Lancashire Bird Report 2016 Lancashire Bird Report 2016
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Lancashire & Cheshire Fauna Society Lancashire Bird Report 2016 CASHIREDT 2016BIREPO LAN £7.00 Lancashire & Cheshire Fauna Society Registered Charity 500685 www.lacfs.org.uk Publication No. 123 ISBN: 978-1-9997312-2-9 2017 Lancashire Bird Report 2016 The Birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside S. J. White (Editor) D. A. Bickerton, M. Breaks, S. Dunstan, K. Fairclough, N. Godden, R. Harris, B. McCarthy, P. J. Marsh, S.J. Martin, T. Vaughan, J. F. Wright. 2 Lancashire Bird Report 2016 CONTENTS Introduction Dave Bickerton 3 Review of the Year John Wright 4 Systematic List (in the revised BOU order) Swans Tim Vaughan 10 Geese Stephen Dunstan/Steve White 11 Ducks Nick Godden 15 Gamebirds Steve Martin 24 Divers to cormorants Bob Harris 27 Herons to Spoonbill Steve White 29 Grebes Bob Harris 32 Red Kite to Osprey Keith Fairclough 33 Rails and Crane Steve White 37 Avocet to plovers Tim Vaughan 39 Whimbrel to Snipe Steve White 43 Skuas Pete Marsh 54 Auks to terns Steve White 55 Gulls Mark Breaks 59 Falcons Keith Fairclough 64 Doves to Ring-necked Parakeet Barry McCarthy 66 Shrikes to Bearded Tit Dave Bickerton 74 Larks to hirundines Barry McCarthy 80 Warblers to Waxwing Stephen Dunstan 83 Nuthatch to starlings Dave Bickerton 90 Dipper, thrushes and chats Barry McCarthy 92 Dunnock to sparrows Stephen Dunstan 101 Wagtails and pipits Barry McCarthy 101 Finches to buntings Dave Bickerton 106 Escapes and Category D Steve White 115 Lancashire Ringing Report Pete Marsh 118 Greylag Geese with Neck Collars Pete Marsh 134 A Satellite-tracked Cuckoo from Bowland Mark Breaks 135 Firsts for Lancashire Pallid Harrier Bill Aspin 136 Two Firsts for Britain Cackling Goose (1976) Andy Stoddart 137 ‘Caspian’ Reed Warbler (2011) J. Martin Collinson 138 West Pennine Moors SSSI Steve Martin 139 Migrant Dates Steve White 142 Rarities Steve White 143 Contributors 144 Front cover: Desert Wheatear, Lytham (Steve Young) Back cover: Cattle Egret, Hightown & Garganey, Liverpool (Steve Young) Lancashire Bird Report 2016 3 INTRODUCTION Dave Bickerton September already and we’re nearly ready to print the annual bird report once again, wondering what the autumn period might bring. In 2016, the autumnal weather pattern was dominated by a persistent easterly airflow that brought all manner of waifs and strays to the east coast but not all that many to our side of the country. However, we did get record numbers of Yellow-browed Warblers sighted from all corners of the county more than sating the appetite of the dedicated patch workers of Lancashire. What we haven’t had for a couple of years is a run of westerly gales, so maybe this year will oblige. The seasonal weather patterns certainly affect the birds we see in our area but the general pattern and long-term changes are all encapsulated in a series of reports going back many years. These reports have put on record what people were observing at the time and looking back at them we can see those changes. The most striking changes of the past decade to me has been the increase in egrets - first Little, then Great White and now Cattle Egrets are regular, not only at the expected coastal and wetland sites but even in deepest darkest east Lancashire and Rossendale! Cetti’s Warbler has certainly started to colonise and there are promising signs of the return of Nightjars. But what about those birds that are slowly and silently slipping from our avifauna; even once common birds are now struggling in certain areas but again their story is captured. So, a big thank-you to the folk who send us their records whether it be directly to the recorder or via local recording web-sites or BirdTrack. As I mentioned last year, summaries of local data on commoner birds from your local patch are always welcome and though not necessarily mentioned explicitly in the text, they are on record. The writing team has done an excellent job once again and I thank them for their selfless contribution. This year has been busy on the publishing front for the Society. In June, in conjunction with Butterfly Conservation, we published a book on finding the early stages of Micro Moths. This has been very well received by the mothing community and a great success as was the Dragonfly Atlas before it. Included in this year’s membership and published the same time as this report is a book on the non-avian Vertebrate Fauna of Lancashire with expert informative contributions and distribution maps of our reptiles, fish, amphib- ians and mammals. We’ve more such publications planned. Finally, I’d like to make mention of two long-standing members of the Society who passed away in the last twelve months. The first was John Butterworth, my predecessor as Honorary Secretary for 20 years and former society recorder for mammals as well as many other roles. Malcolm Calvert remembers first meeting him on a birding trip to the Isle of Man in the early 1960’s and recalls he once held the record for the longest-running BTO census on a plot near Radcliffe. His generous bequest has contributed enormously to the pulishing of the Vertebrate book The second was Harry Shorrock, a great character of the Lancashire birding scene for as long as I remember and a regular contributor to the Society’s business for over 50 years. His tales of birds, birders and birding are now, sadly, consigned to be the stuff of legend. 