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

Friday 9 February 2018

Ducktacular!

Following Mondays spectacle, there was another on Wednesday, when I walked the length of coastline from Crook Farm to Bank End by which time I'd estimated at least 5,500 Wigeon stretching the entire length in some impressive rafts drifting in on the tide and including 13 Pintail and 12 Shoveler.


Stonechat Cockerham Sands 7 February. Pete Woodruff.

On the way to Bank End I saw the Cockerham Sands female Stonechat again. In the field NW of Bank End Farm, 245 Whooper Swan were accompanied by 2 Bewick's Swan. Returning from here, Greenfinch seen, and 35 Twite were in the rough field behind Bank House Cottage.

At Conder Green I found 8 Little Grebe, my best count here in up to 3 months, probably dispersed from some frozen pool somewhere, six of these were in the creeks and two on Conder Pool which was almost frozen over save a small area where the grebe's had taken advantage with a Mute Swan which I reckon was responsible for the ice free patch. Also in the creeks, a Goosander noted, and the Common Sandpiper was down the River Conder from the iron bridge, and had the entire channel to itself.


The canal basin was also frozen over except for an area at the SW corner where the two Pochard drake were with a lone Moorhen, 46 Coot were mainly stood on the ice

 
Low Tide Lune Estuary Glasson. Pete Woodruff.

Birds were all over the place on the low tide estuary at Glasson Dock, but there was no decent counts to be seen, the best example I could find was little more than 175 Golden Plover, 45 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Goldeneye, a Greenshank, and a Red-breasted Mergansera Merlin was distant on Colloway Marsh.

2 comments:

  1. You've certainly got a cracking area for winter birds there Pete. Hours of fun searching.

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  2. Hi Pete!!!..
    Magnificent!!! One Stonechat.. beautiful images .. Well done .. Regards

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