Coming Soon!

Wheatear. Pete Woodruff.

No other bird heralds the spring for me more than the Wheatear and I look forward to finding my first one of 2011 in early March when I start looking seriously at places like Cockersands where I've found most of my first Wheatears in the past.

The spring migration of this bird is quite a protracted affair and the first migrants of oenanthe will by now have already left their wintering grounds with the males on average leaving a week or two before the females, in exceptional cases some of these male birds could be found on the south coast by the end of this month. Incidentally, birds of the 'Greenland' race leucorhoa undergo what is probably the longest transoceanic migration of any other passerine.

Today breeding in the UK is chiefly on altitudes above 300m in Scotland, northwestern and southwesten  England, Wales, and western Ireland, but Oakes described the Wheatear as a mossland breeder, claiming them to be holding their own on several mosses into the mid-twentieth century, he eventually blamed increasing urbanisation for a decrease on the Fylde and Sefton coasts where none nested on the latter dunes after 1955 and with no reported breeding on the mosslands in more than 25 years. The Carnforth slag tips - which have laid claim to fame with a Shorelark there recently - was a long-established colony with nearly a double figure of Wheatear pairs breeding there in the 1980's which had declined to two during 1998-2004.

The last sighting of Wheatear has usually been made by the end of October, but records of birds in late November are frequent and include one seen at Sunderland Point on 24 November 1985, a sighting only surpassed by one seen at Rossall Point three days later in the same year on 27 November. I'll be on the lookout in a few weeks time, though if 2010 is anything to go by it will be 23 March when I found three birds on Clougha at over 300m....perhaps birds already on territory by then.

And finally, an excellent pic and a couple of notes....

Snow Bunting. David Cookson

I keep coming across 'photographs with a difference' lately and this one of the Snow Bunting is no exception....Brilliant David and many thanks. 

MEGA NEWS.

The Slaty-backed Gull had turned up again yesterday at Hanningfield Reservoir in Essex but not seen since. Today a Belted Kingfisher - a common waterside bird throughout North America - was found at Co. Derry, 10 miles SE of Londonderry.

Ready made gap fillers!

There's always some excellent 'gap filler' material on the Internet when I look for it between my birding days, and it's also often easy to find local and quite appropriate stuff for Birds2blog as the link which follows illustrates. If you'd like to see some pretty amazing....stunning....and excellent photography - including the familiar name of David Cookson - all you need to do is click Photo of the Year 

Although a little further afield this one created some interest for me and if you're a Dragonfly enthusiast it'll interest you too.

And some birds from even further afield can be seen here in....

The Worlds Rarest Birds photo competition

View more presentations from martinfowlie.

Mr Parker....fully charged!

Plus a 'chat' an 'owl' and a 'duck'.

But first I think you should take a look at this about the very nice Mr Parker, bearing in mind there are of course no convictions yet and being acquainted with the law of this land of ours who knows what'll happen, but as far as the story goes so far You'll like it ....well you should do!

Stonechat. Copyright Granted.

Another fine image of a male Stonechat which escaped from Conder Green without my knowing it had ever been there on 29 January.

The Short-eared Owl (SEO) in our area of Lancashire is a scarce upland breeding bird and winter visitor which finds itself on the Amber List as a Species of European Conservation Concern. I get the impression they are a little thin this winter but I was lucky enough to find one in the mist and murk of 21 January in the Rawcliffe area.

This bird breeds chiefly on heather moorland from Staffordshire to the Pennines and north to Scotland where it is absent from the highest parts of the north and west. It breeds in the Outer Hebrides on the Uists - but not on Lewis or Harris - and Orkney, but not on Shetland. The SEO has a need for short vegetation which is rich in small mammals with which the populations of the bird fluctuate with vole cycles, therefore the more abundant the voles, the more successful the owls. In Oakes time they were regular breeders in areas in Bowland and he names Ward Stone amongst them, he refers to the bird as 'a very scarce and local resident, though formerly known as a breeder on coastal mosses including Cockerham and Winmarleigh'.

As is often the case - very nearly always in my view - if you read about the histories of birds of prey you will come across the causes of highs and lows in their fortunes being attributed to humans, in particular the lows which are usually connected with persecution. How little things have changed over the years - though once again in my view - have done so for the worse in many respects which brings us nicely back to the lovely Mr Parker who - if you don't mind my reminding you - is not just a gamekeeper....but the bloody head one.

