Nearly a murmuration

The Safari wasn't able to get out early doors with the horrid weather this morning but at lunchtime were able to have a few minutes but there was very little out there on a very choppy sea.

Going home time drew near and looking out of the office window we saw that a sunset was developing so we gave CR a txt to see if he fancied a go at the Starlings at the pier. He did and a little later we were camered up waiting on the chilly prom for the Starlings to start arriving.

The sunset was lining up nicely but unfortunately it failed to get any better than this and as the Starlings began to appear so did low cloud on the horizon so any murmuration would have to be high to be against the pale sky to be able to see it well.

It wasn't long before flocks began to arrive, some only about 50 strong others with a couple of thousand or more members. This lot were part of one of the larger flocks.

Most didn't go to the pier but landed on the beach down at the water's edge - what do they do down there, some were wading like Dunlin or Sanderlings but they weren't feeding. Is it some kind of terrestrial murmuration although they don't seem to move round much. It's difficult to tell what's happening cos if you get close enough to watch you'll flush them so totally defeating the object. 

It wasn't just the Starlings going to roost, there were loads of gulls passing overhead too beneath an impressive glowing cloud.

The dropping light was the cue for the Starlings to start leaving the beach but rather than one huge impressive mass it was like they left in the flocks on the order they arrived in.

The murmuration started but didn't amount to much, plenty of birds but they didn't really start bunching up and whirling around.

It didn't get spectacular but never-the-less it was great to be out to witness the arrivals and the enigma on the beach, which we reckoned judging by our guestimates of the arriving flocks was in the region of 20 - 25000!

Where to next? maybe a guided walk to lead tomorrow round the nature reserve but there's some dissent in the ranks about a trip to the far south-side instead - watch this space.
In the meantime let us know who's doing the unexpected in your outback.

Struggled to get out on safari today

The Safari was up early with Frank, who thankfully seems a lot more chipper-dandy today, yesterday thought he wasn't  going to last the weekend poor old fella, the cheery strains of the local Chiffchaff, must be on territory chiffing and chaffing across the gardens - hope it's found/will find a mate. 

No chance of getting out other than that today but to be honest the overnight weather looked more like a migrant clear out night rather than a migrant dump night. Cloud appeared later in the day which may have brought some more birds within reach.

After Frank had had his breakfast, ancient or not there's no stopping his lust for food, we had a look in the moth trap and were very pleased to find more in there than yesterday morning's pitiful haul. Still no new species but five Hebrew Characters was a definite improvement.

Wifey left to take eh-up muvver to the shops and we pottered around in the garden for a while, sawing some wood and having a little shuffy round to see what was coming up. The path up the garden is a mass of Cowslips - best they've been.

Maybe we should have swept the bits ups before getting the camera out

Lovely to see it spring forth with lush verdantness to think it just a massive sterile concrete slab covered in geotextile this time 12 years ago.

We started a bit of weeding and were soon alerted to a raptor going over by a sudden explosion of noise from the local gulls, they'd been just about silent upto now. Looking up there were two Buzzards (Garden #26) soaring only 100 feet above Base Camp and then they did a talon locking tumble although they didn't quite lock talons. Brilliant - thanks gulls! The bins and camera were grabbed as quick as maybe from indoors but we were too late to get pictoral evidence.

Commotion and cacophony

A few minutes later there was another lesser and shorted burst of squawking when a Sparrowhawk drifted northwards.

Continuing to keep an eye and an ear open we saw our Great Tits going in and out of the House Sparrow nesting terrace - no House Sparrow has ever been near it, less likely to now as the pair that nested in the eaves of the house on the corner of the main road is nowhere to be seen this year, which begs the question will we get them on the garden list this year...maybe not which isn't good.

Over the road the Blue Tit's nest in a crack in the brickwork by the neighbours upstairs window is in use for at least the third year running which was good to see.

The garden was quiet for invertebrates despite the warm sunshine there was a cool breeze whistling through, just a few flyovers from bumble bees, n butterflies and a chunky Drone Fly, Eristalis sp, trying to maintain position in the sunniest spot.

A check of the south facing garage wall for Jumping Spiders and Solitary Bees/Wasps was a big fat negatory.

Here's a short clip of a steepish rocky decent from last Sunday's green laning adventure - best viewed full screen - not sure what YouTube is doing to us. Press escape to return here.

Where to next? Back to Patch 2 and offshore-ish winds could produce seas calm enough to spot cetaceans.

In the meantime let us know who's causing all the commotion in your outback

More dipping, today of all days!

The Safari had a couple of good friends round last night who brought round a cracker of a birthday cake. If it tastes as good as it looks (and we're sure it will) it'll go down a treat!

