Highlights of a few hours on the Fylde, yesterday. Weather mainly sunny and cold, light winds, 4*c. 54 species seen.

Eagland Hill - Tree Sparrow (6), Chaffinch (30), Pink-footed Goose (500), Stock Dove (3), Skylark (2), Golden Plover (10), Lapwing (250), Starling (150).

Pilling Lane Ends - Whooper Swan (75), Pink-footed Goose (100), Golden Plover (150), Lapwing (500), Curlew (25), Redshank (10), Merlin (1).

Thurnham, Jeremy Lane - Greylag Goose (35), Pink-footed Goose (10), Bewicks Swan (2), Whooper Swan (125),

Conder Green Pool - Shelduck (4), Wigeon (15), Teal (100), Goosander (2), Little Grebe (4), Oystercatcher (1), Redshank (11), Stonechat (2).

Knott End - Twite (c.30), Dunlin (11), Turnstone (1), Redshank (9).

We missed out on Snow Bunting, Cattle Egret (3) and White-fronted Goose that were in the general area.

The jetty/slipway seems to be a guaranteed area for the Twite flock. They also have a liking for the cafe roof if, at first, you dont spot them at the jetty.

Originally posted by Dave Ousey today:

5th February:

We moved south onto the Fylde area firstly Bradshaw Lane and Eagland Hill and were treated to a large flock of Yellowhammer`s. Then around 50 plus Corn Bunting flew onto the same hedge as the Yellowhammer`s how lucky we were to be at the right place at the right time! A large flock of Pink footed Geese were seen on Head Dyke Lane in Pilling and the news was that about 10 Russian White fronted Geese were amongst this flock, we had about 30 minutes finding and enjoying these geese as the cold intensified and we made our way home after a really good days birding was had.

Other species of note: - Barnacle Geese, Bittern, Water Rail, Ruff, Green Woodpecker.

Highlights of a few hours on the Fylde in dull and cool weather :-

Eagland Hill

Tree Sparrow (2)
Corn Bunting (18)
Whooper Swan (4)
Pink-footed Goose (1500)

Pilling Lane Ends

Whooper Swan (c.200)
Golden Plover (500)
Lapwing (1000)

Upper Thurnham

Bewicks Swan (2)
Whooper Swan (4)

Knott End

Twite (39) In their usual spot by the slipway

With a forecast of a sunny day I decided to take advantage and have another day out. So off I headed to The Fylde. It was nice and sunny when I arrived but a cold wind cut straight through me as I was here on the coast.

First port of call was Knott End where I was a bit dismayed to see the tide fully up to the seawall. The birds that I was after wouldn't have much room to settle with the public out on this nice day so I feared the worst. But happily as soon as I walked to the slipway by the cafe there was a small flock of 14 Twite on the top end of the slipway (pictured). As I settled down to try for digiscoped shots a woman wandered past straight towards them and they took off and flew distantly out of view. After a walk I returned and found the flock back where they had been. I grabbed a few shots but the area was busy with dogwalkers and folk out for a walk and they were constantly flushed so it was hard work. I soon gave up, happy with the few shots that I had grabbed. A flock of Turnstones were also on the slipway but they were flushed off too and didn't return. I checked out the beach/saltmarsh round the corner near the pub and found a good number of Sanderling here as well as a few Knot, a Grey Plover and lots of Oystercatchers, Curlews and Redshanks.

Next I headed down to the Eagland Hill area to check for mossland birds. A distant flock of Pink-footed Geese in flight were the only geese seen surprisingly. Also around were a few Redwings, a couple of Jays and lots of Starlings, but it was pretty meagre fare so far! The things picked up with first a Grey Partridge on one of the tracks off Bradshaw Lane and then 2 Tree Sparrows at the feeding station on New Lane. A Little Egret fed in a flooded field by the road too as did a surprise find, a Green Sandpiper, my second this November here in the NW! My target birds though had still eluded me and I decided to head slowly back to the main road. Passing through Eagland Hill onto Bradshaw Lane again I was really chuffed to find my wanted species in the shape of 2 Corn Buntings on the wires right next to the lane, giving cracking views.

Happy with my day and with 2 yearticks achieved I headed back home to Cheshire.

