Showing posts with label Barn Owl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barn Owl. Show all posts

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Cold with sunny intervals.

They are trying to frighten us again. 

“Arctic blast incoming! Britain faces a 383-mile blizzard as temperatures to plummet to -10C: Map reveals where 5cm of snow is set to fall with yellow warnings coming into force!” 

Of course using the number 5 makes for more impact than telling us that 5cm is less than 2 inches, not enough snow to wet your toe caps. But never allow truth get in the way of a good click-bait headline. 

It’s no surprise that hardly anyone buys newspapers nowadays, instead preferring to find alternative news and current affairs outlets on the Internet where an enquiring mind can delve into a wide spectrum of views and opinions rather than to read constant lies and propaganda. 

Rant over and excuse the pun but the headline cut no ice with me as I headed out on Sunday morning into the rising sun as a thin layer of ice swished from the windscreen. 

Into the morning sun
 
A pair of Stonechats greeted me at Gulf Lane where three parked and icy cars told me that wild fowlers had set out very early towards the marsh. The female Stonechat was more accommodating than her pal who maintained a safer camera distance.

Stonechat
 
I headed down Moss Lane where I hoped there might be a few Fieldfares looking for the last of the now threadbare hawthorns. Yes, and even a few Blackbirds temporarily losing their shyness to grab a few juicy red ones. 

Blackbird

Fieldfare

Constant traffic, including sizeable farm vehicles, made the birds flighty and skittish with 30 or forty chuckling Fieldfares flying off and then returning within minutes. The light was poor for pictures so I set off in search of other birds, promising to come back with sunshine. 

Almost at the corner of Jeremy Lane a male Hen Harrier flew across in front of the car and carried on over the fields towards Glasson Dock/River Lune. It could end up almost anywhere, this one of two harriers, a male and a ringtail both seen with regularity and ranging across a large area for three or four weeks now. According to our Government Ministers, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

“Hen Harriers have enjoyed a better breeding season in 2023 whereby 141 chicks fledged successfully, the seventh successive year of population growth with 54 nests observed across the upland areas of England including County Durham, Cumbria, Lancashire and Northumberland."


Alternatively, a search on the Internet finds “Raptor Persecution” telling us that “2023 has been the worst year for the illegal killing of Hen Harriers on grouse moors since the ludicrous DEFRA / Natural England hen harrier meddling trial was given the green light in 2018”. 


Dear Reader. DYOR - Do Your Own Research and make up your own mind. 

I turned the car around around and tried again but the light was no better for Fieldfares hiding in the Hawthorns. 

Blackbird

Fieldfare
 
Further up the lane I found 40 or more Whooper Swans and several Bewick’s Swans.  At Cockersands, 4 Cattle Egret, several Reed Buntings, 8 Goldfinches, 15 House Sparrows and a Barn Owl. 

Barn Owl

Whooper Swan

Starling male
 
 And yes, the sun came out again.  Maybe next week too, despite the Arctic Blizzards set to engulf us. 


 

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Back In The Old Routine

It’s the routine excuse too; the weather - relentless rain, stormy wind and endless grey days take the rap for my lethargy in neglecting the blog. Three weeks have flown by, twenty one days which included Christmas, New Year and all that entails and where the few remaining days were of the type where even cats and dogs stay by a roaring fire. 

But now in 2024 and following a rare sunny beginning I left Sue with a cup of coffee and her laptop catching up with soaps while I set off for a spot of birding. Maybe I would nab a few pictures during a few hours without wind or rain? 

Things kicked off well near Pilling Village, a roadside Kestrel, one of the pair that live most years at a nearby farm. In some years there will be Barn Owls at the same location and where the two predators exist side by side because their respective lifestyles and feeding requirements do not clash. 

Kestrel
 
I spent a little time at Conder Pool where the erstwhile “pool” now resembles Lake Coniston following five months of rain and where the expanse of deep water means that birds, mainly wildfowl, can keep their distance from curious camera-carrying birders. At best, 50+ Wigeon, 80+ Teal, 6 Tufted Duck and 8 Little Grebe. A single Little Egret in the creek where the water is more suited to wading than the “pool”. 

