...Pallas's Leaf Warbler, or just plain old Pallas's to some, but there isn't anything plain at all about a Pallas's. They're rare in the west, so when one turns up it causes some excitement, but not so much in the east, and they are lovely little birds, really lovely, but I'll come back to the leaf warbler in a bit.
At the start of the week, I completed my second wintering bird survey on some mossland in southwest Lancs, but it was quiet. Gail joined me for this survey, and I had to treat her to some lunch in Southport later for the pleasure of her company! We set out under 7 oktas cloud cover, with a fresh south-south-easterly wind.
Like last time, a number of Pinkies were flighting in from coastal overnight roost sites, to feed out on the moss, and we had over a thousand go over. A pair of Grey Partridges put in appearance once again, and raptors were still thin on the ground with just a single Kestrel. Two Ravens were an addition to the site total, and once again a survey site for work, has started taking on the feel of a 'patch'.
Not as many Skylarks headed south, with just nine on this morning, but a singing Chiffchaff was another new species for the site for me. It is like a patch! No wintering thrush numbers to speak of, but Goldfinches had increased to twenty, carrying about ten Linnets, and three Yellowhammers were another addition. Nothing exciting, but still enjoyable.
Back to that pale green, stripey, lemony, sprite, aka a Pallas's Leaf Warbler! I'd had a late night on Wednesday, as Gail and I had been to a gig, and I think it was closer to 1:00 am before Gail and I got to bed, so when Ian phoned me yesterday morning just before 9:00 am I had only just got up. I answered the call to Ian with a "morning matey", and he said "are you are home"? When I answered yes, he said "thank f*ck for that, as I've got a Pallas's Warbler in the Mount"! I got my stuff together, and was stood with Ian in the Mount about fifteen minutes later.
After about a five-minute wait, it started calling and proceeded to show well as it flitted amongst the foliage of the pines and poplars feeding away. I think Pallas's are gorgeous birds, forget about them being scarce, they are just lovely birds. I love the way they are constantly active, 'zipping' this way and that, and the muted colours of green, lemon and white, with that stripey head, just make them such a bonny bird somehow.
However, this constant zipping and flitting, make them hard to photograph, well for me and my camera at least, and the two shots below are record shots, to test all record shots. And if you squint hard, with a fair wind behind you, and you have just looked at some proper images of a Pallas's, you might just be able to see that the over-exposed, tiny, blurry smudge, is indeed this stonking little leaf warbler!
Far better is the short video clip below that Ian sent me, and you can see how stripey it is, and how it continually moved around! Press play and keep watching.
When it called, it was easy to see. It had two distinct calls, and I am rubbish at describing calls, but the best call was an almost two-syllable (my description) 'chew-ee', or something like that, which was quite 'soft'. The other call, was a shorter, and perhaps slightly harsher, in a Pallas's soft call context, and was a short 'pii', or a bit like that. I think the best thing to do, is go on Xeno-canto and have a listen!
It showed well for a good 15 - 20 minutes, and then vanished for perhaps 20 minutes, before re-appearing briefly on the other side of the pines, where it showed well again, and then disappeared. A few birders started to arrive and it was picked up again, but it was time for me to slip away.
Gail and I had a walk along the quay this afternoon, and had a few bits and pieces. Out on the mud were 16 Redshanks, three Black-tailed Godwits and three Oystercatchers. The creeks held eleven Teal and 26 Mallards, and two Little Egrets flew downstream towards the mouth of the estuary.
Ravens are regular here now, and we had a single bird fly over croaking away at both the start and end of our walk. A female Peregrine was perched up and sheltering from the wind, and a calling Rock Pipit was one of the few passerines we encountered alongside a couple of Linnets. As we finished our walk and were just about to get in to the car, four Whooper Swans headed south-east. A nice end to a pleasant hour in the sun.
Over on the right I have updated the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of October. Two new species for the year were ringed during the month and these were Great Spotted Wodpecker and Redwing.
Below you will find the top 3 ringed during October, and the top 10 'movers and shakers' for the year.
Top 3 Ringed in October
1. Linnet - 74
2. Greenfinch - 50
3. Meadow Pipit - 13
Top 10 Movers and Shakers
1. Sand Martin - 160 (same position)
2. Linnet - 151 (up from 4th)
3. Greenfinch - 103 (up from 6th)
4. Blue Tit - 102 (down from 2nd)
5. Great Tit - 80 (down from 3rd)
6. Willow Warbler - 55 (down from 5th)
7. Chaffinch - 37 (up from 9th)
8. Robin - 36 (down from 7th)
9. Sedge Warbler - 33 (down from 8th)
10. Blackbird - 28 (straight in)
Goldfinch - 28 (same position)
No comments:
Post a Comment