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Monday 22nd of November 2021 04:32:27 PM

Sarfraz Hayat wrote:

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There is a thread posted on Birdforum in the Rare Bird Information section with a BBRC work in progress file posted.  The Eastern Black Eared Wheatear is an IC which I guess means Incomplete/Inconclusive.  Other birds have OK, NP - which must mean Not Proven ?

To view it you must be a member.  I am not sure if it is against forum policy to post the file here or the link itself?

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 IC stands for In Circulation, so it just means that the record is still being assessed by the committee and a decision has not yet been made.

Fleetwood area 11.00-15.00

Rossall Point : Just 2 Eiders and a few gulls were seen offshore, hardly surprising judging by the huge breakers battering the promanade.

Most birds sheltered on or along the edge of the golf course, notably : 7 Ringed Plovers, 1 Grey Plover, 3 Skylarks, 7 Meadow Pipits,

4 Stonechats and a flock of 70 Oystercatchers.

Fleetwood Nature Reserve and adjoining Wyre estuary : 100+ Wigeon, 1 Avocet, 6 Stonchats, 3 Shoveler and 6 Great Black Backed Gulls.

Amazingly the Avocet was swimming in the middle of the estuary at high tide amongst a large group of Wigeon.

For reasons for my recent absence from the forums see my post in 'Leighton Moss'. Doing a quick update from the past week now!

Last week (15/1/20) I was taken up to the northern Fylde for my first trip out in quite a long time. Our first port of call was Bradshaw Lane where immediately on arrival we were treated to stunning views of the immature Purple Heron in its favoured field (the one now mown) just by the road (montage pic attached). Also in the general area was a Barn Owl, 90 Corn Buntings, a Little Egret and big flocks of Pink-footed Geese.

With only half a day at our disposal we next headed to the nearby Pilling Sewage Works. Here after a short wait we managed to pick up a couple of Chiffchaffs, one being the Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis) and the other a standard 'collybita'.

Next stop was Knott End where we eventually found the 30+Twite flock by the top of the slipway by the cafe and even on the cafe roof! From the bottom of the slipway we scoped 2 Peregrines sitting out on the sand bars. Also present were Turnstone, Curlew and Redshank.

Finally we headed to Upper Thurnham and down Moss Lane where we found several groups of Whooper Swans, and in the furthest away (Murphy's Law!) were a maximum of 3 Bewick's Swans.

Very obliging first winter Purple Heron at Eagland Hill. Also a Barn Owl around the next door farm. Pink feet Geese heard but not seen through the mist. A Kestrel and a Buzzard seen nearby.

40+ Twite at Knott End, followed by a very nice omelette and chips in the busy cafe. A few Redshanks and Oystercatchers on the sands.

The Siberian Chiffchaff showed well at the Pilling Sewage filter beds alongside 2 Chiffchaffs, a Goldcrest, a Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail. A Fieldfare was heard nearby.

Went on to Upper Thurnham and saw 150+ Whooper Swans, 40+ Mute Swans and managed to pick out a couple of Bewick's Swans but there could have more. 2 Greylags keeping them company.
Plenty of Curlews in the fields and large flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers in the distance.

A great day on the Fylde today. Whilst watching a Barn Owl at Eagland Hill, we then noticed the Purple Heron right in front of us giving superb views, as well as a dozen Corn Bunting sat on wires, plus Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. We had passed a couple of hundred Pink-footed Geese in the fields before ticking off the nearby Cattle Egret. We then moved on to Moss Lane at Upper Thurnham where 7 Bewicks Swan were picked out of the couple of hundred Whooper Swans. Finally we ended up at Pine Lake, just up the M6 at Carnforth where we added the Ring-necked Duck. Very impressive duck numbers here with around 30 Pochard, scores of Tufted Duck, a few Gadwall, 20 odd Wigeon, around 20 Goosander and a minimum of 10 Goldeneye.

A few photos of the 1st Winter Purple Heron.

Popped up to see the Purple Heron today as my missus hasn't seen one in this country,the bird showed really well and ate 3 voles whilst we were watching it.Having dipped it previously it was well worth another shot at it.

