BIRDING THE LUNE ESTUARY THE FOREST OF BOWLAND AND BEYOND......................................................MEDITTERANEAN GULLS CONDER POOL PETE WOODRUFF

Tuesday 29 December 2009

Up a Lazy River.

Well the River Lune certainly looked lazy today compared to what it did a few weeks ago during the appalling November weather we had. I decided to take a look at the section between Skerton Bridge to Marsh Point then on to Aldcliffe Marsh.

Between these points I saw 10 Goldeneye, a drake Goosander, a Grey Wagtail and Song Thrush. Despite grilling a few hundred 'gull's' on the way down I could find no Med's but 26 Black-tailed Godwits taking rest opposite Marsh Point was excellent.



The pic above is the best of my efforts to record the 4 Snow Geese on Aldcliffe Marsh for a month and two days since 27 November and previously of Carnforth Marsh fame, they were in company with a small group the rest of which in total amounted to at least 550 Greylags which represents the largest number of this species I personally ever recorded. I would estimate the 100 Pink-footed Geese here today as numbering little more than that, the 'best' bird was a Dark-bellied Brent Goose, a Little Egret was also noted, and as I came off the marsh 3 Meadow Pipit seen.

  

I decided to put this piece of 'artwork' on the blog as I came across it along the quay on the outer shell of what was the very heartbeat of employment called Williamson's of Lancaster when I was a little younger, you could actually leave a job of work here on a Friday and probably start a new one at Lansil/Storey's on the following Monday morning such was the level of work in those days......how things change!

5 comments:

  1. Nice Snow goose pic... when I got reaslly close views a few days ago there were FOUR nice white ones + great flight views... so there are at least 5 of the things... and the more there are, the less likely is their genuineness. My excuse for missing the Brent is that they were miles away early on this morning. Eek. It can be added to my list of dubious excuses I posted a few days ago. Ray

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  2. Not sure where you get the 'at least 5' from Ray....not that I'm in any way questioning you but there are a few 'funny things' on Aldcliffe Marsh at the moment of which I saw about five today including an odd Canada Goose type with a mainly white head, and a much larger than a Snow Goose all white bird.

    Thanks for looking in and comments Ray.

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  3. I know what you mean about the weird and wonderful freaky geese around Aldcliffe..some of them have been there for years. What I meant was, the original leighton moss group had at least one blue-type bird amongst them... I think. And if they were the 4 that appeared later at Aldcliffe ( which I seem to remember people saying they were) then along with the 4 White ones that I saw,there are/were probably more than 4 individuals. The thing is, I never saw these aldcliffe ones when they first arrived... presumably others may know if the pioneer group had any blue-phasers in there. I am probably digging a hole for myself here with all these conditional sentences, but, hey... holes are, after all, where we all come from! Best wishes from Ray

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  4. Pete, did you mean to write November in your opening paragraph ?

    I'm so picky!!

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  5. Certainly did (now edited) and well spotted......Whoooops!

    Thanks Warren.

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