Cloudy......

......and grey and that's not just the weather.

It was pretty hard work again today and the 'star' bird
was an adult Mediterranean Gull again at Cockersands from the caravan park end for the third consecutive visit here. Also noted, a Little Egret flew over Plover Scar where there was 5 Turnstone, a single Grey Plover, c.20 Eider, 2 Wheatear and 5 Linnet of note. Earlier Conder Green was unbelievably quiet and the only time I got out my notebook was when I saw the adult Spotted Redshank in the creeks and the three now apparently resident Little Grebe on Conder Pool, but unfortunately I had no time to do the customary circular today and so my visit wasn't fully justified and was only done in part time birder fashion......not my style!

I'm pretty good at mis-timing things and the tide was almost at its height by the time I arrived at Knott End (some people never seem to learn) and I could only muster at least 80 Eider difficult to count in a heavy swell. Cockers Dyke was also almost a washout but I managed to 'grab' c.30 Golden Plover and a Little Egret before they also took to the wing to find some terra firma to sit out the tide.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock to note were four Little Egret between Waterloo Cottage and the Conder Estuary, 22 Bar-tailed Godwit, a Greenshank, and 2 Goosander, common wader numbers were unremarkable here today.

All in all a bit of a 'dead duck' if I can be excused such weak pun, but just imagine I could have been railroaded into some painting and decorating - I don't think so - by someone I know very well. Thanks to David Cookson for the excellent image of a male Linnet to put a little colour on the blog.

And thanks also to Chris Batty for his photograph of Saturdays short stay Long- billed Dowitcher at Jamieson Road Landfill Site at Fleetwood.