Blackmail!

This is going to be brief....

A bit of blackmail directed towards KT saw me agreeing to help with the shopping if we went to Leighton Moss in the hope of seeing a Hobby....what a good idea that turned out to be.

We gave the Public Hide a couple of hours noting an absolute minimum of 300 Swift feeding, some at considerable height, 2 Buzzard, at least one Marsh Harrier, the Great-crested Grebe with two young, and the Greater Black-backed Gulls have two young on the island....No Hobby. 

Osprey Astland Photography  

At 6.50pm I picked up an Osprey overhead, the bird was accompanied by the usual attacking mob and disappeared twice, the second time it came back into view it had taken a fish and promptly disappeared to the NW. It's interesting an Osprey had been seen at Arnside yesterday, and is reported HERE where I have suggested this is the same bird seen at Leighton Moss this evening. I have a distinct feeling this bird may be seen regularly in the area for a while now.

Thanks to Peter and Susan for this brilliant Osprey image.

The Bigger Picture.

Though I only gave Barbondale four hours yesterday on my fourth visit of the year, to get the bigger picture of Barbondale I spread out a little more and did some standing around ending up with 24 species in the little black book, notable of which follow....

Pied Flycatcher Ana Minguez

A disappointing day/year for the Pied Flycatcher at Barbondale of which I saw just one female, the bird was feeding young, the only breeding record there this year. Also a Spotted Flycatcher, three male Redstart, 4 Wheatear included a young being fed, four sightings of Great-spotted Woodpecker I reckon were two individuals seen twice, a Green Woodpecker 'yaffled' once in the four hours, at least 4 Grey Wagtail, a Dipper, 3 Tree Pipit, 2 Kestrel, and a Buzzard.

Nuthatch Ana Minguez

Three Nuthatch all gave excellent views, as did a Tawny Owl after it revealed itself by changing its roost from one tree to the next. Apart from several 'white' butterflies I saw just two other species, an Orange Tip and a Small Heath. 

With an hour on my hands I took a look upstream on the River Lune from Bull Beck and found 5 Little Ringed Plover of which two are sitting, 5 Common Sandpiper one of which was agitated at my presence presumably with young. I made no attempt to count Sand Martin but found a bank with around ten nest holes, and heard a Song Thrush in good voice. Six adult Greylag were accompanied by 14 goslings.

Little Ringed Plover Behaviour.

It was a little worrying when I saw the 6 Greylag and 14 young resting up on a shingle bank at precisely the same spot I had seen a Little Ringed Plover obviously sitting on two recent visits I've made here, with the LRP nowhere to be seen. But in a few minutes it came into view, looking anxiously at the Greylag whilst slowly approaching them, it began to fain injury and spread its wings with body horizontal, its expression appeared to be vocal but I was too distant to hear it. The Greylag all got up and moved off, I think they got the message that they were on the LRP's territory.

Thank you for the excellent photographs Ana, they are much appreciated.

The Eider.

I've left this post in tact as I had finished it as a draft last night and have decided to post it unedited. However, it appears there are some interesting developments regarding the Eider in our area and I have seen two excellent records including ducklings, one of which was off Morecambe Promenade, but by far the best is this one HERE  

Eider David Cookson  

A photograph with class of the Eider....Many thanks DC.

It was a real pleasure to find sixteen downy Eider off and eventually on Plover Scar at Cockersands last Monday 9 June, an exceptional record because the Eider as a breeder in Lancashire is an unknown quantity, the first breeding attempt was at Banks Marsh in 1984 when a female was seen incubating.

In the Lancaster and District recording area two broods were recorded - void of numbers - on the Lune Estuary in 2011. Pairs noted in the Sunderland Point area since the 1990's may appear to suggest breeding but this area has no suitable habitat and it has never been proved. Breeding did finally become established in 2000 when a pair nested successfully on Carnforth Marsh, but today the Eider goes nowhere beyond being a scarce breeder in the County of Lancashire, though the Second Breeding Alas produced c.31,000 pairs in GB making the Eider our second commonest breeding duck after the Mallard.

Historically the Eider was a rare vagrant prior to the colonisation of Walney Island in 1949 which was then in the County of Lancashire, now Cumbria. Prior to this their rare occurrence was linked to storms and Oakes noted only two records of single birds both on the Alt Estuary in September 1938 and 1939.  

Butterflies.

