Oh deer a shortage of Shorties

The Safari headed out mid-morning to the site where a couple of Short Eared Owls have been hanging around for a while now. It might have seemed like a strange time to go owling but they were seen yesterday at lunchtime so after a night of rain we thought they might be hungry and up and about at that time again.

It was a mild enough morning as we wandered up and down the tracks keeping an eye on the rough ground either side. Two Buzzards called noisily to each other and then gave us a short display flight.From the pasture beyond the far end of the rough we could hear a Curlew exersizing its vocal calls but not quite doing the full bubbling call; one of the best sounds in nature anywhere in the world IOHO. A flock of six was seen to briefly rise above the trees possibly flushed by the Buzzards. 

Meanwhile a few Skylarks went over calling but we didn't hear any song form them - ditto about  their sound!

A mooch round a bit of a wet area flushed two Snipe and a little later we had a flight of 12, then another, so a max of 15 or a total of 12? Splashing sounds from a small patch of open water here gave us several amorous Frogs some of which had contributed to the rather large blog of spawn in the middle of the pond, our first spawn of the year.

Leaving the little boggy patch we noticed the dark tipped ears of a Brown Hare as it slunk away unsuccessfully trying to remain unnoticed - think Frank smelt it too as his nose was twitching in that direction.

We had another wander up and down the banks of the dyke hoping that the Shorties would show themselves but it was to no avail and as the wind was picking up and  spots of rain were in the air we decided that any self-respecting owl would now be staying cosy in its roost...time for some lunch.

It just so happened that our route back to Base Camp took us past the Hooded Crow site so we stopped for another look - nothing again! But we did call in at the farmland birds feeding site round the corner. Here it started raining quite heavily but we had a decent numbers of crows to work through - nothing :-( and two distant Buzzards sat on adjacent posts along a fence-line. To our right near the farmyard a Song Thrush sang and in our bins we picked up a singing Skylark hovering over a distant field, we could just about hear its song with strained ears as the wind was blowing the sound away from us.

Scanning through the corvids we saw a group of four Roe Deer appear from behind a hedge and start grazing in the open on the stubble field about 500 yards away. Brown Hare and Roe Deer were only added to the year list yesterday and then both seen again today - almost weird?

Carefully we went back to the Land Rover for the camera and took the following pics - not the world's best of Roe Deer but at that range in the rain they ain't too bad!

Did you spot the Magpie?

Shame the Carrion Crow in the top corner wasn't the Hoodie

Also seen today were the first Blackthorn flowers of the year and the first fresh green shoots covering a roadside Hawthorn. 
Where to next? The Common Scoter-fest that is Patch 2 beckons tomorrow.

In the meantime let us know what's putting in appearances on consecutive days in your outback.

Got it but not quite ready yet.

Yes...the safari successfully completed the river crossing again yesterday and at last we managed to film it. But the river wasn't as deep as the other day and the water only washed up over the bonnet. I think the hard frost has locked up much of the water in the hills and so there is less water coming down the river. I'll post the film when it has been downloaded off my co-pilot's camera which was cleverly strapped to the bullbar on the Land Rover.

Crossing the river to the other side takes you into another world of windy lanes with high hedges, small fields and scattered copses. We soon came across a Buzzard looking realy nice in the crisp light of a cold winter's day.

At a favoured site the only wildlife of note was a superb view of a Nuthatch probing the bark for food. As we watched it found a couple of white grubs in the crevices.

We left this site by the 4x4 track, patiently waiting for a group of ramblers coming down the steep track on the opposite hillside of the ford. To get up the steep, wet slope with a film of ice over the loose rocks we would need full throttle, so best to wait until everyone was safely out of the way. The Disco rattled up with no problems, there was even power to spare.

Travelling a few miles to another site we decided to search for Roe Deer. Leaving the track and quietly entering the dense wood we came across a fair sized flock of Long Tailed Tits with two tiny Goldcrests with them. Roe Deer have excellent hearing and moving through wood over crisply frozen frozen ground with plenty of fallen leaves and dead twigs demanded all our tracking skills. Eventually we came across a couple of deer. Despite our best efforts they had heard us coming but all all on the safari got good if fleeting views, sadly to short for photographs - might have to set a hide up in the warmer months! A few yards further on we came across a third which could well have been one of the original two.

