As you were.

Angie at Leighton Moss, 29 January 2011.

Local birding is still very respectable at the moment. They Fylde is still "Top Nosh" as Tony Ferrino would say with Ring-necked Duck, Red-necked Grebe, Iceland Gull and Red-breasted Goose heading the bill. In fact the Red-breast is in the company of both Greenland and Russian Whitefronts, Brents of both belly-shade varieties, Barnacles and several hundred Pink-footed Geese. Goosetastic!
We decided on a trip up to Leighton Moss on Saturday in search of Hawfinches at nearby Woodwell. We were unsuccessful but it was good to see several Marsh Tits and Nuthatches. Bullfinches were singing and indeed prolific throughout the rest of the day at RSPB Leighton Moss as well. The reserve was quiet and apart from seeing more people than birds and consuming a good selection of cakes it was rather unproductive. Nice place for a walk on a frosty January Saturday though.
Sunday was FA Cup day but I managed to pop out locally between bouts of swearing at the TV during the match. "Early doors" Lapland Bunting and injury time Hen Harriers, Marsh Harriers, Merlins and Short-eared Owl action were highlights of playing at HOM for me.

Pimp My Hide!

You know when a couple of hours out birding with a mate turns into an all-dayer?

Those sausage 'n bacon barms are affecting my Jimny!

OK, it's not my car but we did pop into the 'Ribble Birder's Rest' at Tarleton at lunchtime. I met Andy Bate at Hesketh Out Marsh this morning for a couple of hours birding. We walked the seawall, had a generally pleasant time with a few birds (brute of a Peregrine, Merlin, Sparrowhawk, Whooper Swans, Grey Partridge, Stock Doves, etc) and a bit of a laugh too. 'Scoping out to Banks Marsh NNR we noticed a few Pink-footed Geese dropping to feed but nothing else amongst them so we headed off for a bite to eat.

Checking HOM for owls and other stuff at HOM this evening.

We checked Crossens Outer and Banks Marsh West next: 2000+ Pink-footed Geese in good light and at a 'do-able' distance looked promising but we could only find a Barnacle Goose with them. Old friends 2SB and PCH were amongst them but we could see more towards HOM that would need checking. Andy picked up a couple of Marsh Harriers and a Ringtail Hen Harrier over Crossens and we could hear Twite in the Linnet flock but HOM beckoned for a dusk session once more.
We checked the 1000 or so Pinks in the Banks East / HOM area but nothing untoward apart from a partially white-breasted Pink-footed Goose. Rewards for our extended stay on the marshes came in the form of a cracking Short-eared Owl, another Ringtail Hen Harrier and Barn Owl before finally throwing in the towel around 5 PM (when it was still light).

The 'Ribble Birder's Rest' on the A585 near Tarleton not only serves good bacon barms and a strong cuppa, but you can also get your muddy car washed there for a fiver. A good way of getting rid of the 'MUFC' and the penis that somebody scribed on my car this afternoon .......

Evening All.

Popped out late afternoon to the South Ribble Marshes for a look at that swan herd: 103 Whoopers and a single adult Bewick's Swan. Not too much happening at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh this evening apart from a Barn Owl that dropped onto its prey only to be attacked by a male Kestrel. Lots of "kik-kik-kik" calling from the falcon and the owl left empty handed (if you see what I mean!). Sunset was spectacular over the Ribble though.

Great Expectations.

Short of some current photos, I used some from the 'Ribble Archive' for the previous post and wrote about the scarcity of Short-eared Owls on the estuary this winter.

Barn Owl at Hesketh Out Marsh, 26 January 2011.

Well, I was thrilled to see a Short-eared Owl again today at Hesketh Out Marsh; a different bird to the individual from the weekend as well. HOM was on fine form again today with plenty of predators on show - Ringtail Hen Harrier, Sparrowhawk, several Buzzards, Kestrels, Peregrine, Merlin and a superb Barn Owl to end the day on.

