Shocking

Turtle Dove in the Napi Valley, Lesvos April 2010.

I was very surprised to find a Turtle Dove near our caravan at Southerness Point in SW Scotland a few years ago. I hadn't seen one in the UK for years you see.
I've seen a few on Lesvos over the last three Springs, including about fifty in one field near Sigri. So that's OK then - all's well?
I listened to "Bird wars on Malta", part of BBC Radio 4's Nature series this morning.
Springtime hunting is illegal in Europe but Malta have managed to opt out. Hunting is "part of their culture" - the hunting quota includes eleven thousand Turtle Doves and five thousand Quail. Have a listen here. See BirdLife Malta

Nothing doing - still.

Not much to report from the South Ribble marshes over the last couple of days. No sign of the Spoonbill (could be hiding in ditches though), Little Egret still about, 3 Common Sand's, Green Sand', Avocet, up to 280 Dunlin (today at Banks) and at least 2 Yellow Wag's at Old Hollow.
Barnacle and Pink-footed Goose in the Canada flock on Banks now.

Look at the old squall board.

Braved the squalls again this morning for another wader search on the Ribble Estuary NNR at Banks. 
Just fifty or so Dunlin and little else shorebird-wise apart from a Whimbrel that dropped in during a downpour, and then off again calling as it cleared. 
The Spoonbill showed intermittently, plenty of Swifts over the salt marsh, Yellow Wagtail near the farm and Marsh Harrier quartering the seawall once again.
This juvenile Sandwich Tern dropped in during a shower and did not look to healthy. Sarnies are pretty regular on the inner estuary in late summer, but rarely venture onto the marshes.  At least the rain will keep the splashes wet for a bit longer.

Evening post.

Six breeding plumage Black-tailed Godwits at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB this evening. Warm and blustery conditions are drying the pools out now - just 5 Teals, 4 Dunlin, a Greenshank and 5 Little Egrets on show. 

Spoonbill.

Immature Spoonbill, Banks Marsh (Lancs) 28 July 2012.

 Ron Jackson tipped me off on some good wader watching opp's on the salt marsh at Marshside over a few pints the other lunchtime, so I gave it a try this morning. However I was foiled by the dog walker strolling next to the pools, so no birds there then. Beats me why you'd want to walk a dog there, but never mind.

I called in at Banks Marsh on the way home and at first there seemed little change from the last few days. Still 175+ Dunlin on the splashes, Common Sand' in the ditch and a nice flock of 15 Black-tailed Godwits in their summer finery. Something (probably the Peregrine we saw later) put everything up - Lapwings (50), Curlews and Starlings - and suddenly a Spoonbill appeared on the splashes. I guess it's the bird seen a few weeks back on the north side of the estuary as even biggish white birds can go missing in the gutters and ditches, especially on an estuary as big as the Ribble.

It fed briefly but spent most of its time preening before disappearing just before Ron arrived. Marsh Harrier over the grassy seawall, Green Sandpiper and Yellow Wagtail calling out on the marshes, Swift and plenty of hirundines over the seawall, Little Egret and eight Teal on the other splash but these are drying out pretty quick. 

Ribble snippets.

Little Egrets, Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB 26 July 2012.

 Still pretty quiet on the Ribble Estuary at the moment. It's good to see the continued build up of Little Egrets on the estuary - there were six together yesterday afternoon at Hesketh Out Marsh, just across the Ribble from Freckleton Naze Point where a late summer roost can be observed.
Still a dozen Greenshanks on the pools but just five Dunlin now. Yellow Wagtail still hanging around in the fields.

Under total control?

A quick look at Banks Marsh on the Ribble National Nature Reserve this morning showed promise of things to come this autumn (hopefully). 

A nice feeding flock of 175+ Dunlin on the splashes will surely drag something interesting in over the next few weeks?
Two Greenshanks were roosting with several Redshanks and a single summer plumage Black-tailed Godwit fed alone. Plenty of geese on the marsh - mostly Greylags with a lone Pink-footed Goose and a few Canadas. Yellow Wagtail calling close to the seawall and Common Sand' in the channel.

"Chip-mig".

Early Tuesday morning (about 6.30 am), getting ready to set off to work in Scotland and suddenly there was some "chip-chip" calls outside. Crossbills - at least two (I didn't see them) flew over the house here in Longton. Only my third local record after four brick-red males over Longton Marshes in October a couple of years ago and a single over Hesketh Out Marsh last July (or was it August?). 


