Over on the right I have updated the final ringing totals for Fylde Ringing Group for 2013. We ringed 3245 birds which is 478 short of 2012's total of 3723. The main reason for this was the appalling weather in the Autumn and the cessation of ringing activities at a good summer through to winter site.
No new species were added to the ringing list in December. I haven't done a top five ringed for the month as we only ringed 45 birds in December due to the poor weather, but I have detailed below the top ten 'movers and shakers' in the month.
1. Swallow - 761 (same position)
2. Goldfinch - 174 (up from 4th)
3= Chaffinch - 169 (down from 2nd)
Greenfinch - 169 (up from 5th)
5. Blue Tit - 168 (down from 2nd)
6= Willow Warbler - 132 (same position)
Great Tit - 132 (up from 7th)
8. Tree Sparrow - 130 (same position)
9. Reed Bunting - 129 (down from 5th)
10.Reed Warbler - 108 (same position)
It's good to see two red-listed species and two warbler species in the top ten ringed at the end of the year. Let's hope for some good weather this year so we can continue with our valuable ringing studies.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Cold on the Coast
One of the problems of all this mild wet weather we've been having is that it makes you a bit soft, so when you get a frost and a keen southeasterly wind like this morning you certainly feel it!
I joined Ian at first light at the Point and for the next couple of hours we had a look on the sea and it was relatively quiet. Our totals included 216 Pink-footed Geese north, 11 Common Scoters west, eight Red-breasted Mergansers, 32 Cormorants, 13 Eiders, three Great Crested Grebes, four Red-throated Divers, an Auk sp., two Shelducks and an adult Kittiwake following a boat full of anglers heading in to the Bay.
When the waders weren't getting flushed by dogs we counted 202 Oystercatchers, 167 Sanderlings, 86 Turnstones and 44 Ringed Plovers.
However the best bird of the morning was saved until last in the form of a magnificent second calendar year Glaucous Gull. Ian picked it up on the river sat on some mudflats and it kept on flying short distances upstream before flying round giving us excellent views of it's large ghost-like form. Nice!
I joined Ian at first light at the Point and for the next couple of hours we had a look on the sea and it was relatively quiet. Our totals included 216 Pink-footed Geese north, 11 Common Scoters west, eight Red-breasted Mergansers, 32 Cormorants, 13 Eiders, three Great Crested Grebes, four Red-throated Divers, an Auk sp., two Shelducks and an adult Kittiwake following a boat full of anglers heading in to the Bay.
When the waders weren't getting flushed by dogs we counted 202 Oystercatchers, 167 Sanderlings, 86 Turnstones and 44 Ringed Plovers.
Sanderlings
Turnstones and Sanderlings
However the best bird of the morning was saved until last in the form of a magnificent second calendar year Glaucous Gull. Ian picked it up on the river sat on some mudflats and it kept on flying short distances upstream before flying round giving us excellent views of it's large ghost-like form. Nice!
Saturday, 11 January 2014
What happened to the weather?..........
..........or should I say what happened to the weather forecast? After a decent forecast last night I got up at 6:30 this morning ready to head to my feeding station for a ringing session but it was raining! And it would rain on and off for the next couple of hours or so.
When it did finally stop I did go to my feeding station but just to feed rather than ring. Twelve Chaffinches, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 105 Tree Sparrows and eight Yellowhammers were at the feeding station. I had a short walk along the '97 Hedge' and added to my note book a couple of Buzzards and singles of Song Thrush and Corn Bunting. I called one of the Buzzards in and as it got closer I took some shots of it, but as it was against the bright morning sky they are just silhouettes, but I think they still work and the three pictures below show the Buzzard coming in, spotting me and then turning away.
Driving away from the site I had a look on the flood to see if the Green Sand was about, but it wasn't, but there was a young Kestrel knocking about in the general area instead. It was flying up to an electricity pylon and then dropping down to the field to feed and I can only assume that it was feeding on invertebrates, or missing altogether, as I didn't see any evidence of mammalian prey. Added to that the field didn't look suitable for small mammals in terms of the sward height and structure.
