they've all landed

The previous posts were leading up to this I guess. All the migrants have suddenly landed on my patch. Initially the Chifchaffs, Blackcaps and Goldcrests have been around for a week or two while the Willow Warblers have finally landed. 

Those of a less robust constituition and do not want to see nature in the raw may prefer to leave the room now.

The first brood of Mallards appeared and I would think on what was their first swim. Seven young with mum, but it seems two became separated more or less straight away and were hanging around with five juvenile males. A Grey Heron didn't need a second invitation. While a bit distant these record shots illustrate nature in all it's detail. Then there were six.

I came across four Willow Warblers in the morning and four in the afternoon. Plus possible others as they were fairly mobile. They are seen on exactly the same stretch of habitat and walk I do regularly but only one male chiffchaff is singing. The light is always against me and the scrub quite dense so 'picking' them out can be problematic. Again not necessarily all the same bird and one appears to have a mite investation or a problem with its lower leg/ankle/feet.

Anyhoo... the Willow Warblers have landed and this fine male Blackcap was singing and when I returned a little later, he had company with a female Blackcap in the same location... the very same location I had seen them at last year.

A singing male Blackcap, where do they get their names?

yahoooowl

I've certainly been howling, not just at the moon lately (have you seen the size of it – if you have you've done well with all the cloud cover we've had), but as well as howling at the moon, also been howling at the internet provider, at my web browsers, note plural now reinstalled (having now lost all my ten years of bookmarks), howling with cabin fever with all the rain we've had (and thinking of the wildlife) and a confirmed first for me, which got the loudest howl, 'yahoooowl'; remembering I haven't been at this birding too long.

Back in June, I chose the best forecast day of the week for a trip up to the Trough (of Bowland), to an area I've been visiting since not long after Eng er land won the World Cup (at football, 1966 for you non sport fans).

Anyway, it was atrocious...

A couple of Mippits on the way up, a Buzzard and a distant raptor unidentified, a Kestrel and a male Linnet. I was hoping I might photograph some Sand Martins and I did but they are all rubbish (photos not the Sand Martins which were great viewing). No sign of any Pied Flycatchers, two Grey Wagtail, a number of Common Sandpipers on the beck, calling Curlew and Oystercatchers and a Willow Warbler. A male Common Redstart, my confirmed first, clouds sitting on top of Tower Lodge and surrounding hills. I bumped into the 'two Bills' and was delighted to share their company – I wish them well with the Bowland Raptor Group.

All in all a pretty dismal day that I thoroughly enjoyed!

(as you can see the photos are grim and nothing more than a record, and perhaps of interest to those of you who know the area well)

Is it just me, or have I missed something? I know I have been away for a day or two, but 'Blogger' appears to have gone backwards... typical Google, 'improvements' – that aren't!

Oh and some numptie decided to come and park and sit next to my motor parked in a secluded spot, when I had disappeared out of sight, he couldn't see me but I could see him – I returned fairly quickly to the car – you can't be too careful, decidely dodgy! Maybe he was just another birder... I don't think so! Just bear it in mind when out and about.

Oh and don't ask me why, I don't know why, but I chose not to use the accelerator from just above Calder Vale and 'coasted' (it's automatic) all the way down to the A6, only stopping at junctions and slowly using the 'gas' pedal again where necessary, mostly doing about 30mph and only braking once for a tight turn. I don't know how much petrol I saved, but it was an interesting experiment. (I wouldn't recommend 'coasting' without the engine switched on, everything is going to seize up, if you know what I mean, oil pump, assisted brakes, assisted steering etc). I spent most of my life racing from one meeting to another, not any more... it didn't do me any good!

Meadow Pipits (on heather, despite their name!)

looking er, west, you can see my house from here , or one I used to live in,
(well not far off, just to the right and below the water tower at Warbrck Hill, just off frame, adjacent to Bispham Marsh)

cloud cover on Grisedale Fell and Hawthornthwaite Fell

incoming Sand Martin

bouquet of barbed wire and Spotted Flycatcher

Willow Warbler

Common Sandpiper

typical vista, Common Sandpiper on the beck

Male Common Redstart... yahoooowl, my confirmed first

I was just getting back in the car, when I spotted this beauty

above Tower Lodge!

Meadow Pipit

'canyatellwhatitisyet'? The sun came out for literally two minutes, ALL DAY! Sand Martin with fecal sac.

archetypal image of the Trough at 'lights out'. Goodnight all.

A mixed lot

I may be gone for sometime soon... toys and pram with service provider, in the meantime;

For once I'm glad it's raining, on several counts really, water is so precious and we take it for granted but the fish will be glad of it, as will anything that grows and I can start catching up on all the jobs I have neglected, including posts on this blog. As a regular visitor, you will know sometimes the posts are for my benefit and to some extent I suppose this is, nothing earth-moving I am afraid but a place to post some images and keep a record of things, gives me some clue as I can't remember what I had for breakfast.

