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

Friday 9 November 2012

The Mini Marathon.

It soon turned out to have been a good idea to do the 'Dock Marathon' again yesterday....not really a marathon but a fairly lengthy walk, depending on what your definition of a fairly lengthy walk is.


 Long-tailed Duck. Copy Permitted.

It was a good idea to start the walk from Greyhound Bridge on the River Lune in Lancaster to Glasson Dock about six miles downstream, if only because soon after I got on to St Georges Quay I could see a diving duck a little distance off which immediately wasn't either Goldeneye or Goosander both of which I had already recorded upstream from Skerton Bridge. So I shifted my legs into a higher gear and soon discovered I'd found a Long-tailed Duck, nice record, nice start to the walk, though the excitement of finding this bird - which gave rise to encouragement and incentive - was short lived and the numbers and quality of birds didn't materialise....The Long-tailed Duck was still on the River Lune in the same section 4.5 hours later at 4.00pm.

Checking out the various groups of gulls along the quay I found nothing of note. At Freeman's Pools I noted just 2 Goldeneye, and 6 Gadwall. On the Wildfowlers Pool a Little Grebe noted with 3 Snipe and another lone Goldeneye.

Noted between Aldcliffe and Glasson Dock, I came across just a couple of Fieldfare and Redwing, at least 24 Blackbird, and 5 Little Egret. An estimate opposite Nansbuck Cottage reached c.550 Golden Plover. I had little time left to do Conder Green anything like justice today and noted just 2 Little Grebe on Conder Pool which has been taken over by at least 120 Mallard, and just as on 15 October when I last did this walk....my bus was coming....again.  

This is a pleasant all level walk following the River Lune to Glasson Dock along the old railway line. Today I had taken particular note of the Lapwing along the entire length of this river for about six miles, at no time could I look across the river and not see these birds. By the time I reached Glasson Dock I couldn't help but wonder....how many thousand Lapwings have I walked past, and how many would I have counted if I'd have even attempted to do, just how many Lapwing does this section of the River Lune actually hold. 

And finally....


Waxwing Geoff Gradwell   

We all seem to go overboard when the Waxwings arrive, and there now appears to be large numbers of them in the UK. GG went to Euston Street in Preston yesterday where there was in excess of a hundred in the afternoon.This shot shows the lengths bird will go to to get a meal. Thanks Geoff, another picture with a difference, a Waxwing hanging upside-down chomping on berries.

Today 150 Waxwing on Euston Street in Preston at 9.05am. 

4 comments:

  1. Really getting excited about the prospect of a waxwing appearing here Pete, I only had fly overs in the last eruption, despite seeing them in groups of 50 or more at work just off patch :-)

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  2. Great Blog Pete, lots going on :-)

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  3. Thanks Warren....hope you enjoyed the e-mail about the Vikings!

    Thanks Alan....Good to see you've looked in on Birds2blog and your kind encouraging comment.

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  4. Pete. LT Duck a great find..good to see you are keeping fit. Hope you manage some waxwings on your patch..we seem to be spoilt in Preston at the moment. Take care.

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