At least 2500 Pink-footed Geese in the recording area but very jumpy thanks to the jet activity from Warton across the Ribble. The 2000 or so on the distant Banks Marsh East saltmarsh were carrying at least 3 Barnacle Geese, while the 760 on HOM East held a nice adult Dark-bellied Brent Goose.


Single Twite with the small Linnet flock at the west end of the reserve was another Ribble year tick (on the year list I'm not keeping) and the first Raven for a long time was a welcome sight. Four Corn Buntings included a singing male, two more Little Egrets have survived the cold weather at HOM and 10 Grey Partridge were bombing around the fields and saltmarsh. I counted 106 swans in the fields at dusk, most of them Whoopers I dare say but too distant and getting too dark for picking out Bewick's. Maybe I'll get to check tomorrow and while we're in the habit of mentioning would-be birds for the next day .........

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle, Dumfries & Galloway 11 February 2009.

Pushing it a bit, maybe ...........?

'Owless' afternoon.

This afternoon was pretty miserable with a strong north-northwesterly wind with drizzle. Downright diabolical visibility didn't help much either but the birding was OK. I didn't see Barn Owl this afternoon but up to 4 birds have been hunting the HOM recording area of late. Star birds indeed; the one above was photographed near our caravan in Dumfries & Galloway a few years ago. And that reminds me that we haven't been there for a while ......

Short-eared Owls are thin on the ground locally at the moment. This time last year we were enjoying double figure Shorty counts on the South Ribble Marshes (and there were more on the Dark Side too), but just a couple of sightings locally this winter for me at HOM.

Female Hen Harrier in the Forest of Bowland, Lancs 2009.

These, on the other hand, have been truly magnificent. Another couple of Ringtail Hen Harrier sightings at HOM this afternoon, even in the afternoon murk they looked majestic! Definitely two different birds as well, with size and plumage differences noted. Only one male so far this winter, so a nice grey bird is overdue. Apart from the two Ringtails the two adult European White-fronted Geese were the start birds at HOM this afternoon, their white shields and crisp, black belly bars showing nicely even in the dreary conditions. Merlin, Peregrine, 5 Buzzards, 107 Whooper Swans, adult Bewick's Swan, single Little Egret (holding on in there!), 100 Golden Plover and 5 Bramblings made it a very pleasant, if a little damp afternoon.

Ribble Caspian Gull.

Adult Mediterranean Gull (rear of flock, partially hooded), Marshside 24 January 2011.

Had a couple of sessions down on the Ribble coast yesterday and today searching for the Franklin's Gull reported at Weld Road on Saturday afternoon. No sign unfortunately, but an adult Caspian Gull was reward enough yesterday (23rd) with the tide. Thanks to Pete Kinsella and others who put me onto the Casp' as I arrived at the beach at Weld Road as thousands of Larids were being pushed up by the tide. Great 'scope views of it sat on the saltmarsh and very good in flight as it flew towards the Marine Lake around 14.35 hrs. Well worth another search for that one. I managed a few Med' Gulls as well, including the adult pictured above from Nel's Hide at Marshside this lunchtime.
Other birds of note included Red-throated Divers (20+ off Anisdale, 2 off Marshside Sandplant on Sunday), Peregrines (Weld Road and Crossens Marsh), Merlins (Weld Road, Crossens and Hesketh Out Marsh), 153 Golden Plover (Marshside today), Barnacle Goose (Banks Marsh West today) and best of all 3 Barn Owls and a Short-eared Owl hunting HOM at dusk yesterday. SEOs have been thin on the ground on the Ribble this winter so it was great to see one at last.

PFGs TXJ & TVF ........

Pink-footed Geese near Staining, Lancashire 29 December 2010.

Just received sightings history of two of the neck-banded Pink-footed Geese I've seen in Lancashire lately. TXJ was on Crossens, Marshside last week. First ringed in Scotland in 2007 and re-sighted at Vane Farm the following autumn, it's been located in Lancashire ever since (some familiar names there).

Andy Bate watching TVF near Staining 29 December 2010.

