A Birdless Mid-week For Me

Just in case you had wondered whether I had dropped off the face of the planet I had better report that I have nothing to report! Unfortunately this week has seen me desk bound apart from a day in the field on Tuesday (27th). However, this was a trek across a wet and rainy Saddleworth Moor in preparation for some survey work there next week, and therefore I saw bugger all!

It is weekend so I am hoping that the rain and bird Gods are kind and I can get out for two days of birding. I'll let you know.

I like looking back at my old note books and I have them all from the time I started birding in 1976. On this date (30th July) in 1996 I was ringing at a wetland site to the east of Garstang called Greenhalgh Castle Tarn. It was an early start at 4.30 a.m., but it was a perfect ringing morning with calm conditions and near complete cloud cover. No billowing nets or light reflecting off the nylon mesh.

I had a large number of Mistle Thrushes that morning flying east to feed and I counted 76 birds, which is quite a good count. I managed to ring 51 birds and retrapped 8. The new birds included 2 Swallows, 7 Sedge Warblers, 3 Garden Warblers, 4 Blackcaps, 2 Linnets, 5 Reed Buntings, Song Thrush, Chiffchaff, 5 Willow Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat.

Blackcap - female

It was a cracking wetland site and was stuffed full of invertebrates so it attracted large numbers of warblers relative to its size. Years later I had to abandon the site as it was getting too dangerous to ring there because of the nature of the peat and I often broke the surface tension of the bog and sank to the top of my thighs without warning!

Let's hope that I have a warbler filled weekend this weekend. How about a warbler from across the pond. I think the Common Yellowthroat below brightens up the page!

Another Warbler Fest

Ian and I ventured forth for another 4.30 a.m. start at the Nature Park this morning in attempt to catch and ring some more Acros. As was the case yesterday a number of Swallows were exiting a roost on site as we put up our nets. I counted 250 flying around shortly after first light and I am guessing that there are probably 5-600 birds roosting.

We managed to trap 34 birds of 9 species for ringing as follows:

Reed Warbler - 19
Sedge Warbler - 2
Whitethroat - 6
Swallow - 2
Blackcap - 1
Dunnock - 1
Blackbird - 1
Wren - 1
Reed Bunting - 1

Blackcap

Reed Bunting

Reed Warbler

We half expected a lot of retraps from yesterday but we only caught 3, so obviously there was a good turn over of birds. We were hoping to make it three mornings in a row but the forecast for tomorrow is for drizzle/light rain.

A quick look on the pools after we packed up revealed 6 Little Grebes, 82 Herring Gulls, 23 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 20 Coots.

At Last!!!

Ian and I have been trying for weeks to get into the reedbed at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Park to do some ringing, but have been constantly thwarted by the weather. At last the forecast gave us some hope and at 4.30 a.m. this morning we were putting the nets up.

As we were putting the first line of '60s' up in the reeds we could hear Swallows calling as they exited the roost. It was difficult to tell how many, but back at 'base camp' after putting the nets up a 100 came out, so I am guessing there is probably at least 3-400 roosting.

A Barn Owl put in an early appearance and was constantly mobbed by large Gulls as it hunted over the grassland on the tip. An early Grey Wagtail dropped on to the pool and two breeding plumaged Black-tailed Godwits fed alongside 10 Lapwings.

It seemed quiet in the reeds and willow scrub but our nets proved otherwise and we ended up trapping 40 birds of 8 species as follows:

Reed Warbler - 17
Whitethroat - 11
Reed Bunting - 1
Sedge Warbler - 7
Robin - 1
Wren - 1
Willow Warbler - 1
Goldfinch - 1

Reed Warbler

Robin

Sedge Warbler

Whitethroat

Willow Warbler

Wren

We retrapped the french ringed Sedge Warbler that we controlled here in the Spring, so it had obviously stayed around to the breed. At the time of our original capture we wondered whether it was still on passage as it was May when we caught it.

 Sedge Warbler - French ringed (not that you can tell!)

After we packed up I had a quick look on the 'deep' pool and it was quiet other than 20 Coots and 5 Little Grebes. The weather is looking okay at the moment for the rest of the weekend, so hopefully plenty of more birding and ringing ahead.

The Mighty Conder

I was working in the Cockerham area this morning so I decided to have a look on the Conder estuary and pool before meeting my client later in the morning. The Conder estuary is a cracking birding spot as the estuary is so compact and easily viewable, and you can obtain good views of waders.

Black-headed Gull

I knew that the tide would be running in and covering some of the creeks, but I had a look nevertheless. The water level was high on the pool and there were few feeding areas for waders. Most of the waders were roosting on the islands as the incoming tide had covered the feeding areas up on the creeks. Four species were present in the form of 4 Oystercatchers, 14 Redshanks, Spotted Redshank and 49 Lapwings. The only other bird of note on the pool was a juvenile Great Crested Grebe.

