Author: Pete Woodruff

I’D SOONER BE BIRDING!

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
I spotted a moth to photograph in the garden in the week, which at least gave me a little material to give the breath of life to Birds2blog until I get the green flag for birding again. It was The Vapourer, a caterpillar of which I had photographed in the garden a couple of years ago. Only the male has functional wings, the female rarely moves from her cocoon, and usually lays her eggs on the cocoon itself.The caterpillar is easy to recognise with red spots on it's hairy body, four cream 'shaving brushes' and assorted hairy 'horns'.--------------------------------------------------The Great Escape.Thanks to Lynn Woodruff I was released from my housebound prison for the first time since the incident of 2 September, and was escorted along with KT on a walk along the Stone Jetty at Morecambe where I was rewarded with an Oct...
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No Migrants For Me….

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
....nor any other birds sadly....but I live in hope! Black-tailed Godwit with Ruff. Howard Stockdale.A disappointment in that a record was buried beneath my health scare before I could submit it to my man in Iceland. But I have now recieved the life history of a Black-tailed Godwit seen at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve 5 August 2018, subsequently recorded 31 times in 5 countries including a return to Iceland 4 times.....5 in NW Spain 20053 in W Portugal in 200612 in W Portugal 2007S Iceland on 12 June 20082 W Portugal in 2009 S Iceland on 1 June 2009Netherlands 2 April 2010S Iceland 15 May 2011W Portugal 3 Feb 2014W Portugal 5 Feb 2015S Iceland 23 April 2017W Portugal 2 Feb 2018NW England 5 Aug 2018The bird was ringed YL-GL 13 years ago as a male pulli on 13 July 2005 in S Iceland. 13/07/2005 Iceland,S I...
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A Breath Of Life.

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
Sounds a little dramatic, but wasn't meant to, rather than meaning to give a breath of life to Birds2blog whilst I get back some sort of normality again, and just to thank everyone who passed on to to me their good wishes via e-mail, phone, and card, I really appreciate them all, and had no idea I had such a strong healthy following.  It was also good to see Brian Rafferty back in business following a spell in hospital. Brian's Long-eared Owl is featured in my header image, and is one of two birds he saw on the the trip. The bird in the header being a juvenile, the other above an adult bird.Pallid Harrier.  Pallid Harrier Jan Larsson Pallid Harrier at Cockersand....as write. ...
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The Last Post….

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
....well hopefully not!As luck would have it I had drafted this post last Saturday 1st September, the night before the stroke put me on the ground, and so it was almost ready to publish with a bit of an edit.This post was always going to be titled 'My Kind Of Birding' as it was just that, being the area I was in on a nice sunny day searching for the Stonechat. But my book now reads the visit to Birk Bank was a disaster, in that I found none in four hours there. OK, so over the years I've already said all there is to be said about the Stonechat, so with nothing new to say, I'll spare the post any repeats.Birds of note were few, 3 Red Grouse were on Birk Bank, 2 Jay flying towards the woods, a group of up to 8 Blue Tit, a Coal Tit, and a Goldcrest were in the woodlands by Ottergear Bridge. I paid two visits to Birk Bank bog,&nb...
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Terned Out Nice Again!

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
Two adult Common Tern put in another brief appearance over Conder Pool again, one with a fish being chased by the other, but soon flew off. Although the breeders will have wandered during the summer months, for a species that breeds nowhere else in North Lancashire, with eight adult on Conder Pool at one time on 13 August, and birds seen at Glasson Dock and Cockersand, you have to wonder how many individuals have been on the Lune Estuary this year. A lone Greenshank and 16 Little Grebe also present, and I had my fourth Kingfisher sighting in as many weeks upstream from the road bridge. To be honest, the creeks at Conder Green were virtually deserted, save 3 Common Sandpiper and a lone Black-tailed Godwit seen, and the channel from the iron bridge to the estuary, not a bird in sight.I watched...
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Anything Interesting….