Here's the details of a bird near Marton Mere late last year located by myself and Andy Bate on a day's birding on the Fylde:

Great birding in great company in a great county.

Fieldfare at Marton Mere near Blackpool, 22 January 2011.

I joined Graham Clarkson and his 'Birdwatching & Beyond' group for a day on the Fylde today. I must admit I feared we may not see anything today; I don't just mean seeing few birds, I mean that the visibility was severely limited due to the thick fog this morning.
We met at Preston Docks where there was no sign of the Iceland Gull, but it appears to be a bit of an 'afternoon bird' at the moment. The fog put pay to any ideas of Bewick's Swans in fields near Warton as the estuary was still shrouded in the murk but the Fairhaven Red-necked Grebe was as reliable as ever in the company of a fine pair of Red-breasted Mergansers.

Marton Mere, Lancashire 22 January 2011.

Then it was Blackpool after a quick stop at Lytham Crematorium for 5 Ring-necked Parakeets. Marton Mere was thankfully relatively free of fog and we spent the rest of the afternoon seeing a fine variety of winter birds.

I spent a very pleasant hour or so on the footpath along the north bank of the mere where the Long-eared Owls roost while the group were on the coast watching Purple Sandpiper, Sanderling and Eider. The male Kestrel pictured above was having a fairly successful time hunting small rodents, returning to the 'orchard' to devour its prey on a couple of occasions.

I managed to locate 3 Long-eared Owls while watching Sparrowhawk (at least 3 seen throughout the afternoon) and several Fieldfares and Blackbirds on the apple trees. Three Whooper Swans flew onto the mere where many Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Tufted Ducks, Pochards and a few Goldeneye were on show. Water Rail, Bittern and Cetti's Warbler stole the show by the end of the afternoon, neither showing for very long unfortunately. The fog closed in again as I drove back over the river for home so tomorrow may be a late start.

Clearing later?

I'm just about to head out onto the estuary for another morning's birding but it's going to be tricky with this freezing fog at the minute. So I thought I'd post a picture of Marshside from Fairclough's Pool on a nice sunny winter afternoon, just to remind me of what it looks like.
Mixed fortunes yesterday at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh with the tide: Hen Harrier (ringtail), 3 Merlin, 62 Whooper Swans, 6 Bewick's Swans, Little Owl, 4 Stock Doves, 8 Bramblings and a Corn Bunting. A brief look at the geese on Crossens Outer produced 6 Barnacle Geese and an adult European White-fronted Goose with the Pink-feet. One of the Pinks had a neck band but was just too far out to read.

Pink-footed Goose 2SB

This Pink-footed Goose with blue neck collar 2SB was on Crossens Marsh, Marshside (Lancs) on 17th October 2010. Reading the code on the blue collar was quite easy with the 'scope (we usually see the greyish-silver neck bands on 'our' geese) and I sent the details to the WWT.

Neck-banded Pink-2SB footed Goose on Crossens Outer Marsh, 17 October 2010.

The vast majority of Pink-footed Geese wintering in Lancashire are of the Greenland / Iceland population but 2SB is from Svalbard. Svalbard birds normally winter in Holland and Denmark although as you can see from the following data (click on each sheet to enlarge), this bird has spent at least part of the last few winters in Lancashire.

Sky Dancer.

Hen Harriers fascinate me. I'm fortunate enough to watch them locally on the Ribble Estuary Marshes in winter and also in the breeding season on their English stronghold on the heather moors in Forest of Bowland. It'll be a couple of months until we can watch their incredible 'sky dancing' display on the breeding grounds, but at least two ringtails are frequenting the saltmarsh between the two Ribble RSPB Reserves at Hesketh Out Marsh and Marshside at the moment (I've seen at least 4 birds this winter). Watching these graceful raptors brings its rewards apart from the sheer enjoyment of witnessing one of our most threatened birds 'in life'. Only last week I watched a ringtail quartering the Marshside saltmarsh near the sandplant when I noticed a female Merlin in close attendance. The small falcon was 'shadowing' the harrier, towering and circling above her every so often. Periodically the Merlin would 'stoop' towards the harrier, the larger bird 'flinching' and checking its progress as the falcon passed close by. As Watson (1977) noted, the Merlin's close proximity to the harrier is no coincidence, hoping to capture any small fry (pipits or larks) fleeing the harrier. Smart feisty falcon that Merlin.

