has been in touch with me and informs me that he knew where some of them were on 12 June when he had counted 154 at Fleetwood Nature Park......excellent.

BR has been out and about at LM again and has achieved some more excellent images, this time of the Marsh Harrier. Well, if he's going to keep getting results like these two posted here today and allowing me to put them up on here that's exactly what I intend doing. These are two stunning images of a juvenile bird - one of fourteen this year - and the 'head on' shot of this beautiful dark brown bird with golden crown, throat, and speckled forewing is particularly brilliant. Thanks for lending some 'sparkle' to Birds2blog with your amazing photography BR.