Saturday 23 July 2011

Greene King


Shotton Pools Nature Reserve just gets stranger. In addition to the usual lukewarm reception at the North Gate, I was mistaken for a wildfowler on a ‘Feed the Ducks’ day.

I was slightly puzzled as to what precisely this entails – more later.

On the bird front, things are starting to pick-up. The reservoir held three Green Sandpipers, heralding the start of the autumn shorebird migration.

The three Lapwing chicks were present too and are now nearly fully grown.

Another recent feature of the reserve has been a hunting male Sparrowhawk and today – for the third time in succession – I witnessed it returning with prey to a probable nest site.

Bird of the morning though was this very showy Kingfisher that posed in the gloom for a good five minutes no more than twenty yards from the hide – another one was present too, but despite hearing it call I couldn’t locate it.

The next port of call was Connah’s Quay where I bumped into the now resident Denzil, who proceeded to illuminate me on the purpose of ‘Feed the ducks’ day.

Apparently Mallard are held captive in a cage at Shotton Pools and then released for shooting. This perhaps explains why there are so many ‘feral’ Mallards spending the summer around this part of the estuary.

CQNR was is good form with Common Sandpiper, Greenshanks and a newly arrived heavily moulting Spotted Redshank too.

The Common Redstarts are still near the Wetland Meadow Hide, with the male particularly showy.

Loads of butterflies on the wing, including Gatekeepers, Meadow Brown, Speckled Woods, Green-veined Whites and a single Red Admiral.

Until later.

Do Ospreys Dream of Electric Tags?

"...if I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life..." HD Thoreau

With the risk of repeating myself, it was with tongue firmly in cheek that I used the above quotation in reference to the activities of the SCAN Clamping Group at Puffin Island.

Sadly, it just gets worse:

http://montgomerybirdblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/osprey-update.html

What possible SCIENTIFIC reason is there for attaching satellite tracking devices to all THREE chicks?

What do the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust hope to learn from this? Ospreys are increasing in number in the United Kingdom and their migratory routes and overwintering areas are well known.

Utterly, utterly pointless and as far as the 'wild' birds are concerned a huge betrayal of trust.

On a science fiction theme - rather than a cod-scientific one - I can imagine a point in the future when technology allows all birds to be chipped and their whereabouts known at all times.

Birdguides will feed live data on the locations of rare birds; not only those in the UK, but perhaps ones that are potential arrivals.

A message along the lines of : White-throated Robin in Belgium - bird following a northerly migration route (see link), and predicted to arrive in the Dungeness area tomorrow morning.

Twitchers would actually be in place before the bird arrived!

You heard it here first...

Until later.

Monday 18 July 2011

Phase Fazed

With the winds strengthening and from the WNW there was only one thing for on Sunday morning – down to the dunes at the Point of Ayr for a seawatch.

Things began well – no sooner had I parked my backside I picked up a Great Skua shearing against the wind; although a good way out its beefy outline, powerful flight and white primary flashes were a dead give away.

After the initial explosion out of the blocks things settled down and I was treated to a steady passage of Manx Shearwaters - with the odd Kittiwake thrown in for good measure.

Good numbers of both Little and Sandwich Terns kept up my interest as did a smallish Grebe that unfortunately I couldn’t nail down as it kept disappearing into the troughs.

Just before lunch the monsoon kicked-in and I decided to stick with it until saturation point.

After a couple of minute’s rain, I then picked up a dark bird moving from towards Hilbre in a westerly direction. Initially, it was obscured from view by the taller dunes, but as it passed the lighthouse I was able to get a decent view.

My first thought was of a chunky Grey Plover, although the plumage was obviously completely wrong. Zooming in and improving my focus it was then clear I was looking at a Skua, but not one I was familiar with.

It was a charcoal grey colour and seemed to lack any white on the primaries; in fact it was fairly uniform in colour. The one thing that did stand out was a fairly short and stubby bill – possibly why I had initially thought Grey Plover.

Fortunately I had my copy of Helm, but it was in the car. Five minutes later I was pouring over the Skuas and the closest fit seemed to be a juvenile intermediate phase Long-tailed Skua..

Without any experience of Long-tailed Skuas – I have heard people call them whilst seawatching at the same spot, but had doubts – it will have to go in the probable category.

On the sceptical side perhaps the strongest argument against it being a juvenile LT Skua is the fact that we are in mid July. Surely it would be too early for a fledged chick to be migrating past the UK?

Also, the bird did seem to be flying purposely – if not powerfully – in a fairly low and straight trajectory. Would the fairly small Long-tailed Skua not struggle to keep its velocity in strong winds?

Until later.

Saturday 16 July 2011

The Redshank Redemption

Building numbers of Red and Green 'shanks (15+) were visible at Connah's Quay over high tide this lunchtime - almost exclusively occupying the Bunded Pools.

Additional wader interest was the incresing numbers of Blackwits and a singleton Common Sandpiper on Oakenholt Marsh.

Also on Oakenholt Marsh was a cracking duo of recently fledged Peregrine siblings. I have it on good authority that these birds are not the offspring of the pair that nested on the power station, but from another nest not too far away.

It was also good to catch-up with Denzil whom having been hors de combat over all of the winter and most of the spring is now on the mend...

Until later.

Warren Buffeting

A ragged - but nonetheless stunning -  Osprey was the highlight of an early morning walk out to Abermenai Point at Newborough Warren.

