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

Friday 18 January 2013

Not just one....but two.

Stonechat Ana Minguez

I use the word brilliant quite freely to enter into the records my finding 2 Stonechat today, they were on the western perimeter of Freeman's Pools. I had seen a bird fly from the bank of the River Lune and had identified it as a Stonechat in flight before it immediately went out of sight below the bank towards Freeman's Pools. I wanted more on this bird - after all it now has the rarity label attached to it in my book - and I needed to know the sex/age of this beauty. So I make no apology for 'chasing' this bird on out of bounds territory, and as far as I'm concerned the right decision too as I was to discover not one but two Stonechats, both 1st winter male/female qualifying them as 'Bird of 2013' and it's only mid-January too....but that's just me getting excited!


Grey Wagtail Geoff Gradwell

I only intended to get as far as Stodday from Greyhound Bridge before the trek home as it was mid-morning when I got started. The first bird of note just off the Millennium Bridge was another little beauty the Grey Wagtail, just downstream from Carlisle Bridge was 15 Goosander and 20 Goldeneye which has me wondering if there is perhaps a three figure number in our recording area this winter after all. That said, I've little evidence of many others elsewhere in the area, but reckon my records now show up to sixty on the River Lune between Skerton Bridge and Glasson Dock.


Lift Off
Pink-footed Geese Brian Rafferty

On Aldcliffe Marsh 'goose' numbers probably totalled in excess of 3,500 with reasonable estimates of 3,000 Pink-footed Geese, 300 Canada Geese and Greylag Geese. Three Little Egret were also on the marsh, and from here to Stodday I noted another good record of 4 Song Thrush, at least 15 Blackbird, 12 Goldfinch, and at least 50 Golden Plover in a field with Lapwing.    

Thank you for the Stonechat Ana, Grey Wagtail Geoff, and Pink-footed Geese Brian, they are all excellent and much appreciated.

10 comments:

  1. well done Pete, good to hear you are catching up with the Stonechats!!

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  2. These will be the birds of the year for me Gary, bearing in mind it's mid-January and I've no 'hard' evidence of more than one breeding record within the LDBWS recording area and beyond in 2012.

    Thanks for this Gary.

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  3. Positive sightings indeed Pete,I will have to put some effort in this spring in the Trough.

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  4. I can see that little find cheered you no end Pete :-)
    I'm hoping for a SC here this year after missing them last.

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  5. Would have been over the moon if I'd have found just one Pete. Well done!

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  6. Pete. Many congrats on finding the stonechats,you must be delighted !! Let's hope these herald a better year for the stonechat in our area. The PF Geese picture may not be mine !! I don't recognise it. Enjoy your birding and take care.

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  7. Well done Pete.I have been hoping to find 1 around the Glasson,cockersands
    Area,no luck
    I have seen breeding success at Langden brook,Hareden farm and Foulshaw moss.
    .
    Andrew Cornall

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  8. Adam....Great birds indeed.

    Martin....Will met you in the Trough of Bowland in the spring.

    Warren....I'll be watching Pittswood to see your Stonechat find.

    Richard....Over the moon like me.

    Brian....'Clik the pik' and prove yourself wrong about the PFG image.

    Andrew....I've been looking there too, the bigger surprise was Freeman's Pools.

    Thanks to all for your encouraging comments, they are important to me.

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  9. Hi Peter!!!.. Interesting post..Tomorrow I will be sending my greetings British Stonechat ... Regards

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