Another Spurn visit

So, another visit to Spurn Bird Observatory comes to an end. Its been an enjoyable few days. The weather has been less than brilliant for birds, or more specifically migrants from Europe and farther afield. The westerly/south-westerly winds were just the wrong direction for species like Redwings and Fieldfares, and although there were a few about, there were nowhere near as many as I had  hoped for. A south westerly can be good for visible migration, and although it wasn't too bad on Thursday morning, on the other days it was just too strong. However, it wasn't all doom and gloom.

On our arrival on Tuesday there were still seven good birds hanging around from the previous week - Slavonian Grebe, a Barred Warbler, a Rose-coloured Starling, an Olive-backed Pipit, a Red-backed Shrike, a few Bearded Tits and an Arctic Warbler. We made a point of going for the Bearded Tits and Barred Warbler first as they were the nearest to the Obs. After a slow walk down the canal I heard the Beardies pinging and two birds appeared briefly flying along the reed tops before disappearing into the reedbed. A few minutes later and two birds popped up and flew back north, but they had come from a different spot to where we saw the first pair drop in, so we waited and sure enough five minutes later another two came out and flew past us in the same direction as the first two. Great to see them and a nice Spurn tick for me and a lifer to start Rob's week off. We dipped on the Barred Warbler

We then tried the churchyard for the Arctic Warbler, also without success, so after lunch we decided to go for the Starling.

The Starling was frequenting a garden in a group of bungalows. Not a very 'birdy' location but it was supposedly quite an easy bird to see, and it was. After only a couple of minutes it showed really well for a good ten minutes perching in bushes and on the roof of the adjacent bungalow.

 

Rose-coloured Starling

 

 

Unfortunately it wasn't a black and pink adult, but still a nice bird and another lifer for Rob. From here we went to the Olive-backed Pipit (or OBP) site. We had to walk along Vicars Lane and the site of last years Siberian Accentor, which brought back some brilliant memories, especially as it was almost 12 months to the day since its appearance.

 

Our search for the OBP proved fruitless, as did all subsequent attempts. A pity as it would have been yet another lifer for Rob. Still two lifers in a day isn't bad going.

 

The wind on day two (Wednesday) was a strong 20mph+ South Westerly and most things were just hunkered down. We started the day in the hide at Kilnsea Wetlands where we had great views of good numbers of waders, including a few Little Stints. Sadly we couldn't find the Spotted Redshank or Curlew Sandpiper - both lifers for Rob, but he did get the Slavonian Grebe that was hanging around. We didn't stay long as there was some interesting 'hide etiquette' on show, Some people are just plain rude.

 

From here we went to see the Red-Backed Shrike. It was showing really well, perched on top of a bush along the hedgerow.

 

 

 

Phoneskoped Red-backed Shrike

 

 

Then, it was off to see if we could nail down the Arctic Warbler which we did after a bit of chasing between the churchyard and the Crown and Anchor car park (yet another lifer for Rob). Trying to photograph this little cracker was a challenge with my limited gear - the photo below is about as good as it got. Don't think I'll ever make a wildlife photographer.

 

 

Arctic Warbler (if you can find it)

 

 

Thursday was a day for a bit of 'Vis-Migging' and between 08:00 and 11:00 over 1800 Goldfinches were counted going south, along with a couple of hundred Skylarks, good numbers of Redpolls, plus a  few Siskins, Greenfinches etc etc. Sadly, not much else was around so we spent the rest of the day having another look at the Arctic Warbler and chasing a Pied Flycatcher!

 

 

Vis-Migging at Numpties!

 

 

On the way to the pub on Thursday evening the sunset was stunning. As per usual, I had left my main camera with its wide angle lens in the car so I had to make do with an iPhone picture, which I think does the sunset justice.