This year so far doesn't look like being any improvement on the disastrous year of 2012 for the butterfly. I've personally seen nothing yet of any note other than the 'whites', and the weather forecast I just saw doesn't hold much hope for the next few days. But I know a man in the south of the country who's been out on the hunt in Kent.

Heath Fritillary Marc Heath

Marc went in search of one of our rarest butterflies the Heath Fritillary but even with much determination only found it at the caterpillar stage, but the count of caterpillars was an excellent 100+....Looks like Heath Fritillary butterflies in good number in Kent soon.

Duke of Burgundy Marc Heath  

But Duke of Burgundy butterflies already seen by this butterfly hunter. Three excellent images Marc....Many Thanks.

And, apologies for the poor picture quality, but does it give any clues anyone please....

Taken on the causeway to the Public Hide at Leighton Moss last Sunday.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING....But haven't been since last Monday unfortunately, but hopefully will be tomorrow.

Bird Atlas 2007-2011.

Time is running out to order your copy of the new Bird Atlas 2007-2011 at the special pre-publication price and save 35% on the RRP. 

To whet your appetite a few opening pages of chapter 4 are being revealed, plus more species accounts including Gannet and Black-headed Gull. Many of the species are now finished and the chapters that talk about the big patterns - and how they reflect some of the ways we may be changing our countryside - are well on their way. 

You can view these sample pages below to get the feel of what this book is all about and how the layout of the publication looks. Note....if you click on each page it magnifies.

Order your copy of Bird Atlas 2007-11 here. 

The Meadow Pipit.

Meadow Pipit Astland Photography  

It's interesting that whilst I claimed the Meadow Pipit (MP) is more abundant than any other upland bird several times over in This Post, the species is one of our least studied and understood birds, whilst it is a common winter visitor, a very conspicuous and abundant visible migrant, and one of Lancashire's most numerous breeding birds. 

The English population of MP declined by 40% during 1979-2003. This decline has been shown to continue since 1994 and is an Amber listed species because of the breeding population decline linked to a deterioration on Iberian wintering grounds - which is where ringing has shown that many birds from GB winter, the MP's also pass through from Iceland and Scandinavia in the autumn - but is also likely to be due to the loss of marginal land on farmland and the conversion of grassland to arable. 

My comment about the abundance in the Cross of Greet area recently - where I saw a Meadow Pipit every 7.2 minutes over a six hour period - was reflected in Scotland and Wales where the MP is widespread and has bred in almost every 10km square as it did in Lancashire during a survey period 1997-2000.

Clifford Oakes makes an intriguing claim when he says....'many MP nests are deserted due to disturbance by the Cuckoo's which pester them so much during their attempts to parasitise their nests'....he goes on to say....'in years when Cuckoo's are plentiful there can appear to be more of them than the MP on certain nesting grounds'....I'm not sure that is likely to be ever again, in any case, this from Oakes sounds like something of an exaggeration.

Reed Warbler/Cuckoo Astland Photography  

A brilliant image of the young Cuckoo being fed by its host bird the Reed Warbler. I'm grateful for this and the Meadow Pipit image by Peter and Susan Wilson with their permission. 

Juvenile Cuckoo. Pete Woodruff.

I was fortunate to witness this amazing fostering behaviour between a Meadow Pipit and young Cuckoo at Birk Bank on 6 July 2006. The Cuckoo is in the image above but I never did manage one of the bird being fed by the Meadow Pipit. I have a feeling this may well be one of those 'once in a lifetime' occasions I had the pleasure of observing, never to be repeated.

With regard to personal records of the Cuckoo this year to date, I've seen five....

Barbondale 20 May (1)
Tower Lodge 29 May (1) 5 June (2)
Cross of Greet Bridge 7 June (2)    

Licensed To Bird!

I had my license to bird renewed again yesterday and promptly set off for Conder Green where I found 2 drake Pochard  and a Great-crested Grebe on Conder Pool, both species very unusual on here, also noted 3 drake Wigeon and 12 Tufted Duck. The only gain on the circuit was a singing Reed Bunting and the good number of House Martin nesting at River Winds.

Grey Plover Geoff Gradwell

On to Cockersands at high tide where Plover Scar was host to just 104 birds of which I was pleased to find were 8 Sanderling at variable plumage stages. Another good record was that of 7 Grey Plover, anything approaching a double figure count of Grey Plover here is good if not exceptional. GG's images of the bird are excellent, the top one illustrating the birds diagnostic black axilleries perfectly. The rest of the count was made up of 23 Ringed Plover, 12 Dunlin, 6 Oystercatcher, a single Knot and Lapwing, 10 Mallard were also on the scar. 

