Trickle of Sand

Hi.  Dan again.


Began my birding day with three hours of Osprey vigil from my high altitude vantage point.

There were to be no raptors exceeding the size of Common Buzzard but it was pleasant enough while I waited. I had packed a pad and paper thinking they would help log a mammoth Meadow Pipit count, but the mipit flow was more modest than in recent days.

Anyhow, the mid-morning vis mig tally was still headed by Anthus pratensis, with 161 pipits heading NE. The trickle was rock-steady with 55 in the first hour, 47 in the second and 59 in hour three.

Sand Martin passage was light but steady too, with 12 NE in the same too. 13 Lesser Redpolls went over in twos and threes. 8 Skylarks, 3 Greenfinches, 3 Siskins and a high-flying Stock Dove added variety.

In the heading-in-the-right-direction-but possibly-just-locals category (yes, that one) were 3 Linnets, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 9 Goldfinches and 2 Chaffinches.

While I was on Aldcliffe Mountain the strains of a Willow Warbler floated up from Freeman's Wood, and both Grey (hooray) and Red-legged (boo) partridges were heard.

Later I did a couple hours of wandering at estuary level with mipit and Sand Martin passage
continuing well into the afternoon. I only made a count of the latter-- a further 11 heading NE.

Four Stock Doves billing and cooing near Aldcliffe village was a pleasing sight, and my first patch Eider of the year floated up on another big tide, but I was most happy with the discovery of 4 Green Sandpipers. One (perhaps the regular of recent weeks) was by Frog Pond, while a party of three were at a large grassy puddle. A nice count for spring.

Chiffchaffs were again to the fore, a Blackcap was singing at Stodday ETW but Goldcrests were down to just two.

A Black-tailed Godwit at The Flood was in non-breeding plumage, in contrast to yesterday's russet duo. LRPs were notable by their absence, As were Pink-footed Geese.

Mammals were represented by one each of rabbit, hare and weasel.

Skein Sunday

Dan here.


Another warm day with plenty of sunshine and quite a few birds.

Two Stock Doves were at Freeman's Pools just after sunrise, with ten Rooks cawing in treetops nearby. A pair of Grey Partridges were near Frog Pond, where 50 Oystercatchers had congregated.
Two Iceland race Black-tailed Godwits were feeding on the marsh and 2 Tree Sparrows were at the foot of Aldcliffe Hall Lane.

Goldcrest passage was evidenced by at least ten individuals.  It's been a very good spring so far for Chiffchaffs, with 12 this morning-- including a cluster of six around Stodday sewage works. You could hardly move for pollen horns! Yesterday's Willow Warbler seemed to have moved on.

A Blackcap was singing in the Aspen plantation by the ETW.

Young Guy McLlelland had two Wheatears along Dawson's Bank, and a further four were resting on Trig Point Hill. Guy came across the conspicuously pale-headed Long-tailed Tit that I had a while back. It was building another nest (for another mate?) two kilometres from the first!

800 Pink-footed geese were on Colloway Marsh in the morning. Later in the day they were agitated by the spring tide and the jet skis and took to the air. They circled the area and were joined by a similar number from the south. They rose in a swarm to about 250m above the Overton / Bazil Point area. It was an odd sight, reminiscent of how a Black-throated Diver laboriously gathers height over its breeding loch-- times 1500.
The swarm fragmented and a skein of about 500 formed and headed N over Morecambe at 300m. Next stop Iceland?

This was seen from my drumlin vantage point (permit only) where I put in a couple of hours of raptor vigil in the early afternoon. No luck with migrating trout-hawks, but it was a good spot to observe the NE Meadow Pipit passage which was obvious all day. It peaked mid-morning at around 200 per hour. Two Sand Martins also flitted past, as did 2 Lesser Redpolls. Two drake Goosanders also went over and Sparrowhawk, Buzzards and Ravens were airborne too.

Butterflies were widespread-- the vast majority being Small Tortoiseshells but also two each of Peacock, Comma and Brimstone.

DH.

Phyll Under: Beautiful

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) Freeman's Wood

Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) Freeman's Wood

Hello. Dan here.
 

I woke up to the kind of text message I like-- it read 'lots of lovely Wheatears down Aldcliffe'. It was from patch veteran Guy McLelland. He was admiring fifteen of them on the saltmarsh from along Dawson's Bank.