I found 15-20 Linnets above Glasson Dock in their yearly haunt alongside the village hall on the edge of the Lune/Glasson marshes. But less than a score of Linnets in now the coldest months of the year is a lowly total for a location that can record 200/400 Linnets. The species seems low in numbers at the moment and perhaps there are many yet to arrive from the colder parts of Scotland if and when the predicted cold snap arrives.

Linnet
 
A look towards Cockersands proved the most productive time of the morning with first a Barn Owl exiting a building before taking a quick circuit of the nearby marsh. When I drove around the corner to see where the owl had gone, there it was,  sat along the fence line before it headed off again, this time out of sight. 
 
Barn Owl

Barn Owl
 
At my parked gateway spot were both Grey Wagtail and Pied Wagtail, also 15-20 House Sparrows and 70 or so Starlings. The bright sunny morning had sent the Starlings into song and conversations, melodies that included Redshanks, Curlews and others. 
 
Pied Wagtail

Starlings
 
“Starlings are really excellent at mimicking the sounds of other birds and, in fact, any other sounds they hear in their environment. While maybe occasionally the mimicry is spontaneous, mostly it is carefully practised and woven into phrases, which are then arranged into songs"

  

Along Moss Lane I saw and heard small numbers of Fieldfares alongside the roaming Starling flocks. Because hawthorn bushes are now stripped of berries any remaining Fieldfares now use the Starlings to their advantage and join in searching for earthworms in the still saturated fields. 

Fieldfare and Starlings
 
In a field at near Moss Lane junction were 4 Cattle Egrets, almost certainly the same four reported in recent days in this area and further afield, sometimes in twos, other times as a foursome. 

Cattle Egret

I made for home and my own hot coffee. Join me again soon for more birds and photos on Another Bird Blog. 


Sunday, March 26, 2023

Out Of Hibernation

It's like I was in hibernation mode. Weeks of doing very little because of the awful weather but rather enjoying the lie ins, the restful days and catching up with garden, household jobs and days out with Sue. And we can confirm, the chippie at Knott End is better than one we found in Garstang while the Shovels pub at Hambleton does a pretty good meal at reasonable cost in these inflationary times. 

A rather bright Sunday tempted me out again and where along Head Dyke Lane was a Barn Owl hunting the roadside. The owl disappearing over farm buildings as mine and another car approached with headlights still burning in the half light of dawn.

Barn Owl

The morning turned out not bad for birding although the bright sky and slightly cool northerly airflow with a lack of cloud kept migrant birds high in the sky. 

Highlight of my 3+ hours slot was a small but steady stream of Meadow Pipits heading across Morecambe Bay and a probable influx of Wheatears. 

A pair of Stonechats have frequented the fence posts at Gulf Lane for a week or two now and as ever it appeared they might stay around to breed but they rarely do. Quite where they disappear to every time and why this spot is not 100% for them is anyone's guess. 

The shore wasn’t especially wind swept, just enough to keep half a dozen ex-roost Little Egrets sitting about in weak sun around the edge of ditches and a chance of a bite to eat. I glimpsed a pair of Little Grebes, heard their trills then through the reeds saw a drake Shoveler and a couple of Teal. 

Two Chiffchaffs were in song this morning, their repetitive “chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff” surprisingly far-carrying when little else was in voice. The Chiffchaff is almost the ultimate “little brown job” of bird ID, lucky then that its onomatopoeic song helps even a novice birder to identify the species; in this 
springtime easier still when Willow Warblers are yet to arrive.

Chiffchaff

 Chiffchaff

Meadow Pipits were on the move here, fives, sixes and more, on the edge of woodland habitat but making off North and over the marsh, a sure sign of decent numbers about. Three hours later my notebook scribbles amounted to 110+ Meadow Pipits, 2 Siskins and 2 Reed Buntings heading into the wind and across the bay towards Heysham. 

Good numbers of Shelduck were out on the marsh, scattered widely and left to right from Pilling to Cockerham with a minimum of 125 birds now looking to pair up for the summer we all desperately need.

