A bit better on the moff front

The Safari was out before sunrise this morning along the North Blackpool Pond Trail on our last ever Winter Thrushes survey. The world had the fresh green cast of unfurling leaves but the birdsong was still only made up of resident birds though with Blackbirds, Woodpigeons, Collared |Doves, Dunnocks, Robins, Wrens, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Blue Tits and Great Tits so it still smacked of winter out there.

A few opening flowers of Bluebells, native, Spanish and hybrids made it a little more springlike and it was reasonably mild for the time of year at about 10C. A few heads of Hedge Garlic were coming out too, bring on the Orange Tip butterflies!

A little further along it sounded a bit more summery with Blackcap and Chiffchaff singing away at the Community Orchard as we neared our survey's starting point. 

The second bird on our survey was a singing Song Thrush giving it plenty a hundred yards further on, this was the only one we heard, indeed it was the only thrush that wasn't a Blackbird and they were down a bit on recent visits probably because half of them might well be sat on nests. Or maybe not as we saw a female carrying a huge long strand of grass in to the hedge by the long ditch.

Thrush action was interrupted by four Cormorants flying north at height. We thought they might drop on to the nearby lake but they kept going straight on, unlike us who broke off the survey route for a few minutes and did visit the lake where in the scrub we heard the liquid cadences of three Willow Warblers (130), two days earlier than last year but about the average date for us for this species but they have been in awhile and we haven't had the chance to get near any.

On the islands a Heron was attending to it's well grown youngster in the first nest while in the other the adult was hunkered well down.

The only notable thing about the second part of the survey was notable for the wrong reason, few Blackbirds but freakin shed loads of cats, they were everywhere!

In the end we only had 23 Blackbirds and the aforementioned Song Thrush on the tally sheet.
Once back at Base Camp we opened the moth trap to find a small number lurking within...whoopy-do - success.

Well it wasn't that brilliant just two Hebrew Characters, a Common Quaker and an Early Grey, nothing over exciting but the Early Grey didn't appear last year so it was nice to get reacquainted with one.

Common Quaker

Early Grey

Hebrew Character

In the garden a bit later doing some chores we heard an 'alba' Wagtail go over, there's a few Whites about at the mo but we'll have to track them down on the ground no chance of IDing an overflying bird.

A flying visit for a brew and drop off some firewood from his current job by our Extreme Photographer saw us in the garden again. We noticed that a chunk of wood had fallen at the back of the woodstore and we footled it out only to see a freshly deceased moth on it - had we just deceased it, hope not - a quick check - well you have to don't you - revealed it as a male Bee Moth, thought these were a summer species mid-April seems a bit early for one to be out and about, it's not been that warm has it? There is a Tree Bee nest just above where we found it - coincidence or not??? They larvae live in the nests of bees eating the waxy cocoons.

A quick trip with Frank to Magpie wood mid-afternoon gave us a nice selection of songsters at the golden Triangle, Woodpigeon, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Blackcap, and Chiffchaff. They all went a bit quiet when Sparrowhawk lashed through.

In sports news the mighty Blues Everton scored their winner at the same moment as the lowly 'Pool conceded their second, Europe for one perhaps relegation looms frighteningly large for the other.

Where to next? Moffy will be out again tonight.
In the meantime let us know who's brought the summer with them in your outback.

The Safari emptied the moth trap this morning. A few in there but nothing out of the ordinary, six Hebrew Characters, an Early Grey and a worn Common Quaker.

With Frank breakfasted and sent back to bed we headed off to the nature reserve with a bit of wish list after recent sightings. The rising sun lit up last year's seedheads on the reedmace at the drying wetland...need to check here for Great Crested Newts soon...before the water disappears!

Blackcaps were noticeable by their abundance, they were everywhere and Willow Warblers (MMLNR #76) put on a decent show too. With the Chiffchaffs it was all beginning to sound a bit summery and after about an hour Swallows (MMLNR #77) started to dribble through in ones and twos. 