Later in the day I spent the last hour of daylight at the reedbeds. On the pools were 26 Coots, four Pochards and 18 Tufted Ducks. Singing from a scrubby area of the reeds was a Cetti's Warbler and four Water Rails called from the reeds.
It's going to be too breezy for ringing tomorrow but there is a morning tide so I'll start off by looking on the sea and take it from there.
When it did finally stop I did go to my feeding station but just to feed rather than ring. Twelve Chaffinches, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 105 Tree Sparrows and eight Yellowhammers were at the feeding station. I had a short walk along the '97 Hedge' and added to my note book a couple of Buzzards and singles of Song Thrush and Corn Bunting. I called one of the Buzzards in and as it got closer I took some shots of it, but as it was against the bright morning sky they are just silhouettes, but I think they still work and the three pictures below show the Buzzard coming in, spotting me and then turning away.
Driving away from the site I had a look on the flood to see if the Green Sand was about, but it wasn't, but there was a young Kestrel knocking about in the general area instead. It was flying up to an electricity pylon and then dropping down to the field to feed and I can only assume that it was feeding on invertebrates, or missing altogether, as I didn't see any evidence of mammalian prey. Added to that the field didn't look suitable for small mammals in terms of the sward height and structure.
Kestrel (above and below)
Later in the day I spent the last hour of daylight at the reedbeds. On the pools were 26 Coots, four Pochards and 18 Tufted Ducks. Singing from a scrubby area of the reeds was a Cetti's Warbler and four Water Rails called from the reeds.
It's going to be too breezy for ringing tomorrow but there is a morning tide so I'll start off by looking on the sea and take it from there.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Very Little To Report
Disappointingly I have very little to report today due to the horrible weather we are all suffering with at the moment. I had high hopes of a few birds as I was going to have a walk round on a farm in the valley of the River Wenning and then on the way back I was going to call at my feeding station.
I did both of those things but the weather rendered the day virtually bird less! In the Wenning Valley I struggled to record five Mistle Thrushes, five Grey Partridges, a Buzzard, six Fieldfares, three Redwings and a Song Thrush. I had a buck Roe Deer come out of one of the woodlands on the farm. What did lift my spirits was some Gorse in flower in one of the new hedges that we planted this time last year. I like Gorse as somewhere throughout the year there's some flowering.
As planned I called at my feeding station but my visit coincided with a heavy squally shower brought in by very strong winds. I ran to the feeding station and back donned in full waterproofs and all I could say was that there was a lot of Tree Sparrows! Let's hope the weather improves soon!
I did both of those things but the weather rendered the day virtually bird less! In the Wenning Valley I struggled to record five Mistle Thrushes, five Grey Partridges, a Buzzard, six Fieldfares, three Redwings and a Song Thrush. I had a buck Roe Deer come out of one of the woodlands on the farm. What did lift my spirits was some Gorse in flower in one of the new hedges that we planted this time last year. I like Gorse as somewhere throughout the year there's some flowering.
There's always some Gorse in flower to make you smile!
As planned I called at my feeding station but my visit coincided with a heavy squally shower brought in by very strong winds. I ran to the feeding station and back donned in full waterproofs and all I could say was that there was a lot of Tree Sparrows! Let's hope the weather improves soon!
Monday, 6 January 2014
Catch Up
I always seem to be playing catch up after being out birding as there are so many places that I need to enter/update with my sightings. On Friday (4th) I called briefly at my feeding station and there were good numbers of Tree Sparrows, 215, plus 22 Chaffinches and a single Yellowhammer.
Yesterday I was out on the estuary with Ian and although we had a fair few species it was fairly quiet out on the mudflats. We had virtually clear skies with a 15 mph southeasterly wind that was quite biting at times. I made a 'school boy' error when I arrived and parked up as I had forgotten my note book and had to go home for it! Luckily I only live four minutes drive away so it didn't hold me up too much. I just can't bird without my notebook and would actually rather go without bins or a scope than without my notebook!