Sunset at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh on the Ribble Estuary, Lancashire 19 January 2011.

Two ringtail Hen Harriers, Marsh Harrier, Merlin and two Barn Owls at HOM this aftermoon (plus Tawny Owl at Hesketh Bank on the way home).

PZA

This female Pink-footed Goose was first ringed as a juvenile on 20/11/05 at Loch of Lintrathen in Angus. The re-sighting details are as follows (our sighting in bold):

09/02/06 Alcaig - Black Isle, Ross & Cromarty
23/02/06 Easter Culbo - Black Isle, Ross & Camarty
20/04/07 Rifle Range - Findhorn Bay, Moray
28/10/07 Whiteknowes - Deskford, Aberdeenshire
01/04/08 Leven Cut area - Loch Leven, Perth & Kinross
20/10/08 Runmerry - Alves, Aberdeenshire
23/10/08 Earnside - Alves, Aberdeenshire
18/11/08 Moss Side - Nairn, Aberdeenshire
31/12/08 Culblair Dalcross, Invernessshire
11/10/10 WWT Martin Mere, Lancashire
25/10/10 WWT Martin Mere, Lancashire
27/10/10 WWT Martin Mere, Lancashire
30/10/10 WWT Martin Mere, Lancashire

Thanks to the WWT Colour-marking Project staff for supplying me with this info.

Bring on the tides!

Another beautiful winter's afternoon so I 'downed tools' at lunchtime for a quick Ribble tour. Stopping at Guide Road between Hesketh Out Marsh and the River Douglas, I found a good herd of wild swans, 30 of them Bewick's. Whooper Swans now up to 58 with 8 more at HOM where it was a little quiet by recent standards with just 3 Merlins (one bathing) and Little Owl of note. I'm sure the big tides at the weekend will produce something of interest here.

Marshside RSPB was more lively with some big flocks finding the fresh marshes to their liking now. Eighteen Pochards on Rainford's Lagoon and 20 Tufted Ducks on the Junction Pool were far outnumbered by the dabblers as usual. Fewer gulls from Nel's Hide than last week, but this nice adult Mediterranean Gull dropped in mid-afternoon to bathe.

About 1000 Lapwings on Rimmer's Marsh with 4 Ruff and 14 Golden Plover made a spectacular sight. This congregation was augmented by 500 Black-tailed Godwits, 75 Redshank and a Dunlin once they'd been pushed close to the hide during one of the many 'dreads' caused by Greater Black-backed Gulls or aircraft. Two colour-ringed birds amongst them; the above was easy but the bird pictured below only revealed one leg. In fact we were never really sure it had two! Unfortunately it flew off before we saw a second leg .....

Black-tailed Godwits on Rimmer's Marsh at RSPB Marshside, 17 January 2011. A colour-ringed bird is present in the middle of the flock.

Plenty of Pink-footed Geese at Marshside at the moment and at least 2000 more on the saltmarsh of the adjacent National Nature Reserve. The light was fading as I went through the 2000 or so on Sutton's and Crossens Marsh and I could only find a single Barnacle Goose in them. I did see an individual with silver neck band TXJ though which reminds me that I've just received the history of some of the other colour-marked Pinks seen recently on the Ribble. Saltmarsh pretty quiet as far as I could see apart from 3 Little Egrets and a female Merlin.

Bring on the tides ........

Afternoon Ribble Trawl.

Black-tailed Godwits on Crossens Marsh, Marshside 14 January 2011.

