Dan reporting.
Three green sandpipers and five little ringed plovers on the freshwater edges looked set to be the wader headline today, until I spied a whopping twelve common sandpipers on the estuary opposite Gull Bank.
This species is regular in twos and threes here in April and Autumn, but a dozen here and another single at Freeman's Pool in June must be some sort of record for Actitis hypoleucos. An odd year for waders so far.
I tried to scope them up to age the birds, but an off-lead woofer queered my pitch and the party twittered off upstream.
The strong and cool Westerly breeze seemed to be keeping most dragonflies out of sight, but a female black-tailed skimmer was lurking on a path in the wood.
Butterflies noted in the sunnier spells included 4 large skippers, 2 green-veined whites and circa 25 fresh-looking small tortoiseshells.
DH
Welcome to Aldcliffe & Freeman's Wood, Lancaster - an area of the Lune Estuary in Morecambe Bay, North Lancs.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
I'll take the high road
A cuckoo was flushed from the top path this morning near the flood. It is only the third time I have had this species down here in eight years so it was a bit of a welcome surprise.
The warbler population remains fairly stable with 8 common whitethroats, 4 chiffchaff and ones and twos of blackcap, lesser whitethroat, sedge warbler and willow warbler.
A lapwing chick was at darter pool and a LRP and common sandpiper on the island at Freemans pools.
A sparrowhawk was carrying prey in to Freemans Wood and was seen soon after with empty talons.
A juvenile pied wag was at Wildfowlers.
Guy
Much the same as Guy apart from Cuckoo!
The warbler population remains fairly stable with 8 common whitethroats, 4 chiffchaff and ones and twos of blackcap, lesser whitethroat, sedge warbler and willow warbler.
A lapwing chick was at darter pool and a LRP and common sandpiper on the island at Freemans pools.
A sparrowhawk was carrying prey in to Freemans Wood and was seen soon after with empty talons.
A juvenile pied wag was at Wildfowlers.
Guy
Much the same as Guy apart from Cuckoo!
Freeman’s Pool 10.30, Common Sandpiper 2, LRP 1, Pied Wagtail 2, Lapwing 25, Swan 2, Moorhen with 5 newly hatched young, Oystercatcher with young..
Freeman’s Wood, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow, White, Les White, Blackcaps, Greenfinch, Jay, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk 2. Wildfowlers’ Pool, Green Sandpiper 1, LRP 1, a few Lapwing, Shelduck. Track numerous Whitethroats, Linnet 2. Flood 1 LRP, Collared Dove. Plenty of Swifts, House Martins and Swallows. River Common Sandpiper 3, Lapwing 400ish, Shelduck plus 17 young. Raven 7, Kestrel 1. Cormorant with large fish, plus 6 on the bank. Goosander with 7 juv, has to be the same ones from the weir.
Steve
Saturday, 25 June 2011
The young ones
9 lapwing chicks were located in total today. Many more adults are peewitting in the centre of the fields so there may be a few more around.
An oystercatcher chick is on Freemans island. 2 coot broods are also in the area.
6 chiffchaff were singing at Freemans wood with about the same number of common whitethroat.
A jay and kestrel were also in this area.
A willow warbler and sedge warbler were singing also.
Guy
An oystercatcher chick is on Freemans island. 2 coot broods are also in the area.
6 chiffchaff were singing at Freemans wood with about the same number of common whitethroat.
A jay and kestrel were also in this area.
A willow warbler and sedge warbler were singing also.
Guy
Friday, 24 June 2011
Crow Patrol
A downright chilly late afternoon visit yielded two green sandpipers and two little ringed plovers at the Wildfowler's Pools. Three youngish lapwing chicks there also.
A noisy party of five ravens visited Aldcliffe Marsh, to the great displeasure of oystercatchers and carrion crows.
Out on the windswept estuary the shelducklings seemed to have lost a sibling, a stock dove flew in to drink, and four adult eiders drifted up on the rising tide.