 

 

Sunset across the Humber Estuary

 

Although the birding was a little bit 'slow' the 'Observatory Experience' is about so much more than just the birds - although birds are obviously a very important bit! The characters you get to meet are so varied and interesting that there's always someone to talk to who has a story to tell, or who is doing something unusual. This time I had the fortune to meet Bob Pyefinch - a name I recognised but couldn't place until we chatted for a while when I realised he was the co-author of the Atlas of Breeding Birds in Lancashire and North Merseyside, a book that I have used a lot over the years. Another 'Obs' guest was a birder called Ross. It turned out he was the finder of the Eyebrowed Thrush in the North East last autumn, an experience that encouraged him to become a birder. Another birder I've met a few times before but had not really spoken to, turned out to be an expert entomologist and we had a good chat about carabid beetles, and then on the last day I met Tiffany, a nature writer who was doing a bit of research and brainstorming. Sounds like her new book is going to be very interesting.  Really interesting people with great stories. Well worth the fee for staying over.

 



 

 

 





Petrels

There had been a few reports of Leach's Petrels along the Lancashire and Cheshire coastline over the last few days, and the impending storm 'Aileen' was promising to bring even better conditions today. Typical as its a working day. However I managed to get away from work a bit early and shoot up to the Old Gunsite near Leasowe.

I pulled onto the car park at 16:40. There was a strong onshore wind, the tide was up and it looked promising for Leach's. I set the scope up at the side of the car for a bit of shelter and had my first look  back towards the Mersey mouth at New Brighton, just using my Bins. Immediately I picked up a Petrel, close in and motoring along the foreshore towards me. I got it in the scope and there was my first Leach's of the year. Great views as it flew along just behind the breakers. Two mins later and there was another two but much farther out. In the first hour I had 8 go past, plus a Kittiwake, a Fulmar and a Guillemot sat on the sea. Someone at New Brighton was having a much better time with 35 during the same period. I guess the birds spread out once they exit the mouth of the Mersey hence I didn't see anywhere near 35 in that same period. The birds I saw were certainly well spread out. Some close in and others very distant. In the second hour the numbers did jump considerably and I had 16 in 45 mins. Again some very distant and some much closer. I almost certainly missed quite a few due to not being able to watch at close quarters and the middle distance at the same time, and many birds were only visible for a few seconds before disappearing into the troughs; they could very easily pass unnoticed.

Its the first time I've managed to get to see this 'spectacle' and it was well worth it. Watching these comparatively small seabirds battle into the headwind, yet seemingly not be bothered by it showed just how well they are adapted to a life on the open ocean. One of the local kitesurfers (think thats what you call them)  pulled up to ask what the 'tiny little black and white birds are hovering over the sea?' He'd seen quite a few whilst out on his board and was amazed something so small could survive out there.

After 2hrs I was ready for home, the movement seemed to have stopped, the tide was dropping and I was frozen (in September!). No photo's I'm afraid- far too windy and too distant for a good shot with only a 300mm lens - but a great couple of hours.

Migfest

I spent Saturday and Sunday morning at Spurn helping with 'Migfest' or the Migration Festival to give it its full title. I have never been to this event before. It always struck me as a great event, but not something for me - I like it when its quiet on the people front.  However, when the late Andy Roadhouse asked me if I wouldn't mind helping out this year, of course I said yes.

I was down to help leading a couple of guided walks, one around the Triangle on Saturday morning, the other around Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Lane on Sunday morning. There were quite a few people turned up on the Saturday morning, sadly the weather didn't encourage many birds to show themselves - a very stiff south westerly meant many birds were keeping a low profile, and a high tide meant there were few birds on the estuary either. But, we managed to find a few bits including three Whinchats - my first for the year.

A Wryneck had been found on the Friday and after the walk I accompanied a few of the guests up to where the bird had been showing. Sadly I didn't see it at this attempt.

I spent the afternoon mooching around, helping direct visitors and re-visiting the Wryneck to see if I could finally catch up with it, which I did eventually.

I'd just got back to the Observatory for a brew when the call came out that a Long-billed Dowitcher had been found on Holderness Field so a quick march up the road and across to the field was in order. There was quite a crowd so my initial views were quite restricted, however I eventually got a better spot and had great views of it, along with a Greenshank and Little Stint for size comparisons.

Once again I had left my phoneskope attachment in the car (need to start keeping this round my neck or something), so had to make do with holding the phone to the eyepiece. I was pretty pleased with the results.