Eider ARKive  

Three good records a Cockersands today, the third being 36 Eider of which 16 were downy young. 

A wander around produced a 'few' Tree Sparrow and a singing Skylark. I also found my first young well grown Lapwing having survived the agricultural intensity where most of the fields in the area have now become bowling greens with one currently being sprayed and Lapwing sitting around looking bewildered.  

On Sunday at Leighton Moss with KT, a sit in the Public Hide for an hour or so - primarily in the hope of seeing a recently reported Hobby - gave us at least 2 Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, and a Great-crested Grebe giving two young a piggyback, the Greater Black-backed Gulls appear to have at least one large downy chick on the island....No Hobby.

And finally....

Wheatear Isidro Ortiz  

Looking for another one of those pics with a difference, I looked no further when I found this one of the Wheatear on the sign post to Puerto De Candeleda. Thanks Isidro....Excellent. 

The Cockersands Sanderling....

....and a speed merchant!

Sanderling. Howard Stockdale.

Probably without realising it Howard Stockdale has done me a favour this year regarding the Cockersands Sanderling. I had wanted to keep an eye on things here to see if any numbers passed through at the end of May/early June but got sidelined by other things. However, Howard paid several visits and achieved a peak count of fourteen Sanderling on 5 June on Plover Scar, unfortunately nothing like the excellent count of 130 there on 31 May 2007, but an excellent record just the same....Sanderlings at Cockersands always are.  

 Sanderling. Howard Stockdale.

Thanks for the many records and images you sent me Howard, they are very much appreciated. 

    

The Speed Merchant.

A Sanderling, with a departure weight of just over a hundred grams flew the 6,000 kilometres from Norway to Ghana in less than five days. The bird was photographed on 11 August 2009 in chilly, damp South Norway, and on 16 August a Ghanaian biologist spotted him under the coconut palms on Esiama beach. 

Never before has this tiny wader been seen to cross such a huge distance in such a short time, says research coordinator Dr Jeroen Reneerkens of the University of Groningen. A Sanderling weighs less than 100 grams, this bird flew so fast that it’s impossible for him to have gone around Africa, he must have flown straight across the Sahara and that’s remarkable for a typical coastal bird.

Thanks to International Wader Study Group and Dr Jeroen Reneerkens for this abbreviated story about this remarkable Sanderling.

Greet'ings!

I was at the top of Cross of Greet yesterday morning at 9.00am and legged it at a 'stop-start' snails pace with some detours down to Greet Bridge to cover a section of the bottom half of Bloe Greet and returned by the same route to arrive back at the motor six hours later at 3.00pm. 

With an hour of free time left, on the way back to Lancaster I called in at Bull Beck to take a look upstream on the River Lune to find 4 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper, uncounted Sand Martin, and a young Robin.

A Bit Of Class In Bowland. Pete Woodruff. 

Some nice machines passed me in the afternoon in the Cross of Greet area when about 12 vintage motors like this one were heading towards Slaidburn. Only around 30 cars drove over this brilliant remote pass in the entire six hours I spent in this area of outstanding natural beauty.

I counted an absolute minimum of 50 Meadow Pipit, an abundant species which outnumbers all other upland birds several times over. Conversely I saw just 5 Wheatear compared to good double figure numbers in previous years here, 2 Reed Bunting, and 5 Black-headed Gull were noted heading towards Stocks Reservoir. At and around Bloe Greet, 4 Whinchat, a solitary male Stonechat, and the rewarding sight of 2 Cuckoo which passed me in flight, about two hours later I heard one of them - or a third bird - calling from the old quarry. At the plantation, a Great-spotted Woodpecker and 3 Robin noted. I was also rewarded by the brief view of an Adder, a young individual which disappeared in a matter of seconds at the same speed it had appeared before me.

Curlew Brian Rafferty  

A pair of Curlew were flying around calling and agitated all the time I was on Bloe Greet, presumably with young like the one in BR's brilliant image for which I am grateful.

The Young River Hodder. Pete Woodruff.

The abundant clear running waters of the River Hodder and its tributaries were just what the thirsty towns along the Fylde coast were in need of a century ago, and these emote uplands were eyed up by the city fathers of Blackpool for something other than their natural beauty, and this land was among nearly 3,750 hectares of water-gathering land bought up by the then Fylde Water Board to create the nearby Stocks Reservoir. Some 105 million litres of Stocks water goes cascading through pipes to places like Blackpool and Fleetwood every day.

