It has probably been nearly two weeks since I last posted, but I haven't been idle, it is more a case of trying to find time to sit down in front of the computer.
Since I last posted, Gail and I have been keeping an eye on the Wyre estuary and walking along the Quay. Rather than go into any great detail, I will just list the highlights, which were, 80 Redshanks, 38 Mallards, 20 Turnstones roosting, three Teal, a Little Egret, 280 Pink-footed Geese, two Grey Wagtails, thirteen Shelducks, eleven Oystercatchers, two Black-tailed Godwits, two Rock Pipits (new in), 17 Whooper Swans and two Ravens. Nothing exciting, but pleasant to be out nevertheless, particularly with all the wet weather we have been having of late.
Whooper Swans
A few days ago, Gail and I headed to my client's farm in Bowland, near Slaidburn, to set up six trail cams in the main areas where we have breeding waders, to try and attempt to see how much Fox activity there is at the moment, and of course it will be interesting to see if the cameras catch anything else. I'll keep you posted. We will leave the cameras up for about 10 - 14 days, and then bring them back in and see what we've managed to capture.
Whilst setting the cameras up, it was a morning of sunshine and showers, and although we weren't birding in 'anger', we did have a few bits and pieces. Down here on the Fylde, we haven't really had any numbers of Fieldfares as yet, so it was nice to encounter a flock of at least 80, with twenty Redwings mixed in. In fact, along some of the lanes close to the farm, we were putting up lots of Thrushes from berry laden Hawthorn hedges. Just two species of raptor, a Kestrel and two Buzzards. In the field with numerous scrapes in it, I expected to perhaps see some wildfowl on a couple of the larger scrapes, but there was just twenty Mallards with a single Teal.
The following day, Gail and I were at our good friends Robert and Diana's farm, near Nateby, to set the feeding station up for the winter. With Roberts help we made light work of it. We put up two, six port sunflower hart feeders, and two large, five port seed feeders, that hold 20 kg of see in each! Within five minutes of putting the feeders up, the first birds were coming to them, in the form of a Chaffinch and a Robin.
There was a few Fieldfares here as well, about thirty, and out on the wetland were at least ninety Teal and twenty Wigeon. We look forward to our first ringing session for the winter at the feeding station.
Yesterday morning Gail and I carried out our first November visit to our wintering bird survey site south of the Ribble. It was a glorious morning with clear skies, and it was calm.
It was just getting light when we arrived, and a number of birds were obviously moving from their overnight roosts to feeding areas, including 46 Collared Doves, 67 Black-headed Gulls and 18 Jackdaws. Geese and Swans were represented by Canada Geese, Pink-footed Geese and Whooper Swans, and we had 180, 407 and 23 of each respectively. We had a flock of ten Golden Plovers head north, and fifteen of their Lapwing cousins.
There was less Skylarks around this morning, and we only had thirteen in the cabbage crop. Similarly, numbers of Linnets, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails in the same crop had dropped, and we had ten, thirteen and seven of each. The best bird we had in the cabbage crop was a 1CY Wheatear, which will be one of my latest ever. You can see a record shot of it below.
As well as observing from a vantage point, we also walk a transect, and in the small field of sunflowers, which are really going over now, we had fifteen Chaffinches and twenty Greenfinches. Close by three Tree Sparrows, two Fieldfares and a Grey Wagtail made it from the map, onto the pages of my notebook.
From our VP, we picked up a 1CY Marsh Harrier, but it was distant, but we could have reasonable views through the scope. The only other raptor that we had was a female Sparrowhawk, and other than a Little Egret that was it.
This morning, Gail and I headed to the Nature Park for probably the last ringing session at this site until the new year. It was cold and clear when we arrived with a light NNE breeze, that was barely detectable. We were hoping for a few thrushes, but there wasn't really any on the move. We had four Redwings go over and six Fieldfares, but that was it. In fact, I kept popping my head outdoors last night for a listen but couldn't hear any Redwings going over.
The first species in my notebook was Golden Plover, and this was a flock of 34 that we had heading south-west. In fact, other than the Goldies, the vis was limited to three Woodpigeons, 24 Jackdaws and two Sparrowhawks. We had a walk from the ringing station, to have a look on one of the pools and flushed six Snipe. From the ringing station we could hear two Water Rails calling from the margins of the same pool.
Cetti's Warblers were ever present, and we ringed our 14th for the site for the year, and in addition to the bird that we ringed, at least two were giving their explosive song. In addition to the moving Sparrowhawks, we had a Kestrel, and other birds that we recorded included a Raven, three Song Thrushes, six Long-tailed Tits and a female Stonechat.
We ringed 24 birds as follows (recaptures in brackets):
Song Thrush - 1
Redwing - 1
Wren - 1
Goldcrest - 2
Cetti's Warbler - 1
Robin - 1 (1)
Blue Tit - 1
Goldfinch - 1
Long-tailed Tit - 1
Greenfinch - 14
As always, the forecast is looking a bit mixed for the coming week, but fingers crossed that there will be a few windows of opportunity to get out.
Gail and I bought a superb piece of original art this week, from a hugely talented wildlife artist based on Orkney, Tim Wootton. We were so lucky in managing to secure the beautiful painting of a Woodcock, from an online exhibition that Tim is currently hosting. Thrilled is an understatement! You can see a snap of the painting below. We can't wait to get it framed and displayed.
Woodcock
Over on the right you will see that I have updated the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group up until the end of October. Three new species for the year were ringed during the month, and these were, Redwing, Brambling and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Below you will find details of the 'Top 5 Ringed in October' and the 'Top 10 Movers and Shakers for the Year'.
Top 5 Ringed in October
1. Goldfinch - 83
2. Chaffinch - 56
3. Redwing - 28
4. Linnet - 21
5. Blue Tit - 17
Top 10 Movers and Shakers for the Year
1. Goldfinch - 193 (same position)
2. Blue Tit - 116 (up from 3rd)
3. Sand Martin - 101 (down from 2nd)
4. Chaffinch - 90 (up from 6th)
5. Great Tit - 86 (down from 4th)
6. Greenfinch - 52 (straight in)
7. Meadow Pipit - 45 (down from 5th)
8. Linnet - 40 (straight in)
9. Lesser Redpoll - 39 (down from 7th)
10. Reed Bunting - 31 (same position)
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