Birds in History and Culture - Cetti's Warbler

Cetti's Warbler (RSPB)

Cetti's Warbler is another avian eponym which was named after Francesco Cetti (1726 - 1178).  Cetti was a Jesuit priest who lived and worked on the island of Sardinia.

Cetti made the best early natural history study of the island, the second volume of which was devoted to birds, including the rusty-coloured warbler which bears his name.

The Cetti's Warbler (pronounced chetty) is a small, rather nondescript, skulking bird which can prove very difficult to see. It usually makes its presence known with loud bursts of song and the first glimpse will probably be of a dark, rather stocky warbler with short wings and a full, rounded tail, diving for cover. It is one of the UK's most recent colonists, first breeding here in 1973.

Cetti's Warblers like reedbeds and damp areas close to wetlands such as at the Wigan Flashes and Leighton Moss RSPB.  They can be heard (and sometimes seen) all year round and they eat insects and larvae.

Session 8 - 22nd November 2012

Today's session began with a recap on the species seen during last week's fieldtrip to Morecambe and Leighton Moss RSPB - the total count of birds seen and heard was 77 species. We then had a look at some photos taken the trip using last week's report posting.

Because we had heard a Cetti's Warbler along the Public Causeway at Leighton Moss RSPB, Peter gave a handout on the origin of it's name.  For more information look here in the 'Birds in History and Culture' section.

Great Black-backed, Herring, Black-headed, Common and Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Following this we took our first look at identifying Gulls in a little more detail. This can be a very difficult topic particularly with the different plumages of 1st and 2nd winter birds as well as adults in breeding and non-breeding plumage.

With this in mind, Peter decided that we would concentrate only on distinguishing adult Gulls for now at least. We started by splitting the Gulls into those with hoods and those without hoods when in full breeding plumage.

Starting with the Gulls with hoods, there are three main species that are commonly seen in Britain in winter:

• Black-headed Gull
• Mediterranean Gull
• Little Gull

The Black-headed Gull is the most common of these three and so will be used as the yardstick for comparison with other Gulls.  The bird's bare part colouration (BPC) including the eye is the best way of distinguishing them as well as the wing pattern.

Gulls with hoods have red legs and bills and the darkness of the red intensifies throughout the winter and spring, changing from sealing wax red, through blood red to almost black. These gulls also show a vestige of the dark hood in winter in the form of a 'ear' patch or smudge.

Next time we will look at the gulls without hoods commonly found in Britain over winter which include:

• Herring Gull
• Common Gull
• Lesser Black-backed Gull
• Greater Black-backed Gull
• Yellow-legged Gull
• Kittiwake

Peter then gave us a handout on the Morecambe tides tables for 2013, which will be very useful for finding the high tides in each month next year.  On another handout, Peter pointed out that there is a high tide at Marshside RSPB on 15 December at 10am and another at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB on the following day at 10:30am. Guided walks by the RSPB will be taking place on both days at a cost of £3 for members and £5 for non-members.

Here's an online version of the Morecambe tide tables which shows today's high and low tides.  If you click on the table it will take you to the full website where you can look at future tides at Morecambe and indeed anywhere in Britain:

If you want to see the tides for a few local North West locations, go to lower part of the Calendar page.

Next we looked at a handout on the Dee Estuary which separates part of England from Wales and which is one of the UK's most important wintering sites for wildfowl and waders.  The mouth of the river has vast areas of sand and mudflats, with salt marsh dominating the landscape to the south. It holds internationally important numbers of 12 species.

Good locations to see birds include Burton Mere Wetlands RSPSB, Inner Marsh Farm and Denhall Lane, Parkgate, King's Gap and Red Rocks at Hoylake, Hilbre Island and Leasowe Lighthouse.

It is very important to know the tide times and heights when coastal birdwatching and it's best to plan a visit to coincide with a rising or falling tide, at least an hour or so on either side.  And if visiting Hilbre Island it is essential to know the tides as it comes in very quickly and the island is cut off for six hours or so.

The target birds in this area include: Bewick's and Whooper Swans, Pink-footed and Brent Geese, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Hen Harrier, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon, Water Rail, Grey Plover, Jack and Common Snipe, Bar-tailed Godwit, Short-eared Owl, Rock and Water Pipits and Snow and Reed Buntings.

Here's the current tide times for the Dee Estuary:


Again, click on the table to go the full website to see future tide times.

Finally we had another look at the topical subject of Waxwings which have been showing in fairly large numbers across Britain during much of November.  Peter gave us another interesting extract from the Yorkshire Post about the current influx of these birds from Siberia and Scandinavia.