DH
A noisy party of five ravens visited Aldcliffe Marsh, to the great displeasure of oystercatchers and carrion crows.
Out on the windswept estuary the shelducklings seemed to have lost a sibling, a stock dove flew in to drink, and four adult eiders drifted up on the rising tide.
DH
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Tringa Trio
Dan reporting once more... with added boring and pointless pontifications on local waders.
Three green sandpipers were gracing the pools today.
A kind of emblematic bird for Aldcliffe, Tringa ochropus is a regular, if unobtrusive species around the smaller water bodies on the patch. Aldcliffe is one of most reliable places to see green sandpiper in NW England.
These are beginning to return from their far Northern breeding grounds a little earlier than usual.
Indeed, in most years June is (along with May) often the only blank month for this species, with at least one or two in most other months.
July, August and September usually bring peak passage of GE here (don't be alarmed--it's just BTO-ese) with up to 10 birds, but there's usually a small Wintering presence using the puddles, ponds and ditches.
During cold snaps they sometimes resort to the running freshwater of Lucy Brook (alongside Coronation Fields and into Fairfield), but last Winter seemed to be too hard for them, as they appeared to abandon the patch for milder climes.
Ice is a bit tough on the bill, no doubt.
Anyhoo- back to late June, and just one little ringed plover (an adult) found today. Perhaps any local breeding efforts have come to nowt this year.
At least 5 juvenile lapwings are partly concealed around the area (having spread out from their natal grounds on the maize fields). So, even if lapwing breeding hasn't been a roaring success here, it hasn't been the abject disaster it looked to be 6 weeks back.
A post-breeding flock of L. adults out on the estuary were being perturbed by a peregrine. Not much else there save some ad. black-headed gulls, and shelduck pair with six ducklings.
Aside from c.20 common whitehroat fledglings dotted around I couldn't find too much else of note, bird-wise.
The showery and windy conditions didn't favour dragonfly or butterfly sightings either.
Instead, I took advantage of the currently clear water in the canal with a bit of fish-spotting.... and with many roach, gudgeon and lesser numbers of 3-spined stickleback on show my freshwater year-list leapt to three.
DH.
Three green sandpipers were gracing the pools today.
A kind of emblematic bird for Aldcliffe, Tringa ochropus is a regular, if unobtrusive species around the smaller water bodies on the patch. Aldcliffe is one of most reliable places to see green sandpiper in NW England.
These are beginning to return from their far Northern breeding grounds a little earlier than usual.
Indeed, in most years June is (along with May) often the only blank month for this species, with at least one or two in most other months.
July, August and September usually bring peak passage of GE here (don't be alarmed--it's just BTO-ese) with up to 10 birds, but there's usually a small Wintering presence using the puddles, ponds and ditches.
During cold snaps they sometimes resort to the running freshwater of Lucy Brook (alongside Coronation Fields and into Fairfield), but last Winter seemed to be too hard for them, as they appeared to abandon the patch for milder climes.
Ice is a bit tough on the bill, no doubt.
Anyhoo- back to late June, and just one little ringed plover (an adult) found today. Perhaps any local breeding efforts have come to nowt this year.
At least 5 juvenile lapwings are partly concealed around the area (having spread out from their natal grounds on the maize fields). So, even if lapwing breeding hasn't been a roaring success here, it hasn't been the abject disaster it looked to be 6 weeks back.
A post-breeding flock of L. adults out on the estuary were being perturbed by a peregrine. Not much else there save some ad. black-headed gulls, and shelduck pair with six ducklings.
Aside from c.20 common whitehroat fledglings dotted around I couldn't find too much else of note, bird-wise.
The showery and windy conditions didn't favour dragonfly or butterfly sightings either.
Instead, I took advantage of the currently clear water in the canal with a bit of fish-spotting.... and with many roach, gudgeon and lesser numbers of 3-spined stickleback on show my freshwater year-list leapt to three.
DH.
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