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

Saturday 24 March 2018

At Least Reasonable.

A sluggish start to Thursday's birding, with Conder Green appearing to have closed down for the day. Conder Pool was once more like a lake with the high tides, and little of note save a few Black-headed Gull bobbing up and down on the swell, and a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gull having taken a shine to the inside of the pontoon. 


Common Sandpiper. Conder Channel 22 March. Pete Woodruff.

But the reliable Common Sandpiper was down the channel again, and I got another grab shot for the record, the Conder Kestrel also put in an appearance.

The Lune Estuary wasn't much less sluggish, with little more than 80 waders in viewing distance, 60 Dunlin, 16 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Bar-tailed Godwit, and a drake Goosander of note. Noticeably, not a Wigeon to be seen, and a little less surprising, no Goldeneye. A female Pochard on the canal basin was almost certainly the one with Tufted Ducks on Conder Pool recently, a Grey Wagtail also seen here. On Jeremy Lane 40 Whooper Swan and a lone Greylag

The Cockersand swans were again spread out from Moss Lane to Bank End almost 2 miles away, but remain at least 300 Whooper Swan, a Black Swan was with a group at Bank End. Plover Scar at high tide held 152 Oystercatcher, 95 Turnstone, 4 Grey Plover, and a lone Knot, a Rock Pipit dropped in as I was leaving. A 'few' Meadow Pipit were in the Cockersand Abbey field, and with numbers lower and fluctuating, c.950 Golden Plover were in the Abbey Farm field where I also saw a Buzzard on a fence post. 

I picked up a Merlin on a distant post as I watched a Raven heading towards Abbey Farm, and a Merlin I saw an hour later over the marsh and Cocker Channel was no doubt the earlier male seen. Of 6 Snipe seen, four were up off the marsh, and two out of ditches from the road, from where I saw 3 Shoveler on the flood.

Given the weather wasn't perfect for birding, it was still bloody windy, and still bloody cold especially along the headland at Cockersand, but it was at least a reasonable selection of birds seen.

Thanks to Martin Lofgren for the excellent header image of the Water Pipit, which reminded me of my less than excellent image of the bird I found at Conder Green in 2016.


Water Pipit. Conder Green 4 April 2016. Pete Woodruff.    

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