The Cetti's Warblers were loud enough with three heard along the north side of the lake (the second and the might have been the same one moving down).

A Curlew flew over but we still await our first Whimbrel, and three Oystercatchers flew around in a display flight. 

A met another birder, from out of town,  coming the other way who'd seen a couple of Wheatears and heard a Reed Warbler but we couldn't offer him the Whitethroat or Grasshopper Warbler he'd read about on the web.

Wandering further down we too heard the Reed Warbler (159, MMLNR #78) and saw one of the two Wheatears (MMLNR #79) in the newly planted potato field.

At the hide a pair of Shovelers looked to be all loved up which could be interesting.

Walking back the way we came we bumped into the Ranger who'd had a Whitethroat but alas it didn't sing for us at the place he'd not long had it.

This Blackbird looked handsome in the morning sunshine but stayed just a little too far out of range for a 'proper' shot.

A Linnet was seen with a beakful of grasses for a nest nearby

At the viewing platform a pair of Canada Geese grazed on the sprouting greenery. One always kept an eye on us but once we'd not moved for a few minutes they settled down.

Back at the newt infested dryland a numpty and her son were throwing stones into the last of the shallow water for their mutt.

A lunchtime trip to the shops was fruiful. Wifey bought the pies while we stayed in the car with a tired footballed-up Frank and got a House Martin (160) flying over the car park.

We settled down to keep an eye on the thrashing of Burnley by 'Pool in the afternoon but only a few minutes into the game a call from the Young Un's had us shooting back out to the nature reserve, they found a male Redstart. Within a few minutes we were stood with them getting the low down on a crackin bird and found out that they'd spotted it whilst watching a Whitethroat and had had a Sedge Warbler.

We stood around waiting for a while and could here the roars of the crowd at the footy as goal after goal was being scored. After a fair bit of waiting the Redstart (161) did indeed show itself but only briefly and fright at the back of the scrub well out of pic range...wot a beauty tho, it's been a long time since we had one on the nature reserve...well chuffed...and many thanks to the Young Uns for the tip-off.

The Whitethroat (162) also put in a display song flight or two too.
And the final score? 'Pool 4 - Burnley 0...bring on the Play-offs!
Where to next? Mothy will be out again, weather permitting, and then we plan to go back to the nature reserve early doors for Sedge Warbler and Cuckoo???
In the meantime let us know who's giving the tip-offs in your outback.

Pretty good safari-ing without going anywhere

The Safari was able to accompany Frank to the park this morning - A full Patch 1 walk for a change. Dunnocksville! including a big fight lots of singing and wing flicking ended in a Coot-like brawl with one pinning the other to the ground by standing on it then pecking at it - never seen anything like it before...the two others, assumed females, just looked on. Saw several others scattered around too. blackbirds were also squaring up to each other over boundary disputes. 

We went past the Golden Triangle where we heard the Song Thrush, then into the park past the Common Winter-cress, which is an omission from the 'Flora' - no dot for it in Patch 1's tetrad.

Once in the park we started whistling chiff-chaff and within seconds we had a response from the real thing - Chiffchaff (P1 #27).

We went to check the Frog pond and disturbed a Heron which had just caught a Frog or Toad, need to check this pond for Great Crested Newts soon.

Another Song Thrush sang loudly from the top of the park.

Back at Base Camp we emptied the moth trap - only four this morning; Early Grey and a cracking Early Thorn and two Hebrew Characters.

Early Grey

Early Thorn

As we were mothing a Great Tit sped past us with a beakful of moss and dived straight into our House Sparrow terrace.

The garden is beginning to get a nice show of Cowslips, they're becoming a weed! There should be lots of seed later in the year.

At the base of one of the trees planted on the main road's verge last year is a nice patch of Dove's Foot Cranesbill - Not sure what the passing motorists thought of our big ar*e sticking up skywards as we got this pic.

A Sparrowhawk was 'given' to us by the gulls but they failed to find us any other raptors.