Finally, here's a superb Waxwing shot by Alan taken in Salford earlier this week:

Session 7 - 15th November 2012

This week's session was a full day fieldtrip to Morecambe Bay and Leighton Moss RSPB in Lancashire. There was a high tide at about 11:30am and so we had hopes of the birds being pushed inland giving us closer views than usual. After a fairly misty and murky start in Manchester, it turned out to be a wonderful sunny November day in north-west Lancashire.

Curlew, Oystercatchers, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gull and Knot

Some members of the class shared cars and drove up together from Whitefield Library whilst others made their own way there. We all met up on the pay-and-display car park near the stone jetty at Morecambe at about 10:45am, where we started the day with some good views of Oystercatchers, Knot, Redshank, four Curlews, a couple of Herring Gulls, some Black-headed and Herring Gulls and later a single Shelduck.

Same again with the addition of a Shelduck and some Herring Gulls

We then walked along the promenade southwards towards the pier in search of Rock Pipits which Peter had seen earlier in the week.  Unfortunately we didn't see any but we did come across a small flock of Turnstones at the water's edge on the way to the pier.  For a short while there was also a single Redshank in with the group.

Turnstone - one of the few not hunkered down

A single Redshank amongst the Turnstones

A small group of Turnstones

As there was nothing much about near the pier, we decided to move up the coast to Morecambe 
Yacht Club where there is an excellent platform on stilts which is great for viewing the Bay.  From here we could see some male Eider Duck and Red-breasted Mergansers a short distance out to sea as well as more Oystercatchers, Curlew and Lesser Black-backed Gulls along a breakwater.

Black-headed Gulls

Female and Male Goldeneyes

Female Red-breasted Mergansers 

Male Red-breasted Merganser

Pink-footed Goose flypast ?

We then went in search of Scaup along the stretch of shoreline near the Broadway Hotel.  Eight or so Scaup have been seen here fairly regularly but today was a no-show for us.  However there were some good close views of male and female Red-breasted Mergansers here as well as a male and female pair of Goldeneye. There were also some much closer views of Oystercatchers and Curlew at one of the smaller breakwaters.

Oystercatchers roosting along with a Curlew and a Common Gull

Curlew

Herring Gull amongst the Oystercatchers

Curlew standing on one leg

A nice little combo !

Oystercatchers going for a dip in the sea

Our final stop at Morecambe was in a small car park at the northern end of the Bay. Whilst eating our sandwiches we had some great views of two female Eider Duck, a single Little Egret, some Black-tailed Godwits, many Lapwing, a few Wigeon, a single Pochard some more Redshank and a lot more Oystercatchers with a couple of Mute Swans flying past us. The light was wonderful here.

Little Egret in amongst the Oycs

Black-tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers, Redshank and a Little Egret 

Mute Swan flypast

Herring Gull, Eider Duck, Black-tailed Godwit and yet more Oycs

Two female Eider Ducks

A male Wigeon separating two females

After lunch we made our way up the coast through Hest Bank and Carnforth (home of the famous railway station featured in the 1945 film 'Brief Encounter') to Leighton Moss RSPB.  Our first stop was at the Eric Morecambe salt marsh hide which has been newly refurbished - well completely rebuilt in actual fact.  Unfortunately there was very little about here and the hazy afternoon sun made viewing difficult.  We did see a Little Egret, two distant Greenshank and perhaps a Spotted Redshank as well as some Teal and a single Snipe.

Female Teal

After this we made our way to the Public Causeway at Leighton Moss in the hope of seeing some Bearded Tits.  We gathered in the usual place by the grit trays and although we did hear them 'pinging' once or twice, the birds didn't show for us today.  However, on leaving the grit trays we got our first brief but distinctive call of a Cetti's Warbler.

Male Shoveler on the edge of the reed bed at the Public Hide

On the way to the Public Hide we heard a Water Rail squealing like a piglet and also a very tame Robin was posing for photographs and even came a sat on one lady's hand.  From the hide we could see Shovelers, Mallards, Coots, Moorhens, Cormorants, Pochard, Mute Swans and Gadwall.

One of several very tame Robins along the Causeway

On the way back from the hide there were still no Bearded Tits showing, but the Cetti's Warbler let rip again with a really loud series of calls - we couldn't see it anywhere though.

Cormorants, one hanging its wings out to dry

From here we went back to the feeding station behind the RSPB Visitor Centre, stopping on the way to see perhaps 50 to 80 Siskins along with a few Goldfinch high up in one of the Alder trees along the route. At the feeding station there was a Marsh Tit and a Great Spotted Woodpecker as well as the usual ducks.