Birding was a little difficult at the outset as what can only be described as a plague of dogs charged around the entrance to the car park and the mouth of the Braint.

Still, they were soon left behind and my mate Rob and I were in no time at all nearing the point.

With little to worry the Leicas most of out attention was focused on the huge numbers of Graylings and the masses of wildflowers - including scores of the exquisite Pyramidal Orchid.

It was then that we inadvertently flushed a raptor and as I half-heartedly raised my bins to confirm yet another Buzzard I had a rather pleasant shock - Osprey!

Rather than just navigating itself to another roosting point, the bird decided it was time for brunch and after shaking off the irritating presence of the local Great-backed Blacked Gulls it proceeded to fish.

No question what was on the menu - Mullet. The shallows were teeming with them and after three unsuccessful dives, the fourth attempt was a success.

It was as this point that I realised that this was the time I had ever seen an Osprey catch a fish and for my mate Rob it was the first time he had encountered an Osprey!

Not to be outdone, when we turned onto the beech we startled a female Peregrine enjoying Oystercatcher alfresco.

Happy hunting indeed...

Until later.

Tuesday 12 July 2011

Poet's Corner

It is not often that this blog delves into the scary realm of poetry, but whilst surfing the internet for plants to attract moths into my garden, I happened upon this by Danske Danridge:

THE Moth is waiting for the night
To poise his feathered wings, untried,
Fresh from their prison, scarcely dried,
And trembling for the trial flight.
“The Rose is dreaming of the Bee:
Perchance my Primrose wakes for me."

The evening wears a gold zone:
One waits and listens like the flower,
She feels her fate and knows her hour.
The night is come, but not alone:
Love's wings are trembling on the air:
All the heart's treasure lying bare

Moths – it’s all about Evening Primrose, Nicotine plants, Jasmine, Honeysuckle and Phlox apparently.

On a completely unrelated note, take a butcher’s hook at this photograph of a chap from ‘SCAN’ ringing group from a recent trip to Puffin Island:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/petewood1981/5921899721/in/set-72157627161021618

I thought long-line fishing had been banned...

At least some ‘vital’ data will be gathered: birds fish at sea, some live longer than others, some now have to go further than they did in the past to find food etc, etc...

If only we could warn the inhabitants in advance. I was reminded too of a Thoreau line from his book 'Walden.'

 "...if I knew for a certainly that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life..."

Until later.

Thursday 7 July 2011

Mist Netting shown to be 'safe'.

I imagine some people may have already read this article on mist netting as it has appeared in this month’s ‘Birdwatch’ magazine.

http://www.birdwatch.co.uk/channel/newsitem.asp?c=11&cate=__10933

It concludes that roughly 1 in every 200 birds caught using this method are injured and 1 in every 400 are actually killed.

I must admit to being staggered by these findings – I thought any ringing activity was supposed to be passive?

For example, I found this on the RSPB Liverpool branche's website:

“...and no, Birds are not affected by the birdringing process, as ringing is carried out by skilled ringers who have the utmost consideration for the birds welfare in mind.”

This is quite clearly a load of old cobblers.

If mist netting is causing fatalities in the UK, then these statistics should be made available.

Do Bird Observatories record this sort of information?

I have long-held doubts about the benefits of ringing birds, and this is certainly another tick in the ‘why bother’ category.

Maybe it is time for somebody to have the courage to conduct some research into the efficacy of the activity in general.

I think the results would lead to some uncomfortable reading...

Until later.

Wednesday 6 July 2011

RSPB @ Point of Ayr – Not Yet Arsed

Can I politely remind all readers that the new hide at the Point of Ayr is NOT yet built.

There are still no contractors working on site plus some of the footpaths, screening, landscaping etc are not yet finished so the site is unsafe.

Several recent birders have unwittingly disturbed the sensitive wildlife on the site, when out looking for the sign-posted ‘Bird Hide’.

So can I please ask all potential visitors to put their enthusiasm on hold until we are ready to allow access and we have the facilities in place to show you the great wildlife w/o unnecessarily disturbing it.

Thank You for your co-operation in this.

RSPB Dee Estuary Team

0151 336 7681

Saturday 2 July 2011

A tale of two Flycatchers


After another dose of car woe, I was eager to get out and test drive the bleeder on Friday afternoon.

I opted for a blast down the ’55 to Northop and then for a little tootle to a lovely little SSSI at Maes y Grug via Soughton Hall.

The grounds of Soughton Hall have been grabbing my attention of late, especially as a Little Owl was seen in the area recently.

As my local one has done a vanishing act, I am keen to catch-up with a Flintshire resident this year, plus the area also looks good for another scarce bird locally: Green Woodpecker.

Things seldom go to plan, and I saw neither, but was compensated with stunning views of a Spotted Flycatcher at the horse paddocks.

Sadly, most of the area has been given over to the incalculably pointless artisan pursuit of golf (you now I’m right KD!), but there are pockets of tall mature trees surrounded by rough grassland that do offer potential.

Equally pleasing was the small Maey y Grug nature reserve north of Alltami. There is some excellent habitat hear and I enjoyed a not too common spectacle nowadays – Swifts, Swallows and both Martins hawking insects from the surface of the pool.

Whilst idling away the late afternoon I also noticed that I was sitting slap bang next to a spider’s nest containing hundreds of the tiny women-worriers.

Until later.