Are You Out There?

What a washout the weekend has been. Wet and windy for two days has meant no birding or ringing for me. I called briefly at my feeding station today, but the weather was too appalling to have a walk round, so all I can say is that there were about 200 Tree Sparrows.

If you're not in to Thin Lizzy then look away now.

Lizzy were absolutely awesome last night in Manchester. I know there a lot of critics out there saying how can it be Lizzy without the 'big man' Phil Lynott and sometimes I sort of agree. However, what sold it for me was the fact that drummer Brian Downey, Phil's bestest buddy ever, is back in the band and he wouldn't do anything that Phil wouldn't approve of. It's 25 years since the death of one of Rock's greatest front men and the music needs to be kept on playing to keep it alive.

For the Lizzy anoraks amongst you the set list from last night is listed below:

1. Are You Ready?
2. Waiting For An Alibi
3. Jailbreak
4. Do Anything You Want To
5. Don't Believe A Word
6. Dancing In The Moonlight
7. Massacre
8. Angel Of Death
9. Still In Love With You
10. Whiskey In The Jar
11. Emerald
12. Wild One
13. Sha La La
14. Drum Solo
15. Cowboy Song
16. The Boys Are Back In Town

Encore

17. Rosalie
18. Bad Reputation

Encore

19. Black Rose

Are You Out There?

Scores on the Doors and Other Bits and Pieces

It's been a week of work and few birds for me this past week so I thought I would report briefly on the ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group with whom I ring and am secretary of. In 2010 we ringed 3154 adults, 520 pulli and recaptured a further 458 birds, meaning that in total we processed 4132 birds! These are our best totals since 1997, so there is quite a target to aim for this year!

Below are the totals ringed (with recaptures in brackets):

Mallard 1; Tufted Duck 1; Sparrowhawk 4; Kestrel 5 pulli; Coot 89 (55); Oystercatcher 1 pulli; Ringed Plover 4 pulli; Lapwing 20 pulli; Woodcock 3; Curlew 9 pulli; Black-headed Gull 10 pulli; Lesser Black-backed Gull 3; Herring Gull 1; Stock Dove 2 pulli; Woodpigeon 6; Collared Dove 4; Little Owl 1 & 6 pulli; Tawny Owl 1 & 6 pulli; Great Spotted Woodpecker 1; Skylark 1; Swallow 50 (1) 78 pulli; House Martin 2; Tree Pipit 9; Meadow Pipit 84; Pied Wagtail 1 & 9 pulli; Dipper 3 pulli; Wren 46 (16) 6 pulli; Dunnock 66 (27) 2 pulli; Robin 57 (29); Stonechat 1; Wheatear 9; Blackbird 135 (34) 17 pulli; Fieldfare 42; Song Thrush 14 (1) 8 pulli; Redwing 52; Mistle Thrush 2; Cetti's Warbler 2; Sedge Warbler 40 (16); Reed Warbler 54 (10) 8 pulli; Lesser Whitethroat 7; Whitethroat 127 (34) 10 pulli; Garden Warbler 2; Blackcap 12; Chiffchaff 19 (4); Willow Warbler 73 (37) 7 pulli; Goldcrest 31 (1); Spotted Flycatcher 2 pulli; Pied Flycatcher 25 pulli (1); Long-tailed Tit 50 (6); Coal Tit 50 (14); Blue Tit 148 (50) 90 pulli; Great Tit 108 (30) 34 pulli; Nuthatch 6 (4) 14 pulli; Treecreeper 8; Jay 6; Jackdaw 13 (1) 9 pulli; Carrion Crow 3; Starling 31 (1); House Sparrow 69 (7); Tree Sparrow 27 (5) 119 pulli; Chaffinch 665 (49) 9 pulli; Brambling 53; Greenfinch 337; Goldfinch 232 (11) 4 pulli; Siskin 53 (3); Common Redpoll 1; Lesser Redpoll 63; Yellowhammer 13; Reed Bunting 139 (8).

