The Big Mooch.

Not the plan when I left home, but I ended up mooching around Conder Green and the Glasson area for a full six hours yesterday, turning every tree, bush, and hedgerow upside down in the process....Should have gone to Shetland!!

Spotted Redshank. Pete Woodruff.

The first bird seen at Conder Green was the Spotted Redshank in the creeks with up to 100 Teal here, 2 Grey Wagtail were seen with one below the road bridge and one upstream.

Common Sandpiper. Pete Woodruff.

The Common Sandpiper was on Conder Pool where I could only find 5 Little Grebe today. In the picnic area, a Goldcrest, at least 2 Robin heard/seen, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, and Blue Tit, with 2 Buzzard soaring overhead.

I paid two visits to the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, the first around mid-day, the second at 4.45pm, birds noted were my first big count this winter of at least 1,500 Golden Plover, followed by another first decent count of the returning 295 Black-tailed Godwit. Also of note, a Ruff took 'Best Estuary Bird' award, followed by 3 Greenshank, 23 Snipe, 16 Turnstone which were seen as irregular if not scarce here, a single Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Great-crested Grebe and a Red-breasted Merganser, low numbers of gulls were dominated by c.250 Common Gull.

A Kestrel was the only bird noted on Jeremy Lane, but it was one more bird seen there than I took note of in an hour around the Glasson Grain/Yatch Club area. In the dock I counted 5 Tufted Duck, with another 25 on the canal basin and probably twice that number of Coot.

I watched a Pied Wagtail take an unidentified butterfly in it's bill on the roof of Christ Church, the bird lost it's grip on the butterfly which flew off to escape with it's life....amazing.

Green Woodpecker. Ana Minguez @ Naturanafotos

Surprise bird of the day was a Green Woodpecker, a local wanderer seen flying east over the marsh from Glasson Dock towards Conder Green. Come 3 November it will be a year ago since I saw my last when I had the bonus of two birds together off Rigg Lane at Birk Bank. 

Thanks for the Green Woodpecker Ana, you can see the wood flying off the tree as the bird pecks away at it, excellent and very much appreciated. 

As for my own poor quality and repetitive species photographs....I just keep trying!