It is still December but one small Hawthorn sapling sported a recently sprouted bright green leaf. There is a reasonable selectionof fungi in the wood and the tree composition appears to be changing. The colonising Silver Birch and Poplar (see pic above with the diagnostic diagonal lenticels in the bark- also the abundance of small trees and dense understorey despite the deer) are coming to the end of their lives and being blown over or rotting off and there are a lot of small Ash and Hawthorn waiting to take over the canopy space when it becomes available. In this area we found a very obliging Treecreeper which we watched going about its business for several minutes.

I'll ask Jack of Lancashire Nature (see blog links on right) to identify these fungi - he's pretty knowledgable where as I'm not).

Along the river we eventually saw a fly past Dipper.

At the car park the Rangers have set up a feeding station and whilst enjoying a welcome hot coffee we had stunning views of two Jays, two Nuthatches and assorted tits and finches a Robin and a Reed Bunting.

With some daylight left we headed west to the plains and a site for Short Eared Owl. Only a few minutes after parking the Land Rover one appeared quuartering a rough field about 100 yards away - brilliant in the low afternoon sun. We learnt from other people there that we had somewhat disappointingly only just missed a Barn Owl. Some of the other grazed fields around held good numbers of Curlew, Lapwing, and/or Pink Footed Geese. With time getting short it was time to head back to the warmth of the fireside...a super safari with a good mix of wildlife, off road driving and adventure...

Where to next? Not sure yet but there will be great wildlife to be seen where-ever it is.

In the meantime let us know what you have found in your outback.

It's cooling down - it's not geting any 'otter!

A fine day beckoned so the Land Rover was filled with recycled chip fat and pointed towards north Lancashire. First stop was our deer zone. It didn't appear to disappoint, before we got to the wood there was a couple of Fallow Deer grazing out in the open.

A little further along the footpath we discovered why. Their favourite woodland had been fenced off. someone has spent a lot of time effort and money to keep them out. Not sure why; but with deer having no natural predators now in the UK over grazing by them in woodlands can have a detrimental effect on the flora and ability of the woodland to regenerate.

There are some very nice old trees in this area. This one is a Scots Pine, not a native this far south.
On the other hand this striking Oak has some age to it and will be reported to the Ancient Tree Hunt (see links on right) . The left hand trunk is over 15 feet (5m) in circumference just above the fork - we didn't measure the smaller trunk but it's still pretty big.



Our second venue was to the nearby wetland. I always enjoy these Tussock Sedges. There was an old Tarzan film (Johnny Weizmuller I think) in which the baddies dressed up as plants similar to these and from their camouflaged position on the edge of the track they blow darted the passing safari parties - very scary for us!!!!


Tarzan's path looked just like this!! Hope there's no-one in there with poison darts today!

Sneaking safely past the Tussock Sedges we come into an area of Alder Carr. This is wet woodland. Alder trees are adapted to growing in waterlogged conditions - they have nitrogen fixing bacteria in their roots. Carr is the first stage of the woodland succession of wetland areas. Eventually they will dry the wetland out enough for Oak and other trees to be able to grow, by then no-one would know the area was once a lake. Without the intervention of man or a natural disaster setting back the succession all still or slow flowing waterbodies will eventually become woodland.

Out on the open water there were plenty of Coot, some 200 of them. A nice male Goosander was fishing in between them, swimming along with its head under water spying for unsuspecting fish. A few Teal, Tufted Ducks and a couple of Goldeneyes completed the count of the water. Overhead a pair of Buzzards took advantage of the fine conditions and participated in a beautiful skydance. A Bittern took a very brief flight low over the tops of the reeds before crashing in, never to be seen again.