 Female Blue Tit on the nest

Tawny Owl pulli

Nuthatch pulli from the 'you know what' platsered box!

One of the Wheatears ringed this Soring

I realise that all of the above isn't so easy on the eye, so I have listed below a few personal ringing highlights of the year.

• watching Kane pluck a male Tufted Duck out of the water at Stanley park; the first ringed for the Group
• all the hard work Craig has put in catching and colour ringing Coot by hand and also one or two Gulls as well; well done Craig
• Ian finding the first Ringed Plovers to successfully hatch young at Fleetwood for a decade
• receiving a phone call from Ian to say that aWoodcock has got itself caught in the chicken wire surrounding his hen cabin
• the number of Tree Pipits ringed by Phil and Will on Rawcliffe Moss
• the first Dipper pulli ringed for a good few years
• the look of shock on mine and Ian's faces when we caught not one but two Cetti's Warblers in a matter of minutes at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park
• 171 Whitethroats processed; mainly at Rawcliffe Moss, but with support from the Nature Park
• Spotted Flycatcher still appearing on our ringing totals
• a Nuthatch plastering the hole and lid of the nest box it was using with dog shit insteadd of mud. Nice!
• the number of pulli Tree Sparrows ringed by Paul near Singleton
• the incredible number of Chaffinch tape lured by Phil and Will during autumn at Rawcliffe Moss
• watching Greenfinch dropping out of the sky at the 'obs' and ringing 337!
• Common Redpoll at the 'obs'
• tape luring Lesser Redpolls at the 'obs'
• an incredible 139 Reed Buntings, nearly all tape lured during the autumn by Phil and Will at Rawcliffe Moss

 Common Redpoll

Coot

One of the 337 Greenfinch

Lesser Redpoll

Two of the Ringed Plover chicks

The Woodcock caught by the hen cabin

Let's hope I can report similar if not better highlights at the end of 2011!

As stated earlier I haven't been able to do much birding this week, mainly due to work commitments, but also because of the weather. I was on one farm in the week near Inskip as part of some project work I am delivering and had a male Merlin which was nice, and then I was doing some similar work at a farm on Rawcliffe Moss (already a group site) and Rach and I had 15 Corn Buntings. In fact I said to the farmer Jim, that I would come back in the summer and ring his Swallow pulli.

It was late afternoon today before I got to my feeding station on Rawcliffe Moss to feed, and quite a few birds had already left to roost. I had a mere 19 Tree Sparrows, 5 Yellowhammers and a Buzzard. The forecast is for it to be far too windy, and possibly wet, to do any ringing tomorrow, so I think it might be a sea watch in the morning instead.

Then tomorrow evening I am off to Manchester to see Thin Lizzy. Are You Ready?

Nearly Thwarted by Pinkies Again

It was a beautiful morning as I headed across Rawcliffe Moss to the feeding station. It was a touch windy from the west, but I was blessed with glorious sunshine. As I headed down the track a group of 11 Corn Buntings went over giving their nondescript but memorable call! If you know the call of a Corn Bunting you will know what I mean by that.

I could see that Pink-footed Geese were dropping into the top field close to the plantation and I thought that my attempts to walk up to the plantation would be thwarted for the second time this week. However, as I just about reached the feeding station I could see about 1,500 'Pinkies' lift into the air and move off. Something had obviously flushed them, but I don't know what. In total I had 2,102 Pinkies in various flock sizes throughout the morning.

Pinkies

At the feeding station were 137 Tree Sparrows, 3 Corn Buntings, 12 Yellowhammers and 16 Chaffinch. I had 2 Kestrels on my walk and the only other raptor I had was a single Buzzard being mobbed, as usual, by Corvids. I headed up the '97' hedge towards the wild bird seed plot and I had 8 Stock Doves fly over, which is the most I have seen for a long time.

