Raptorous!

Well a bit 'raptorous' anyway....but please read on.

OK....I know there was an American Golden Plover at Cockersands, a birder I know well - whose ability to find the unfindable is second to none - was seen on the radar here again and if there was going to be an AGP - or anything else of note at Cockersands - he'd probably find it....but I had other birding to do today.

As with my last post, not much pen and ink used to record the event in the hills again today but if you're going to study an upland species you have to get up there and do it, but I do realise when spending long periods of silence and very few birds up here in the wilds, why I rarely see any other birders....there are few - if any - 'ticks' to be had up here. 

Carrion Crow/Little Owl Brian Rafferty   

Theres a connection with this image and my post in that it was taken in Bowland where I did my birding again today. Thanks Brian, excellent and with a little humour,  the expression of the Little Owl appears to suggest it may be thinking....what the bloody hell!!

Stonechat Paul Foster

Well, we had to have a Stonechat pic didn't we....Thanks Paul, a bit rare these days.

Having made only two previous visits to Harrisend Fell this year, I found a pair and one male Stonechat on 26 March, followed by a visit on 24 May to find none, the good news is that although it took me 2 hours and I was on the return path, I did find a family party of at least 4 Stonechat today. I use the term 'at least' because I reckon there could have been more, but I was some considerable distance from the birds and couldn't get the number to add up to any more. So either a pair and two juvenile, or a male and three juvenile seen and proof of one breeding pair of Stonechat on Harrisend in 2012.... ALLELUIA!

Other notes, a Merlin definitely livened up the day, though Hobby ran through my mind but I'm sticking with Merlin, 4 kestrel were in the air together, and a Buzzard over, c.12 Mistle Thrush were difficult to count amongst the trees and moving around, 3 Meadow Pipit, 3 Small Tortoiseshell seen, and the Small Copper was my first this year and maybe my last.

On the west side of Hawthornthwaite Fell, despite finding a male and female Stonechat here on 24 May - which is my only previous visit here this year - I saw none today, but I have to say the sight of 3 Peregrine Falcon overhead together is something special, also a Kestrel, 6 Red Grouse, a single Meadow Pipit, and a Snipe flushed was a bit of a surprise. 

Heather. Pete Woodruff.

....and the Heather was beautiful up here this year too. 

And finally....

Black Darter. Pete Woodruff.

I found one or two Black Darters over and around the bog at Birk Bank on Tuesday, this one a male.

Common Darter. Pete Woodruff.

Also one or two Common Darters too.

To the hills.

This won't take long - though the survey did - and I didn't use much ink and paper either. And look....a post with no blue or red highlights! 

I was off into the hills on Tuesday, up Clougha and Birk Bank to be precise, for the first time for more than five months on 26 March. I spent the customary five hours and walked about eight miles during which time and distance I searched intensely for the Stonechat to no avail. 

OK, so we know the Stonechat on Clougha, Birk Bank - and many other upland locations I'm acquainted with - met its end following the second successive harsh winter. But a pair wintering on Clougha in March brought some hope, though I would suggest the summer which followed dashed any hope for many ground nesting birds like the Stonechat and was pretty well equal to the harsh winter they had just endured and survived. So it won't take long to write up my Stonechat report for 2012....or today's records either.

You can't help but wonder what a days birding in an area like this would have been two or three hundred years ago, what species and what numbers of birds would you have encountered. Today I recorded just eleven species which probably didn't total more than 100 birds in the five hours including the 'painfully obvious' top four on the list which I was certain to see and on this ocassion had no intention of counting.

The list....

Carrion Crows

Rooks 

Jackdaws

Swallows 

Great Tit
Kestrel 

2 Wren

4 Wheatear 

2 Raven
10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls overhead on thermals 

21 Red Grouse

Out of the history book....

Savi's Warbler. John Leedal.

I was looking through my stock of JL's old pics once again and came across this one of the Savi's Warbler at Leighton Moss in 1991. John took this from the Jackson Hide and I remember the day like it was yesterday. The picture isn't the best one in the world, but a Savi's Warbler nevertheless. The bird has an amazing song very much like that of the Grasshopper Warbler as can be heard in this recording....

Kentish Plover. John Leedal.