4 Lancashire Bird Report 2016 REVIEW OF 2016 John Wright January The year began mild and unsettled with low pressure in charge and some prolonged and heavy rain. It turned colder around the middle of the month with widespread frosts, and some of the precipita- tion fell as snow, particularly over higher ground. The month ended very mild and changeable with frequent rain and strong winds. The year opened with a male Green-winged Teal at Martin Mere and a lovely Firecrest at Aldcliffe. A Siberian Chiffchaff was also found at Aldcliffe on the 4th. It turned out to be a good year for both these species and another Firecrest was discovered at Martin Mere on the 6th. A Ring-billed Gull at Haslam Park in Preston and a Caspian Gull at Ainsdale both remained from 2016. A male American Wigeon appeared at Hesketh Out Marsh from the 16th. Waders were providing an amazing spectacle across the county and high tide WeBS counts revealed 8560 Curlews, 5517 Redshanks and 578 Turnstones in Morecambe Bay, where 22051 Lapwings were also counted. At the same time 3500 Golden Plovers were on Cockerham Moss and further south 24000 Knots and 7200 Bar-tailed Godwits were on the Alt Estuary with 5000 Black- tailed Godwits at Marshside. Whilst these numbers highlight the international importance of our estuaries it is of great concern that numbers of Knot have fallen by 50% and Curlew by 33% since 2000. This proves the immense value of WeBS data in highlighting the plight of our waterfowl. Inland, these numbers could not be matched but up to seven Green Sandpipers wintering at Brockholes and 21 Woodcocks on Hoddlesden Moss were also of note. Short-eared Owls were in winter residence at various locations but the six birds at Lunt Meadows were the most reliable and often put on a fantastic show for visitors to this exciting new reserve. February February began unsettled and wet with westerly and south-westerly winds. It was generally mild, wet and cloudy during the first half, with some strong winds around the 8th associated with Storm Imogen, but the second half was colder, drier and sunnier, particularly from the 22nd onwards, with some overnight frost. A ‘Blue’ Fulmar photographed at Cockersand on the 3rd was a rare county record of this northern colour morph. Starlings were putting on a spectacular evening show in Blackpool with a roost under the North Pier peaking at an impressive 70000 this month. Another Siberian Chiffchaff was discovered at Croston sewage works on the 10th. These wintering warblers were no doubt helped by the mild conditions. There has been something of a resurgence in Hawfinch records in recent years and on the 11th two were reported at Gait Barrows, increasing to six on the 13th. In addition, a single was on the feeding station at the Eric Morecambe complex on the 12th. Iceland Gulls were prominent with the returning adult at Marton Mere from the 3rd, another adult roosting at Fishmoor Reservoir on the 18th & 19th, a first-winter at Dean Clough Reservoir on the 20th and another first-winter at Fleetwood on the 28th & 29th. A third-winter Glaucous Gull was also present at Fleetwood from the 5th and a first-winter was at Rowley Lake, Burnley on the 22nd; it was relocated at Cant Clough and Hurstwood Reservoirs, where it remained until the 29th but sadly the bird’s corpse was later discovered on Cant Clough Reservoir. March March began unsettled and quite cold with low pressure and some short-lived snowfalls, mainly on high ground. There was a settled spell from the 13th to 23rd but the last week was unsettled again, with some disruption from Storm Katie on the 28th. A Caspian Gull at Fishmoor Reservoir on the 3rd was followed by another at Stocks Reservoir from the 13th. As thoughts turned to spring the first arrival of migrants included a delightful Ring Ouzel in Bowland on the 7th, the earliest ever in the county. On the same day a White Wagtail appeared at Lancashire Bird Report 2016 5 Seaforth. A Wheatear bounded across Marshside on the 10th and a Sand Martin was over Preesall Flashes on the 15th.