Waxwing November

November 2010 in north Cumbria will be remembered for a huge influx of Waxwings into the county and for unseasonally cold temperatures at the months end.

The Waxwings were to numerous to list but were present in virtually every village at one time or another with some of the biggest flocks being; Wetheral 400+ on the 20/11, Dalston 450+ on the 29/11/10, Carlisle 250+ on West walls on the 11/11/10, Penrith 323 on the 13/11/10 and 200 in Warwick Bridge on the 22/11. Interestingly if you add up all the reports from the 13/11 they total just over 1000 birds over the whole County. On a sadder note I picked up 11 dead, with 2 dead male Bullfinches on the 20/11 in Wetheral, all the result of window strikes on the same window. Another was reported dead from a window strike near Workington on the 29/11. Interestingly many of these birds particularly early in the month were seen to be fly catching
rather than berry feeding, but as the cold weather hit normal service resumed.



Other than Waxwings there were some decent birds around. I was pleased to find a juvenile Dotterel with c15oo golden plover near Gretna, just south of the border, it was first seen distantly on the 8/11 when I thought it could have been a Lesser Golden Plover but closer views on the 11/11 showed it to be a Dotterel at a very unusually late date.

Another reward for scanning roadside flocks came in the form of 2 Eurasian Whitefronted Geese in a flock of c800 Pinkfeet opposite Scotby by the A689 on the 1/11/10.


Snow Buntings were around in small numbers with 1 at Mawbray on the 13/11, 2 at Bowness Railings on the 21 and 22/11and a very unusual group of 30+ reported from Anthorn on the 22/11.



A Great Grey Shrike was found on a tetrad visit at Butterburn on the 13/11/10.

A huge count 500+ Twite was recorded at Newton Marsh on the 15/11/10, with 200+ on Skinburness Marsh on the 2/11.

An unusual bird in the north of the County a Slavonian Grebe was present on Tindale tarn from 8-26/11/10 until the cold weather caused the tarn to virtually freeze over sending the grebe on its way.

The cold weather did have a postive side thought with over 400 Brambling feeding confidingly at Talkin Tarn on the 29/11/10 and a Rough Legged Buzzard reported from nearby Tindale Fell on the 30/11. Another Rough Legged Buzzard was reported earlier in the month on the 12/11from Campfield Marsh. Also at Campfield Marsh 2 Hen Harriers, Merlin and large numbers of Tree Sparrows (100), Reed Buntings (120) and Yellowhammers (40) were seen on the 25/11.



Nearby at Port Carlisle the wintering Spotted redshank was seen intermittently all month.

On the river Esk at longtown a juv Long Tailed Duck was seen on several dates while the Ross' Goose continued to be seen on Rockliffe Marsh.

October

The month started with a lovely Ross' goose on the 5th October on Rockliffe Marsh with c12,000 Barnacle geese, it remained intermittently all month.

There was nothing else out of the ordinary until the 16/10 when a Yellow Browed warbler was found in a garden at Anthorn where it showed for most of the day, suprisingly this lovely little warbler is becoming almost annual in north Cumbria.

Whooper swans began to reappear from the middle of the month but no large numbers have yet built up with a max 68 recorded at Campfield on the 19/10. On the same day 2 Spoonbill flew over Campfield but failed to land. Up to 4 Hen harriers have been recorded here in the late afternoons.

Another Black Tern was found at Longtown ponds though only stayed briefly on the 5/10, a White Winged Black Tern was also reported at campfield on the 7/10 but it has been suggested this was a Common Tern and the only photographs produced do indeed show a Common Tern.

A female long Tailed Duck was on the Esk at Longtown on the 26/10 and was reported again a week later.

The real treat of the month was the Waxwing Invasion that began to reach Cumbria on the 24/10 with 7 in Carlisle, by the end of the month numerous flock had been reported the largest of which was 300+ on Kingstown, Carlisle on the 30/10. Keswick had held up to 40 birds, Carlisle several flocks from 20 to 300, Dalston up to 30, Wetheral up to 30 and 14 at Gilsland with numbers continuing to build. Interestingly these birds seemed to be feeding by flycatching rather than berry feeding.





Other winter visitors arrived with 35 Brambling at Talkin Tarn on the 31/10 and up to 200 Twite moving between Grune Point on the 24/10 and Anthorn on the 30/10. A Greenshank was also present at Grune on the 24/10.

A massive count of 1500 Pintail were on the falling tide on the 27/10.