 Chaffinch

A number of Reed Buntings, 6 in all, were along the hedge and when I got to the Badger set I flushed 23 Red-legged Partridges. These were obviously release birds by the Gamekeepers. Thirteen Chaffinch were perched in the Birch trees at the Badger set along with 2 Linnets.


I had a walk round the wild bird seed plot and flushed 28 Skylarks, 4 Reed Buntings, 22 Linnets and 6 Corn Buntings. I had a walk into the L Wood on my way to the plantation and flushed a Woodcock and then I had a group of 5 Roe Deer running across the stubble fields.

Roe Deer

It was fairly quiet in the plantation until I got to the pond and I noticed some small birds feeding along the edge of the still frozen water. Lifting my bins I could see they were a flock of 11 Chaffinch with a stonking male and female Brambling. They spotted me and flew up into one of the Alders. I could only assume that they were foraging for Alder seeds that had fallen onto the ice and would be easy to obtain.

My walk back to the car was fairly bird less other than more 'Pinkies', a flock of 150 Jackdaws and a single Cormorant heading west which is a good record for the Moss.

In Search of Harriers

Buy this book!

This is a beautiful book, by a beautiful man, telling a beautiful story, with beautiful paintings, about beautiful birds! Even if you have The Hen Harrier  or One Pair Of Eyes, still buy it; it's fantastic.

I haven't got a great deal to report today. Yesterday I went to Rawcliffe Moss to feed, but the weather was so awful I didn't have a walk round. Numbers of Tree Sparrows and Chaffinch at the feeding station had increased to about 200 and 50 respectively, with at least half a dozen Yellowhammers.

I didn't get out this morning either as it was pouring down at first light and when it cleared I didn't fancy watching the tide at Rossall Point on a northwesterly, as it is probably the worst wind direction possible, so I spent some time updating my 'BTO Ringing Scheme' presentation that I am giving to a natural history group in a few weeks.

It looks like it is going to be dry but fairly windy tomorrow, so I'll get out birding somewhere, but unfortunately it will be too windy for any ringing.

Travelling Light...

...or should I say that's my excuse for not taking my camera with me when I went to feed at my feeding station on Rawcliffe Moss this afternoon. There were a large number of Jackdaws feeding in the field on the neighbouring farm and they totalled at least 600. One hundred of these were also spilling over on to 'my patch' to feed as well.

As I approached the feeding station a number of Woodpigeons were feeding on the seed that I put out, the little b*ggers, along with the 194 Tree Sparrows. There were 4 Yellowhammers at the feeding station as well, along with 27 Chaffinch.

 Chaffinch

As I headed north along the '97' hedge Starlings were flying in from the east to feed and I had 224 in total. A flock of 20 Redwings went over and I had a single Fieldfare. A couple of Song Thrush were in the hedge and I pushed up to 5 Reed Buntings towards the Badger set.

 Fieldfare

I had a walk round the wild bird seed plot and it was devoid of finches, but 27 Skylarks were feeding in it. I headed up towards the plantation but had to stop short as I noticed 2,000 Pink-footed Geese feeding in the stubble field opposite the plantation. There was no way I could walk to the plantation without flushing them so I cut my walk short and turned round and headed back. Just as I was walking away from the 'Pinkies' two Whooper Swans flew in to join them.

Back at the car I could see 15 Corn Buntings perched in a Willow along the 'Reed Bunt ditch'. A pleasant end to a pleasant walk.

 Corn Bunting

I see the local bird club, of which I am a member incidentally, has announced the winner of its 'who has the most time available to twitch at the drop of a hat any scarce birds that turn up' Yearlist Challenge 2010. The winner recorded 199 species in the recording area which is actually a few species less than the total for the year for the Fleetwood area!

I note that the rules state "to ensure all entrants have an equally fair chance to see rare and scarce species during the competition, please continue to send all relevant bird news to Rare Bird Alert (surprise, surprise!)...any suppressed birds cannot be included in yearlist totals". Why not just publish a list of all species recorded in the area during the year, let everyone count them, and declare everyone a winner! What if you find a scarce breeder, do you put the news out so you can count it in your list, or do you suppress (sorry for using the's' word) it to protect it. I know what some people would do! Aren't I glad that I do my own thing and don't get involved with such nonsense.  