Siskin in Alder tree

It was now about 4pm and the sun was going down, so we split into two groups for the final event of the day - the Starling roost. One group went into Lillian's Hide whilst the other group went back to the two benches along the high point of the woodland walk on the way to the Causeway from the Visitor Centre.  Some Blue Tits and a Coal Tit could be heard in the trees behind us as we looked across the reserve from this panoramic vantage point and quite a crowd had gathered by now.

A male Marsh Harrier hunting

After waiting in anticipation of the roost, both groups were rewarded with great views of this amazing natural spectacle.  The Starlings seem to appear in smaller groups from various directions and meet up to form a swirling smoke-like mass of birds over the water.

They would twist and turn a while before diving down in to the reed beds.  Whilst we were here, we also got a distant but nice view of a male Marsh Harrier and heard another Water Rail squealing as if someone had stepped on its foot.

There were also a couple of male Pheasants in the field just in front of us and nine Cormorants roosting in a tree on the far side of the water.

Cormorants roosting in a tree

The Starling roost probably lasted around half an hour with periods of activity and then lulls and when there seemed to be no more birds flying in, we decided to call it a day.

It was a fantastic way to end what had been a great day out.  The total count of birds either seen or heard was 77 species for the day - Wow! Thanks must go to Peter for arranging the fieldtrip and to the drivers for the transportation.

Session 6 - 8th November 2012

The week's session began by finalising the arrangements for next week's full day fieldtrip to Morecambe Bay and Leighton Moss. A party of cars will be leaving from Whitefield Library at 9:30am and several people will be making their own way there to meet on the pay-and-display car park near the stone jetty in Morecambe at about 10:45am.

We went on to have a quick preview of next week's lesson plan, which specified that the habitat would be:

• Morecambe Bay - coastal seashore at high tide with the main species being waders, seaduck and gulls and particular target birds of Eider, Scoter, Scaup, Bar-tailed Godwit and perhaps even Diver
• Leighton Moss coastal hides - saltmarsh with the main species being waders, wildfowl and raptors and particular target birds of Spotted Redshank, Red-breasted Merganser and Merlin
• Leighton Moss RSPB - freshwater lagoons, reedbeds and woodland with the main species being wildfowl and woodland birds and particular target birds of Marsh Tit, Bearded Tit, Bittern and Marsh Harrier as well as the early evening Starling roost.

These coastal wetland environments provide the opportunity to see the largest numbers of species, from wildfowl to buntings. Britain is one of the best places in Europe to see such a diversity due to it's mid-latitude geographical location.

Next we completed our Individual Learning Plans which monitor our progress so far by writing down exactly what Peter told us to!

The main session carried on from last week on the fascinating topic of 'Irruptive Migration', due to the fact that this year is already looking like it may be a good time to see some birds which don't always arrive in Britain in large numbers.  Irruptive migrants are largely dependent on one food source or at least a very limited range of seeds, and if the crops fail in their breeding grounds abroad, the birds can travel long distances to find new sources. Due to this, the birds often arrive in Britain earlier than usual and often in large numbers.

Last week we considered Bramblings and other finches and this week we looked at Waxwings in a little more detail because seven had been reported locally in Barrow near Whalley on 7th November. Peter gave us a map of the location where the birds have been seen, with some ideas about where to look (and park). By visiting the East Lancashire Ornithologists' Club’ website, we later discovered that whilst we were here in Whitefield, 23 Waxwings had appeared in the same location.

The session was finished off by Peter asking us for some target birds for next week. These were:

• Godwits, particularly Bar-tailed Godwits
• Merlin
• Grey Plover

See you in Morecambe next week!

Birds in Focus - Godwits

There are two species of Godwit to be found in the UK:

• Black-tailed Godwit
• Bar-tailed Godwit

Black-tailed Godwits are large wading birds. In summer, they have bright orangey-brown chests and bellies, but in winter they’re more greyish-brown. 

Black-tailed Godwits (RSPB)

Their most distinctive features are their long beaks and legs, and the black and white stripes on their wings. Female Black-tailed Godwits are bigger and heavier than the males, with a noticeably longer beak (which helps the sexes to avoid competing for food with each other). 

They’re very similar to Bar-tailed Godwits, which breed in the Arctic. However, Black-tailed Godwits have longer legs, and Bar-tailed Godwits don’t have striped wings. As the names suggest, the tail patterns are different, too.