There are no ringing recoveries outside the UK but known data indicates that  large numbers of SEO's come to GB during the winter many of which are from Fennoscandia and eastern Europe as far as Russia.

And finally....

Wigeon. Brian Rafferty

Yet another of those 'out of the ordinary' pics with the drake Wigeon coming in to land....really appreciate this Brian.

Oh I do....

.....like to be beside the seaside!

The groynes along the promenade at Morecambe have become popular roosting sites for some of the waders in the bay as my miserable attempt at photographing a few of them today might indicate.

I decided it would be a good idea to check out the promenade again today either side of the tide starting at Teal Bay where I could only find 2 Scaup female from the previously recorded six of late, also to note here were 12 Pintail and just 3 Bar-tailed Godwit amongst the Oystercatcher throng with unimpressive numbers of Dunlin, Redshank, and Curlew. Some kind soul keeps putting up fat balls here and 3 Long-tailed Tits and a Dunnock were showing interest whilst I was here today.

Off Broadway an adult Mediterranean Gull, at least 20 Goldeneye also off here was exceptional by recent standards. Other birds noted along the way to the Stone Jetty, 38 Eider, 3 Red-breasted Merganser, and at least 13 Great-crested Grebe, on the jetty groyne 15 Turnstone were of note.

It turned out to be a pleasant birding morning at Morecambe with some decent sunshine though a pretty unfriendly wind which is forecast to become even more strong and unfriendly with heavy rain thrown in for good measure.

On arriving back at the motor I felt a strange magnetic feeling come over me and twenty minutes later found myself at Conder Green where I found a Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Common Sandpiper, 3 Grey Plover, and 4 Little Grebe. Conder Pool was quiet but 4 Goldeneye have taken up there.

And there ended my contribution to the recording of the birds of Morecambe Bay - well a mere fraction of it anyway - and Conder Green.

And finally....

Kestrel. Peter Fletcher.

I was more than a little impressed when I saw this photograph of the Kestrel by moonlight. Many thanks for letting me have this for Birds2blog, it is much appreciated Peter.

    

Uneventful....

....or eventful dependant on your viewpoint.

I drove down to Pilling this morning thinking....if six 'geese' species/races are going to be in the same field again as they were yesterday then PW may as well be in on the action, but they weren't and I left Fluke Hall prematurely not least because there was too many cars/dogs and bird-chasers around for my liking, not a goose in sight, and....this is not 'My Kind of Birding'. I called in at Pilling Marsh, returned via Cockerham Moss and arrived at Cockersands an hour and a half after leaving home without a bird entering my notes.

I pulled up outside Crook Cottage and counted 155 Black-tailed Godwit and at least 420 Dunlin noting them in the book before someone arrived on the scene to tell me he'd seen the Snow Bunting on the shingle below Cockersands Abbey swiftly producing a pic of the bird on his camera display....'may as well go and see this scarcity' and thanks very much for the info.

I spent the next 2.5 hours between the Abbey and the Caravan Park - including venturing out on to Plover Scar - to no avail. I'm going to cut this story short now as it's beginning to hurt and gives me a rough idea - though I don't know the reality of it - of what it's like to drive at 120 mph all the way to Devon from Inverness to find the 'mega' has done a bunk! And here's something else which did my head in....a guy had ventured way out onto the beach at Cockersands with 15 dogs of mixed breed - yes 15 - and put to flight a few thousand wildfowl/waders. I reckon 'pillock' is about as polite a description that I can come up with to avoid calling him what I really thought he was. I called in at Glasson Dock to find the estuary almost deserted again save 15 Black-tailed Godwit feeding quite close.

So thats it....next year I'm going to buy a season ticket to support a football team fighting to gain some recognition in the game and help pay the expenses for Manchester United. This birding lark - excuse the pun - is a waste of time and it's taken me all this time to find out.

Short-eared Owl. David Cookson

This SEO has already made an appearance on Birds2blog but it's the very bird I found on 21 January in the Out Rawcliffe area and which DC photographed on the same day unknown to me....Thanks for this David, excellent is the word.  



Every Little Helps!

Tufted Duck. Phil Slade

Managed the Monday four hour - every little helps - slot today and started at Cockersands where the female Stonechat was feeding merrily at the Caravan Park end. At the set-aside the number of 'finches' has increased once again and reached up to 120 Linnet today, off Crook Cottage at least 180 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, c.130 Dunlin and solitary Grey Plover. A Red-breasted Merganser and 6 Eider were off Plover Scar. On Jeremy Lane the immature Whooper Swan was in a field with 52 Mute Swans.