Not a thousand birds seen again today, but in this stunning area which - along with the birds I did see - took my breath away once more.

Oh No Not Tower Lodge Again!

My third visit here in under three weeks, but you just have to keep plugging away, in birding you have to remember the 'you never know' principal and keep in touch with these excellent areas, in any case I had an appointment to meet up at 8.30am at Tower Lodge with a front line/high profile Fylde birder and I don't make appointments with anyone which I can't keep.

Leaving Tower Lodge we walked east to beyond Trough Bridge to take the back side of the woodlands on the south side of the Trough Road west to Marshaw to take a track north with Sawpit and Pennington Woods on our left, then east again to take the back side of Tower Plantation which is to the north above Tower Lodge, before turning west to the plantation strip behind Tower Lodge to return to our cars....A full eight hours and five miles of footwork.

Spotted Flycatcher Marc Heath  

Brief views of 2 Cuckoo in flight, with good views of one later perched and calling, and a suspicion that there are three in the area with a bird/birds calling on and off for the full eight hours, alternatively two birds very mobile and very far ranging. A pair of Curlew with a young bird was an excellent sight, 7 Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Redstart, 5 Mistle Thrush, a Common Sandpiper and Dipper, Grey Wagtail, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Song Thrush....

Siskin Noushka Dufort

....and a smart male Siskin gave brief views taking a drink in the stream. Raptors were represented by 2 Buzzard, a Peregrine Falcon, and a Kestrel.

Pied Flycatcher. Howard Stockdale.

A male Pied Flycatcher still sings to itself - as far as I can see - in the small wooded area to the west of Tower Lodge and looks set to depart the area with a no score before the month is out.

Notable that no good numbers of birds or species seen here today, and again some species expected were not found. Surely an area like this holds - or should hold - good numbers of Redpoll and Siskin for example. But I've spent at least 16 hours in this area in my three recent visits here and according to my observations these birds are not to be found, and 15 Crossbill reported on 21 May have almost certainly moved on. Nevertheless well worth the effort and something I'll be doing all over again the first chance I get....its good to be alive and birding!

It was also good to see Martin and Andy this afternoon, and sorry about the 'Bluebirds' BD but you're just going to have to get used to them I'm afraid!

Thanks again to Marc/Noushka/Howard for the excellent photography....Even my map looks good if you 'clik the pik'.

Land Of No Return.

Although mere speculation, it is now generally accepted that warming of the climate will allow the sedentary population of the European Stonechat in the future to increase to such an extent that they become entirely resident in the UK. I have surveyed at least six upland locations this spring/early summer and see no signs of this happening any time soon, and have found no evidence of the migrant population increasing numbers based on my observations....quite the opposite in fact. 

I was up to Newby Moor yesterday morning - another former stronghold of the Stonechat - and back in 1999 the very place I first began to notice sightings were becoming more regular of this species than ever before, and Newby Moor was to become the holder of one of the best winter records - from numerous upland locations I cover - when I found 11 Stonechat there on 12 February 2008, though the Cross Of Greet area beat that record when I found 12 Stonechat there later the same day. Hard to believe I could find 23 Stonechat on the same cold winters day whilst this year I struggled to find just 2 birds from six upland locations visited so far in much better weather conditions this spring than in February 2008. This was my first visit to Newby Moor since 12 May 2011 when I got the same nil result as I did yesterday. The last breeding record I have from here was on 28 May 2009.

Linnet Richard Pegler

I don't usually do birding in halves, today was no exception and I gave the area a good four hours looking over to note at least 18 Meadow Pipit, 6 Willow Warbler, 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Sand Martin, a Linnet, and a Brown Hare. In the Clapham Station area and the River Wenning, a Spotted Flycatcher, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Grey Wagtail, and 2 House Martin.

A meeting at 2.00pm had been arranged at Barbondale so off I went. It was established that two pairs of Pied Flycatcher are breeding here this year, though sightings were only one male and a female, something of a disappointment compared to the excellent records of 2012 here.

Tawny Owl Richard Pegler

Also of note at Barbondale, 5 Redstart, 2 Tree Pipit, 2 Wheatear, a Spotted Flycatcher, Nuthatch, and a Tawny Owl calling.

Thanks Richard for the Linnet and the Tawny Owl which is particularly brilliant with a 'clik on the pik' ....Excellent.