The local damselflies have been late this year, perhaps that cold wet spell we had in April, go out at the right time and I can count 18 blackbirds or more, all worming. Blackcaps have been singing but seeing them has proved very tricky but I managed a male out in the open. A Green Veined White and one that isn't! 

There are a large number of breeding Wrens hereabouts and again I caught this one singing out in the open for a split second. The male blackcap and wren were in the same location and while waiting for them this Scorpion fly landed in front of me and it seemed daft not to take a photo (at least I think it's a Scorpion Fly).

Again I am blessed with a number of Song Thrush hereabouts and they did used to nest in next doors garden, but no longer. I was concerned they had been 'disturbed' but in the last few weeks I have come across as many as four at any one time, like the blackbirds, out 'worming'.

There have been the odd sighting of the bullfinch and nothing more than that and an illustration of how difficult they are to see, let alone capture (and so you know I'm not making it up). The Mute Swan simply because I was shocked when processing to see how 'black' the surroundings were and had it not been the vegetation top left it is almost 'artificial'.

A picture of a Chiffchaff which has been singing for a month or more and driving me nuts, you can never see it and similarly a Willow Warbler for comparison, although the scale is not the same, but you can se the longer primary projection on the Willow Warbler.

And a quick snap of a female blackcap as I didn't want to disturb it as I moved on.

Red damselfly, late this year

Blackbird worming

A Green Veined White

and one that isn't

one of the many trogyldytes trogyldytes
(I just love the name)

Male blackcap in the open

Scorpion fly

Song Thrush out worming

Male and Female Bullfinch

a disappearing male bullfinch... one day!

left, Chiffchaff, right Willow Warbler
(note longer primary projection on WW)
not to same scale/proportions, WW is bigger

female blackcap with food

The more observant of you might have notived I began this blog stating it was raining, well it isn't now... how long it has taken me to get this post up here!

Duelling Pieds

Nearly did it again then with 'Duelling Banjo's' (which film? answers on a postcard please).

On 'walkabout' I came across two Pied Flycatchers singing (duelling) at either end of a small wood and as they were my first it seemed rude not to stop and study. The photos are really only record images as I don't have ANY and pushing the limits for publishing on a blog. I was 'well made up'.

While I was busy watching the Pied Flycatchers, three Pied Wagtails decided to have a barney (duelling) and I was left with this one, erect on the wall wondering where the opponents had gone, I had to smile as they'd dropped off the wall, still scrapping. What, where, who what?

I've included the image of the Wheatear, far from being a great photo of the bird, I rather liked the concrete and natural vegetation and the colours of the bird itself.

As the Pennines reach skyward from the west Lancashire river plain I spotted the odd bird flitting about and finding a suitable place to stop, I was disappointed it was a male Chaffinch, then a couple of Linnets and surprised to see a Willow Warbler. Excellent.

Pied Flycatcher

Pied Flycatcher

Pied Flycatcher

Pied Flycatcher

what, where, who, what? Pied Wgtail left wondering what the fight was all about

matching colours, Wheatear

male Chaffinch

Linnet

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

What a dunce!

You may recall my attempt at 'finches' and failing miserably with the Goldfinch, well it hasn't got much better – quite simply I lose the eye in the black around the bill and when I do hold the eye the overall effect is washed out. Not good!

Goldfinch

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker – I liked the blurred foreground foliage

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker... hanging on is easy!

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

 MY First 2011Swallow on the Fylde

I popped down to Wallend, near the River Ribble where there is a piece of Preston City Council owned land awaiting development (near Motor City) as Neil Spiers had given me the heads up on a number of warblers thereabouts. A Willow Warbler was singing from high in a tree by the road when I arrived and others off in the brush. Singing Blackcap and Wren were seen before I picked up this Willow Warbler, deep in the willow and the exposure was problematic. Not the best pics in the world and thereafter I popped down to Newton Marsh.

All a bit quiet apart from 40 or so hirundines flying around. The odd Swallow and certainly House Martins; a devil to photograph, keep up with and get anything in focus as I found when I got home and downloaded. Shocked and stunned and like a dunce I didn't realise this and probably other Sand Martins were amongst them. I remember catching this bird overhead as it was catching insects quite high up and I remember 'following' it but against the sky the detail was lost on me through the viewfinder. Only later processing these images, and they are adjusted (and still rubbish) it is easy to see a Sand Martin. Knucklehead!

I photographed a Swallow sat on a wire as it was my first of the year hereabouts, although others seen 'upt 'trough'. And a few blossom images to brighten up an otherwise monochrome post.