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was remarkably quiet but as proof I checked it out I noted c.120 Dunlin and 200 Wigeon, a drake Goosander, 2 Goldeneye, and a Little Grebe. On the canal basin I noted 9 Goldeneye, 2 Pochard drakes, and a Little Grebe. I did'nt count the Tufted Duck on here today but PS took the excellent photograph above of them recently and you can see many more good pics like this one plus some ringing and birding notes HERE

At Conder Green the Common Sandpiper showed me that you really need to look for this bird, today it was in the channel by the right hand bend at the Caravan Park, 2 Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, and Little Grebe were all in the creeks, the only bird of note on the pool was a Goldeneye, and the only one of note on a circuit walk was a smart male Reed Bunting beginning to look like it was spring.

From a good source today I learn about a dead Barn Owl at Cockersands recently - whatever recently meant, I forgot to question - taken for analysis apparently. Yesterday I found c.55 Redwing in trees by fields called Quay Meadows - well I think it is - behind St Geores Quay in Lancaster, can't recall my last 'good flock' of this species and not a regular event in any number in my records.

And finally....

Red-necked Grebe. Brian Rafferty

Another of BR's 'pics with a difference' and the bird is one with a difference too in that it is heading towards the longest staying Red-necked Grebe in the area with only a few of them ever having stayed more than two weeks though one inland bird holds the record of just over 11 weeks in 1988.

Always on the learn!



I'm always up for learning, have a lot of it to do, and certainly found a new word when I noted a very interesting one attached to the image below of  Beech leaves in winter. I reckon some of you may also be about to learn something here too. Thanks for this Linda....interesting and taught me something new. 

Beech Leaves. Kirkstall Creatures Great and Small

The foliage on this Beech tree is characteristic of a tree which retains its leaves during the winter period and which fall from the branch only when new growth comes in the spring. Oak and Chestnut trees are two other examples which present this state, though climatic conditions such as frost and wind can change this when leaves may drop in winter. And the description of this condition of winter leaves on trees is....Marcescence.

OK hold your hand up if you didn't already know that and don't be so macho! 

Stonechat. John Bateman.

An excellent pic of our nice little winter friend at Cockersands seen by JB again last Friday and remaining here as one of a very few to be currently found anywhere in our area and far beyond. Thanks for this John....Crested Stonechat Eh!

Whooper Swan. Brian Rafferty

A Whooper Swan pic with a difference. This is what I like BR, pics with a difference with many thanks.

I hope to do a 'little' birding tomorrow with luck.

Persecution is the word.

Snow Bunting. Copyright Granted.



But first an excellent photograph of the Snow Bunting which put in appearance at Cockersands on Thursday - whilst I was flogging 'a dead horse' on the Bowland uplands - I was forwarded a few pics of the bird for which I am truly grateful.

Having spent five hours on Thursday in the glorious - not strictly speaking on this particular occasion - Forest of Bowland, I was as always on visits to this outstanding area of natural beauty, inclined to have the magnificent Hen Harrier (HH)  in the back of my mind. If you find yourself in an elevated position in the Forest of Bowland overlooking a panoramic view you get the true value of how vast this place really is, a place which has enough habitat to hold 300 pairs of this truly wonderful bird, yet in 2010 only 12 pairs of HH bred in England in its entirety seven of which were successful and five of which were on the United Utilities Estate which remains Englands only stronghold for this bird. There are some graphic illustrations to be found which clearly point to this bird of prey with its small population slipping into extinction for the second time, historically the HH was persecuted to extinction across mainland Britain having been a bird formerly widespread in the UK, but its range was restricted through persecution to Orkney and the Outer Hebrides by 1900.

Thursdays sight of at least 12 uniform vehicles in make/model/and colour driving past me in the Trough of Bowland - reasonably obvious returning from a shoot - helped bring home to me just how 'big and powerful' the 'Shooting Industry' really is, the persecution of the HH is linked to land management for driven-grouse shooting and is unquestionably the main reason for the 'missing pairs'. It has to be said, even though birds of prey are now fully protected by law, persecution remains worryingly common and enforcement of these laws protecting our birds of prey are clearly not working.