 Lapwings

On the estuary it was fairly quiet because of the incoming tide apart from 5 Common Sandpipers and 54 Redshanks. Looking towards the Lune there were 57 Mute Swans and 200 Lapwings on the saltmarsh.

Common Sandpiper

The good news for tomorrow is that it is going to be fit for some ringing so I'm off to set my alarm for 4.00 a.m.!

Quiet Damp Moss

I called at Rawcliffe Moss today before I headed into Bowland once again. There had been a lot of rain overnight and as a result the vegetation was extremely wet. This morning was quite fair with a few bright spells and a light southwesterly breeze. Perfect for ringing, but I was working!

I had time to get as far as the plantation this morning but didn't as I could see one of the locals with her two idiot dogs that would have flushed everything, so I didn't bother.

At least three Corn Buntings were singing and twice as many Brown Hares were in the field next to Curlew Wood and in the 'big field'. From Curlew Wood I could hear a few Blackbirds alarm calling as if they were letting a predator know that they knew it was there! Tawny Owl perhaps?

A number of hirundines were feeding over the fields including 13 Swallows, 2 House Martins and 2 Swifts. I had a few (4) Whitethroats dotted about including a male along the '97' hedge carrying a large green caterpillar. Three Stock Doves went over and I had 13 Tree Sparrows along the '97' hedge. At a farm that I was surveying this afternoon near Nateby I had a pair of Tree Sparrows nesting in an old building and one of the adults was taking in nest material. It was probably sprucing up the nest cavity in preparation for a third brood.

Swallow

Goldfinch numbers had reduced to 14 as a consequence of the 'top field' being cut and the 'thistle' source of their food being removed. So there will be no ringing session there. Quite a few butterflies were on the wing as the morning warmed including Gatekeeper, Meadow brown, Large White, Small White and Green-veined White.

Lost And Found

I got a phone call from Ian last night to say that he had found 'our' two missing Ringed Plover chicks. They were with another adult on the other side of the groyne from where we ringed the two Thursday evening. So they hadn't been predated and they had managed to hatch 4 out of 4. More of that later.

I rolled out of my 'pit' again at 4.00 a.m. and headed off to Rossall Point. By 4.45 a.m. I was seawatching behind the Coastguards Tower and the wind direction was better being west-southwesterly, but it had dropped . In fact it was one of those in between mornings where it is too windy to ring and not really blowy enough for a good seawatch.

There were plenty of returning waders on the beach this morning including 77 Dunlin, 2 Turnstone (both in summer plumage; stonking!), 31 Oystercatchers, 8 Curlews, 131 sanderling and a Redshank.

Out on the sea it was quiet even though the visibility was good. I had 28 Common Scoters and a male Eider, and all there was moving was a single Manxie and 2 Gannets. I heard a Sandwich Tern, but didn't see it, and my best bird was a 1st winter Little Gull that flew along the tide line.

I called in at the Nature Park on my way home and it was quiet here too. I am not going to pad it out but just tell you that I had 10 Little Grebes, 2 Whitethroats, 17 Mallards, 15 Coots, 2 Reed Warblers, 4 Linnets and 10 Tufted Ducks.

Reed Warbler

Just before lunch Gail and I bobbed back to Rossall Point to meet Ian and try and locate the 2 unringed Ringed Plover chicks. Within no time at all we found one of the adults brooding the 4 young and before you could say "Robert's your Mother's brother" they were ringed.

Ringed Plover chicks

Back at home the post had arrived and there were a couple of recoveries from the BTO. One was a local Blackbird that hadn't moved, but there was a Pied Flycatcher (see below) that had been lifted off the nest at Barnacre on 9.5.09 and controlled at Whitney Court, Hereford & Worcester on 17.5.10.

The forecast looks grim for tomorrow so I might treat myself to a rare lie in!

A Day Too Early?

I rolled out of bed this morning at 4.00 a.m. and I could hear the wind and rain lashing against the conservatory. The plan was to do a short sea watch before work at Rossall Point. I battled my way a long the sea front and took shelter behind the Coastguard's Tower. The wind was a strong south-southwesterly (perhaps a little too southerly) and the visibility was very poor.

The Sea Off Rossall Point As It Came Light

I stuck it out for an hour and a quarter and returned home having seen very little at all. In fact I didn't see any sea birds, let alone a Stormie! As the tide dropped a few waders appeared on the beach including 15 Oystercatchers, Turnstone, 4 Ringed Plovers, 2 Whimbrel, 26 Sanderlings and 10 Dunlin. Some of the Sanderling were in summer plumage and looked absolutely stunning. No chance of a photograph I'm afraid in these weather conditions.

Oystercatchers

It looks like more of the same for the weekend so I doubt I will get out ringing, but I haven't given up on that Storm Petrel!