Eagland Hill; splendid views of the juvenile Purple Heron this a.m. with Malcolm from the road next to the last farm in the village on the bend in the field it seems to favour.
Cheers Ian

 

Hi Sid + Rob + Simon,

 

Sorry forgot I left  a comment/question here.  I have learnt that what was said was not actually based on evidence or an actual decision.    I had emailed the county recorder anyway and he replied that the consensus was that it was Eastern Black Eared Wheatear but it has not been submitted to the BBRC yet as of 05/11/2019.  The DNA results were not mentioned so I am not sure if they have been published.  On birdguides there have been some announcements about 2 Stonechats seen possibly on Shetland and maybe somewhere else in late September.  There DNA results proved them to be the rarer species/sub-species - Siberian and Stejneger's Stonechats if I remember correctly.  Maybe this Wheatear's DNA results will take longer?

 

Sarfraz

 

sid ashton wrote:

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Sarfraz Hayat wrote:

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I have heard that the Wheatear species seen has been confirmed as an adult female Eastern Black Eared Wheatear? Anyone know if that is true?

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 Where did you hear that Sarfraz? Have the DNA results been published perhaps?

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Hi Sarfraz,
dont know if you saw a tweet from Paul Ellis on 11th Sept, it explains that Chris Batty managed to identify the white spot in the middle of the mantle feathers from Pauls photos. This is pretty much a decider it says.
Also Paul Slade who runs Fylde Bird Club says that the results of the DNA sample wont be much help due to the closeness of the 2 species.

I have heard that the Wheatear species seen has been confirmed as an adult female Eastern Black Eared Wheatear? Anyone know if that is true?

Sarfraz Hayat wrote:

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It would be so much better if it was Eastern Black Eared Wheatear but ultimately I assume the BBRC/BOURC will give the final decision.  For some reason I am not optimistic.  I hope it is not an undecided or hybrid.  Some were saying that DNA may not be a deciding factor too.  Either is fine for my British list but as a sub-species Eastern Black Eared Wheatear would be a lifer if split unless it occurs in Greece.  I hope someone rings it because it would be nice to know if it could turn up anywhere next.  

-- Edited by Sarfraz Hayat on Thursday 12th of September 2019 10:37:42 AM

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Eastern O.h. melanoleuca occurs in Greece. Steve Dudley included Western in his Lesvos guide in error (pers comm Lesvos Birding facebook page)
Oenanthe hispanica: S Europe and North Africa; > Senegal to Mali
Oenanthe melanoleuca: SE Europe to Caspian and Iran; > to ne and w Africa

The DNA of of Eastern is closer to Pied than Western BEW. Schweizer, M, Warmuth, V, Kakhki, N A, Aliabadian, M, Förschler, M, Shirihai, H, Suh, A, & Burri, R. 2018. Parallel plumage color evolution and introgressive hybridization in wheatears. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13401

It would be so much better if it was Eastern Black Eared Wheatear but ultimately I assume the BBRC/BOURC will give the final decision.  For some reason I am not optimistic.  I hope it is not an undecided or hybrid.  Some were saying that DNA may not be a deciding factor too.  Either is fine for my British list but as a sub-species Eastern Black Eared Wheatear would be a lifer if split unless it occurs in Greece.  I hope someone rings it because it would be nice to know if it could turn up anywhere next.  

-- Edited by Sarfraz Hayat on Thursday 12th of September 2019 10:37:42 AM

Very close views of the Pied/Eastern Black Eared Wheatear today from the seawall about 200 meters West of the car park at the end of Fluke Hall Lane ftom 11am to 11.30.

Also 5 Northern Wheatear, Sparrowhawk, 3 Little Egret 

A few images attached. 

I totally agree, as I've said before in the field I favoured Eastern Black-eared, the bird looking warmer toned. But from my pics as well as the myriad on the web it looks more cold & like Pied. The consensus on places like Bird Forum and Facebook is Pied, but they are all going from pictures. There is even a suggestion now of a hybrid since these are quite frequent in the 'overlap' zone. It has also been stated that DNA analysis of poo alone won't be conclusive and that a feather is needed, again I don't know if this is true but it was  aCounty Recorder who explained this, so I have no reason to doubt it at all.

Hi Mark,
Using online photos to help ID of bird can, as I am sure you are aware, be problematic. Particularly judging colour tones, when lighting and various camera settings can affect the outcome. I saw this bird yesterday and already had in my mind that a greyer toned mantle might favour Pied whilst browner tones might favour Eastern Black-eared. An oversimplification I know.

Looking at my back of camera shots it looked greyish, but in real life down the scope it appeared browner. I took a couple of photos just a few minutes apart under exactly the same gloomy lighting conditions, same range, and identical camera settings - apart from White Balance.