If anyone would like a gorgeous novelty cake for any occasion let us know and we'll pass on your details; prices vary with species of cake, size, decoration etc etc.

This morning Frank had his stitches out and the vet says he's coming along very well, in advance of where he should be 10 days post op so lets hope he continues to keep improving...still a long way to go before he's fit enough to do more than 10 minute lead walks 3 times a day.

After the vets we headed off for some birthday lunch and to twitch the long staying Spoonbill...lunch was excellent vut the spoony wasn't there!!! No ornithological birthday present then,,,to rub salt in there was an Osprey close by, possibly even overhead if the racket the gulls started making at 07.30, and then a Sabine's Gull past work this morning :-( Not to mention the two Bottle Nosed Dolphins very early in the morning.

We had an hour on the prom at Chat Alley this evening but there was nothing doing apart from a a handful of distant Gannets. We gave up when the very pleasant afternoon sun made viewing conditions almost impossible. The gull pics don't do the warm afternoon justice.

Where to next? Back to work tomorrow and hopefully not an empty Patch 2,
In the meantime let us know what the favourite flavour of cake is in your outback.

Chilly start to a pleasant day.

The Safari left Base Camp with -5ºC showing on the thermometer. The recent cold snap has stopped all but the hardiest Robins from singing.

Once again the morning commute had us gazing in awe at the huge flocks of Starlings leaving the roost on the pier and spreading across the sky in waves as they disperse for a day of blunt beaks on the frozen ground.

Patch 2 was a cheek and ear numbing affair with little to show for our suffering in the bright but hazy conditions. Nine Great Crested Grebes were found none of them too far out and now with most in ‘full sum plum’ it shouldn’t be too long before they disappear to their freshwater breeding grounds. Nothing like the 30, and whopping flock of eight Scaup, seen from the southern end of the patch by FB yesterday when we were too busy elsewhere to be able to get on site :-( .

It was slightly warmer at lunchtime but if anything the wind had picked up a little making it feel colder. Visibility was still poor and to the south impossible with the bright sunlight glaring off the water. Only a handful of Great Crested Grebes could be seen and almost all of the couple of hundred or so Common Scoters were away off in the shimmering hazy distance.

We’ve had better days sea-watching that’s for sure (or should that be foreshore ;-)  )

A brief stop at the big park on the way home gave some photo opportunities and a chance to snap away at some of the colour ringed Coot...far warmer on the fingers than trying to record the details in the notebook. We'll pass these on to KB in due course.

Think last one is Y/bto - W (one missing?)

A man and his young daughter appeared on an after school saunter complete with a loaf of bread which attracted the local Black Headed Gulls. 

 Why does the most interesting one have to sit the furthest away? 

 We're pretty sure it reads VLJ - anyone recognise him?
Dancing on ice - where's Philip Schofield when you need him?

Then we tried some BiF shots, which turned out to be a little awkward as the wind was in the wrong direction.

Need to work out the settings on the camera a bit more thoroughly to see if we can improve on these results...and the wind making them face towards us wouldn't go amiss...

Where to next? Still need to get in the park and hunt down the woodland species still not yet on the year's tally sheet...you never know what Monika has been up to during the week and how many species she's been able to add to her list!

In the meantime let us know if the wind was in the right direction in your outback.

Can't beat a bit of wall to wall sunshine

The Safari was just about to head off to the nature reserve when we received a text from AB giving 'hot off the press' info - the mobile Smew was on the river. Nothing ventured etc we set off to the bridge. On the way we spotted a long haired youth striding purposely northwards so we stopped and JS clambered into the Land Rover saving himself a fairly long walk but having to endure a big lick from Frank.

Arriving at the river the tide was low and the only info was that the Smew was on the downstream west side of bridge. Well we both looked and looked and looked. We decided to have a check on the upstream side - that was when we looked back to see a Merlin (91) flip at great speed low over the bridge and had to bank to avoid J...he missed it although it only narrowly missed him!

On the mud there were 27 Golden Plover (92) with a smaller number of Lapwings, the channel held Mallard, Teal and Shelducks with many Curlews and a scattering of Redshanks probing the margins but no sign of our quarry. After a while AB and his dad pulled up, whay-hey reinforcements...and more importantly...with a scope! A had hardly set the damn thing up on its tripod when he said there it is...a quick peek down the eyepiece revealed a tiny dot diving about a mile and a quarter away in the distance just about recognisable as the Smew (93). So far away was it that we couldn't tell if the two larger female and single male birds near it were Goosanders or Red breasted Mergansers! Either would have been a year bird as would the Meadow Pipit that we saw fly out  of marsh but despite J hearing it call above the noise of the traffic behind us we never did so it stays off the list. Easier for us to ID was the dihedral shape of a Buzzard circling over the adjacent field.