Quick trip to the Ribble Reserves this afternoon was unremarkable but some great views of some common winter visitors and plenty of them. The wild swans herd between Guide Road and RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh has swollen to 60 birds (51 Whoopers and 9 Bewick's). The sunny mid-winter afternoon soon turned windy but didn't stop ringtail Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier and a brute of a female Peregrine showing. At least 3 Sparrowhawk sightings this morning too. Fewer larks, finches and buntings around probably accounts for the lack of Merlins at the moment and 46 Bar-tailed Godwits is a good mid-winter count at HOM for this species.
I only had time to give Crossens a look at Marshside calling in at Sandgrounders and then walking around the inner marsh. At least 1200 Pink-footed Geese were feeding on Suttons and Crossens giving amazing views from the footpath near the houses and very tolerant of all passers by. Single Barnacle Goose with them and hundreds of Wigeon and Teal as usual. A tight flock of Black-tailed Godwits alighted, one of them colour-ringed (yellow over yellow on left / orange over white on right). Male Peregrine put the lot up as I reached the seawall where a Merlin could be seen over the saltmarsh but still no Short-eared Owls ....... yet.

Job done.

Frodsham in Cheshire, 13 January 2011.

Full day survey work in the northwest today produced a few interesting species including an adult Yellow-legged Gull, Brambling and a nice selection of wildfowl.


My last site was Pennington Flashes this afternoon and I managed to get five minutes at the Bunting Hide. Incredible place for Bullfinches with at least 12 on view at any one time here. Better still a pair (at least) of Willow Tits showing really well as I waited for the mist to clear to complete survey work. The mild weather induced a bit of song from the residents too with Song Thrush, Robins and Great Tits in great voice. Dozen or so Goosanders and Goldeneyes on the Flash were a welcome site.

This wasn't so nice (being closed!) ........

Winter afternoon gulling plus.

Drove down to RSPB Marshside this afternoon in the winter sunshine. The nippy conditions didn't trouble me in Nel's Hide where 2,500+ Black-headed Gulls were gathering on Rimmers Marsh. Marshside was back to its best - Pink-footed Geese, Wigeon, Gadwall, Pintail, Teal and Black-tailed Godwits covering the now unfrozen marsh.

Second winter Mediterranean Gull (centre), Marshside 11 January 2011.

Not many large gulls on Rimmers; just a few Herring, Lesser Black-backed and a few Greater Black-backed Gulls putting all the birds up every now and then. Just a hand full of Common Gulls present this afternoon. It took a bit of time but I did pick up a second winter Mediterranean Gull in the Black-headed Gulls. This bird carried a pinkish-red ring on its right leg and a metal one on the left. Unfortunately I was unable to read either.

Second winter Mediterranean Gull (right) at Marshside this afternoon. The black tips to the primaries are hidden by the angle of the folded wings in this shot.

Many of the small gulls were bathing in front of the hide including two more Mediterranean Gulls (an adult and an unringed 2nd winter pictured above). Eventually the gulls shifted roosting position and became bunched and difficult to sift through and as fewer were joining them I decided to have a look around.

A small ringtail Hen Harrier could be seen hunting over the saltmarsh with a Merlin in close pursuit but the fine winter weather had me prolonging my 'lunch hour' with a stop at RSPB Hesketh Out Marsh on the way home. At least 4 Bramblings still in the big hedge by the car park here and 42 Whooper Swans in the farm fields. Two Merlins could be seen and I was a bit relieved to see 2 Barn Owls hunting at dusk. Good to know they've made it through the freeze.

GWT again.

