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

Friday 10 July 2015

Another Squeeze....Short And Sweet Again.

Glasson Marina. Pete Woodruff.

Looking south over Glasson Marina towards a wonderful 8 July sky....'clik the pik' it looks even more like an English summers day.

Another squeeze on Wednesday when I just about made some time to take a look in at Conder Green to find at least 12 Common Sandpiper after avoiding duplicate counting of mobile birds in the creeks, also 2 Greenshank and 4 Little Egret present. Ten Black-tailed Godwit were on Conder Pool, stunning birds in their breeding plumage. Up to 300 Redshank seen, with a few Swift around, and a Buzzard seen from here was high over the Stodday area.

The Conder Pool Common Terns.


FYLDE BIRD CLUB 
Montage Geoff Gradwell 

With observations lasting 30 minutes in total, I paid two visits to Conder Pool, and saw just one adult Common Tern on the island, seeing just the tip of it's head above the vegetation and not a young bird in sight. In between the visits I called in at Glasson Dock to find another Common Tern fishing in the dock, then transferring to the canal basin where I picked it up over the south corner of the basin as it left for Conder Green presumably having caught small fry which I was unable to see from the distance.


Small Fry. Copy Permitted.

I don't understand why this bird goes to the trouble of flying from Conder Green to the Lune Estuary and Glasson Dock, when in excess of 20 Little Grebe during the winter months, can be seen diving for small fry on Conder Pool and taking them as a seemingly unending supply of food. I've often wondered how many of these fish the Little Grebe's can take from the pool over the winter period they spend there, yet - albeit a short distance - the Common Tern flies away from the pool to find a food source elsewhere....energy spent and better conserved as I see it.

Thanks to GG for the excellent montage of the Preston Dock Common Terns.  

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