Not sure if You Tube has cut off a couple of seconds - don't recall pressing the button before the last few words of the 'commentary'.

It was cold on the bridge so once the tick was bagged it was off to the nature reserve where the southbank would be sheltered and in full blistering sunshine.

Not much was doing as we wandered up to the hide colloquially known Ice Station Zebra for  its thermal 'comforts'. We immediately heard a Cetti's Warbler sing, so close was it that the hide's tin roof reverberated. Getting the camera out...just in case it showed - hahaha - we fumbled with the dial trying to move it off video from the dot Smew. As we did a small flotilla of Pochards came in to view - one of which was the Red Crested Pochard (94) (or probable RCP hybrid as it has been noted that it has slightly barred axillaries so may have ??? genes in there somewhere - thanks to PT & PE for the 'armpit' shots! It's gone on the list as its a near a RCP as you'll find and without the aid of long lenses you'd never see those light markings...is that cheating?

Never saw or heard the Cetti's again!

We wandered back the way we'd come, staying in the sun rather than risking the freezer that is the Feeding Station and noted plenty of gulls on the way but trawling through them didn't give us anything out of the ordinary. But we were told there were more stood on the ice at the east end...off we went...

Just four species were seen, three in the pic above...two of the Black Headed Gulls sported rings - one is the far right-hand gull - both too far away to read, none of KB's Darvik ringed birds though :-(

Common Gulls are always nice - one day we hope to pick out a Mew Gull...some chance!

Another trip up to ICZ didn't give us anything new but we did get more arty full frame Mute Swan pics

Back down to the bridge where we bumped into PL and had a good chin wag - he's had some great sightings over Christmas whilst doing an infra-red project...a Roe Deer being stalked by a Fox in the Feeding Station and on the night of BOXING DAY a big adult HEDGEHOG!!!

Talking of Foxes, this little chap showed well catching voles on the island. These are the only pics of a Fox we've ever taken during the day.

Best bird of the day turned up as we were leaving when a Great Black Backed Gull came in and terrorised the Teal and Wigeon. We left perhaps too early as there was the possibility of Barn Owl and Little Owl in the calm conditions which would have looked nice in the early evening light but our toes had got very cold in our wellies.

Back at Base Camp one or more Long Tailed Tits came through with the last hint of light bringing the garden total to 17.

So half way through the first month our tallies stand at

Patch 1 = 19

Patch 2 = 35

Garden = 17

Nature Reserve = 57

A great day, made all the better by the gorgeous sunshine and good company.

Where to next? Back to Patch 2 tomorrow.

In the meantime let us know if the sun shone brightly all day in your outback.

Short but sweet

This morning's safari was about the shortest ever, fortunately we got back to the Land Rover before the heavens opened.

There was little around but this sulphury yellow fungus was spotted growing on a rotting Willow stump. I've no idea what species it is but the top picture taken from above is a more accurate colour, in the other pics the flash has made the fungus look more golden than it was in life.

These apples haven't been eaten yet and will be an important source of food if the weather turns cold again. The reason they are still on the tree is because trunk is surrounded by dense Brambles keeping them safe from human pilferers.

The Gulls on the mere were twitchy; a Cormorant fishing underwater kept coming up for breath in between them giving them the heeby-jeebies. All the usual gull suspects were there, again Black Headed and Herring were the most numerous followed by Commons. There was just one of both Lesser and Greater Black Backs.

Where to next? Christmas shopping is now getting urgent - only a week left but there may be a chance of a new and much fancier Land Rover, so the next safari might be a long time coming but travelling in a little more style and comfort.

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

Monika at Orca Watcher (see blog links on right) has challenged me to come up with 6 random facts about myself...hmmmm - thinking cap is on...random facts tomorrow.

Northerly winds = ???

With the wind in the north and a definite chill in the air there is the distinct possiblity of 'white winged' gulls. Sorry about the poor quality of the photos, they are photographed from slides projected on the wall. The first shows a young 'cafe-au-lait' coloured young Iceland Gull. You can see there is no black in the wingtips. This one I got at the ornamental lake of an hotel in Blackpool a few years ago.

This is the same bird sat on the water. Although further away than the two Herring Gulls in the foreground you can see that it is about the same size but a little slighter. They can turn up anywhere where there are lots of gulls; places like docks, lakes and reservoirs and rubbish dumps either on the coast or inland.

This big brute is a Glaucous Gull, just about as big and bulky as a Great Black Backed Gull, much bigger than the Icelands. This one is an adult - not my picture but again photographed off a projected slide.

You are much less likely to find these inland and are overall less numerous than Icelands, this is certainly true in Lancashire, where they are decidely coastal.

So if you get out into your chilly outback keep an eye out for these white winged beauties hiding in amongst the other 'regular' gulls.