Walking along the path through the Hawthorns 145 Pink-footed Geese flew over very high and were heading north and we had a further 115 on the estuary. A Grey Wagtail went over and we recorded a Kestrel and Rock Pipit before arriving at the reservoir alongside the estuary. On the 'res' were seven Pochards, six Little Grebes, 17 Coots and 13 Tufted Ducks.
We then had a look on the estuary and recorded 100 Black-tailed Godwits, 165 Lapwings, 354 Teal, 208 Wigeon and 16 Shelducks. After that we went our separate ways and I headed to the pools and reedbeds. Driving down a Water Rail flew across the road and walking through the reeds I had another one calling. Out on the pools were 35 Coots, ten Tufted Ducks and two Pochards.
I then moved on to the local wood but it was very quiet and all I had of interest was a party of six Long-tailed Tits. It's all work and no birding for me today but I have to call at my feeding station tomorrow and also my site visit in the Wenning Valley tomorrow can produce a few birds so I should have something to blog about!
Yesterday I was out on the estuary with Ian and although we had a fair few species it was fairly quiet out on the mudflats. We had virtually clear skies with a 15 mph southeasterly wind that was quite biting at times. I made a 'school boy' error when I arrived and parked up as I had forgotten my note book and had to go home for it! Luckily I only live four minutes drive away so it didn't hold me up too much. I just can't bird without my notebook and would actually rather go without bins or a scope than without my notebook!
Walking along the path through the Hawthorns 145 Pink-footed Geese flew over very high and were heading north and we had a further 115 on the estuary. A Grey Wagtail went over and we recorded a Kestrel and Rock Pipit before arriving at the reservoir alongside the estuary. On the 'res' were seven Pochards, six Little Grebes, 17 Coots and 13 Tufted Ducks.
Pochard
Coot
Tufted Ducks
We then had a look on the estuary and recorded 100 Black-tailed Godwits, 165 Lapwings, 354 Teal, 208 Wigeon and 16 Shelducks. After that we went our separate ways and I headed to the pools and reedbeds. Driving down a Water Rail flew across the road and walking through the reeds I had another one calling. Out on the pools were 35 Coots, ten Tufted Ducks and two Pochards.
There were quite a few Gulls bathing on the pools including the
Black-headed Gull above and Herring Gull below.
I then moved on to the local wood but it was very quiet and all I had of interest was a party of six Long-tailed Tits. It's all work and no birding for me today but I have to call at my feeding station tomorrow and also my site visit in the Wenning Valley tomorrow can produce a few birds so I should have something to blog about!
Thursday, 2 January 2014
Pinkies
I was at my feeding station before sunrise this morning and consequently I didn't have many of the feeding station 'regulars' but I did record a good number of Pink-footed Geese heading south to feeding areas in the Fylde. They were coming from the north and had presumably just left their Morecambe Bay mudflat roost minutes earlier.
The weather was a good deal better than yesterday and I had three oktas cloud cover with a 10 - 15 mph southwesterly wind. As I headed off down the track a couple of Grey Partridges called in the half light and at the feeding station itself I had four Yellowhammers, ten Chaffinches and just 81 Tree Sparrows.
I had a short walk up the '97 hedge' and added Buzzard, two Reed Buntings and four Fieldfares to my totals. It was whilst walking here that I had the majority of the 1,391 'Pinkies' that flew over heading south in smaller skeins. In addition to the 'Pinks' I had nineteen Whooper Swans also.
Heading back to the car I had seven Lapwings on the stubbles and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying from one of my peanut feeders to the woodland. Driving off the site I had a look on the flood for the Green Sand, but it wasn't around, but I did have a flock of eleven Corn Buntings and a calling Goldcrest.
First light
The weather was a good deal better than yesterday and I had three oktas cloud cover with a 10 - 15 mph southwesterly wind. As I headed off down the track a couple of Grey Partridges called in the half light and at the feeding station itself I had four Yellowhammers, ten Chaffinches and just 81 Tree Sparrows.