Scotland appears to currently have a good environment minister who has made moves to hold to account - by fines or imprisonment - those landowners who manage staff who are convicted of killing birds of prey in Scotland. Now that the future of the HH in England hangs in the balance once again, all necessary measures need to be considered to prevent this bird being lost to persecution for ever.

Perhaps our Environment Minister should now follow the suit of Scotland on this one....I'll drop a line off in the post tomorrow!

Are you interested in moths....micro moths? Then you may be interested in THIS   

This won't take long!

The result of today's exercise - which won't take long to record here - was a forgone conclusion really but I needed the evidence and gave five hours on Harrisend and Hawthornthwaite on the west and east sides to find not a solitary Stonechat. When I got out of the car at Harrisend this morning I had thought I wouldn't need my notebook today....something of an understatement. The uplands of Bowland can be desolate places in winter and I was alone on Harrisend for two hours save 17 Red Grouse and a few 'corvids'.

On the west side of Hawthornthwaite Fell there was at least 300 of the animals in the pic above, and probably another 300 I didn't see, something I'm hoping isn't the case when I go up there come the spring. I noted 12 Red Grouse up here but also got the bonus of 2 Ravens overhead. This wasn't looking good as I'd been on my pins about three hours now and had 'collected' little.

There's little to say about the east side of Hawthornthwaite except it took me almost two hours to find another 12 Red Grouse with another bonus in a Buzzard.

Common Sandpiper. Phil Slade

Conder Green is maintaining it's place on the list as one of the best in the area for some birding and PS saw and photographed the wintering Common Sandpiper which has survived the harsh weather we had recently despite the banks of the River Conder being white with frost for days on end, no doubt it made a few visits to the River Lune in the hunt for food.

Spotted Redshank. Phil Slade

Three Spotted Redshank were also found by PS on his visit yesterday. The Spotted Redshank is a virtual resident now at Conder Green with the exception of a few weeks in the breeding season and you can witness annually the unique transformation of this birds plumage from what you see in the pic above to it's summer coat of black.

Cockersands also lived up to its reputation again today as a 'good birding location' and one of the most reliable in the area for Snow Bunting when one was found here this morning.

Amidst all of today's negativity and a five hour/six mile slog for little reward - but it has to be done and I'm the man to do it - I managed to maintain an essential sense of humour and took a pic of the 'Nice pair of legs' on Harrisend! 

Forests, Chats....

Snowdrops. Warren Baker

....and some Snowdrops seen yesterday in Kent. Although not opened in this photograph they've beaten any up here in't north as far as I'm aware. Thanks for these Warren a lovely sign that spring is just around the corner.

There are some opinions that the 'fuss' over the government sell off of our forests etc has no substance, but I reckon we should take it all very serious and sign the petition and maybe get involved with protests until this disbelief by some is proved. If you haven't already done so, please take a look at this which brings the whole thing much closer to home Save The Lakeland Forests. 

I was looking through my end of the year notes today and thought I'd transfer a summary of the ones on the Stonechat onto Birds2blog....

Stonechat. Colin Bushell



It doesn't really seem all that long ago that I could find the Stonechat at every location I visited during the year including the winter months, but thats all come to an end now, with two successive harsh winter periods the Stonechat population has taken a battering and I'd suggest causing considerable mortality, in particular with the recent one we just experienced.

Within the UK a majority remain to winter, residing on or near to their breeding territory or making longer movements within the UK. A smaller number migrate to S.Europe and the coastal countries of N.Africa. During milder winters - which we have experienced over something like the 12 years since I took on a keen interest in this smart little 'chat' - the population which stays to winter here has the advantage over the migratory part of the population in that it can commence breeding at an earlier date and make multiple breeding attempts.

Prior to these two harsh consecutive winter periods I would have agreed the speculation that the generally accepted global warming of the climate would allow the sedentary population of the species to increase to such a degree that in the future the European Stonechat would have become entirely resident within the UK. From my experience of observations over a period of more than twelve years at many locations in the North of England, the status of the Stonechat has now been set back to pre 1999 when the bird was something of a scarcity, the possibilities of it becoming entirely resident are as far away as ever now and certainly as far away as the years between 1986-1998 when the breeding population in Bowland reached the dizzy heights of 2 pairs from none between these 12 years.  

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....hopefully on Thursday when I hope to convince myself that the Stonechat really doesn't exist in January at three upland locations I'd like to check out, the greater hope of course is that I'm completely wrong about that.