That Purple Patch

Those Purple Sandpipers

After a dubious start to the year I retraced my steps a few days later ... only to be thwarted by the weather again, this time fog! The annoying thing was you could see the sun was out and blue sky IF you could get past the fog.

I called at Fairhaven to see the female Long-tailed Duck which I found at the back of the island but the fog was so bad you couldn't see across the lake. I managed a couple of record shots and watched the duck go about its business, preening before starting to dive.

Overhead I heard Whopper Swans passing and a second group were so low I managed a 'Swan in fog' photo.

I headed north to Blackpool, indeed to North Shore in search of the Purple Sandpiper. After my earlier visit and knowing the beach reasonably well to be all sand, I was intrigued to know what kept these Purple Sandpiper at this location and what and how they were feeding.

I'll keep it brief, FOG! (which is why the images are a bit dubious).

I arrived and the fog wasn't too bad and I managed a flight shot of the Oystercatchers before the fog rolled in even thicker than before, the image of the Tower is just as taken, untouched but no Purple Sandpipers.

I did my beached whale impressions and as I sat up, there in front on me, two Purple Sandpipers!

RESULT!

Femal Long-Tailed Duck

Whooper Swan overhead in the fog

Oystercatcher

Blackpool Tower in the fog

Two Purple Sandpipers in the fog

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 few bits and pieces

Over a month ago I spent a quiet hour with a Dipper up in Bowland, unfortunately I chose the wrong time of day and the sun was against me, while I took a number of photographs all are in shadow, gloomy and frankly not very good. Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed watching these engaging birds. Wonderful. While I was there a male mallard came along not twenty feet away and started feeding underwater. Mad!

I'm hopeless at most things (including birds), become dyslexic and type all sorts of nonsense, so if you do see any errors or mistakes, please do advise.

On the way out of Bowland, the sun had set and the grouse were just settling down for the evening and there was quite a lot of activity (where's my twelve bore?), I managed to catch one male and then surprised myself by capturing two males together. I do need to practice my Grouse call!

What I think is a Green-Veined White pigged off a male Orange Tip by not disappearing when 'attacked'; an early start at Newton Marsh was quiet apart from the regulars, except 32 Whimbrel that didn't hang around too long unfortunately.

As for the Oystercatchers, again I don't know what it is about these birds – were they a Friday afternoon job, something go wrong in the planning or somebody having a 'larf? When you look at them, they do look 'odd' but great.

Dipper in shadow

Male Mallard feeding

male Red Grouse

two male Red Grouse

Green Veined White

Lapwing

Redshank

Shelduck

Whimbrel

Oystercatchers

Newton Marsh – Grey and 'orrible

weird or what – juvenile Coots 

Shoveler, male female and fence wire, as always in the way

Oystercatchers, note hoppalong on the left

Male Garganey, never comes anywhere near

Oystercatcher and Shelduck

Juvenile Shelduck

Male Garganey

Male Garganey and Shoveler for size comparison

Oystercatcher and male Garganey for size comparison

Broken leg!

As above, severely broken leg

A number of visits to Newton Marsh and not much to report, enough said in the photos and captions probably.

Pied Wagtails a-go-go

Late afternoon and a gap in proceedings, the need for fresh air set me off in search of a bank where sand martins were at roost, 'not far away'! Needless to say I missed it from the directions provided by a friend... my fault obviously. So before I knew where I was, Abbeystead beckoned. The open moors and barely a car about , the silence only pierced by calling Curlew... of which there were many throughout the evening. The bright sunshine of the coastal plain disappeared as I climbed the side of the Pennines and indeed light rain greeted me at my first stop, to see what was sat on the road ahead, an adult Pied Wagtail.

I cannot recall my last visit to Abbeystead, if indeed there ever was one, as I have always by-passed this location on the road to Marshaw and Dunsop Bridge, so I didn't know where I was. Down by the river I came across a Spotted Flycatcher having a bath in rocks and pools adjacent the main stream, along with a male chaffinch and then a song thrush on the tractor track. A female blackbird and an Oystercatcher in the field. It was so overcast I only managed 'record' photographs. (In the voice of Michae Caine, "did you know... Dunsop Bridge is one of the locations that claims to be the centre of England". I bet you did).

Above Abbeystead there was a number of Curlew in a field but I couldn't slow down sufficient or stop to count numbers, about 20 I reckon. Over a cattle grid and there was space to pull over and I was able to pick up a singing skylark high above along with three meadow pipits on the open moorland. Eventually they joined me alongside the road, close, but never quite close enough.

On the way home on the Abbeystead–Scorton Road the noise from calling Oystercatchers was at one point deafening! I came across a field with over 30 pied wagtails, primarily juveniles! They were everywhere. 3 or 4 at a time on the fence, in a tree, down by the stream, on a wall or collectively in a field. Interestingly I only really saw 2 adults but there may have been many more.

As I walked the road using the stone wall 'as cover', an adult appeared to keep a close eye on me. Down by the stream there was a Grey Wagtail and 2 Common Sandpipers, only poor record shots in poor light. The fields were full of calling Oystercatchers and a few Lapwing keeping an eye on proceedings. I don't think I have ever seen so many rabbits hereabouts. I think they must know the law, that shooting within a given distance of the Queens Highway is forbidden... drive slowly, they are everywhere. Must be carrion heaven.

The light had been poor and the sun peeped out briefly under the cloud cover just as it was setting, before disappearing again. Needless to say two Oystercatchers sat conveniently close by, only on the wrong side of the road, being 'backlit', so all detail was obscured. Interestingly one was carrying leg irons, but no chance of seeing any detail. Then further along another 'viewpoint' a lapwing was in close proximity... which seemed odd, so I didn't hang about and drew off in the car onto the highway to be confronted with 'junior' crossing the road, about ten days old I reckon. That explains it!

Then dropping back down off the moor the sun provided an interesting sky in the west (well it would wouldn't it!). The solitude and peace and quite apart from the birds calling was appreciated.

'Video' isn't great, probably because I don't know what I'm doing, but I do hope it brings some 'life' to this nonsense.

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