Black-tailed Godwit (Martyn Jones)

They are found on estuaries and coastal lagoons are the best places to look for black-tailed godwits at almost any time of year, though they also visit wetland sites inland. Marshside RSPB at Southport is a good place to get closeup views. We also have a small, vulnerable breeding population, on a select few wet meadows and marshes; they migrate to west Africa for winter. Birds from Iceland spend winter in the UK.

It’s easiest to see Black-tailed Godwits from late summer through winter. They eat insects, worms and snails, but also some plants, beetles, grasshoppers and other small insects during the breeding season.

Bar-tailed Godwits (RSPB)

Bar-tailed Godwits are a long-billed, long-legged wading bird which visit UK shores for the winter. Most usually they are seen in their grey-brown 'spangled' winter plumage, whereas birds in spring may show their full rich chestnut breeding plumage. In flight they show no white on the wing unlike the Black-tailed Godwit.

In winter they look very similar in colour and size to the Curlew, except for the bill shape which is straight with a slight upcurve. They eat worms, snails and insects.

In flight a white patch shows stretching from the rump up the back, narrowing to a point. They breed in the Arctic of Scandinavia and Siberia and hundreds of thousands of them pass through the UK, on their way further south, or stop off here for the winter.

The largest numbers of Bar-tailed Godwits occur on large estuaries - the Wash, Thames, Ribble, Dee, Humber, Solway and Forth estuaries, and Lough Foyle for example. They prefer sandy beaches in coastal locations compared to the Black-tailed Godwits which are usually found on inland waters. The highest numbers are seen in Britain between November and February, with numbers starting to build in July and August and falling off in March and April. Small numbers of non-breeding birds can be seen throughout the summer.

This video was taken a Marshside RSPB in June 2012 and shows Black-tailed Godwits (some in the remains of summer plumage) feeding in front of the Sandgrounders Hide at about 1 minute 15 secs.  It also features a Ringed Plover, a noisy colony of breeding Black-headed Gulls and some Avocets.

Birds in Focus - Merlin

Merlin (RSPB)

The Merlin is a compact, dashing falcon with a relatively long, square-cut tail and rather broad-based pointed wings, shorter than those of other falcons. At about 11 inches (28cm) long, it's the UK's smallest raptor (bird of prey) and its small size enables it to hover and hang in the breeze as it pursues its prey.

Merlins are built for aerial chases and has more bulk and muscle than the Kestrel, a bird with which it is easily confused. However, it has broader-based wings and its wingbeat tends to be rapid with occasional glides, wings held close to the body.

The tail is also shorter than a Kestrel's with a rung pattern rather than a black terminal band. Kestrels don't need so much power for hovering and dropping on their prey, whereas the Merlin is a stronger bird eating mainly small birds.  Along with the male Sparrowhawk (to which it also bears some resemblance) and Kestrel, the Merlin can be regarded as part of a 'triple' species.

The place to look for Merlins is lowland and coastal areas where they are often found sitting on posts or stones - indeed the old name for Merlins is 'Stone Falcon'. The adult male bird is a blue-grey colour with an orange-buff chest and a tail with a black terminal band.  Female and immature Merlins are a uniform dark brown colour with darker bands or 'rungs' around the tail.  In flight there is no colour contrast between the 'hand' and the 'arm'.

Merlin in flight (RSPB)

In winter the UK population increases as most of the Icelandic breeding birds migrate to our warmer climate. Although recovering from a population crash in the late 20th century it is still on the Amber List.

The UK breeding population of Merlin is at the south-west extremity of its European range, and is thinly scattered across upland moorland from south-west England north to Shetland.

In winter birds leave upland areas and come down to inland lowland and coastal areas. They can be seen in almost any open country but are often found near coasts. They can be found at roosts in reedbeds, bogs and on heaths, often with Hen Harriers.

The birds are present all year round leaving their upland breeding areas between August and October, when Northern European birds also arrive here.  In summer the RSPB reserves at Forsinard, Highland and Trumland (Orkney) have Merlins. In winter they are regularly seen at: Elmley Marshes, Kent; Northward Hill, Kent; Martin Mere, Lancs; Marshside, Merseyside; Pulborough Brooks, Sussex; and Blacktoft Sands, Yorkshire.

Session 5 - 1st November 2012

This week's session started off with a short discussion about next week's full day fieldtrip.  Although we would have liked to go to Marshside for the high tide on Thursday 15th November, it seems that the RSPB are running a 'Big Tide Walk' on that day and there would be potentially a lot of people about as well as competition for limited parking places.