 

By the time I'd rolled out of bed most of them had moved on (they are migrants after all), but two males were sight for a sore eyes after what has felt like a long wait. They were a bit distant (mingling with a few Oystercatchers and some geese) but I soon got to see some other summer migrants close up.

 

A bonnie and slightly early male Willow Warbler was my first of 2014. It being March, Chiffchaffs were of course more numerous, with about 7 singers and 2 skulkers dotted around the parish. My friend takes a far better photograph than I, and the subtle beauty of the WW and CCs has been expertly captured above, for your blog-viewing pleasure.

 

A Little Ringed Plover was on the flood and a Green Sandpiper was on the margins of Frog Pond.

 

Todays big story was perhaps vis mig,.. a strong NE passage of Meadow Pipits was apparent well into the afternoon and a few Siskins were heard moving overhead. But they weren't assiduously recorded and I'm sorry to say that for most of today I just wandered around in the sun like a bloody tourist.

 

Circa 800 Pink-footed were seen hazily on Colloway Marsh. A further 200 or so were on Aldcliffe Marsh.

 

Three Small Tortoiseshells and a Comma were noted but warm sunshine or no, I suspect that today's strong easterlies were keeping butterflies down.

 

Later I gamely ventured OARA (out of Aldcliffe recording area). I saw two year-tick Sand Martins & the regular Spotted Redshank duo at Conder Green, and yet more steady Meadow Pipit passage practically everywhere.

 

 

DH.

 

 

Rare Blurred Alert

Dan again. Hello.

Long time readers of this blog will know that most Springs I put in a concerted effort to catch Ospreys on migration.

Including a session today, I've sat facing south and conducted 9 hours of vantage point surveys over the past few days, including time at Tithe Barn Hill in Glasson, Stodday picnic area and the top of the bund at Marsh Point adjacent to Freeman's Pools.

Two hours ago (on scan number 247) I was delighted to spot a northbound Osprey from the latter site, my first of the year-- and I 'scoped it up. Sadly for me though, this individual wasn't on course to sail over my head and was c3km to the SE-- I would guess just W of Scotforth.

I chucked my scope and tripod in a bramble bush and hopped on my bike and raced to the where the shared use path crosses the Environment Agency bund to cut down the distance a little so I could get a frame-filling record shot for you, dear readers. Here are my best shots-- enjoy!

As you can see from the topmost portrait the Osprey was by now over the Greaves area of the city and had attracted three adult summer Lesser-black Backed Gulls which were hounding the migrant, which looked to be a 2CY female. Joking about the last part.

A shower was falling over Lancaster and the Osprey flapped on and through it, at some pace.

I contacted Rare Bird Alert and rang a friend who lives just to the N of the city. But the bird wasn't hanging around. I'd say it was travelling at least 30mph, which is not bad considering it was travelling into a 15mph headwind.

Aside from this target species, little else was moving over the patch, with 18 southbound Black-tailed Godwits the second best sighting.

I hoped to spy a martin or two over the pools, but it wasn't to be.......so as far as I'm aware summer migrants noted here (or in the case of the fish-botherer from here) so far this spring have been-- in order of appearance:

 1. Chiffchaff
 2. Little Ringed Plover
 3. Blackcap
 4. Osprey

DH.

And Another Thing.....

Dan again.

Oh yes, the birding!

Could have missed out on a White Stork flypast this morning (or at least a seen-from), as one was responsible for a rash of sightings up and down the Lancashire coast today, as close as Heysham (nice one Jean).

By the time I was able to go out, the only comparably prodigious wingspans were those of Mute Swans, Grey Herons and Great-black Backs.

I scanned the skies for a couple of hours in hopes of seeing it or those fish-bothering raptors I'm keen on, to no avail.

In fact, I could find very little of note. Yet to see any Sand Martins passing through, and no Wheatears either. I felt I'd have more chance of a chat with the Trappists.

550 Pink-footed Goose were on Colloway Marsh, with a further 120 at the north end of Aldcliffe Marsh. A Fieldfare flew N and 3 Goldcrests were noted. About 100 Common Gulls were on the Stodday stretch of the river, washing after scouring the mucked fields NE of Overton, where there were also two Little Egrets following cattle.

DH.