And this one of 'the other' Kentish Plover. This bird returned to Rossall Point at Fleetwood for about six consecutive winters, and is the very same individual I found on the groyne at Teal Bay on 19 November 1994 and was found back at Rossall Point later the same day....Halcyon 'Birding' Days. 

American Golden Plover. Copy Permitted. 

An American Golden Plover was found at Cockersands yesterday 5 September and was seen again today....I think there may be more about this on Birds2blog later.

Med Gull here, Med Gull there....

....here, there, everywhere a Med Gull....well not quite but I did find six on today's rounds.

Conder Green was a bit of a road to nowhere today but that's birding isn't it. On the pool the count has increased to 4 Little Grebe and the summering 2 Wigeon were back on here after quite a long stretch away somewhere. Twelve House Martin were around River Winds and good numbers of Swallow here and elsewhere all day either feeding over fields or heading south. 

On the Lune Estuary the adult Whooper Swan continues to keep itself apart from the Mute Swans though never far away. A Little Egret was below Waterloo Cottage, and 2 Mediterranean Gull were an adult and near-adult, waders noted were c.700 Redshank with similar Lapwing though not at all huge in number yet, and c.150 Golden Plover, a Peregrine Falcon was on Colloway Marsh quietly and threateningly looking about and ready to put panic to several hundred waders the instant it took off. 

At Cockersands another 3 Mediterranean Gull with a few hundred Black-headed Gull in a field being cut by Mr Farmer in his tractor. I went nowhere beyond Plover Scar today noting similar numbers to recent visits of, c.225 Dunlin, 125 Ringed Plover, 75 Oystercatcher, 3 Turnstone and a Whimbrel. 

Sedum Copyright

Doing myself out of the healthy trundle to Bank End, I drove to the Caravan Park where the days total count of c.35 Small Tortoiseshell included eight feeding on Sedum, I think this is my best butterfly count of the year. On the way to Bank End I saw a Kestrel reminding me of the few I've seen of late, another Mediterranean Gull here, a Wheatear and Little Egret brought the days birding to a close. 

And the unrelated pics....

Shag. David Cookson.

  

Fulmar. David Cookson.

A couple of excellent images showing the bonds two birds have when they become a pair.... frozen in a moment of time. My thanks to David Cookson for these two photographs. 

Jay Ana Minguez

Not just a picture of a Jay but one with a touch of humour with this bird engaged in bathing and its appearance as a result of getting a soaking....Brilliant Ana and many thanks. 

Reed Warbler Martin Jump. 

Martin has an excellent illustrated account HERE of this Reed Warblers antics in getting to this food source.  I met Martin today at Glasson Dock and it was good to finally put a face to the name. Good to see you Martin and many thanks for your support on Birds2blog....I need it!

The Gull Problem.

I'd like to think I was considered by others as a 'birder' in the full sense of the word, but unfortunately I don't actually qualify for the title, and I'm not on my own here and reckon a good percentage of birders who visit Birds2blog don't qualify either. 

I'm making this comment based on the fact that the aforementioned 'good percentage' don't - just like me - take the interest in 'gulls' that they should do. I have my own reasons for not taking the same interest in these birds, being that I cannot bring myself to learn the ID skills required to put names to individuals which are immature as opposed to adults which I certainly will try my damnedest to ID in nearly all cases. 

Bonaparte's Gull Tim Kuhn

I think the Bonaparte's Gull is a good example of the kind of confusion us unskilled with gull types can be challenged with. OK this may not be the perfect example, if only because the species is a rare one, though in 1990 there was a peak of at least eleven Bonaparte's Gulls in the UK, and theres always the possibility you'll see a gull at a bit of a distance off the Stone Jetty  at  Morecambe one day and record it as a....

Black-headed Gull Antonio Puigg 

....Black-headed Gull just like me! 

Its all very well to say the Bonaparte's Gull is smaller than the Black-headed Gull, and is rounder headed, shorter necked, shorter legged, and has a slim black bill at all ages, but try achieving some of these characteristics off the jetty at Morecambe, or in even better situations perhaps if you're owt like me.  

Time to get your act together lads, do twelve months study of 'gull' ID, and join the ranks of 'proper fully paid up birders'. As for me....I'm always looking at something else!!

And another thing....I'm off birding tomorrow come what may.

A Complete Blank!

