A morning visit to Blacktoft to do a bit of 'ticking' apart from anything else. Bearded Tit is almost guaranteed here and it wasn't long before the pinging sound in the reedbed led me to three juveniles. At the Xerox hide, a single Spotted Redshank flew in and promptly went to sleep. Along with a Redshank and two Avocets, waders were in short supply. There's very little mud around the islands at the moment. I'd heard that a Ring-necked Duck was visiting the reserve and after a minute or so in the Singleton hide, I found it asleep well out in the lake, amongst a number of Mallard. Eventually (!) it woke up and swam to one of the islands. The Montagu's Harriers were busy this morning and two superb 'food passes' were seen. Although both birds remained distant, there was plenty of action to observe and they don't seem to tolerate the Marsh Harriers being in the area. The image below shows the size comparison between the two species quite well. A very enjoyable morning, still plenty of warblers singing, a pair of Great-crested Grebes had two chicks with them and Little Grebe chicks were also seen.
Female Montagu's Harrier The weather has barely improved so a visit to Clitheroe and a walk by the River Ribble with Ellie the dog was about as much as we managed in 'flaming June'.
It would be fair to say, my photos of the birds of Bowland have not really materialised. Instead, here are more images of our lovely mill apartment at Wolfen Mill. Having left Bolton Abbey yesterday afternoon, we made our way towards the Forest of Bowland area where we are to stay for a few days. In a beautifully restored mill (Wolfen Mill) close to the village of Chipping, I found myself relaxing on a decked area overlooking a pond and in front of me, a Spotted Flycatcher nesting in a tree. This promises to be a really good choice of accommodation with 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Jay and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers all sharing the same trees.
Today has been rather dismal with heavy drizzle continuing until mid-afternoon. We finally ventured out to walk another river starting at Dunsop bridge. The area was beautiful, even with the hills shrouded in mist and the drizzle still coming down. Oystercatchers and Curlews were calling constantly and a few Siskins flitted in the trees. In the village itself, I managed to find both Kingfisher and Dipper but in poor light and 1/30sec shutter speed, the results weren't brilliant. A Common Sandpiper and Grey Wagtails also passed through. An afternoon visit to Bolton Abbey walking the banks of the River Wharfe. This is a lovely site in the summer when the trees are in full leaf and on a warm day such as this, the midges were plentiful and providing food for the numerous flycatchers and wagtails along the riverbank. In the deciduous woodland, both Spotted and Pied Flycatchers seemed to be doing well at their breeding sites. Several superb black and white male Pieds were seen, but always too high up and too fast for a photograph! Females were a bit easier. The walk past the Strid and on towards Barden Bridge continued to produce birds, Treecreepers, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Blackcaps and Nuthatches. Close to Barden Bridge, I caught sight of a stunning male Redstart feeding in bushes and finally caught it, out in the open. The river held the usual Goosanders, although only females were seen. Grey Wagtails numbered about eight including some young. Amazingly, not one Dipper was seen on the 5-mile round trip. Barden Bridge Back at the car park, a Red Kite flew low through the valley - it had been a very pleasant outing, Ellie the dog enjoyed it too!
With the prospect of high temperatures and a sunny day as described by the BBC weatherman, I set off early in thick fog and 9C for a morning's visit to Tophill. On arriving, the fog had cleared to a great extent the temperature had risen to 10C but the skies remained grey. After reviewing the sightings board (a pair of Garganey being reported yesterday), I set off for South Marsh East. The work done there is reaping benefits already. Nesting and breeding is well underway, there are more Common Tern nests than I've seen before. The first Black-headed Gull chicks were strutting about on one of the islands and even a Lesser Black-backed Gull appears to be sitting. Amongst the Black-headed Gulls, I noticed four Little Gulls had roosted, all were sleeping most of the time and they remained until around 11-00am when only one stayed. There were most of the expected duck species present but no sign of the Garganey. Waders consisted of Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover and Redshank. I was hoping by now (10-00am) the skies would be bright for some Kingfisher photos but it was still grey as I made my way back to D res before going on to North Marsh. The skies over D res were full of Common Swifts this morning, with a few House Martins present also. On the reservoir wall, a pair of Yellow Wagtails were busily collecting insects, presumably feeding a brood not too far away. A Barn Owl crossed the reservoir on its way to North Scrub and a Cuckoo called from the same area. The Kingfisher was already on its perch as I entered the hide and carefully lifted the window flap. It seemed undeterred and stayed for about ten minutes, frequently catching and eating fish before carrying one off. With the usual compliment of warblers, woodpeckers and the like, another good visit to this favourite site.
Our recent stay in the Algarve allows us time to visit the Alentejo region which lies to the North and comprises mile after mile of undulating grassland and endless skies. A site we have visited before is the LPN Castro Verde Environmental Education Centre (www.lpn.pt). The centre lies about 10 minutes drive out of Castro Verde on the old road, running parallel with the IP2 to Beja. A signpost denotes the turn-off from the old road. The centre building boasts nesting Rollers and a short walk takes you to a ruined tower which holds nesting Lesser Kestrel, as well as Jackdaws, Crows, Roller and anything else that can get in! The Lesser Kestrel is a smart little falcon, only slightly smaller than our Common Kestrel. We had five in the air together and in the absence of Common Kestrel, the size difference is not obvious at all. It is the quicker wingbeat that gives the first indication and assuming your first view is one overhead, the whiteness of the underwing is really apparent. In fact, in the over-head sun which was searingly hot, the wings were almost translucent with fewer rows of dark spots. It would be good to have had clearer images when trying to illustrate a description, but in a 35C afternoon sun, that's not always possible. The adult male lacks the black spotting on the back and wing panel and instead, has a pale blue/grey wing panel and plain red/brown panel from the back to the flight feathers. The adult female has a thin moustachial stripe, as does Common Kestrel and not present in the male. Whilst watching the Lesser Kestrels in the vicinity of the old tower, flyovers appeared in the form of Montagu's Harrier, pale Booted Eagle and a juvenile and adult Griffon Vultures. The LPN Centre is an excellent site with several walks available on the grassland habitat. The visitor centre has informative displays and the staff are very helpful.
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