Lancashire & Cheshire Fauna Society Publication No. 107 Lancashire Bird Report 2004 The Birds of Lancashire and North Merseyside S. J. White (Editor) D. A. Bickerton, A. Bunting, S. Dunstan, R. Harris C. Liggett, B. McCarthy, P. J. Marsh, S.J. Martin. 2 Lancashire Bird Report 2004 CONTENTS Introduction ..................................................................... Dave Bickerton & Steve White .......... 3 Review of the Year ........................................................................................John Wright ........ 10 Systematic List Wildfowl ..............................................................................................Charlie Liggett ........ 14 Gamebirds .............................................................................................. Steve Martin ........ 32 Divers to cormorants .............................................................................. Bob Harris ........ 36 Herons to birds of prey ................................................................. Stephen Dunstan ........ 42 Rails .......................................................................................................... Steve White ........ 51 Oystercatcher to plovers ....................................................................Andy Bunting ........ 53 Knot to Woodcock ............................................................................ Charlie Liggett ........ 58 Godwits to phalaropes .......................................................................... Steve White ........ 64 Skuas ........................................................................................................ Pete Marsh ........ 71 Gulls to auks ........................................................................................... Steve White ........ 73 Doves to thrushes ........................................................................... Barry McCarthy ........ 84 Warblers to buntings ........................................................................ Dave Bickerton ...... 108 Escapes and feral birds .......................................................................... Steve White ...... 134 Lancashire Ringing Report ........................................................................ Pete Marsh ...... 137 Lancashire Firsts Semipalmated Sandpiper ................................................ Tony Disley & Bill Aspin ...... 145 Great Knot ............................................................................................... Chris Batty ...... 147 Penduline Tit ............................................................................................... Brin Best ...... 148 The Skelmersdale chiffchaff ...................................................................... Steve White ...... 150 Cetaceans in 2004 ........................................................................................ Steve White ...... 153 ‘Northern/Eastern Bullfinches in Lancashire, 2004 ......................... John Wright ...... 154 List of Contributors ......................................................................................................... ...... 155 Earliest and Latest Migrant Dates .......................................................... Steve White ...... 157 Cover photograph: Great Knot, Shard Bridge (Steve Young) Lancashire Bird Report 2004 3 Introduction D. A. Bickerton, S. J. White Another year’s birding in Lancashire has been documented for posterity in this, the 2004 Lancashire Bird Report. As always, getting this together has involved a lot of work from several individuals under the direction of the editor. The number of sources we use seems to be ever- increasing but thankfully the vast majority are computer based and this allows us to disseminate the information to all the authors quickly and efficiently. We are always looking for volunteers to help with the compilation of the report, so if you have access to a computer and e-mail and could help then please e-mail the editor, Steve White. As I mentioned last year, the General Report was very well received and another will probably be published in 2006. As for the Avifauna, Steve White and Barry McCarthy have been putting in an immense effort these last twelve months to get the species accounts written and checked. I’m happy to say that this is at an advanced stage now. Details of pre-publication and membership offers will be circulated soon. We anticipate publication early in 2006. At the this year’s Annual General Meeting of the society, it was decided to raise the subscription rates for the first time in 16 years. Membership of the Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Society will be £10 per annum from 2006 onwards – this will include a copy of the Lancashire Bird Report and any General reports. Members taking the Cheshire Bird Report as well will pay £17. The Society is non-profit making charity, manned totally by volunteers who give many hours of their time freely. It provides data that are key in many aspects of conservation in the North West. So if you aren’t already a member, please consider joining us and supporting the work we do. Details can be obtained from the web site or directly from the Honorary Secretary. Our web-site address is www.lacfs.org.uk Officials of the Lancashire and Cheshire Fauna Society Chairman: Dr Frank Walsh, 80 Arundel Road, Lytham St. Annes, Lancs, FY8 1BN Tel: 01253 737765 email: [email protected] Secretary: Dave Bickerton, 64 Petre Crescent, Rishton, Lancs, BB1 4RB Tel: 01254 886257 email: [email protected] Treasurer: John Wright, 68 Dukes Brow, Blackburn, Lancs, BB2 6DH Tel: 01254 580268 email: [email protected] Report Editor and Lancashire Bird Recorder: Steve White, 102 Minster Court, Crown Street, Liverpool, L7 3QD Tel: 0151-707 2744 (home) or 0151-920 3769 (work) email:[email protected] 4 Lancashire Bird Report 2004 SUBMISSION OF RECORDS The task of compiling the report is becoming ever more daunting with the increasing number of records coming into us. With the authorship of the report split between nine people and the growing number of people using bird recording software or word-processing, the preferred method of submission is via e-mail, though posting a disc or written records are still perfectly acceptable. Please can you ensure that records are submitted in systematic order. Files sent by e-mail or on disc should be in Word or simple text format and can be zipped up to save downloading time. Paper records should preferably be on one side of A4. In order to keep to our very strict deadlines so that the report can be published during September, all records from individuals should reach us by the end of February and reserve or area reports by the end of March. All records in whatever format you wish to use should be sent to the County Recorder. BRITISH BIRDS RARITIES Descriptions of nationally rare species (for the list, see British Birds Rarities Reports) should be submitted to the British Birds Rarities Committee via the County Recorder at the address above. The following records have been accepted by the BBRC since the publication of our last report: Ferruginous Duck, Brockholes Quarry, 12-17 September 2004 Great White Egret, Seaforth, 28 October 2004 Great Knot, Skippool Creek and Shard Bridge, 31 July and 16-17 August 2004 Semipalmated Sandpiper, Brockholes Quarry, 25 July 2004 Red-rumped Swallow, Marton Mere, 18-19 April 2004 The following records are still under consideration by the BBRC and/or the BOURC: Ferruginous Duck, Martin Mere, 2003-2004 Great White Egret, Oxcliffe Marsh and Leighton Moss, 27-30 May 2004 Red-footed Falcon, Bispham Marsh, 12 June 2005 Collared Pratincole, Freckleton, 23 May 2005 Caspian Tern, Eric Morecambe complex and Leighton Moss, 16 July 2005 Yellow Wagtail (lutea), Downholland Moss, 23 April 2003 Penduline Tit, Leighton Moss, 11 November 2004 Blue Jay, Thornton and Ainsdale, 5-7 June 2003 The following records were not accepted by the BBRC: Red-breasted Goose, Martin Mere, Marshside, Knowsley Park, 2003-2004 (presumed escape) Great Knot, Shard Bridge, 19 August 2004 Penduline Tit, Seaforth, 28 October 2004 Lancashire Bird Report 2004 5 COUNTY DESCRIPTION SPECIES Descriptions of species considered to be county rarities (see list below) should be sent to the County Recorder, preferably as soon after the sighting as possible. Most descriptions now come in by the preferred email route, some with digital images attached, but paper records are perfectly acceptable. The increase in digital submissions has meant that the county records committee has been able to circulate records and make decisions promptly. Consequently, there has been a significant increase in time spent in assessment of each and every record submitted with problematical records left to the annual meeting held in May. Current members of the committee are Steve White (Chair), Bill Aspin, Chris Batty, Maurice Jones, Barry McCarthy, Pete Marsh, Gavin Thomas and John Wright. The job of the committee is to run the rule over every record of a species that requires a description and they have an obligation to apply the rules even-handedly. On odd occasions this means that a perfectly good record will be fail to be accepted (normally through lack of detail). It is very rare that a record is thought to be incorrect, just that it is not 100% proven or there is some doubt. Many county rarities get to be seen by many observers and an increasing proportion are now photographed, and the committee generally accepts such records