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DULL

Mediterranean Gull, Ribchester 27 December 2020

DECEMBER HAS BEEN HEAVY GOING with mostly dull, overcast and very damp weather. That combined with bad news very close to home of the Covid-19 pandemic has meant a rather subdued Christmas in Ribchester. The leaden skies persisted but at least the throng of Black-headed Gulls attracted by the slurry spraying in the fields along Boat House Lane had up to two adult Mediterranean Gulls in tow. The green concrete is good for something, although the slurry is not great for the environment, the nearby brook ran dark and stank of it all weekend. Among the hundreds of gulls were a few Common Gulls and almost 100 Herring Gulls, which is way more than we usually see on the ground around the village. Two Great Black-backed Gulls patrolled the river on Christmas Day, maybe the same adult and second winter that have been around for a couple of weeks now and three Little Egrets on Boxing Day was another local highlight. An influx of lapwings has been noticeable over the holiday period too, with maybe as many as 37 on Boxing Day. A flock of 23 oystercatchers at Hothersall was also maybe very early returnees, encouraged upstream by the mild weather? There were several hundred starlings in the fields too, almost enough for a murmuration! However, we have yet to see a goldeneye this winter and Goosander is all but absent. Little Grebes continue on the river at Red Bank and a kingfisher was along the river at the ‘promenade’ in Ribchester today. I am stuck on 103 for the year as time runs out, maybe I will be able to add one more by New Year’s Eve? It has also been interesting to see that some folks lack the common sense not to mix at the moment. Seven cars was the maximum on one drive, the owners of the property usually have two on it. Maybe if they had family members in hospital they would change their minds? No wonder the pandemic rumbles on.

An old willow leans over the Ribble behind the allotments at Ribchester

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SLOW START TO DECEMBER

Little Egret, the only one around Ribchester today (Mike Watson)

THIS MORNING’S BTO BIRDTRACK WALK ALONG THE RIVER WAS BRIGHTENED UP BY FIVE SKEINS OF PINKFEET totalling 226 birds and all heading southeast. We often see them moving just after the weather improves but they are still going mostly southeast towards the beet fields of Norfolk at the moment. Phil had an early Goosander and happily cormorants appeared to be more or less back to normal. I wonder what happened last weekend? Seven Lapwings were logged and two Great Black-backed Gulls flew downstream but things were otherwise very quiet.

A single Little Egret was hunting widely in the fields between Lower Alston Farm and Red Bank but it did not settle, it was probably have difficulty finding anything to eat in the sterile ‘green concrete’ fields. On the other hand the thrush flock was still feeding in the recently sown field between Lower Barn Farm and Boat House. Fieldfares dominated with smaller numbers of Redwings, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and two Mistle Thrushes.

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DISMAL

Great Black-backed Gull (second winter) collage, Ribchester 29 November 2020

A TYPICAL DREARY EAST LANCASHIRE MORNING, overcast and dull, silent and grey, ‘Everyday is like Sunday’ etc. I can’t remember such a quiet viz mig session, the only highlights being three separate Great Black-backed Gulls (one adult/near adult and two second winters), a single Little Egret and the only Linnet so far this month. There wasn’t even a single cormorant today. Something has obviously happened to them since yesterday. However, local residents like Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher were still around (one from the allotments and another downstream from Osbaldeston Hall, where there was still a small flock of Fieldfares).

There was quite a lot of disturbance today: lots of fishermen on the banks, dog walkers and a noisy chainsaw but there was generally very little happening anyway. There was an influx of woodcocks to the east coast in the last couple of days so we can probably expect some in the woodlands around Ribchester next week. I should make an effort to find one. We are still also waiting for Goldeneye for 2020, not having done any BTO BirdTrack walks in January/February this year.

Common Blackbird, females can look surprisingly Song Thrush-like. Reminds me of an old b&w BB mystery bird photo

Well the recently decimated hedgerows are good for something… unobscured images of Blackbirds

… and Song Thrushes

Just imagine if this was a rarity, like it is in Beijing? Or maybe when we have to sift through bluetails to find one in 2100?

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RAIN STOPPED PLAY

Mediterranean Gull collage, Ribchester 28 November

I MUST HAVE CHECKED THOUSANDS OF GULLS AT RIBCHESTER IN RECENT MONTHS and no Med Gull, until 9AM this morning and BAM! A nice adult flew upriver from the allotments. Every morning Black-headed Gulls drop in from the northwest, presumably having roosted at Alston Reservoirs, where there have been up to three Mediterranean Gulls lately so it has been on the cards. There are usually a few Herring Gulls and Common Gulls as well and along the river Great Black-backed Gulls have been putting in regular appearances and as mentioned before they always seem to be patrolling the river itself unlike the other big gulls. A single Lesser Black-backed Gull was also seen this morning. I am thinking that last Sunday morning’s big NW push of Herring Gulls was probably birds from Accrington having found Whinny Hill Tip not operating?

Other highlights this morning were my second dipper at Ribchester (103/2020), heard only, giving its distinctive ‘chink’ call as it flew up the Dummel Brook. A flock of five ravens was my highest count here to date and a skein of 39 Pinkfeet flew east as well. Along the river itself were single Goosander and oystercatcher and four lapwings. There was no sign of Little Grebe but we didn’t look extensively today giving up after 9AM when heavy rain set in. It appears the Met Office is just as inaccurate as the BBC, I was only expecting a 5% chance of rain.

On Friday morning a few hours at Barrow Upper Lodge (BUL) produced another dipper. I recall they wander widely along the brooks in the Clitheroe/Barrow area in winter from my time living there. The Cetti’s Warbler was still present in the NE corner and the Great Crested Grebe and young Goldeneye from earlier this month were also still around but there was neither sight nor sound of the Water Rail reported a couple of times this month.

Great Black-backed Gull, Ribchester, a fourth winter/adult, still moulting p10 and look at that heavy bill!

Common Goldeneye at BUL, a first winter with a dull bill. We still haven’t seen one along the river yet this autumn.

The White-throated Dipper at Barrow Upper Lodge was quite shy!

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