BIRDING THE LUNE ESTUARY THE FOREST OF BOWLAND AND BEYOND...............................................................RED GROUSE HAWTHORNTHWAITE PETE WOODRUFF

Friday, 29 April 2022

Conder & Cocker.

Conder Pool continues to oblige when Sundays single became a double with 2 Common Tern present. Other interest was, the high concentration of Avocet which continues to increase, and the season getting off to a good start.

Little Ringed Plover Conder Pool. Pete Woodruff.

I saw just one Little Ringed Plover. The Black-tailed Godwit remain in decent number, some of which are well advanced into stunning breeding plumage. The Greylags now have seven goslings in tow.

Knot Conder Pool. Howard Stockdale.

The Knot also remain in numbers not seen on Conder Pool before, their status here is at best an occasional visitor in single figures, some of these birds are attaining their breeding pale brick-red plumage.

In the creeks, a 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull was with Black-headed Gulls, 4 Greenshank, and a Common Sandpiper, and a wander around the circuit had a Cetti's Warbler briefly heard, a Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, and Reed Bunting.

At Cockersand, the star of the show was seen, when a Reed Bunting caught my eye coming out of a reed lined ditch, I saw another bird distant perched upright, and looked a bigger bird than the one I was hoping it would be, but climbing over the gate and walking through the field to get closer, I found it was a bit of Cockersand magic to make my day, it was a brilliant male Whinchat.


This was my first Whinchat at Cockersand since the last one 4 years ago on 23 April 2018.

Other notes include, 2 Raven, and after seeing small flighty groups several times, 10 Linnet were seen along the headland, from where I saw 2 Wheatear, a White Wagtail, and up to 40 Eider which were off Sunderland Point. In the 3 hours at Cockersand, I saw only 3 Swallow north.

4 comments:

  1. I'm very impressed by the zoom on your camera, Pete. I was amazed when you zoomed back at the end of that Little Ringed Plover clip! I enjoyed Howard's Knot photo, and your Whinchat clip too. Yuo have some very enviable birds near you.

    Best wishes - stay safe - - - Richard

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  2. Liked the Whinchat video Pete.
    Things seem to be ramping up at Conder Pool, it is a while since I have been I will have to take a look soon.
    Interesting blog - thanks.

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  3. Pete - a couple of blogs ago you were questioning what was going on at the Snab at Aughton.
    I have just noticed in the paper a planning application for the Snab to install 2 ground-mounted solar arrays. This may answer your question as to what is going on.

    Regards Ian

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  4. Richard....The Sony camera copes well with video, and I was quite pleased with the Whinchat too, albeit a little unstable zoomed in with the camera.

    Ian....I also found and have checked out the planning application, but it's not the answer to the draining problem. I'm still pursuing that one.

    Kind Regards to you both....Pete.

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