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

Tuesday 1 March 2016

Four Figure Godwits....

....with a couple of other notable 'frantic feeding' records at Cockersands for Monday 29 February, and some moderate photographic efforts too.

Black-tailed Godwit. C'sands. Pete Woodruff.

Perfect timing yesterday when I arrived along the road to Crook Farm at just after 3.30 pm, the tide had dropped off enough for at least 1,000 Black-tailed Godwit (BTG) to feed frantically on the freshly uncovered mud, a few of which were advanced in their stunning rufous neck and breast breeding plumage

I had seen a published record of 1,200 BTG at Sunderland Point last Tuesday 23 February, and that flock was probably matched by this one here today. In fact on Friday 26 February, I had seen up to 1,000 BTG on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, and later found 650 off Crook Farm at Cockersands, I had thought at the time, if these two groups of BTG were independent of each other, then 1,650 BTG were on the Lune Estuary on that date. Whatever, these are excellent counts of the species in this area.

Wigeon. C'sands. Pete Woodruff.

Also as the tide ebbed at Cockersands, several hundred Wigeon were also feeding frantically and were accompanied by at least one pair of Pintail, and more surprisingly a drake Shoveler, seen as a rare sight at Cockersands, and a scarce and irregular visitor elsewhere in our recording area.

Eider. C'sands. Pete Woodruff.

Twenty two Eider - heads down in the pic above - were also feeding off Long Tongue, this was four more than the eighteen I had seen here on my last visit which had been my first Eider here since 8 October 2015.

The rest of the account of the birds seen yesterday to follow....I ran out of blogging time today.

9 comments:

  1. Must be great Pete, looking along the waterline, not knowing what might turn up :-) Very envious !

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  2. Was quite good yesterday as the tide fell Warren, did you turn a horrible green again!!

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  3. Brilliant images, the Godwits to Eiders, they are beautiful.

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  4. Thanks Bob....Always appreciate your looking in on Birds2blog.

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  5. Thats the good bit about the sea, you never know quite what will trurn up. Good numbers of birds there Pete, very encouraging.

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  6. Those numbers are mind-boggling, Pete. I really must get out and about more!!

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  7. Marc....It was an exceptional day, with good numbers of birds around as the tide fell yesterday.

    Richard....Your latest post shows you really do get out and about, and by the way I loved your Stonechat/Whinchat images too.

    Thanks to both for looking in.

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  8. Can't say you are enjoying the sun!
    Considering how difficult it is to take pics with such lack of light, you did really well...
    The observations are incredible, although it is migration time so I guess it is part of the answer.
    Keep well Pete :-)

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  9. Yes, the Black-tailed Godwits will leave for Iceland a little later.

    Many thanks for your interest and comments on Birds2blog Noushka.

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