Nice to give the Ribble a good grilling during WeBS at Crossens and a decent yomp around Hesketh Out Marsh this afternoon. Still a little quiet at Marshside (Crossens) with relatively small numbers of wildfowl present on the reserve apart from several thousand Wigeon. Single Barnacle Goose with the Pink-feet; Peregrine and a Marsh Harrier on Crossens Outer. Hesketh Out Marsh was much better although I came away without a Merlin sighting during a full day on the Ribble which is most unusual. Two ringtail Hen Harriers was the best we (Ribble regulars Carl Winkley and Andy Bate had joined Graham Clarkson and I) could do from the viewpoint with at least 46 Whooper Swans in the recording area. Graham got a Lapland Bunting over the car park as he left and I picked up 6 Bramblings and 49 Golden Plover with 400+ Lapwings. Four Bewick's Swans flew over as I reached the seawall again near Hundred End and I managed to pick up the drake Green-winged Teal with 20+ Teals as I walked back to the viewpoint. He didn't hang around long though, retreating to a hidden channel as the water level dropped. A couple of drake Gadwall were the only other ducks I could pick out apart from the 'usuals' but I bet there's a Baldpate out there with the Wigeon ......

Thanks to Angie for the header pic of a drake Pintail, taken at Slimbridge WWT last week.

Local Blitz.

Great Northern Diver, Fleetwood Docks 8 January 2011.

Male Tawny Owl woke me this morning ready for a trawl of the current local Lancs hotspots. Graham Clarkson got us to Staynall, Over Wyre in time to watch many of the Pink-footed Geese come off the Wyre Estuary and start to feed in the fields. Plenty of 'dead ground' in this area making a search of the geese difficult but luckily we found the Red-breasted Goose in a ploughed field on higher ground. Unfortunately they were all quite 'skittish' though and soon dispersed so we opted for breakfast in Knott End with Peregrine, thousands of Oystercatchers, a few Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers and a Brent Goose of the slipway there.
Quick look back at Staynall; still no further sign of the Red-breasted Goose despite a few Pinks in view in the fields. Nice Barn Owl across the road and then across the Wyre and round to Fleetwood Docks where we found the Great Northern Diver quite quickly and I managed to get a few record shots before it swam out of view behind the boats. Drake Red-breasted Merganser was the only other bird of note at the docks so we headed off to Cleveleys where we found the Purple Sandpiper with 300+ Sanderling and single Dunlin, Knot and Ringed Plover on the beach there. Few scoter buzzing about on the choppy distant horizon was all that we saw at sea before cutting through Blackpool towards Lytham.


A herd of wild swans on Lytham Moss consisted of 5 Bewick's with 25 Whoopers; a nice distraction en route to the crematorium where we connected with 4 Ring-necked Parakeets before calling in at Fairhaven Lake where the Red-necked Grebe was showing well to many admirers alongside a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and a drake Shoveler.

Last port of call was Preston Docks where the juvenile Iceland Gull was duly 'day-ticked' without the need to leave the comfort and warmth of Graham's car. After all there was a game on the TV.

Red Kite on the South Ribble Marshes this morning (Ron Jackson) so plenty to look out for during WeBS tomorrow.

Not going out.

Office bound today. Has anyone else noted more Blackbirds than usual on their patch this winter? I've noted 'more than usual' (haven't got the figures to hand) at Hesketh Out Marsh whenever I've walked the footpaths and watched the hedgerows this winter. And the garden has had up to eight birds at any one time over the last week since the thaw too.

Rushy Pen at Slimbridge WWT.

In fact the garden has more birds at present than when the snow was on the ground last week. As well as the Blackbirds on one occasion today I counted 4 Collared Doves, 5 Woodpigeons, Song Thrush, 2 Coal Tits, 2 Blue Tits, 3 House Sparrows, 4 Goldfinches, 2 Pied Wagtails, a Dunnock, 2 Robins and 8 Starlings. 'Regulars' like Long-tailed Tits were missing and I'm still waiting for that elusive first Brambling. Shame we haven't got a view from the office window like the one above though ......


Bewick's Swans at Slimbridge - great birds, full of character and with just 100 days to spare on their breeding grounds they have to work fast! Good numbers of Bewick's Swans at Slimbridge this winter with regular counts of between 250 - 270 in December.

Several hundred European White-fronted Geese have been counted in the surrounding area near the Seven Estuary as well. Unfortunately there were only 200+ on view when Angie and I visited a few days ago and they were pretty distant. A couple of apparently wild Barnacle Geese accompanied them.