Earlier in the day we had met a couple who had been fortunate enough to watch the warden ringing some Bearded Tits, along with a couple of Goldcrests and Blue Tits. We heard the distinctive 'pings' of the Bearded Tits deep in the reedbed but did not manage to see any. As the sun dropped lower in the skythe light spangled through the silvery tops of the reeds.

The Starling roost at this reserve is impressive, probably over 50,000 birds. Today it was just a bit too far to our left to be able to see properly. But the roost wasn't today's main target.

Darkness fell and at last the hide became quieter - this is usually a place of solitude, almost loneliness - but not today. Coach party after coach party ambled in crashed about got comfy then left. At last there was just us and it was getting nicely darker and the water became as still as a millpond - perfect conditions for our quarry.

In the gathering gloom there were a couple of Ravens flying over to roost and a fair few invisible Snipe were revealed by giving their 'skkrrr' call. The thin 'ssips' of Redwings were also heard.A Sparrowhawk perched up. probably waiting for the Starlings but was 500 yards away from the main action/dining area.

Any Otters? No not this time - they are becoming a bogey mammal on a par with the Long Eared Owls. But again on the walk back to the Land Rover in the dark we disturbed a small herd of Red Deer which we could hear splashing about in a panic deep in the redbed.

Where to next? An impromptu day off tomorrow so the Long Eared Owls are definitely on the agenda...fingers crossed.

In the meantime let us know what you have seen in your outback.

North Lancashire 31st May 2008

An early start saw us at Warton Crag Quarry before 8 O'clock. arriving at the car park and opening the Land Rover's doors we staight away heard the yik yik yik of the Peregrine Falcon. A quick scan of the cliff face revealed the female resting on a ledge close to the nest. A view through the telescope revealed two fluufy white chicks, technically known as eyas'. Totally unphased by their illustrious neighbours the large Jackdaw colony 'chacked' its way through its daily routine, perhaps enjoying the safety of having such a powerful predator in their midst. A Little Owl called from the right hand side of the cliff face but we were unable to locate it.

The morning was warming up and we had sightings of Common Blue and Green Veined White butterflies and a really bright Speckled Yellow moth. Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs sang from the bushes.
On the verge of the car park was a single specimen of Early Purple Orchid.

The next site visited was Woodwell. In the well itself Greater Spearwort was in flower. A Chiffchaff was heard singing and a Nuthatch called from the woods. The information board at the start of the path declared that some of the Small Leaved Lime trees were actually older than Stonehenge! There was the strong scent of Wild Garlic under the canopy of the woods. A fallen log had an impressive collection of unknown species of bracket fungus (any ideas anyone). A pair of Large Red Damselflies were in tandem by the well.

Back at the Land Rover a very hopeful and daring Robin hopped under the open door waiting for crumbs to be thrown from our breakfast. As (s)he was pecking at her titbits a Green Woodpecker was heard 'yaffling' in the distance.

We then moved from the woods down to the estuary. whilst we were manoevering the Land Rover in to a suitable car parking space (it doesn't fit under the low bridge) a Kingfisher flew right over the bonnet.
The estuary was more like southern Europe than north Lancashire. 3 Spoonbills, 2 Little Egrets and several Avocets graced the pools. 2 huge Ravens were out on the marsh. back along the track to the car park Sedge and Willow Warblers were watched taking food to hungry nestlings.

Our nest stop was the RSPB reserve, Leighton Moss. Here the feeding station was a little quieter than usual but still amnaged to give us fantastic close up views of a pair of Bullfinches and 3 Grey Squirrels, one of which had sussed the squirrel proofing on the bird table and was happily sat with a fine male Chaffinch munching the
sunflower seeds..