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
....asked the man walking up to me at Cockersand.Common Tern Plover Scar Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.So I pointed out to him at the high tide roost at Cockersand, 2 Common Tern were on the seaward edge of Plover Scar with 330 waders landward, 130 Dunlin, 125 Oystercatcher, 68 Ringed Plover, 3 Redshank, 2 Turnstone, and 2 Whimbrel, 3 Eider were off the scar.A similar count to last Saturday, was of 350 Golden Plover on the shore again as the tide ebbed, this time I was fully armed, 2 Wheatear and 12 Linnet seen around the abbey.Three Common Tern paid a visit to Conder Pool, flying around a few minutes before moving on. I was hoping they had been two adult and a juvenile, not seen since seven days ago when they dispersed. Greenshank Conder Pool. Ian Pinkerton.Also on the pool, 14 Greenshank on Tern Island are a...
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Oh No….Not Conder Green Again.

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
Conder Green again....an addiction I hope I can never kick.Greenshank Conder Pool 25 August. Pete Woodruff.On a return visit to Conder Green in the afternoon, 12 Greenshank were in the creeks, ten of which had been on Conder Pool in the morning, a previous 16 Little Grebe count held firm again today, and 2 Ruff accompanied the Redshank in the creeks, with 2 Snipe seen. It was notable that at least one House Martin was seen entering a nest at Cafe d' Lune, but again I saw none at River Winds, 4 Speckled Wood seen along the coastal path.Wheatear. Pete Woodruff.A walk along the headland at Cockersand was rewarded by my first returning c.350 Golden Plover on the weed covered shingle, offering an opportunity to search for an 'American' with them, but I had left my telescope in the motor, no longer entitled to be called a 'real' bi...
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Two Around The Green.

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
Ruff Conder Green 23 August. Pete Woodruff.In a couple of hours around the Conder Green area, I found another influx of 9 Common Sandpiper, I've never seen this number before at Conder Green in late August. A Ruff was in the creeks with Redshank and 2 Black-tailed Godwit. Down the channel from the iron bridge, c.250 Redshank, 12 Dunlin, and of 12 Greenshank seen, 9 were here, and 3 on Conder Pool, where from a few attempts, 14 Little Grebe counted were two down on Tuesdays peak of sixteen. Not the best of Ruff photographs, more like one of the worst....but I just keep trying!The Conder Common Terns.Despite two visits to Conder Pool during the course of the afternoon, there was no sign of any Common Terns, leading to the supposition they have dispersed. If I'm right about this, I'm really surprised these birds have m...
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Two Around The Green.

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
Ruff Conder Green 23 August. Pete Woodruff.In a couple of hours around the Conder Green area, I found another influx of 9 Common Sandpiper, I've never seen this number before at Conder Green in late August. A Ruff was in the creeks with Redshank and 2 Black-tailed Godwit. Down the channel from the iron bridge, c.250 Redshank, 12 Dunlin, and of 12 Greenshank seen, 9 were here, and 3 on Conder Pool, where from a few attempts, 14 Little Grebe counted were two down on Tuesdays peak of sixteen. Not the best of Ruff photographs, more like one of the worst....but I just keep trying!The Conder Common Terns.Despite two visits to Conder Pool during the course of the afternoon, there was no sign of any Common Terns, leading to the supposition they have dispersed. If I'm right about this, I'm really surprised these birds have m...
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The New Post….

Posted on by Pete Woodruff - In Birds2blog
....another original title!Adult/Juvenile Common Tern Conder Pool 21 August. Pete Woodruff.Four Common Tern seen, including the juvenile which I actually saw in flight for the first time yesterday, albeit just a couple of metres after enjoying a bathe, to fly back on to the island. But unlike the pontoon young when fledged, in no time were flying and diving like lifelong experts, this bird seems reluctant to spend much time on the wing, and certainly hasn't yet been observed to fish for itself a week after fledging, but is adept at begging.Also on Conder Pool, a new peak of 16 Little Grebe, 6 Greenshank, and up to 200 Lapwing spooked into the air en masse. In the creeks, a juvenile Ruff was again with the few Redshank, a lone Dunlin, and 2 Common Sandpiper. Upstream from the road bridge is obviously my best spot for ...
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