Much later in the afternoon we got a txt off Young Un AB saying he'd just had an Osprey and it was coming our way. We dashed outside to the top of the garden and started scanning and listening for the gulls. It was crystal clear we could see all the way to the fells to the east but the only raptor we found was a Kestrel being chased by a Magpie over the North Blackpool Pond Trail. 

Then we heard a slight commotion from the gulls and scanned around - we found it - an Osprey (138) going north at great height just below the cloud base. But was it the same bird as AB's? His was low and a good half hour or so earlier - probably not! Unfortunately it was too far out to the east and wasn't a garden or Patch 1 tick, it did, however, go almost directly over CR's place.

Where to next? An exciting far flung safari beyond the South-side tomorrow with an early start.

In the meantime let us know what had you craning your neck in your outback.

Mor moffs

The Safari was only able to do a bit of moff trappin today;  or more accurately was only able to open the box after last night's trapping session.

Four Hebrew Characters and a couple of Common Quakers were soon released leaving the more 'exciting' stuff which included this very worn and obviously overwintered Common/Smoky Wainscot - didn't know they did that!

A bit of gentle teasing with the paint brush got it to reveal its underwing but that too looks to be just about scale-free.

Suggestions as to which species anyone? And have any other moth-ers out there known either of these species to over winter?

Double Striped Pug was bound to turn up sooner rather than later.

 Early Grey is becoming a favourite

As hairy as a hairy thing from Hairysville, Arizona!
A Grey Heron being chased by a few gulls over the garden was garden bird no. 27 for the year.
After some errands an hour was spent on a very busy beach with Frank.

All too much fun in the end...

Where to next? Hopefully somewhere away from Base Camp tomorrow.
In the meantime let us know who's spark out in your outback

Our Extreme Photographer was out on the North Blackpool Pond Trail, without his 'proper' camera (dohh) and found this Tortoise Beetle, we think it's a Thistle Tortoise Beetle, Cassida rubinosa; if it is it's a first for the Fylde and pretty scarce/under-recorded in Lancashire as a whole...and they shouldn't be out til May. The Common Green Tortoise Beetle doesn't have the brown on the scutellum.

Thoughts anyone.

He also had 27 Small Tortoiseshells, a Comma, a Speckled Wood and two Peacocks - not a bad butterfly haul!

Not a bad day at all

The Safari's day started pretty well. We peered into the moth trap to find more than two Hebrew Characters!

In addition to four Hebrew Characters there were two Early Greys, two Clouded Drabs and a Common Quaker - not a bad haul.

Clouded Drab

 Common Quaker

And now our fave shot of the day...Early Grey...what a hairy little chappy!

The final moth out, squeezed in to the tightest corner and not immediately identifiable was this somewhat different and well marked variant of Hebrew Character.

The rest of the morning was spent in the garden, mostly waiting for the gulls to find us a raptor going over. they find the hazy conditions easier to deal with with their polarising eyesight - why don't they make bins with polarising lenses? Eventually they did..a Sparrowhawk, not one of the bigger, dare we say 'more desirable' species.

A loud honking from out of sight to the south heralded the low fly over of a pair of Grey Lag Geese (Garden 26), not an expected species for Base Camp although they were on the garden list last year too.

Several Meadow Pipits went over, mostly unseen, but unlike others nearby we failed to connect with any Siskins or Redpolls.

The camera was pointed at the feeders for a while.

Peek - a - boo

Inverts started to put in appearance as the temperature sizzled towards 20C. White Tailed Bumble Bees and a Peacock butterfly but our fave was a Drone Fly that kept buzzing us but kept out of range of the camera.

In range of the lens but extremely mobile was this tiny Zebra Spider on the garage wall. Shame we just dipped out on the focus.

Must try harder...or get him on a cooler day when he's less active.

Late in the afternoon a Goldcrest dropped in to the top of a neighbours tree (from where?) called a couple of times then immediately flut into the depths of the adjacent conifer.

Where to next? Hmmm...not sure yet.

In the meantime let us know what dropped in from on high into your your outback.