This is not good, and I get no enjoyment from creating this post which is to report a week completely void of any birding, depressing stuff and I can't go on like this, things must change....and soon or else.

Floods have been the areas to check recently, though a flood anywhere anytime is always worth a check and if you live in the same area as I do one at Aldcliffe is as good as they come. But  three particular floods have been in the news in the past few days, and all have hosted some 'good birds'.

Wood Sandpiper Dave Appleton 

A flood viewed from Lancaster Road near to Lousanna Farm at Out Rawcliffe - which I know well and drove past many hundreds of times during my days delivering car parts - held a nice Wood Sandpiper this week along with a number of Ruff which reached a double figure in one report I saw. Another Wood Sandpiper was present during the week on another flood at Todderstaffe Hall on the Fylde. I can offer no accurate number but I recall going into the Allan Hide at Leighton Moss with John Leedal one day to find c.8 Wood Sandpiper together, a record I never equalled since....Thanks for the photograph Dave.   

Pectoral Sandpiper Colin Bushell

On yet another flood NW of Garstang and east of Lathwaite, a Pectoral Sandpiper was present this week too with another on Banks Marsh. The Pectoral Sandpiper is the most numerous Nearctic wader on this side of the Atlantic, in excess of 1,400 were noted between 1958-85 an average of over 50 birds a year. The one in the image above was in Manu, Peru 2010....Thanks for this Colin.

Lesser Snow Geese Geoff Gradwell  

I think the biggest 'Lancashire' surprise of all this week was the appearance of Lesser Snow Geese on the Fylde coast where the number peaked at thirteen at Cockers Dyke on Pressall Sands. The image above is of seven of these thirteen birds which were also over Rossall Point at Fleetwood...Thanks Geoff.

And finally....

Common Sandpiper Antonio Puigg

I wonder if the Common Sandpiper will winter again at Conder Green, this bird was photographed 'nodding off' recently in Spain....Many thanks Antonio.

And the MEGA news today was of a Yelkouan Shearwater past Whitburn Steel in Co.Durham.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING....NEXT WEEK OR ELSE!!

In Brief....

....and no names.

Turtle Dove Antonio Puigg 

Its my intention to be brief here, but the escalation of bird persecution throughout the world dictates that I should draw attention to visitors to Birds2blog from around the same world to the intention of a couple of companies - one of which is close to my home town of Lancaster -  which are making arrangements to visit foreign parts for the purpose of engaging in the 'sport' of shooting Turtle Doves....I'll just repeat that in case you think I'm hitting the wrong keys on my keyboard....shooting Turtle Doves.

But there is a glimmer of hope here, in that having sent an e-mail to one of these companies expressing my concerns over these trips I received the following reply....

Many thanks for your email.

As a result of the Turtle Dove being put on a ‘red list’ status by the RSPB, we have recently removed these shooting trips from our website and itineraries.

If we can help in any other way, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Kind Regards

And the pics.... 

Killdeer Tim Kuhn

I've recently been in touch with Tim to see if he keeps well, and to check if it is still OK that I use his images on Birds2blog. Thankfully Tim agreed it was and so I decided to post a couple of his images of two waders most of us are never likely to see, though it must be said, both have occurred in the UK and are probably likely to again in the future....who knows. 

The Killdeer is a rare vagrant to the UK the last record of which was of a bird in Co Wicklow, Ireland, in December 2009. 

Least Sandpiper Tim Kuhn

The Least Sandpiper is an extremely rare vagrant to the UK and the last record was at Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Western Isles in October 2007.

Many thanks for these two excellent images which I appreciate very much Tim. Good to know you are well and keeping up the photography which - in the case of them being on Birds2blog -  are a much needed dash of colour and interest on an otherwise gloomy post for reasons not of my doing.

The Spoonbill.

Its good to have a first record of Spoonbill on the Lune Estuary, moving around a little but spending a lot of its time at the mouth of the River Conder, the bird has been in the area for a 'few' weeks now.

Thorburns Birds.

An excellent example of the Spoonbill, Flamingo, Black Stork, and White Stork from the equally excellent book 'Thorburns Birds'.