I was all done and dusted with my second walk by 09.00am on the Sunday and as I had family commitments later in the day I decided to leave early. There were still good birds about, thankfully nothing I hadn't seen before, so the Migfest visitors had another good day.

Migfest is a brilliant event. The range of talks, demonstrations and walks means there's something for everyone and I'd highly recommend it.

Overall a great weekend and hopefully a nice little taster of things to come when I go back in a few weeks.

Holidays

I have just returned from a family holiday on the island of Tenerife.

I am fortunate that we have the use of a private apartment in Los Cristianos, so whilst this is a bit of a cheaper family holiday, its also in about the worst location for birding that I've ever stayed in - bear in mind I don't do car rentals when abroad. But the wife and kids love it and I can't get my own way all the time.

To date the best birdy highlights have been a Barbary Falcon over the apartments, ditto an Osprey that rather took me by surprise when I looked up from my sunbed one day. Berthelots Pipits down near the coast, a regular phalanx of Little Egrets flying to a roost spot somewhere and best of all, Corys Shearwaters when on a whale watching trip.

This year was to be no different. I again had a Barbary Falcon over the apartment, but that was all. However one evening we did hear a Corys Shearwater, and the night after my daughter picked one up when we were out browsing at a shopping centre - its white underwings reflecting the lights of the shops below. Everything else really came on a whale watching trip. Once again there were masses of Cory's Shearwaters some coming quite close. Sadly my photography skills were not up to getting the best shots on what was quite a choppy sea. I also had a single Osprey over a fish farming area, along with a Grey Heron and numerous Yellow-legged Gulls. On a non birdy theme we saw a single Pilot Whale (a bit disappointing as last time we saw several pods) and several Dolphins - I am assuming they were Common Dolphin but if anyone can confirm I'd appreciate it.

Cory's Shearwater

Pilot Whale

Dolphins



All, very nice and bonny, but then an example of the dreaded human influence on the sea. A sea turtle - again no idea of species yet so suggestions appreciated - with a plastic bag stuck in its mouth! A stark reminder of what happens to discarded plastic bags!

Sea Turtle

On a different note, I had chosen a slightly different style of book for my reading entertainment this year: The Invention of Nature! The biography of Alexander Von Humboldt by Andrea Wulf.





 I'm nowhere near finished but so far this book is fantastic. It has made me incredibly jealous thinking of all the 'stuff' that was out there waiting to be discovered, and this man went on to do just that. Its also fair to say that this guy was well ahead of his time. He identified issues such as climate change, problems with de-forestation, bad agricultural practices etc etc. He appreciated the links between all ecosystems, he identified predator/ prey relationships, keystone species and so much more. Its also clear that politics hasn't evolved much since Alexander's time in my opinion, and many of the political observations he made could be true now or at least recently. It was fascinating to read that he visited Tenerife in the late 1700's and climbed Mount Teide - something I have done too. Humboldt  visited in mid June compared to my visit in mid July, but he found it freezing cold and yet the ground burned his feet. I definitely didn't experience that when I climbed it even though it was a month later! I can thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in wildlife or scientific discovery. Its not something to read in one go I don't think. It needs to be absorbed in short blasts of a chapter or two at a time. But once you are into it its brilliant. 

Not Birding!

Four-spotted Chaser

Yesterday I decided I wasn't going birding! If you aren't a Birder, chances are you wont know that June is pretty quiet on the birding front. And, although a few friends on twitter are reporting 'Autumnal' bird activity on their patches, it definitely isn't feeling that way on my patch.

So, instead I decided to do something I've been meaning to do for ages - get out and do a bit of insect watching. Well, mainly Dragonflies, Damselflies and Butterflies.

I live very close to the Abram and Lightshaw Flashes. A sequence of small subsidence flashes that sit between the bigger Wigan Flashes complex to the north west and the expanse of Pennington Flash to the south and east. They are bordered pretty much along the entire length by the Leeds Liverpool Canal, and Hey Brook runs adjacent to, or very close to all of them. A big chunk of the area is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and much of it is owned by either the Forestry Commission or the local Wildlife Trust. From the point which I started my walk to the farthest point is approximately 2.5km in a straight line, but my route took a much longer path of about 4km. In the sun and heat it was more tiring than I thought and I was glad I'd had the forethought to put sun cream and insect repellent on before leaving (Clegs abound in the area), and taking a bottle of water and a wide brimmed hat too.

