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WELCOME BACK WILLOW WARBLER!

Willow Warbler singing at Red Bank, Ribchester on 2 April, back from Africa a couple of days earlier than usual.

THE LOVELY DESCENDING NOTES OF WILLOW WARBLER’S SONG greeted me at Red Bank today as more summer migrants return to the village, despite a drop in temperatures over the last couple of days. Red Bank is a regular site for Willow Warbler, which still breeds in a few spots around Ribchester. Swallows are more in evidence around the village now and there are also plenty of Sand Martins excavating their nesting burrows along the riverbank, albeit not in their traditional spots opposite the vicarage/school. A Blackcap was also singing at Red Bank today and a female was close in attendance.

We are lucky to have 5 or 6 pairs of Barn Owls within 5km of the village and they are very conspicuous hunting until well after dawn at the moment. Maybe they have hungry mouths to feed now? Sunny spring days usually also mean soaring birds of prey. Buzzards, kestrels and sparrowhawks have all been up high in the sky this week, a couple of the buzzards showing unseasonal wing damage, ‘Maltese Moult’ as it is known. I am still waiting for an osprey! March finished on 70 for 2021 and 80 species all time, making it the best month for numbers by far now but it also has the most checklists! The Rib yearlist moved on to 84 today as the commoner summer visitors appeared. April started with a pair of Mediterranean Gulls in breeding plumage that flew east along the river yesterday and a late Little Grebe was still at Red Bank today of note. At higher altitude another 12 Common Crossbills flew over in the early morning cold wind.

Barn Owls continue to delight. Everyone loves owls!

The Dell at Red Bank, Rib birding hotspot!

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THE WARMEST MARCH DAY IN THE UK SINCE 1968!

Northern Wheatear in H.A.R., the epitome of ‘cracking’! The first one of the year always looks best too.

PHIL ORDERED A WHEATEAR and sure enough one appeared on the wall in front of us in H.A.R. (‘High Altitude’ Ribchester}. A cracking male as well! A Ring Ouzel that flew over calling in the same vicinity was a new 5km patch bird and another Bowland speciality that doesn’t breed in the Ribchester area. Other migrants included swallow (one north over the fell and one along Shorton Lane}, double figures of Sand Martins buzzing along the riverbank and investigating nesting banks downstream from Boat House, a Chiffchaff singing there and at the last knockings, a pair of Little Ringed Plovers that flew in to the riverbank opposite Lower Alston Farm. What a great way to finish a lovely spring day, without a cloud in the sky and apparently the warmest March day in the UK since 1968! Winter migrants were still just about around in the form of five Fieldfares that flew north over the fell calling followed later by a Brambling and four Lesser Redpolls. Six crossbills were also coming and going between the plantations but they could easily be breeding by now.

There were plenty of other highlights (with the exception of narrowly failing to see an osprey, again!) including a pair of Barn Owls, one of which was very confiding and was hunting until well after two hours after the sun rose over the big end of Pendle at 0654. There appears to be three pairs of curlews on the fell and at least three singing Eurasian Skylarks. Only one pair of stonechats was a surprise but there were lots of Meadow Pipits and Red Grouse as usual. A Little Grebe was back on the tiny reservoir together with a Grey Heron and a pair of Canada Geese. On large clumps of gorse on the slope above were a Reed Bunting and a couple of Linnets. I spent a lot of time scanning the skies again today without much success but buzzards were also again easily into double figures with up to nine in the air at once and even four in a kettle over the house! Sparrowhawks and kestrels were also in evidence again. There is not very often a star mammal on the patch but a Noctule Bat hawking high over Red Bank just after midday was nice! There were also plenty of Buff-tailed Bumblebees and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the wing around the village today.

This Barn Owl looked like it was making up for lost hunting time at the weekend, dives into wet grass had made a real mess of it.

Dry stone walling Barn Owl

Incoming vole catching machine

Meadow Pipits are very common on the fell again this year. Did you hear that Merlins?

Whereas skylarks are not, we only saw three singing birds today.

Skylark ascending, one of the most beautiful sounds in nature.

LRP in the place to be, my Ribchester patch. Of course fluctuating water levels mean they could never breed here but nice to take an interest!

Dawn in H.A.R.

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SPRINGTIME ON THE RIVERBANK

Goosander, female. Sadly evidence of the illegal targeting of these terrific sawbills in the Ribble Valley (i.e. shooting them without a license) has come to light this week. CLICK THE IMAGES FOR LIGHTBOX

A LONE SWALLOW AT BOAT HOUSE, RIBCHESTER ON 27 MARCH was fairly early and our first of the year. Sand Martins continue to build in numbers and made double figures for the last couple of days. The only other true summer migrant so far has been chiffchaff and following one at Boat House on 24 March a couple has been heard singing (at Red Bank and the vicarage garden). Other notable encounters have included a redshank at Boat House on 27 March, up to seven Common Buzzards in the air at a time in the valley (probaby just local birds getting up in the fine weather) and more regular sparrowhawk, kestrel and kingfisher sightings have been a feature. Lapwings, oystercatchers and curlews are still singing around the village but despite increased signs of spring there are still a few Fieldfares around, the last of the winter visitors. An osprey at Elston on 27 March was a near miss but sadly it carried on north and did not enter Rib airspace. The next few days will be our best chance for one of these over the village itself!

Curlew over the Ribble at Ribchester (collage)

The first chiffchaff of the year, at Boat House on 24 March.

Rain clouds over Clitheroe from earlier in March. If can see Pendle you are not lost in the Ribble Valley.

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SWANS TO THE EAST OF ME, CRANES TO THE WEST

Slurry spreading from Lower Alston Farm usually means a chance of seeing Mediterranean Gulls in Ribchester. CLICK IMAGES FOR LIGHTBOX

A DESPERATELY DISAPPOINTING DAY SPENT SCANNING THE SKIES for Whooper Swans, and not seeing any of the hundreds passing through East Lancs (none of them ventured further west than Clitheroe), followed by the news of two cranes were visible to the west of Alston. At least I learned later from their finder, Bill Aspin, that they had not entered Rib airspace. That’s 7.5 hours spent on visible migration this weekend, not seeing very much of it! A handful of Meadow Pipits and a flock of 38 Fieldfare heading north were the only signs of anything happening. All the other sightings may just have been local movements. The afternoon effort was brightened up by a nice pair of breeding plumaged Mediterranean Gulls among a throng of Black-headed Gulls on the ‘freshly’-spread slurry along Shorton Lane.

Kingfisher activity was good again with sightings from ‘The Tush’ at 0751, 0808, 0818 and 0920 (2 birds) and raven and siskin were new for the month as I creep towards the benchmark 70 spcies, with 67 so far. March is now the best month of the year on 79 all time. There were five buzzards in the air together again today and the other interesting sighting was a fight between two pairs of Grey Wagtails on the shingle opposite ‘The Tush’. The curlews on Gary Paul’s fields continue to sing and a pair of Stock Doves was still display flighting on the other side of the river.

Mediterranean Gull pair, with Black-headed Gulls, passing the 16th Century Osbaldeston Hall on the south bank of the Ribble.

Today’s only Common Gull, they become scarce this far downstream from about now until the autumn.

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