There was a Green Sandpiper on the edge of the pool, more Teal, 8 Shoveler, 2 Little Egrets and a Great Egret. The warning calls of Chaffinches alerted me to a Kestrel in the top of the willows, the raptor doing a few circuits and a hover or two before flying back towards Pilling where at least a couple of pairs are in residence. 

 Chaffinch

Kestrel

I found 3 Wheatears moving along the base of the sea wall and  tried to encourage them to fly to the regular catching spot. They were reluctant to leave the sun and shelter of the southern aspect. I didn’t blame them, the wind was getting up and it was so cold that my gloves went on and I ended up with a very dull shot of a bright male Wheatear. 

Northern Wheatear

The week ahead looks less than perfect with more breezy, windswept days and lots of April showers. 

Andy has been out of action for a week and more while Will and I kicked our heels when the weather forecasts let us down for pencilled in ringing last weekend.  There goes that song again - "Things Can Only Get Better" when March goes out like a lamb.

Look in soon for more news and views soon from Another Bird Blog.

Linking today with Eileen's Blogspot and Anni in Texas.




Saturday, March 4, 2023

Early Cold and Something Hot

Early morning starts give a chance of breakfast hunting Barn Owls before other traffic hits the road whereby constant vehicles will sends an owl off to quieter spots. That’s how it was this morning when from a distance I spotted the owl on a roadside post from where it surveyed the landscape. 

I straddled the grass verge, slowed to a stop, crossed my fingers, stuck the lens through a partly open window and hoped that the air rush of overtaking vehicles would not cause the owl to flee.

Barn Owl
 
The owl was a good start to the morning journey up to Oakenclough and a ringing session with Will and Andy. The dash read 4° and there was a slight but bitterly cold northerly breeze. A morning to keep moving interspersed with bouts of hot coffee with a hot-cross bun. 

We had species in mind - finches mainly to add to 60 Goldfinches and smaller numbers of Lesser Redpolls, Siskins and Chaffinches caught here this year. Maybe even an early arrived Chiffchaff to kick off the spring season? 

The temperature didn’t pick up at all with birds hard to find. We packed up at 11 o’clock at a still lowly 5 degrees with just 13 birds caught. Once again the major species was Goldfinch - 8 Goldfinch, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Dunnock, 1 Robin, and 1 Lesser Redpoll. 

The Lesser Redpoll proved to be an adult male yet to attain its full red and pink hues. It was the only redpoll we saw and heard all morning with perhaps 10 or 12 Siskins in early morning flight but none of those caught this time. 

Lesser Redpoll

Goldfinch

Robin

It’s early evening, time to cook a warming curry and open a bottle of plonk.  

Curry Time

There's more news, views, photographs and hot stuff very soon at Another Bird Blog. Don't be late for the feast. 

Linking today to Eileen's Saturday Blog and Anni in Texas.


Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Down To Zero

“Crisp” might be the best description of the start to Wednesday's birding.  At -3º a layer of white frost covered everything in sight at 0730. The several forecasts all agreed, sunshine by midday. This was another day for five or more layers of gear. 

There was a good start to the morning with a ghostly Barn Owl along the farm track and then a Great Egret that left the roost with 15/20 Little Egrets. 

Barn Owl

The three of us set about our usual routine as we tick-boxed the extra work we now carry out as precautions against HPA1 avian flu - disinfection of all of equipment: nets, bags, pliers, weighing scales and clothing. 

The chances of us handling a small passerine with avian flu seem quite remote, especially since the prevalence of HPAI in asymptomatic birds is currently unknown. However, while minimising the risk of transmission should diseased birds be encountered, our continued ringing activities carried out with suitable precautions provide a net benefit in terms of data collection and spotting anything untoward.

As we erected nets we flushed a couple of Snipe from nearby wet areas. This Snipe rush continued through the morning as 20 or more Snipe arrived in ones, twos and threes to feed in areas of grass that remained unfrozen from the overnight temperatures. 

The Snipes' arrival coincided with the incoming tide out in Morecambe Bay where the secretive Snipe are common but mostly unseen feeding in salt marsh ditches and pools. The ones we saw had arrived to roost where they would likely stay until the tide receded and darkness fell. 