Therefore it was decided to go to Morecambe and Leighton Moss RSPB to look for waders and sea ducks such as Eider, Scaup and Scoter as well as watching the evening Starling roost.  Click here to download a map of Leighton Moss.

We then had a brief discussion about what had been seen since the last session with Jean, Mike, Alan, and me all contributing. Jean had seen what she thought was a male Hen Harrier flying over rough pasture in the Bollington area of the Peak District and after she had described it as pale grey with black wing tips, Peter confirmed her identification.  Mike had seen a number of species in the Nottingham area including Sherwood Forest.  Alan had been on a trip to Spurn Head with the Bolton RSPB and I had been to Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby, Bempton and Flamborough Head on a three day break with my wife, where we had seen Divers for the first time.

After this we looked at a handout on the Ribble Estuary, which is one of the most important places for waders in the whole country as well as being home for seven of the twelve species of British Raptors in winter.

On the south side of the Ribble Estuary the key places to watch birds are at Marshside RSPB, Birkdale beach, Crossens Marsh and Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB, where up to 50 species can be seen in winter if all these sites are taken in.  Click here for an information leaflet.

One of the main topics of this session was 'Irruptive Migrations', particularly of finches and other birds such as:

• Brambling
• Crossbill
• Siskin
• Redpoll
• Waxwing
• Twite

We then went on to look at which birds we might expect to see on our fieldtrip to the north-west coast next week.  High tide will be at about 12 noon and this will push the birds close to the shore line, making them easier to see.  At Morecambe there is a sandy shoreline with salt water and we hope there will be waders including Knot, Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Grey Plover and Bar-tailed Godwits (which prefer salt to fresh water) as well as seaduck such as Eider, Scaup and Scoter.

At Leighton Moss, the hides on the salt marshes should have more or less the same waders plus Little Egrets, Red-breasted Merganser, Spotted Redshank and perhaps a raptor or two such as Marsh Harrier, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon. The Great White Egret might even be about somewhere.

We spent a little time looking at the features of some of these birds through a series of handouts, mainly concentrating on two seaduck, Scaup and Scoter. Seaduck are built quite differently to other ducks, being 'broad beamed' to maintain stability in the waves so that they can roll with the tide.

We finished off the session by looking at identifying the different types of Divers, mainly because I had seen some at Bempton Cliffs RSPB earlier this week and had found it hard to be sure which species they were due to the distance and the birds being in winter plumage.

Now our appetite is well and truly whetted for the field trip when some of us will hopefully get to see birds we haven't ever seen before.

Birds in Focus - Scoter

The Scoter (or Common Scoter to give the full name) is an all dark seaduck, the male is totally black and the female lighter, with a pale face. In fact the male Scoter is the only all-black duck found in Britain.

Scoter are often seen as large bobbing rafts offshore, or long straggling lines flying along the coast. The UK breeding population of this small diving seaduck has substantially declined and it is now a Red List species. In winter, Scoter populations are very vulnerable to oil-spills.

A raft of Common Scoter (RSPB)

In the breeding season the Scoter favours small lochs in N and W Scotland, especially the Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland. 

In winter Scoter are found off the UK coast with concentrations in Carmarthen and Cardigan Bays, along the Moray Firth, and along the North Norfolk coast.

Scoter can be seen offshore all year round but large numbers arrive from October, leaving from March. They are most likely to be found on breeding grounds in June and July. They feed by diving to the sea bed where they find molluscs and mussels to eat.

Birds in Focus - Waxwing

Waxwing (RSPB)

The Waxwing is a fine-looking albeit slightly plump bird which is slightly smaller than a Starling. It is reddish-brown in colour with a black throat and a prominent crest.  There is a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail.

Waxwings do not breed in the UK, but are winter visitors from October to March, coming in larger numbers known as irruptions in some years when the population on its breeding grounds gets too big for the food available.

There are three subspecies of the Waxwings which visit the UK. These come from:

• Scandianvia and western Siberia
• Central and eastern Asia
• Northern North America

The first British arrivals each winter are usually seen on the east coast from Scotland to East Anglia, but birds move inland in search of food, increasing the chances of seeing one inland. They eat berries, particularly from rowan and hawthorn trees and bushes, but also cotoneaster and rose.

They do seem to like our supermarket car parks, particularly ASDA and TESCO which must plant the vegetation particularly suited to their diet.

UPDATE

The Waxwings have well and truly arrived in Britain this year. Here's a few shots I took at Milner Street in Warrington on Sunday 18  November 2012: