The Right Decision

At last a morning without wind and rain so I decided to try my luck not far away. A bright, frosty start saw me head east and over Stalmine Moss towards Pilling. 

Pilling Moss

In the half-light I saw a Sparrowhawk glide slowly along the road ahead of me two before it turned a sharp right through farm buildings. Near the next farm two Buzzards flew from roadside telegraph poles and then landed on different ones further along. Leaning out of the car window and at ISO3200 there was no way a photo would turn out well. 

Buzzard

Luckily the camera was still on the passenger seat as I rounded the next corner where a Barn Owl had interrupted its hunting for a look around. I grabbed a few pictures before the owl continued on its path across the fields and then out of sight. Again the picture is at ISO3200 and far from ideal. 

Barn Owl

I stopped at Gulf Lane where I found just 25 or so Linnets on the set-aside. It’s a count well down on recent ones and it could be that the hundreds of Linnets of recent weeks have moved on. Andy is back from Spain today to be greeted by the news of reduced numbers plus a not so good weather forecast of rain and wind to frustrate our plans to catch more Linnets. 

At Sand Villa and Braides Farm I combined counts to give approximates of 800 Lapwing, 700 Golden Plover and 170 Curlew but 12 Whooper Swan, 4 Teal, 2 Buzzard and 1 Merlin were accurate enough. I make it 34 Golden Plover in the picture below but it is very difficult counting a fast flying flock twenty or thirty times that size, especially when they finish off by landing in a distant rough grass field where they mix with several hundred Lapwings. 

 Golden Plover

The tide was in at Conder Green but it didn’t matter too much as bird numbers there are much reduced now that autumn is gone. Highlight was a good count of 190 + Teal in perhaps one of the best local areas to study our smallest UK duck. Otherwise - 22 Redshank, 15 Snipe, 10 Little Grebe, 4 Goosander, 2 Shelduck and 2 Little Egret. 

Alongside the farm buildings the warm sunshine encouraged a few Starlings into winter warbling as half a dozen Goldfinch fed on seed heads and the usual Pied Wagtail searched the tideline. 

Starling

A mooch around Moss Lane and Jeremy Lane revealed a mixed flock of circa 100 Fieldfare and 30 Redwing plus several Blackbirds which may or may not be migrants. As might be expected, the thrushes were concentrated in roadside hawthorn bushes, from where they scattered far and wide as cars rushed past but soon returned to gorge on the bright red berries. I found a little spot to wait for them to return but couldn’t get a Redwing to pose, especially as their number was quite low. 

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

It’s not looking good for weekend birding or ringing. But you know what? Weather forecasters are just like pollsters and very often get their predictions totally wrong. 

In that case, log in soon for more news and views from .

Linking today to World Bird Wednesday, Anni's birding and Eileen's Saturday Blog.