The rest of the reserve was also fairly quiet, which is typical for mid day at this time of year. But we couldn't fault the show the 5 Marsh Harriers put on for us, gently wafting their elegant way over the reed beds. Making our way down to the Tim Jackson hide we had a couple of brief sightings of Bearded Tits as they shot overhead to and from nest sites. Looking out from the hide we saw a magnificent set of antlers looking like a giant hat stand, but as the reed is so tall we didn't see the owner. However we did connect with two of his younger brothers lurking under the bushes. A the same time a Kingfisher, perhaps the same one as earlier, gave a masterclass in diving from height. It was difficult to watch the nearby patrolling Emperor Dragonfly for fear of missing the Kingfisher's next dive. we were able to make a younsters day by showing him a lifer - Reed Bunting - how times have changed now that the under 10's are seeing Marsh Harriers before 'common place' birds like the Reed Bunting, good luck to him - may his life list grow ever longer!
The walk back to the Public Hide gave us more and better views of the Bearded Tits.

The Public Hide was very quiet, a few Tufted Ducks and Pochards and the ubiquitous Coots, but little else. A Great Black backed Gull broke the tranquil scene sending the few nesting Black Headed Gulls into a state of raucous panic as it popped in for a snack - on their chicks! We waited patiently hoping that we might fluke a sighting of the Otter but fluked a brief flight view of a Bittern instead.
A Red Deer hind made her way out of the woods and across the fields to the reed bed in the distance.

All in all a great day with over 75 species of birds and good views of Red Deer.

Where to next?

Bowland Foothills 5th May 08

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Wildlife Adventure Safaris

Safari Report 5^th May 2008

This safari took us to the western slopes of the Forest of Bowland. It was a warm but muggy cloudy morning. Spring was in the air. For the first time this year the trees looked green rather than brown. Stepping out along the track birdsong was filling the air, particularly the loud fluty tones of a Mistle Thrush high in the canopy up on the valley side. A Nuthatch called repeatedly.

By the riverside is a particularly splendid Alder tree, which has been entered on to the Ancient Tree Hunt data base.

Following the river the woods were

alive with birdsong, although the new leaves were making spotting the singers a little difficult. The path meanders along the valley floor and we cut up a side path to climb the hillside. There the bracken is dense but the recent reduction of the numbers of sheep grazing has allowed the regeneration of a fair amount of Birch saplings. In this area we heard the rustle of dead bracken above us and looking up saw a fine Roe deer buck. He was

staring straight at us. The wind was not in our favour, nor were the scrunchy dead leaves underfoot. We had an excellent view of his face adorned by a decent pair of antlers. We watched for a minute or so before he bolted in to a thicket nearby. There he barked like a ferocious large dog and we could hear him thrashing around.

Moving on we rejoined the main footpath through the woods. The birds were still singing all around. I was hoping to be able to point out the trill of a Wood Warbler as there had been several on migration along the Fylde coast during the previous week. If they had reached their breeding grounds unfortunately they weren’t singing.

We did, however, get brilliant views of singing Blackcap, Garden Warbler and a Yellowhammer. Green Woodpecker was heard in the distance and a Skylark sung above us most of the morning.

Despite the warmth it was not sunny and there weren’t many insects about. Two Peacocks and one unidentified White were the only butterflies seen. Two Bright Silver Line moths were disturbed from the bracken covered hillside. In amongst the bracken plenty of Dog Violets were in flower.

Retracing our steps we came across our Roebuck again. With the wind more favourable we got superb views as he cantered across the fellside. Three Buzzards circled lazily over our heads as we watched him. We also came across one of his marking posts.

Chaffinches, Robins, Wrens, Blackbirds, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs accompanied us along with our superb songster the Mistle Thrush. A Cuckoo was heard by other visitors but not by us. Back by the river a pair of Nuthatches very obligingly investigated a potential nesting hole only a few feet a

bove our heads.

Before returning to base we had a brief quick look for the Kingfisher at a regular haunt be it wasn’t to be found. In its place was a nesting Dipper which secretly approached its brood by diving under water, something I’ve never seen before.

Passing through one of the local villages, being Bank Holiday

, it was too busy to stop

and admire the 300+ year old Oak tree standing by the roadside. It was also disappointing that there was too much water in the river to be able to do the 4x4 ford to end the day.

In the lanes not far from Base Camp was a beautiful male Kestrel sitting on the top of a telegraph pole watching for mice, voles or maybe just a tasty worm.

Where to next?