I wasn't at all disappointed with my 'non-birding' day out. The first pond I visited held two pairs of Black-tailed Skimmers, an Emperor Dragonfly and numerous Azure Damselflies. This latter species is one that I have never seen in the area before - probably due to not looking too hard -  its mainly been Common Blue Damselfly that I have seen. I caught one to check and they were definitely Azure and lots of them. The next few ponds all held a similar mix, although on one at least four, Four-spotted Chasers were darting around with females ovipositing and at least one Emperor doing the same. I was also pretty certain I glimpsed a Southern Hawker patrolling one pond edge but it wouldn't settle close enough to allow me to confirm it.

The walk between Abram Flashes and Dover Basin along the canal was quiet, as was Dover Basin itself. I could see several dragonflies in the distance but too far away to stand a chance of identifying them. The only one that came close enough was a jet powered Brown Hawker. It was a similar tale on my walk up to the most distant point - a viewing screen overlooking Lightshaw Flash - where it had been reported that Beautiful Demoiselles were showing. This would be a new species for me in the vice county and one I always enjoy seeing. The walk was hot and quiet, but I did manage to add Comma and Red Admiral to the list. Meadow Browns and Speckled Wood Butterflies had been pretty ubiquitous all the way along my route.

There were no Beautiful Demoiselles at the screen, and very little of anything else. A Small Skipper added to the Butterfly list as did Green-veined, Small and Large White. On my return walk I watched a pair of Swallows feeding newly fledged young on a telephone wire which is always a treat and then had brilliant views of a stunning Yellowhammer, sadly I was not quick enough with the camera to get a shot. I had my first confirmed Southern Hawker on the old railway line that forms one of the footpaths. A very confiding individual that allowed me to get a reasonable shot.

The walk back home was hot and uncomfortable and rushed as I had spent far too long out and about and I needed to get a bit of a move on, so I couldn't stop and double check any of the ponds again, but I will definitely be out again to see if I can add to the list.

Black-tailed Skimmer - it loved this piece of paper!



Four-spotted Chaser





Azure Damselfly



Southern Hawker

Swallows feeding juveniles

Comma

Meadow Brown

This Moorhen didn't like me being around, it stayed like this for a good 10 minutes whilst I was shooting the Dragonflies

Small Skipper

Step Back in Time

I may have mentioned before that my 'Local Patch" is also my favoured dog walking route, around a site called Viridor Wood. There's a bit of a write up I did with a friend here (under V).

Anyway, Ive been plodding around it all spring with very little to show for it. It has been a very quiet and disappointing spring in many ways. The numbers of a few species on the site seem to be down  considerably on previous years - Grasshopper Warbler numbers are about half what I would expect. Whitethroats are noticeable by their absence in usual spots, as are Blackcaps. As a result, my dog walking / birding has become less enthusiastic than normal. So, when it came time to take pooch out today I decided to go somewhere a bit farther afield.

I wasn't sure where to go at first, but then I had a light bulb moment and headed off to a place I used to go birding, and just generally knocking about, as a child and into my teens.

I went here:

Here is a place next to the woodlands of Haigh Hall in Wigan. The woodland you can see below the blob in the centre screen is part of Haigh Hall and is mature woodland, in fact some bits of it are classed as ancient. The woodland to the north is Lady Mabel's wood and is new woodland, but more of that later. I decided to park up on Hall Lane, walk through Lady Mabel's Wood to the canal and then along the canal through some areas of farmland. I was hoping for a few species - namely, Tree Sparrow, Yellow Wagtail and possibly Mandarin on the Canal and Spotted Flycatcher down one of the lanes.

