BIRDING THE LUNE ESTUARY THE FOREST OF BOWLAND AND BEYOND..............................................................................SCAUP CONDER POOL 5 MARCH PAUL ELLIS

Saturday 22 July 2017

Five Days Later.

On Thursday, five days since my last visit to Conder Green, it seems the juvenile Common Tern have already dispersed, the whole party of two adult and three juvenile were all present on my last visit on Friday 14 July, but I've not found young anywhere here or on the Lune Estuary from Glasson to Cockersand. 

Two Common Tern adult were on Conder Pool, with a count of up to 150 Lapwing noted. I saw just 2 Little Grebe on the pool today, with a drop in number to 8 Common Sandpiper in the creeks with 2 Greenshank and 5 Little Egret.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, 3 Mediterranean Gull were seen as an adult and two 2nd summer, 2 Common Tern adult fishing here were probably the Conder birds. An estimated 350 Dunlin and 250 Redshank were feeding on the tideline from the bowling green to the Conder mouth, and I counted 17 Little Egret here.



At Cockersand, there was an interesting count of at least 90 House Sparrow, I don't recall the last time I saw anything like a flock of this size of the House Sparrow, they were feeding in a barley field north of Bank Houses where I saw a small group of Goldfinch five of which were juvenile, and a Whitethroat feeding a young bird, also a few Tree Sparrow seen. A Sparrowhawk was in flight below a hedgeline, with just one of the two summering Whooper Swan seen.

Thanks to Simon Hawtin for his brilliant GND header image.

Cover Crop.

The cover crop at Crook Farm Cockersand in the cross-column image below the header, is being maintained by this farming family who I respect and know well, and who I spoke with recently to be told of government subsidies having been withdrawn. 

Wildlife needs farmers like this, but not the people in government like this....The photograph was taken in August 2016.

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