The Spoonbill breeds at scattered sites in Europe, it bred in East Anglia, probably until the 17th century. But the Spoonbill was seemingly extinct as a breeding bird until the late 1990's.  Clifford Oakes mentions the first Lancashire record which is of a bird on the Ribble during 1840. More modern records show the first as being five birds at Ainsdale in 1958, with two birds in July 1963 at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve where almost half the 'modern' records have been, and where the Spoonbill has been seen virtually annually since 1970.

By the late 1990's despite there being an increasing number of summering birds in the country there had never been any breeding Spoonbills suspected in the country, but a major surprise came in 1999 when a pair raised two young on the marshes of the south Ribble representing the first successful breeding in Britain since the 17th century....unfortunately they have not returned in subsequent years.

It is pleasing that I - like many other people - have seen the Spoonbill on recent visits to Glasson Dock where the bird can be viewed from the bowling green....an excellent record for the area. 

Waving goodbye....

Swallow Martin Jump

We've started to wave the Swallows goodbye for another year. I watched several individuals and groups fly past me going south last Friday with a mammoth task ahead of them. I reckon when we eventually see the records for 2012 we'll find the year has been at best a poor breeding season for the Swallows. One of the most amazing things about this species is that if the perch we see this individual on in this image is anywhere near its natal site, this bird could  again be found on this very post next year....mind blowing facts.

Thanks Martin, a brilliant image of the young Swallow with a lot of flying to do and an unforgiving desert to cross to reach its wintering grounds in Africa. 

  
Pink-footed Geese Brian Rafferty

And in a matter of a few weeks we'll be seeing the Pink-footed Geese dropping in in their thousands like these two to winter in areas like Pilling in the north Fylde.

And finally....

Peregrine Falcon Brian Rafferty

Yet another of those 'can't resist this one' images of an incredible Peregrine Falcon food pass with the adult above dropping prey to the juvenile below....Pretty impressive stuff Brian, thanks a lot for this and the PFG.

This is overdosing!

I got out birding again on Friday, this represents a total of something like 18 hours in one week and is a bit of an overdose when compared to my birding availability over the past 10 months....God, how much longer is this going to go on!

If the weather would settle down a little more I'm desperate to get off up into the uplands somewhere but I'm not up for getting soaked in the middle of nowhere. In particular I need to satisfy myself about the situation regarding the Stonechats on Clougha and Birk Bank, though the last time I checked out the area on 26 March just one pair was found, and if they had any intention of breeding up there I doubt they will have had any success given the worst summer since....when.

Red Admiral. Pete Woodruff. 

So the magnet pulled me once again to Conder Green where I decided to give this Red Admiral the 'Gold Award' for the days efforts. I can count the number of this species seen this year on one hand and it was a delight to watch this little beauty today. The birds noted here, 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 4 Common Sandpiper, with a Little Grebe on Conder Pool. I heard this 'meuuw' overhead a couple of times before the penny dropped and I looked up to see the Buzzard....something to do with my 'sell by date'.

Spoonbill Colin Bushell

This Spoonbill was on Banks Marsh when it was photographed....thanks for this Colin. 

The Lune Estuary Spoonbill was seen again where I also took note of the Ruff found on Tuesday with c.500 Redshank again, also c.220 Golden Plover, and an adult Yellow-legged Gull gave excellent views across from the bowling green at Glasson Dock. By the way....one of Thursdays five Mediterranean Gulls here was ringed on the left leg, frustratingly the bird was far too far away to read the ring which appeared to be a pale blue or green....Arggggh!  

Sanderling Martin Jump 

On a relatively short visit to check out Plover Scar at Cockersands I found no Sanderling today - thanks for the photograph Martin - but noted estimates of 320 Oystercatcher, 60 Dunlin, 20 Ringed Plover, 3 Turnstone, and c.35 Linnet was a good count. I saw a single butterfly here, another species I could count on one hand this summer, a Peacock.

And finally....

Peregrine Falcon Martin Jump 

In the hope no pigeon fanciers see this (whoops), an excellent image of the juvenile Peregrine Falcon which appears to have soon 'learned the trade' with the pigeon held firmly in its talons....Thanks for the pics Martin, much appreciated.

This is becoming regular!

Managed a five hour slot again yesterday covering CG/GD and C'sands....it's gotta be dun!