Wonder how many are missed now all the vis-mig-gers are having their well-earned lie-ins before the autumn starts?

Goshawk (check out those undertail coverts!).

Not much else to add - nice Adder on the moors in southern Scotland yesterday. Goshawks are pretty noisy at the moment in the new Unesco biosphere reserve.  How about that then!

More info here and here.

Ribble Estuary this afternoon.

Juvenile Little Ringed Plover.

Quick visit to the estuary this afternoon in a blustery SW wind but strangely humid conditions. First stop was Banks Marsh at Old Hollows where Ron Jackson had recorded large Dunlin numbers on the splashes during yesterday's WeBS. I reckon there were at least 2-3000 there, mostly roosting but many feeding and easier to sift through. This is a difficult site to work with birds distant and no "dead ground" to hide you away if you approach. Flushing birds on the NNR would be all too easy.
Anyway I couldn't find anything else amongst the flock. Most were black-bellied and the few that weren't were easily identifiable as just Dunlins, even at range and in the haze. Two juvenile Little Ringed Plovers were closer to Old Hollows in the pools near the seawall.
We dropped in at Hesketh Out Marsh this evening, hoping for a Merlin (Graham Clarkson had one at nearby Crossens yesterday), but there was little change from the last two visits: Avocets (2) were back, Little Egrets up to 5, Greenshank flock now at a dozen birds and Yellowhammer and Yellow Wagtail in the fields.

Off to Scotland.

Quiet weekend's local birding

Swallow-tailed Moth.

Buff Ermine.

Poplar Hawkmoth.

A few moth pictures from another session here in Longton Friday night. There's more - I haven't sorted the photos yet.


Still not too much to report on the local birding front. We popped down to Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB each afternoon over the weekend - amazing how the marsh dries out over the course of 48 hours with a bit of sun and a strong wind.


The Greenshank flock is up to ten birds today but the Dunlins are down to twenty or so flighty birds so it looks as though I'll have to look elsewhere for my annual failure to find a White-rumped Sandpiper in a flock fiasco.


Nice "young adult" (see Dick Forsman's "Raptors of Europe and the Middle East" to find out what I mean) male Marsh Harrier quartering the outer marsh this afternoon. The late summer Ribble Little Egret gathering is picking up with four dotted around the salt marsh today. I'm sure this will build as the nearby Freckleton roost attracts birds over the coming weeks.


I picked up a Yellowhammer flight call yesterday, despite the noise from the model aircraft club. The male was in his usual spot by the cattle pen along the lanes south of the reserve yesterday. A rare bird around the Ribble nowadays.


Plenty of Swifts over the salt marsh so summer's still with us but seven Teal out there means autumn's not far off too.


Dunlin flocks over the next few days then, maybe on the Solway as well as the Ribble?

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl with Carrion Crow, Longton Marsh 15 October 2011.

20 July, cloudy with showers, NNW f4.


Another quick visit to Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB with the tide (8.5m) was a little more productive today.


4 Little Egrets, Kestrel, Peregrine, Short-eared Owl, 48 Dunlin, 5 Greenshank, 2 Avocets, Yellow Wagtail, singing male Yellowhammer.


The Shortie's an interesting one with 2012 site records in the latter half of May and now, mid July. Granted these could be just rather extreme dates for migrants on the estuary, but they lead me to believe at least one bird may have summered out on the vast salt marsh beyond HOM this year.


Today's bird was being mobbed by a GBBG near the outer seawall so too distant for digiscoping. The bird pictured above being hassled by crows was flushed from the grassy seawall at Longton Marsh last autumn as we walked the dog.

Galloway Hills and Hesketh Out Marsh.

All but over for the breeders in the Southern Uplands? Well, I'm seeing plenty of fledged Wheatears and even a few Stonechat and Whinchat broods. The speckled juvenile Redstart quivering its tail on the fence looked rather out of plave in the conifer strip though. Still, July is a good time for wandering Redstarts.
Quite a few Red Squirrel sightings this week in the hills and unfortunately my first D&G Grey Squirrel (not too far from a Red Squirrel site). Otherwise a good few days for watching raptors, despite the weather.

Meadow Pipit nest.

