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

Sunday 31 January 2016

Come In Mr W Your Time's Up!

Against the clock on Thursday, and no blogging time since....not a good set of circumstances for yer average birder like me!

Teal. Peter Rhind.



I'm often remiss in my reports of the birds I see, and below is no exception when I make no mention of the Teal present at Conder Green on Thursday where there are always good numbers during the winter months, my latest count was of 165 Teal here last Monday, but PR did get an excellent shot of the Teal over Conder Green....Thanks Peter. 

I only managed a brief session on Thursday and was only able to check out Conder Pool where I found a Spotted Redshank roosting with 10 Redshank. A single Snipe was still holding on to 'Tern Island' with 2 Goosander and just 3 Little Grebe seen. On the canal basin at Glasson Dock I could only find 2 Goldeneye, and noted 2 Little Grebe and a Great-crested Grebe


Black-tailed Godwit. Noushka Dufort @ 1000 Pattes

At least 500 Black-tailed Godwit was by far my best count this winter on the Lune Estuary, with a 'few' Bar-tailed Godwit. Other waders seen on the mud fast disappearing beneath the tide, 450 Redshank, 150 Curlew, 10 Dunlin, and the staying Ruff which was distant at the Conder mouth, 21 Goldeneye, 2 Red-breasted Merganser and a Great-crested Grebe were on the river, and up to 100 Pink-footed Geese had set down on Colloway Marsh.

A brief visit to Cockersands to see if anything exotic had turned up on Plover Scar at high tide....dream on, with just c.450 Oystercatcher roosting and a Great-crested Grebe off here. In an Abbey Farm field, a gathering of uncounted waders - probably 300 birds in total - included a good number of Golden Plover, Dunlin, Lapwing, and most interesting up to 60 Turnstone. The resident Buzzard was being seen off by 2 Carrion Crow, and the Moss Lane Kestrel seen again. Also off Moss Lane, Whooper Swans still appeared to be at c.300 in number on a drive by.

The Wheatear.


Wheatear Marc Heath 

If I'm going to find an early Wheatear this year it may well be within six weeks if my 2015 bird is anything to go by....Now there's a nice thought. 

Thanks to Noushka for the Black-tailed Godwits, and to Marc for the Wheatear. My thanks also to Phil Woollen for the header image of the Pallas's Warbler, a little gem found by Steve Hinde 2 January at Heswall, Cheshire.

2 comments:

  1. 'A brief outing'. Thats a pretty good list of birds you saw Pete. A few I would be very happy to cross paths with.

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  2. OK a good list Marc, but 2 hours in this area of the Lune Estuary for me is brief.

    Some brilliant Large Red Damselfly Nymph images the last couple of days Marc.

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