At Conder Green the count was down again to 3 Common Sandpiper, another noticeable was up to 15 House Martin around River Winds where I counted four still active nests. On Conder Pool, 3 Greenshank, 2 Little Grebe, a Snipe, and 2 Grey Partridge with no sign of the young reported by birders recently, and a 'long time no see' Kingfisher was excellent.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, 5 Mediterranean Gull were all adult. I must admit to have three of these beauties in your sights all at once is the kind if thing which makes birding 'great' and went a long way to increasing my passion. Also noted, a Greenshank, the 'seemingly' resident  Spoonbill, and the adult Whooper Swan which had separated itself a little distance from the 110 Mute Swans counted.

On Moss Lane, at least 300 Sand Martin were something of a surprise and spectacle in the air and taking advantage - along with a few hundred gulls - of Mr Farmer in his tractor turning a field and obviously putting vast numbers of insect life to the wing. At Cockersands, c.30 Goldfinch were feeding on Thistle, and a Sparrowhawk over. I managed to give Plover Scar a half hour at high tide to find 3 Sanderling, the numbers appeared similar to Tuesdays count of 225 Dunlin and 125 Ringed Plover. And that was it....come in No.4 your times up!

And the pics....

Migrant Hawker. Marc Heath.

Ruddy Darter. Marc Heath. 

Well if we can't find the butterflies and dragonflies this summer we can at least see some pretty impressive images of a couple of the latter from a man in Kent who certainly knows the meaning of 'up with the lark'. Treat yourself to some excellent photography of birds and other wildlife with a look in on Reculver Birder....Thanks Marc, I really appreciate this.

Taking a closer look.

On my birding days I often come across birds which I need to take a closer look at in that I wonder and question at the time of the sighting, how come this bird is here, where has it been, and where is it going. On Tuesday I found three such birds the most interesting of which had to be the adult Whooper Swan on the Lune Estuary as viewed from Glasson Dock. Taking into account the date in August I did some research about the Whooper Swan and had to consider the following....

The Whooper Swan breeds on lakes in the boreal forests from N. Scandinavia to far-eastern Siberia, with an isolated population in Iceland. So, what's a Whooper Swan doing on a river in North Lancashire on 21 August you have to ask yourself. There are not many options here, perhaps its a sick or injured bird, or a summering bird from Martin Mere where the species has in the past, in fact during the late 1970's early 1980's a free-flying flock of 15 birds were present. The only other explanation is that this bird has entered the books as the earliest Whooper Swan to arrive in this country to its wintering quarters....We may never know.

Whilst viewing the Lune Estuary I also found a juvenile Ruff with around 500 Redshank which posed more questions. This bird was probably from Fennoscandia or Russia, a ringing recovery in that regard was of a Ruff ringed in Cheshire in August 1978, was found the following year in February 1979 in N.W.Russia probably on its breeding grounds. My Ruff a Glasson Dock could well be on its way to Africa where most winter, a recovery reflecting this is of a bird at Marshside in N.Merseyside in April 1985 which had been marked in Senegal two months earlier in February. Last year I saw 14 Ruff off Hillam Lane in a field at Norbreck Farm, a record which may take me some time to equal.  

The third bird to cause me to ponder was the Sanderling which I found on Plover Scar at Cockersands. There's a lot to yet be discovered about the movements of the Sanderling, but some thin evidence suggests that many of our passage birds winter in Africa, though some do winter here. One thing for sure, I was both delighted and surprised to find this solitary creature on Tuesday, in our recording area the Sanderling is regarded as an annual spring passage migrant and a 'scarce' autumn passage migrant. 

Also on the same days birding it was interesting to find the second wave of Common Sandpiper to arrive at Conder Green, with a fall in numbers down  to low single figures since 21 birds seen on 23 July, 14 were seen today Tuesday 21 August.

And some unrelated pics to add a little colour to Birds2blog....all from España this time.

Black-winged Stilt Antonio Puigg

A brilliant image with a difference, of the Black-winged Stilt. I reckon this photograph would have puzzled lots of us as to what it was, how about you?....Thanks Antonio. 

 Green Woodpecker Ana Minguez 

Not many opportunities to photograph a Green Woodpecker in areas were I live, this is an excellent one of the juvenile....Thanks Ana.

Woodchat Shrike Isidro Ortiz

And even more definitely not many opportunities at all to see - let alone photograph - the Woodchat Shrike in this country never mind the areas where I live....Thanks Isidro.