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Birding

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AUTUMN SLOWDOWN ON THE RIVERBANK

After the rain followed blue skies and birds of prey: Peregrine, Eurasian Sparrowhawk and Common Kestrel

THE RIBBLE VALLEY AROUND RIBCHESTER IS QUIETLY SETTLING DOWN FOR WINTER, I didn’t see a single summer migrant this weekend and our winter visitors are now arriving. A couple of BTO BirdTrack walks along the riverbank were pretty quiet, mostly owing to another series of heavy showers tracking across East Lancashire. There was nothing new for the year this weekend and highlights were rather few. Woodpigeons are still on the move south across the river and I tallied a total of around 460 over the two days but most of the winter thrushes have pushed through now. Redwings barely made three figures after the big numbers last weekend and Fieldfares didn’t even pass the 40 mark. Little Egrets peaked at four on Saturday and there were only a couple of Grey Herons around, there were no goosanders and I haven’t seen a goldeneye yet this autumn. I guess they will probably appear next month? The best sighting of the weekend was another (or the same) juvenile Peregrine that was toying with Carrion Crows over Red Bank today as the sun came out after this morning’s torrential rain showers. A sparrowhawk and kestrel followed in blue skies but the farmland around Ribchester was otherwise very quiet today. The hawthorns are bare now but they do hold a decent berry crop, the fields are waterlogged and I noticed a nice looking flood pool in a field above Parsonage Farm that I haven’t check before. I will have to include it on my regular walk now!

Early morning on the riverbank

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RISE OF THE WOODPIGEONS

Part of the cloud of woodpigeons over the Ribble Valley on Sunday 18 October

HARDLY EXCITING BUT THERE’S A BIG PUSH OF WOODPIGEONS GOING SOUTH AT THE MOMENT is what I wrote on the East Lancs WhatsApp group yesterday. Well that was yesterday and the ‘big push’ by Ribchester standards was only 216. Today the estimated number was around 1700, including one mega flock of around 1200 birds that was flushed from the direction of Red Bank/Old Park Wood by a hot air balloon. I’ve not seen something like this before! Other highlights of my BTO BirdTrack walks around Ribchester included a flock of nine Whooper Swans that flew east low over Lower Alston Farm while watching a male Brambling and a Tree Pipit feeding in the same insect-laden sycamore! The Brambling was only my second in Ribchester. They are very uncommon here. The other main feature of the weekend was the arrival of the winter thrushes, Redwings and Fieldfares (780 and 145 respectively logged over the two days). They were everywhere in small groups. Redwings were feeding on the grass by the allotments, bursting out of every hawthorn and filling the bushes at Red Bank. Fieldfares were all only seen in flight, ‘chacking’ overhead. Blackbirds peaked at a minimum of 41 on Sunday, again they seem to be everywhere at the moment. Robins too, ticking away in the dark on my pre-dawn walk to the riverbank.

Another Peregrine powered over Red Bank towards the village and nine Little Egrets flew upstream on Saturday morning. There were still a few swallows around on Sunday morning with groups of three over the allotments and Lower Alston Farm. Surely these will be the last of the summer? A couple of skylarks were on the newly-cut maize field on Saturday with a good number of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits but they were not here again on Sunday. The wagtails were chasing them non-stop so no surprise they had gone. I saw three Long-tailed tit flocks on Saturday but no luck yet with the hoped-for Yellow-browed Warbler despite much searching! A Noctule bat on Sunday morning along the river was nice and it is also interesting to see that Herring Gull has now replaced Lesser Black-backed Gull as the default large gull in the skies.

October now stands at 69 species and is therefore the fourth best month of the year on my Ribchester patch behind September, August and May in that order. The Rib year list is now on 99! One to go, what will it be?

A collage of one of Sunday’s nine Whooper Swans

Eurasian Skylark - a rare sight on the ground in Ribchester!

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PEREGRINE IN RIBCHESTER

Peregrine Falcon (juvenile), flying north over Ribchester 11 October (Mike Watson)

ANOTHER PEREGRINE SIGHTING during my efforts to watch some bird migration over Ribchester today brightened up a weekend that started off very damp on Saturday morning. When the sun finally came out some of the last hirundines were on the move with small parties of swallows and House Martins heading south over the river. At the same time the first of the winter thrushes have now arrived. A single Redwing was eating hawthorn berries at Red Bank on Saturday and a flock of 30 Fieldfares flew west over the village on Sunday. Skylarks appeared over the fields along the lane to Boat House on both days and there are some Meadow Pipits in the fields at the moment. The recently ploughed field beyond Lower Barn Farm is attracting double figures of Pied Wagtails at the moment, always good to check them for something else and Pink-footed Geese were also on the move, with two flocks totalling almost 200 birds flying east up the valley on Sunday. Happily Phil could also get on them from his back door! There were still a couple of Chiffchaffs around but most of our summer visitors have now gone. Little Egret and several kingfishers were along the river and a single Goosander was seen on Sunday, otherwise waterbirds were scarce, owing to the high water level following the rain last week. The Peregrine was a young bird of the year, with a rusty nape and heavily streaked underparts. It powered north low over the village and I managed to get a few frames of it before it went behind one of the big willows along the riverbank. I wonder where it was going? They always seem to have a purpose, tearing around.

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THE BALLERINA IN RIBCHESTER

Pink Waxcap (‘The Ballerina’), Ribchester

IN A DEPARTURE FROM MY NORMAL ROUTINE, I had a look at some fungi with Phil Larkin today. I wonder if there is a synonym for twitching among fungi enthusiasts? The most notable was Pink Waxcap Porpolomopsis calyptriformis, sometimes known as ‘The Ballerina’, on account of how it ‘lifts its skirt’ as it grows. What a cool name for a living thing? It is red-listed across Europe and the UK is probably the easiest place to see it but it is still uncommon here and is found mostly in the west on short turf, uncultivated grassland sites. Here it is growing on the lawn of 18th century almshouses. There were a number of other species here and in the adjacent churchyard. I am far from getting to grips with fungi but I’m inspired to learn some more. Thanks Phil!

A walk along the river today added my first BTO BirdTracks for October, the highlight being a Green Sandpiper, which took my Ribchester patch list to 95 for the year. 100 is looking possible now with almost three months to get them and fairly easy ones like Whooper Swan and Woodcock still missing. Little Owl is somewhere in the east of the patch and I can find another two new ones by the end of the year. The river was up a couple of metres following over 24 hours of steady rain, my observation spot of the ‘Tush’ was underwater, as was the footpath by the Roman Baths. In fact there was not much flying over after dawn, just as the rain stopped, for obvious reasons I guess. A trickle of swallows, House Martins and Meadow Pipits continued over the village all morning and the number of Greenfinches and Blackbirds has increased. A group of 3 ravens flew over the Boat House and there were still four chiffchaffs in the hedgerows today.

Common Reed Buntings behind Lower Alston Farm were showy again today

The flooded path along the brook by the Roman Baths in Ribchester (Mike Watson)


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