Back on the Ribble Estuary patch today. I was hoping yesterday's Grey Phalarope had relocated to Hesketh Out Marsh (it left Martin Mere WWT yesterday lunchtime) but no such luck. Adult female Marsh Harrier over the salt marsh as soon as I arrived but little else "new" from the last few visits apart from a single Little Egret. Still 2 Avocets and Greenshank on the pools but Dunlin are down to five birds. Perhaps I need to be there at high tide?


On a more serious note ...... We seem to have two dogs in the house now. Perhaps I should spend more time at home?

Ribble Estuary 15 July 2012.

Dunlins at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB this morning.

Angie and I walked the dog (note "dog" in the singular) at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB this morning. "Bright and breezy" as they said it would be, with a brisk westerly wind. Still 36 Dunlins on the pools, single Greenshank, adult and juv' Avocet, plenty of Redshanks (including a juvenile), Lapwings and a single Curlew on the salt marsh. A pair of Arctic Terns spent most of their time on posts and Common Tern overhead. Just the drake Tufted Duck flying around this morning, no sign of the duck. At last half-a-dozen Grey Herons roosting in the tall salt marsh grasses and 70 Shelducks on the dry mud. I could just hear a Yellow Wagtail in the strong wind too.
Raptors still scarce at the moment with just one Kestrel and the only other "predator" was a Stoat that slithered across the footpath near the car park.

Home patch birding.

 Few days away, few at home .....

Adult Little Ringed Plover, Caerlaverock WWT (Dumfries & Galloway) 11 July 2012.

Had a few days work in Scotland this week and found time on Wednesday afternoon for a few hours birding in the Caerlaverock area. 

The Folly Pond is in excellent conditions for attracting migrant waders with Wood Sandpiper already recorded this month. I didn't see it but the main reason for the trip to Caerlaverock was to see the Little Ringed Plovers there, a rare bird in Dumfries & Galloway. I was pleased to find two adults on the Folly Pond, along with 3 Common Sandpipers and an adult summer Green Sandpiper. Hopefully I'll have good reason to be here again before jetting off to Brazil in September.

Life's a bitch.

Back on the local patch this weekend. Still pretty quiet on my bit of the Ribble Estuary but Hesketh Out Marsh had a few signs of autumn migration with Greenshank and a flock of 35 Dunlin on the pools. Three Gadwall were accompanied by a pair of Tufted Ducks, the latter a rarity at HOM. Two Arctic Terns graced the salt marsh.


And a little bit of "sound and vision" from one of this summer's trips to Scotland. Not a great photo but it's a calling male Goshawk.

That time of year ....

I'm experiencing the expected "slump" that July often brings at the moment, although in truth the Spring wasn't great shakes personally.
I suppose the two Common Crossbills that headed SSE quite low over the reed bed walk at Martin Mere WWT were the weekend's highlights; 4th and 5th reserve record apparently (MMWWT website). There were a few Black-tailed Skimmers along the path in the mid-morning sunshine, a couple of Four-spotted Chasers and numerous Common Blue Damselflies.
We popped into Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB on the way home. A juvenile Yellow Wagtail may well have been of local produce after my sightings involving a male repeatedly dropping into a nearby crop during surveys there this Spring. Little else there apart from a few Avocets and a pair of Arctic Terns.
I checked Marshside for Wood Sandpiper yesterday morning; given the influx of this graceful wader over the weekend I was a little surprised in the lack of local reports. Very wet, grassy and quiet there. Plenty of water in contrast to the previous two summers, in fact the warden told me they can't get enough OFF the reserve at the moment!
Otherwise it's been a few wandering young birds in the hills of Dumfries and Galloway for me: Redstarts, Whinchats and Stonechats. Red Kites everywhere in the east of the county of the moment and easy to see hanging over the A75 from the car (if you dare take your eyes off the road for a split second that is).


I recorded this Goshawk at distance in Scotland recently ........



Always a privilege to watch this "Phantom of the forest" on the rare occasion the opportunity arises.


The weather's been in the news a lot of late with flash-flooding and the lifting of hosepipe bans. It can change pretty quickly in the uplands too ........

Bog Asphodel (I think!)

Heath Spotted Orchid (thanks to Craig Shaw and Gus  McNab for ID).

I'm always nervous about identifying orchids (or just flowers in general!), but there were quite a few of these in the damper areas of the moorland I walked near Wigtown the other day.


While I'm out of my ID comfort zone (a place I often reside in); many thanks to Dave McGrath and Pete Marsh for correcting some of my moth identifications. Please carry on!