Snipe

Not surprisingly the ringing was off to a slow start with just a couple of birds every now and again. We finished with 14 birds of 7 species: 4 Chaffinch, 3 Linnet, 2 Robin, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Wren, 1 Reed Bunting,1 Greenfinch, 1 Blackbird. 

Reed Bunting

Greenfinch

In addition to the earlier Barn Owl and white egrets more to look at arrived in the form of a 'cream top' Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, and good numbers of Golden Plover, Lapwing & Whooper Swans. 

Buzzard

When I went yesterday to drop supplementary seed I counted approximately 400 Whooper Swans out Cockerham way. 

Whooper Swans

Stay tuned folks. There's more to come and we are due to get real snow. We'll see.

Linking this week to Eileen's blog and Anni in Texas.
 

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

A Whopper Morning

Tuesday had been pencilled in for days. 

This time the forecasts didn’t let us down. There was zero wind and clear dark skies when I met up with Will and Andy at 0700 hours. The starts get later and the mornings darker as we approach the Autumn Equinox and its ritual of changing the clocks. 

As the sky lightened we put mist nets up and saw a Barn Owl hunting the scrubby grass where we parked our three cars. Was this a good omen? Time would tell. 

Barn Owl 
 
Almost six hour later the tired gang of three counted up the catch - 78 birds of 10 species, for us, a whopper of a catch that far exceeded recent efforts. 

The mix of species was good with 35 Greenfinch, 23 Linnet, 5 Long-tailed Tit, 7 Meadow Pipit, 4 Reed Bunting, 2 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush. 1 Wren, 1 Great Tit. 

Two of the Greenfinch bore almost consecutive rings beginning ‘ZY’ that were not our own. Previous experience has shown that our autumn and spring Greenfinch don’t travel far, and that the origins of these two will likely prove to be the top of Morecambe Bay. It is interesting that the two were almost certainly ringed and now recaptured on the same dates, i.e. still travelling together. 

At this time of year it's not unusual to see a steady stream of Greenfinches on the move if you know where to look and how to catch them. Fortunately the species seems to have now recovered from its drastic fall in numbers during the 1970s and 1980s due to trichomonosis. 

Greenfinch

Greenfinch

Long-tailed Tit

Linnet

Meadow Pipit

Reed Bunting

With the ringing being fairly busy our sighting were restricted to mainly overhead Skylarks and Meadow Pipits - 75 and 30 respectively, a chasing Merlin, and the now seemingly resident Cetti’s Warbler in random snatches of song. 

After our session today it looks as if the weather will turn against us now. Make hay while the sun shines everyone. 

Linking at the weekend to Anni in Texas and Viewing Nature with Eileen.


 

Monday, June 13, 2022

Owls And Kestrels

A nest box with camera is a great way of monitoring birds so as not to disturb the family unnecessarily until the time comes to ring the youngsters. The images of 31 May and then 8 June from Jamie’s camera documented the Kestrel’s progress so well that we were able to set the date for ringing the chicks as Monday 13 June. I met Andy on site at 1000 where we borrowed Steve’s ladder to investigate. 

Kestrels - 31 May

Kestrels - 8 June

We expected to find three chicks but were happy no see four young and feisty Kestrels at an ideal stage to accept their new rings. 
 
Kestrel

Kestrels - 13 June 

Ten minutes after ringing both adult Kestrels returned with animal food for the chicks. The same site has breeding Barn Owls and Kestrels together with Little Owls nearby, a variety of predators that points to a healthy population of voles, mice, rats and small birds in the adjacent and sympathetically farmed land. 

You can follow the progress of this Kestrel family on Jamie’s live nest box streams at https://www.facebook.com/NestBoxLive. There are birds from all over the world including Tree Sparrows, Swifts, Bluebirds plus owls and raptors alike. Be warned, the site is very addictive! 

Our visit was also timed to check the Barn Owl box that had not sent images for weeks. Andy climbed the ladder because he’s the youngest but not by much. He reported the camera lens buried in debris from many meals and their aftermath and advised the camera be cleaned and placed higher once the owls had finished. Of the four young Barn Owls just three were big enough to ring. 

