Sunday 19 December 2010

Llocdown

It' s just too feckin' cold to go birding at the moment - especially if you are a wimp like me. I have been known to sport gloves in June - French footballers eat your heart out.

The wildlife cold well do without me clomping around anyway, it's probably best to leave them to their own devices at present.

It was with this in mind that I am slightly surprised to see that some people are continuing to ring birds during this sustained spell of freezing temperatures.

It must be vital scientific work I imagine; the same type that compels people to deliberately target specific - usually rare birds - that have to temerity to avoid capture first time round.

Still there has been some good armchair nature watching this week including BBC2's excellent hour long programme on Butterflies - yet more evidence that the beeb can get things right if they put their minds to it and when not trying to turn the story of a some family from Surrey's delay at Heathrow airport into a human trajedy on the scale of World War 1.

Keep calm and carry on.

Until later.

Sunday 12 December 2010

Local Matters

Birding has taken a back seat yet again this weekend with a brief visit down to the Point of Ayr and a couple of quick dog walking expeditions around Lloc the sum of my activities.

The affect the hard weather has had on wildlife was again evident at the old colliery site when I nearly stepped on a Golden Plover. Clearly the worst for wear, the wader could only muster enough strength to shuffle nine or ten yards away from me.

After flushing a couple of Snipe, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and I retraced my steps back towards the lagoons where in the interim a lovely female Goosander had taken up residence.

Being a fairly open area it was difficult to avoid being detected by the sawbill, so after disturbing yet another bird I decided it was time to call it a day and head over towards Coed y Garreg to collect some wood.

Different area, same result: as soon as I started along the footpath towards the tower my clumping size twelve feet startled a Woodcock that after crashing into the lower branches of a birch tree spiralled high into the blue sky.

I got the message and decided to spend the rest of the weekend indoors…

In other news, I have just noticed that some lucky beggar has bagged a Rough-legged Buzzard at Connah’s Quay. Nice, but at the moment a local Waxwing would be good!

Until later.

Sunday 5 December 2010

Iffy Chiffy

A good candidate for a Siberian Chiffchaff was the highpoint of a morning ramble around the the Point of Ayr. I found the Phyllos warbler feeding in a small area of phragmites near the entrance to Delyn Metals.

I am not going to detail any physical characteristics as evidence to its identification because quite frankly I would not have a clue what I'm talking about, but a call reminiscent of a Dunnock would seem to indicate something a little fishy was going on!

A female Merlin was good to see over near the old colliery lagoons, although judging by the paucity of small passerines knocking about, Sunday dinner could be a long time coming.

The cold snap seems to have prompted an increase in the number of Redshank however, with well over a thousand in the vicinity when three hundred is more typical.

Good numbers of Blackwits and Oystercatchers roosting over the high tide too, plus a small party of six Brent Geese.

The strengthening work to the seawall looks to have ground to a halt before it even started, with many people studiously ignoring the sign informing all and sundry that the path is technically closed.

What a good window of opportunity though for the RSPB to finally pull their finger out and build a new hide whilst his work is going on.

Until later.

Saturday 4 December 2010

Shoot to Chill

Having started a new job in deepest, darkest Lancashire I have had little opportunity to go birding recently.

However, wildlife has still been in the forefront of my mind as in between trying to get my head around prescribing data a quick glance out of the window at the latest in a series of snow flurries made me wonder how our wildlife is coping.

More specifically I was reminded of the freezing temperatures of last winter. Despite the hard winter last year wildfowling continued on the Dee Estuary throughout; furthermore I personally witnessed – and reported – some shocking behaviour.

The rules on the cessation of wildfowling during such weather are a little oblique, but basically state that a sustained period of subzero temperatures should result in a suspension in shooting activities.

Due to the vagaries and quirks of the weather the temperatures increased for one day during a particularly hard spell early this year, thus breaking the sequence needed to evoke a postponement of wildfowling.

Sadly, it appeared that most shooters opted to follow the letter rather than the spirit of the law and continued their activities.

If I had had any sympathy for them – and I did have a little as I would much rather eat a wild duck than a supermarket chicken that has endured a like of misery – this evaporated.

After all, you can hardly call it sport when you are shooting at weak birds that have also – due to the frozen marshes – had to congregate in a small area. They may well have shot fish in a barrel.

In other news, I noticed that the RSPB over at Inner Marsh Farm are operating an event on the 12th of December to let people view the birds gathering to feed on a sacrificial crop.

This is a notable improvement on last winter when a similar crop was planted, but in an area the punters could not access unless they wished to engage in some minor trespassing.

On a final note, I have just received a gloating text from my sister who found some Waxwings near her gaff in Buckley. Am I the only person in Britain who has not seen one this year?

Probably.

Until later.