I found that switching from 'AWB' to 'Cloud' setting gave a more accurate colour rendition. See the two (not very good) photos attached. Greyer is 'Auto', browner is 'Cloud'.

Cheers, John




-- Edited by John Rayner on Wednesday 4th of September 2019 04:13:03 PM

Really hope it is a Black-eared, Richard, I thought it was when I was there, but on reading the BirdForum thread including views of several World experts with experience of both species in their local ranges, they are putting it in the Pied camp. But then again they all got it wrong on the possible rejection of the Stow Blue Rock Thrush and the Cornwall Dalmatian Pelican!! Hope springs eternal.

For anyone up that way tomorrow of interest today there was a Wood Sandpiper at Brockholes Wetlands LWT and an Osprey at Leighton Moss RSPB

Fluke Hall 10.00-12.00

The enigmatic wheatear was still showing when I left at noon, although it had moved a little

further South to the point where the farm track moves away from the sea wall.

4 Northern Wheatears were in the same area, and the celebrity bird appeared to enjoy their company,

so it move South with them. Most of the birders there considered the bird to be a female "Melanoleuca",

or rather were 90% sure like myself, and some very experienced ornithologists and ringers were present.

If only the bird was seen to shed one tiny feather, it appeared a little scruffy, then together with the faecal

analysis the ID issue could be solved.

A juvenile Cuckoo provided additional entertainment as it gave great views flying round, settled on a post

for a while, and even squatted in the middle of the track.

12 Tree Sparrows and 2 Dunnocks were in the nearby hawthorn hedge, which has a linear heap of well rotted

manure in front of it, so may well be a magnet for small insectivorous birds over the next few weeks.

Small numbers of Redshanks, Curlews, Little Egrets and Lapwings lined the edge of the small salt marsh.

A 10 metre high tide was due around 2pm, but I could not be bothered waiting, so if the afternoon sky filled

with skuas, please don't tell me.

Sunday 1st September.

Fluke Hall near Pilling.

Black-eared Wheatear / Pied Wheatear.

After having family commitments for most of the day, I finally got a couple of hours to try for a Lifer ... if it turns out to be a Black-eared Wheatear.
Time and light was against me but I had to try. I arrived during heavy rain, there wasnt many birders there and almost every one of them was either driving off or walking back to the car, but not to be deterred by a bit of water I took a short walk out on the path by the sea wall.
Well the rain stopped and I managed a few record shots in between watching it before the light got too low.
When I saw it this morning on Twitter, I text a mate of mine to say I thought it looked a bit like a Melanoleuca.
Having seen it and tried to observe some of the features, Im none the wiser, as both these species apparently can be inseparable.
What I did notice was the plumage looks rather coldish grey and my digiscopes show that, but some images online show it slightly warmer so it could be a trick of the light.
I tried to view the tail open in flight but it was difficult as it dropped of the rocks and flew whilst obscured, but on reviewing the tail pattern
of both birds it probably wouldnt have mattered. Would it? Faecal sample it is then.

I aint seen Black-eared Wheatear anywhere in the World so will bow to those with more experience than I. I have the RBA feed and see that they are still saying Black-eared. I assumed that Chris Batty, who lives close by, and who is one of the top UK birders, has seen it. He works for RBA so presumably their stance is taken from his thoughts? 

p.s. just seen that now RBA are hedging their bets over either species (based on their last report at 9.48pm). Either way it's a yeartick!  Hope they got the right faecal sample as there was a Northern Wheatear there too!!

 

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Sunday 1st of September 2019 10:13:49 PM

Originally posted today by Paul Brewster:

When a report came through today of a rare Wheatear at Fluke Hall near Pilling I became very interested. The initial report said that it was a Black-eared Wheatear (or possibly a Pied Wheatear). Needing the former for a lifer I decided to head off after lunch to try for it. 70 miles and just over an hour later saw me at Fluke Hall car park joining a large number of birders already there. Many of GMs finest were present so we joined together and were soon watching what had now been confirmed as a female Eastern Black-eared Wheatear. Initially the bird was hunkered down under overhanging rocks as it was blustery and very rainy! As the weather improved the bird popped out and showed very well. I rattled off a few digiscoped shots and watched but soon the nasty weather returned and the bird again went to ground amongst the coastal defences. This happened a few times but given time everyone arriving had great views.