Barn Owl Box
 
Barn Owl
 
Barn Owls lay 4-6 eggs but not all eggs hatch though 4 is the average as some may be infertile. Most bird species don’t start to incubate (sit on and warm) their eggs until the clutch is complete, so the eggs hatch at more or less the same time. 

Barn Owls begin incubation as soon as the first egg is laid and lay additional eggs over a period of around 8-21 days. After 31-32 days’ incubation, the eggs hatch every 2-3 days, usually in the order they were laid. This is known as “asynchronous” hatching. The age difference between the oldest and youngest nestlings can be as much as three weeks. This age variation serves to reduce the peak in food demand and spread it over a longer period. 

Today’s smallest chick will remain un-ringed because if we were to return to ring that one there is a real risk that its larger siblings might leave the box prematurely and thus be in danger in an outside world that they are not quite ready to enter. 

Back home three young Dunnocks (from 5 eggs) were old enough to be ringed and their details recorded on the BTO database, each with their personal ring number, the place of birth, their approximate age and the number of siblings in the family. 

Dunnock chicks
 
Back soon with more birds, news and pictures on Another Bird Blog. 


Saturday, March 19, 2022

Gulls But No Shortie

There wasn’t much light when on Saturday morning I set off in the direction of Pilling. When I reeled off a bundle of shots at a hunting Barn Owl, the resulting pictures were badly under. I checked the settings were correct, and they were, so I think the camera and lens had been out of action for so long in our dreary winter the two had forgotten how to interact together. I rescued a couple of frames that are still pretty poor. 

Barn Owl

Barn Owl
 
The light was slightly better when the Roe Deer appeared and where speed on the button was essential before the animals ran into the distance. Our local deer are very shy and wild so don’t hang around for portraits. 

 
Roe Deer

It had been ages since my last visit to Conder Green and where today the usual species were on display. Winter work by RSPB to build up the islands has led to a massive increase in the number of Black-headed Gulls looking to begin their breeding cycle any day. Summery Black-headed Gulls are handsome creatures but their large colonies are both noisy and messy. 

Black-headed Gull

Group names for a collection of Black-headed Gulls include a flotilla, a screech, and a squabble. It will be interesting to watch the interplay between so many gulls and the annually returning Common Terns in a month or so. Although both species can and do nest in close proximity the terns may have a shock to see so many gulls on their islands. 
 
Black-headed Gulls
 
The Black-headed Gull is the most widely distributed seabird breeding in the UK, with similar numbers breeding inland as on the coast. The majority of the breeding population are resident throughout the year, with numbers being greatly bolstered during the winter months by birds from Northern and Eastern Europe, especially in the east and southeast of England. Black-headed Gulls breed throughout the middle latitudes of the Palaearctic and have recently formed a breeding outpost in North Eastern North America. 

Just recently I heard of nest robbers who are looking forward to the Black-headed Gull nesting season. Read the link below to see why a Black-headed Gull egg is a sought after delicacy that can cost £8 for just one - maybe even in normally law abiding Conder Green?

 
On show today with 350 Black-headed Gull - 380 Black-tailed Godwit, 44 Oystercatcher, 41 Redshank, 32 Teal, 22 Tufted Duck, 1 Snipe, 1 Curlew, 1 Little Egret, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Chiffchaff. The Barn Owl here at Conder Green hunted towards the back of the pools and islands and didn’t venture close to the road. 

There was no sign of the recent Short-eared Owl, despite a sans-bins togger kindly informing me that the far off white owl was a “shortie”. 

Venturing towards Cockersands I saw a number of migrant passerines that included several each of Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Skylark, together with a single Wheatear (Cockersands). At Cockersands too, a Merlin drifted along the shore line, no doubt hoping to surprise a pipit or two. 

Reed Bunting

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

On the usual fields Behind Cockersand Abbey the Lapwings were in the early stages of nesting, busily chasing off their ever present foes, the Carrion Crows, another set of villains on their nest robbing adventures. 

Cockersands Abbey

Lapwing

At last and after a brutally wet and windy winter Spring may be around the corner. Next week is forecast for a dry and warming week.

Log in soon for more news, views and better photos.



 
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