Where to next? Two jumpers on and out into the cold; but are there any Waxwings about and where did the Ross's Goose go?

In the meantime let us know what you have found in your outback...be it tropical, warm, temperate, cold or downright freezing- - - - anyone from Churchill out there with Polar Bears (apparently recorded once in the UK - in Shetland about 1750ish) in their back garden?

Gulls, gulls, gulls....Gulls, gulls, gulls.

A very short safari along the beach today. There were hundreds of gulls rooting through the strandline after yesterdays storm...which leads nicely in to a gull masterclass.

I couldn't see any Mediterranean Gulls and wasn't really expecting to. (One spent all last winter at Bispham beach a little to the north and to the trained eye was quite easy to pick out from the sea wall without binoculars - is it there this year?) They can be told from Black Headed Gulls as they do actually have a black head (although in winter all that remains in both species is a dark smudge behind the eye). The bill is heavier and a brighter coral red, the legs too are brighter red. The back - mantle - is much paler than the silvery grey of a Black Headed Gull. This one is a second summer bird as it has black feathers in the wing tip, adults have pure white wingtips.

This one below is an adult Black Headed Gull moulting its 'black' head. You can see the bill is a darker shade of red, more burgundy than coral and finer too. A very easy way to identify Black Headed Gulls at all times of year, and in all plumages, is by the white leading edge to the outer wing and smokey underwing when seen in flight.

Here are two Lesser Black Backed Gulls, both adults. The mantle colour is not black (it is in Great Black Backed Gulls, which are obviously bigger and have pink legs) but a very dark charcoal grey. Legs are yellow. The preening bird in the foreground is a Herring Gull with pink legs and a silvery grey mantle, very close in shade to the Black Headed Gull's colour. The brown on the wings indicates it is a young bird second or third winter plumage. How do I know it's winter - they are standing on a frozen lake and there are dark flecks on the head and neck. Both Herring and Lesser Black Backs have this but 'Yellow Legged' Gulls do not making them stand out a little.

An adult Herring Gull has learn't how to raid the bird table at base camp; and yes it does take the peanuts left out for the smaller birds. The wind has to be in the right direction for it to get the necessary fine control for a landing and it doesn't half teeter if it has to land on the top of the fence. Sorry about the glare - the picture was taken through the kitchen window. You can still see the pink legs and pale mantle.

I don't have a picture of a Common Gull (that's Mew Gull to anyone the other side of the Atlantic - I hate to be pedantic, by why can't you lot call anything by its proper name?) yet but they are intermediate between the smaller Black Headed Gull and the larger Herring/Lesser Black Backed Gulls. Also their mantle colour is an intermediate slatey blue grey. So next time you're out and about in your outback have a good look at the gulls - there are plenty of different species to sort out - unless you are in Australia where most places only have two; big 'uns and little 'uns. Would you believe it Blackpool beach has more species of gull than a whole continent!!!!! (There's a Silver Gull...oh and another one...and another...and another...and another...ad infinitum. I've got some slides of one somewhere I'll have to dig 'em out and scan 'em.)

Be wary of the 'colour' of the mantle in bright sunlight as it an look different on adjacent birds if they are not facing the same way. The aspect causes shadows and shadowing making the same colour look different - an example of this can be seen in your own living room if it is painted the same colour on all walls - look in a corner - although the colour is the same it will appear to be different. The best light for assessing mantle colour is dull and flat as on a cloudy day when there are no shadows. (This is irrelevant in Australia where they are all Silver Gulls, or the other one - what the other one is depends whereabouts in Aus you are)

More gull masterclass coming up in the future...when we might look at some immature plumages and throw in the confusing melee of 'Yellow Legged' Gulls.

If any of you are wondering -I didn't manage to get the head from the Porpoise, the tide had removed it before I got to it. Some of the spine was still there and it really stunk...not a sniff of the skull - if you'll pardon the pun.

Here's a question to ponder during the long dark nights (of the northern hemisphere at least). Not quite the meaning of life; although I believe Ford Prefect et al have sussed that one, and far less important and worrying than 'why do wellingtons always suck your socks off?' But this........

I don't know about your neck of the woods but round here the gulls spend loads of time foraging round the rubbish dumps and following the plough in muddy fields so without access to a well known brand of washing powder how do they stay whiter than white? In fact the only time they show any trace of 'dirt' is when they have been out at sea and got contaminated with spilt oil; something that, thankfully, seems to be happening much less frequently now than in previous decades.

A second question (for UK readers only) is which is our commonest breeding gull...hint...it's not the Common Gull. Answers on a post card please...to coin a phrase.

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


Where to next? We still hope to connect with the very elusive Long Eared Owls sooner rather than later we hope.