I had a short walk up the '97 hedge' and added Buzzard, two Reed Buntings and four Fieldfares to my totals. It was whilst walking here that I had the majority of the 1,391 'Pinkies' that flew over heading south in smaller skeins. In addition to the 'Pinks' I had nineteen Whooper Swans also.
Pink-footed Geese
Whooper Swans
Heading back to the car I had seven Lapwings on the stubbles and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying from one of my peanut feeders to the woodland. Driving off the site I had a look on the flood for the Green Sand, but it wasn't around, but I did have a flock of eleven Corn Buntings and a calling Goldcrest.
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Not A Bad Start To 2014!
Apart from the weather I had quite good start to the New Year birding wise and recorded a few good species this morning as well as some decent counts. I headed to the Point for first light and sheltered in front of the tower with Ian. At first light we had 4 oktas cloud cover with a moderate southeasterly wind. The visibility was quite good with Walney Island across the bay quite clear, but by 1000 the rain moved in and the bay was 'locked down' with murk!
We didn't have a huge variety of waders on the beach mainly because the weather was so appalling later on in the morning that it wasn't fit to walk down the Point and count the roosting waders so my count only included 301 Oystercatchers, 14 Sanderlings, 12 Dunlins and 12 Turnstones.
On the sea we had a good count of Red-throated Divers totalling 43 flying west out of the Bay and two good New Year's Day species in the form of a Great Skua and a male Velvet Scoter. The Bonxie was quite distant but we did watch it harrying large Gulls and at one point it dropped to the sea, obviously to collect whatever food item it had forced the Gull to drop. Everything was a little distant today and the male Velvet Scoter could have been closer, but it was close enough to appreciate.
Other counts over the sea included 29 Cormorants, 89 Pink-footed Geese north, five Red-breasted Mergansers, a Common Scoter, four Little Gulls west, a Kittiwake, ten Auk sp. west, a fem./imm. Goldeneye on the sea and a Great Crested Grebe west. Other than ten Linnets that was it for the Point.
I then moved on to the Marine Lakes in the hope of some roosting waders on the island and perhaps a Purple Sandpiper or two. Because of the wind direction the waders were roosting on the north side of the island, making viewing difficult, and I recorded 40 Redshanks and 22 Turnstones.
Out on the lakes were ten Red-breasted Mergansers, two Mute Swans and two Goldeneyes. It's back to work for me tomorrow but I'll be at my feeding station first thing before I start, but whether it will be light enough for me to record anything I'm not sure, but I will let you know. The one good thing is that it should be dry before more rain on Friday!
We didn't have a huge variety of waders on the beach mainly because the weather was so appalling later on in the morning that it wasn't fit to walk down the Point and count the roosting waders so my count only included 301 Oystercatchers, 14 Sanderlings, 12 Dunlins and 12 Turnstones.
On the sea we had a good count of Red-throated Divers totalling 43 flying west out of the Bay and two good New Year's Day species in the form of a Great Skua and a male Velvet Scoter. The Bonxie was quite distant but we did watch it harrying large Gulls and at one point it dropped to the sea, obviously to collect whatever food item it had forced the Gull to drop. Everything was a little distant today and the male Velvet Scoter could have been closer, but it was close enough to appreciate.
Other counts over the sea included 29 Cormorants, 89 Pink-footed Geese north, five Red-breasted Mergansers, a Common Scoter, four Little Gulls west, a Kittiwake, ten Auk sp. west, a fem./imm. Goldeneye on the sea and a Great Crested Grebe west. Other than ten Linnets that was it for the Point.
I then moved on to the Marine Lakes in the hope of some roosting waders on the island and perhaps a Purple Sandpiper or two. Because of the wind direction the waders were roosting on the north side of the island, making viewing difficult, and I recorded 40 Redshanks and 22 Turnstones.
Out on the lakes were ten Red-breasted Mergansers, two Mute Swans and two Goldeneyes. It's back to work for me tomorrow but I'll be at my feeding station first thing before I start, but whether it will be light enough for me to record anything I'm not sure, but I will let you know. The one good thing is that it should be dry before more rain on Friday!
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