Back To Normal

I had all the family round yesterday for an afternoon/evening buffet, but it was great to be back to normal today and head off to Rawcliffe Moss to the feeding station. I say 'back to normal' but I had 'her indoors' with me this morning which meant it was less hard core birding (if it ever is) and more of a pleasant stroll!

There were quite a number of Pink-footed Geese on the move this morning with a number of birds arriving from the east to feed somewhere on the west of Rawcliffe Moss. As it was a frosty morning a number of farmers were out muck spreading and I can only assume that the 'Pinkies' were disturbed from other areas by these agricultural activities. In total I had 3,602 'Pinks' fly over during our walk.

 'Pinkies'

Thrush numbers had reduced compared to recent days and I only had single figure counts of Blackbird, Fieldfare and Redwing and no Song Thrush. Down at the feeding station were 142 Tree Sparrows, 20 Starlings, 15 Chaffinch, and 2 Yellowhammers.

 Tree Sparrows heading back to the feeding station (honestly!)

We headed up the '97 hedge' towards the wild bird seed plot to see if there was anything in there, but before we could get there 3 people and 3 dogs from one of the converted, now private, farm dwellings on the Moss were heading in that direction, so there was no point heading there. The dogs were running everywhere, 'miles' from their owners, but I am not going to say anymore otherwise I won't stop!

Heading up towards the plantation 2 Roe Deer crossed our path and we flushed a single Woodcock from close to the main track. The plantation was very quiet and other than a Buzzard flying over we had very little else. It was time to head back south towards the car and we paused to look at a flock of 8 Corn Buntings perched on telegraph wires before heading home.

Corn Bunting (above) and Corn Buntings (below)

Birding Bedlam

My first birding outing of 2011 was yesterday (2nd) to Rossall Point. I had just got my self settled counting the waders on the shore when the tosser below came walking along the beach with his dog. This idiot systematically walks his pooch along the beach every day irrespective of whether he is disturbing roosting waders or not! Anyway, after he had gone, after some 'dirty' looks from me I could get back to my birding.

I was busy sea-watching when a very pleasant elderly gentleman with bins and a scope asked me if I was anything to do with the Fylde Bird Club guided walk that was meeting at 9.30 a.m. I informed him that I wasn't and thought to myself that it was going to be a nightmare birding at the Point this morning. As it turned out it was a guided walk lead by a Wyre Borough Council Ranger, but still a group of noisy novices to be avoided! Joking apart, it is good that people show an interest to ensure that the conservation message is secured into the future, and it is good that there are people out there prepared to show potential new birders the ropes.

Back to the birding. The visibility was superb this morning and Walney Island and the neighbouring town of Barrow was clearly visible. In fact you could read the time on the Barrow Town Hall clock and through the wind farm you could make out the 'hump' of Snaefell on the Isle of Man!

There were a number of waders roosting on the shore including a group 11 exquisite Grey Plovers. They were accompanied by 24 Ringed Plovers, 78 Turnstones, 3 Redshanks, 2 Sanderlings and 520 Oystercatchers.

 Grey Plover

As the visibility was so good the views of some of the birds out on the sea were excellent and there were quite a few Red-throated Divers moving this morning. It was difficult to get an accurate count of how many individuals were involved as birds were moving both east 'in to' the bay and west 'out of' the Bay.It is safe to say that I had 23 'sightings' some were very close in and giving stonking views.

The 'pin sharp' light meant that counting Eiders floating in on the incoimg tide was easier and I had 165 along with 38 Red-breasted Mergansers. I also had 3 Great Crested Grebes, 68 Common Scoters, 4 Auk sp. and 2 Harbour Porpoises.

Driving out of the car park three 'noisy' birders were heading on to the point and it was time to try and find some peace and quiet!