FIRST SILAGE CUT

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Mediterranean Gull (second calendar year) over Ribchester CLICK IMAGES FOR LIGHTBOX

THE FIRST SILAGE CUT OF THE YEAR BROUGHT AN INFLUX OF GULLS TO RIBCHESTER, including at least three Mediterranean Gulls - two fine breeding plumaged adults and a second calendar year bird, found by Phil Larkin, the first time I’ve seen one of these here. Sadly that’s about all the dairy farming regime in the lower valley is good for in terms of attracting birds but it’s an ill wind! The freshly cut grass exposes food for the gulls and I saw the Meds eating several worms while I was there. Along with the Meds there has been a noticeable increase in the number of black-headed gulls, also mostly second calendar year birds (i.e. hatched last summer) and these have spent a lot of time dip-feeding in the foam lines on the river as well as feeding on the fields. I’ve never seen Med Gulls dip feeding here unfortunately, as it is a great way to photograph gulls, at eye level down on the riverbank as they fly into the wind.

There have been a few swifts over the village this week but I am yet to hear a whitethroat singing here this year, although for several reasons I haven’t done nearly as many walks this month as earlier in the year. The weather has been thoroughly depressing lately. Late March was nicer. Other highlights included a male sparrowhawk ripping a House Sparrow apart in the cedar tree in the garden of Churchgates, probably the best view I’ve had of one, it was so preoccupied it didn’t seem to notice me. There is a large starling flock around the fields near the farm at the moment, it’s that time of year when the youngsters leave their nests and go off into the countryside with their parents. They seem to have done quite well despite the weather!

Alston produced some High-Arctic-breeding shorebirds in the last week, grounded by the heavy rain - one (or two?) turnstones, a Wood Sandpiper and a Sanderling (I missed the latter), as well as double figure counts of Dunlin and Common Ringed Plover. It was a privilege, as always, but there is still time for something else in the next week or two. At last, the House Martins seem to have arrived too, with over 20 hawking in the rain over number one reservoir this afternoon in the company of swallows and a few Sand Martins.

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Med Gull flight shots with the heather of Longridge Fell in the background

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Dip-feeding Common Black-headed Gulls on the River Ribble at Ribchester

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An Arctic-bound Ruddy Turnstone in its gaudy breeding plumage stops off at Alston

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Soggy Roe Deer doesn’t seem to notice me for some reason?

RIBCHESTER OSPREY NO.#2

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The second Ribchester osprey in a week! A collage of the 1529 sighting. CLICK IMAGES FOR LIGHTBOX

MORE SKY-GAZING FROM THE BENCHES BY THE SCHOOL PRODUCED ANOTHER OSPREY TODAY. At 1450 I noticed a group of Black-headed Gulls form a very tight flock as they flew upstream, calling noisily, looked up into the sky and bingo! Another Osprey! However, on a day of fluffy cotton wool clouds and huge updrafts this one was very high in the clouds. I fired off a few record shots and called Phil but it was quickly lost in the whiteness. Staring at the sky for almost another 40 minutes and nothing until 1529. BAM! There it was again, this time flying downstream from the benches, pausing for a while to hover over the river just down from Lower Alston Farm. Checking photos later it appears to be the same bird (as you would expect). It has a couple of distinctive notches in the trailing edge of the left wing and it has quite a ragged tail. The wing pattern looks a little different in the photos but the first set, when the bird was further away, is so much poorer resolution and the detail is insufficient to compare the barring etc. It was another adult, like the bird on Thursday.

The morning walk produced a respectable total of 58 species and highlights were no fewer than three skylarks, two of them singing, one over the meadow on the opposite side of the river to Boat House and the other singing overhead at Red Bank. These could have been the same bird of course but it was chasing with another Red Bank so there were definitely at least two. A rare bird down in the valley nowadays. A Jay was at Red Bank and three kingfisher sightings included a pair downstream from Boat House. A Redpoll and three Reed Buntings were at Red Bank and the pair of Little Ringed Plovers was still along the riverside. Spring migrants included two singing Willow Warblers, two chiffhcaffs and five Blackcaps. Mammals were quite in evidence on another glorious sunny spring day with nine hares, a rabbit, two Roe Deer and an otter.

A zoomed-in collage of the 1450 Osprey sighting.

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Common Gull (second calendar year). They become very infrequent around Rib by mid April..

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One of Ribchester’s terrific old willow trees.

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A rather precariously over-hanging willow. It’s days are numbered sadly so enjoy it while you can.

UPSTREAM AGAIN

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The impressive 70m long Grade II listed Ribchester Bridge, built in 1775. The centre span is 23m wide.

THE GOLDENEYES LAST WEEKEND have encouraged me to check upstream of the village on one of my weekend BTO BirdTrack walks. There was still a adult female Goldeneye diving close to the bank just upstream from the bridge in the early morning but she had gone by the time I returned. Other highlights upstream were a kingfisher near the bridge, a flock of 19(!) Mistle Thrushes in a field at Salesbury, where they outnumbered Redwings and Fieldfares. I don’t recall seeing that before! A snipe was in the marshy fields in this area and the total for the morning was another above-benchmark-for-January 53. Everything has melted in the valley now after the midweek snow and things are getting back to normal. There were hardly any lapwings around today for instance. The birds that visited us in the hard weather birds seem to have moved on. It is amazing to think that work started on Ribchester Bridge in the same year that the American War of Independence began, 1775!

I checked downstream on Sunday recording another 53 species taking my Ribchester year list to 72, but again, no Goosander at all. I also found a dead cormorant, which had bled profusely from its mouth, presumably shot. The highlights today were a flyover Linnet but much better a lovely singing Mistle Thrush below Parsonage Farm. A Stock Dove was singing at Red Bank, one of three sightings and a couple of skeins of Pinkfeet passing overhead, one west, the other east also raised my spirit. Little Egret and Little Grebe were both on the river upstream from Lower Alston Farm and a herd of six Roe Deer, including a buck with fine antlers was spotted today. Raptors were also in evidence with a kestrel, two sparrowhawks and six buzzards. A sign of spring at Hothersall is the flock of Oystercatchers at their regular gathering spot, that has built up to 27 now. Walking around the village is heavy going at the moment with the sodden ground, every step was an effort going uphill. There is a yellow rain warning from tomorrow onwards, which will no doubt raise water levels on the river. It could be interesting.