Lady Mabel's Wood is an area of woodland owned by the Woodland Trust, but I remember it as open arable farmland (with a little bit of dairy). I used to live quite close to this area, and often walked the dog through Haigh Hall plantations and out onto these fields. I also worked on the farm that is now woodland for a few summers, taking the hay and straw in. So, I remember a very different landscape from what is there now. The agriculture was never on the scale of many farms today. It wasn't far off traditional with overwintered stubbles, rotating crops and small fields and hedges. I remember coveys of Grey Partridges. Lapwings and Skylarks in the hay meadows. Snipe in the wetter areas in winter and Brown Hares aplenty. I also remember being very disappointed when I found that the area had been bought by the Woodland Trust as I knew many of these species would lose their habitat. Although I've been back (only once or twice) since it was planted up, I've never really walked through the woodland, so today was going to be an interesting experience.

From Agriculture to Alder and Ash

The three images above were taken in an area that used to be a Barley Field. It was quite odd to stand in a place where I used to throw straw bails onto a trailer and be surrounded by trees. However, I have to say that the Woodland Trust have done a pretty good job here. It doesn't feel at all like these trees have been planted. It feels very natural. There are plenty open areas too which were buzzing with various bees and hoverflies. Essentially this is identical habitat to my usual patch. It might even be a similar age - around 15 years old - but I have to say there was so much more wildlife activity here than at Viridor. I even got my first decent views of Garden Warbler this year which is a real rarity at Viridor. There were loads of Tits, Robins, Wrens, Warblers etc etc. There were plenty newly fledged birds around too as well as obvious calls from chicks in nests.  I was quite impressed.

At the northern most corner of the site was an open patch looking onto adjacent fields. Years ago these were grazed quite heavily by dairy cattle and sheep, but today I was surprised to see a huge expanse of Buttercups with odd patches of Ragged Robin and a few Orchids. 

The photo above shows those fields, it also shows, on the extreme left, the start of a strip of woodland that is literally one tree wide by maybe 100m long that is classed as Ancient Woodland - I studied it as a site for my dissertation! I seem to remember that part of the ambition of the Woodland Trust was to re-connect this woodland with Haigh Hall. They appear to be succeeding! 

Also on the site (I won't say where) someone has put half a dozen feeders out which were well stocked with food, and attracting quite a good variety of birds, including lots of juvenile Blue and Great Tits, and a Coal Tit that came really close but wouldn't sit still for a decent photo!

I continued up to and along the Leeds Liverpool Canal heading out of Wigan towards Blackburn, a route I used to walk regularly. Again I was surprised that the fields adjacent were not being intensively farmed, at least at the moment - a large pile of paper pulp suggested that might change. But compared to years ago when they were grazed heavily by sheep and dairy cattle it was a surprise and I counted several pairs of Lapwings with young taking advantage of the cover and, presumably, plentiful food supply.

Buttercups as far as you can see

One of the disappointments of the walk along the canal was the complete lack of any Dragonflies or Damselflies. There was plenty floating and marginal vegetation so I was expecting at least a few  Blue-tailed Damselflies or maybe Large Reds. I also had outside expectations of some Red-eyed Damselflies as they occur on other parts of the canal. But no, absolutely nothing at all. Very disappointing.

Turning off the canal I walked down Pendlebury Lane where I had plenty finches and sparrows, including Tree Sparrows. This is one of the few locations in the Borough where you can see this species, and they were showing off in style, scrapping in the hedges. I had hoped for a Yellow Wagtail or two in the fields. They could have been there, but the height of the vegetation stopped me seeing much in many of the fields. I also thought I might have had an outside chance of Spotted Flycatcher (seem to remember seeing one in the area when I was a teenager!!!) but unfortunately not.

About halfway down this lane is a huge old railway bridge, known locally as the twenty bridges due to the number of 'arches'. Its a pretty impressive structure and the area around it used to be fenced off - not  that it stopped me going in. Today there are no fences and the area is totally open, so I had to have a mooch. Needless to say the area has changed massively since I was last there 20+ years ago. The river here always had a Kingfisher on it, and it still looked good for one. Even better in fact. I didn't spend long and will need to go back to have a better look. I remember that the number of thrushes used to be incredible in winter, as there was so much Hawthorn in the area. Now I know I don't need to squeeze through a gap in a fence I'll have a look again in November and December.

From here it was a pretty quiet walk back to the car, but it was a very enjoyable couple of hours. The species list wasn't massive, but it was bigger than my usual patch and I missed a few that I really shouldn't have. I'll definitely be back.