Not Much To Write Home About....

 ....but one record on Thursday lit up Cockersand. 

I actually skipped a visit to Conder Pool, three men in high vis overalls were having a discussion on the viewing platform, with a flailing machine parked up in the layby waiting to be fired up, so I jogged on to Cockersand.

In a field south end of Jeremy Lane I counted 62 Whooper Swan and up to 150 Golden Plover. The resident herd at Cockersand are still in fields south towards Bank End, and remain as a count of c.200 Whooper Swan as far as I can see.

Starting the circuit at Lighthouse Cottage where, on a beautiful if icy cold day, I found a male and female Stonechat. The best Plover Scar could muster at low tide, was c.250 Oystercatcher and a 50/50 mix of up to 100 Knot and Dunlin, with 10 Eider off here.

A Buzzard was inland flying purposefully north with its a slow wingbeat and intermittent glides. In the field south side of Abbey Farm, at least 325 Golden Plover. Having checked the shingle area for 15 minutes to find it bunting'less, a Rock Pipit dropped in and immediately took off again, and I was entertained by 12 Turnstone turning the stones as they do.

Dunnock Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

The confiding Dunnock showed well again at the same location for my third consecutive visit.

By the time I got back to Slack Lane and the Lighthouse Cottage in my sights on the return from the circuit, up to 2,500 Pink-footed Geese were in the same field as Wednesdays 12 November 188 P.F.G.

In the field to the south of the Pink-footed Geese, there was the wonderful sight of 2 Bewick's Swan accompanied by 2 Whooper Swan. The video isn't world class, but it's an excellent record, and the size difference between the Whooper Swan on the right is obvious.

Bewick's Swan.

The status of the Bewick's Swan in Lancashire mirrors that of the national one, being an uncommon and declining winter visitor, teetering on the brink of becoming a rarity. In fact information gained to date, says there are little more than 30 Bewick's Swan anywhere in the country. According to my record of these two seen on Thursday 20 November, appear to be an average first arrival record in Lancashire on that date. 

Records in Lancashire in 2024 can only be described as at best sparse, with just 8 birds recorded up to mid-March. My records of Bewick's Swan for 2024....

6 Cockersand 12 Jan

3 Cockersand 17 Jan

2 Cockersand 12 Dec

But I made an interesting discovery when I found in my notes, a claim that AC had told me in a conversation, that 11 Bewick's Swan were in fields at Jeremy and Moss Lane on Saturday 13 January 2024. Even more interesting was the fact that this record included three 1st winter birds.

And the winner is....The Bewick's Swan! 

Buntings At Cockersand....And More!

The Buntings.

A Snow Bunting was found at Cockersand on 25 October, and having paid four visits Cockersand, I failed to find the bird....

But on Wednesday 12 November I was delighted to be watching the 2 Snow Buntings in my video, giving excellent views from the concrete section of the coastal footpath feeding along the tidewrack.

Snow Bunting. Mario Chin.

Both Snow Bunting sightings at Cockersand are credited to Rosie Briggs and Mario Chin in a joint effort, and I am grateful to Rosie for pointing me in the right direction to see these two birds, and to Mario for his image. I am also grateful to Howard Stockdale for his image in my header. 

The Geese.

When I arrived at the Lighthouse Cottage, in the field behind Crook Cottage I counted 58 geese, by which time two skeins of 130 were overhead from the south, they circled and came down to join those already in the field, to make a total of 188 Pink-footed Geese, by far the best count in our immediate area this winter.

The Swans.

As I walked along the headland, I could see the swan herd which remain in the fields stretching out to Bank End, as far as I could see they still number up to 200 Whooper Swan.

The Bat.

The best experience of the day came when I saw what I initially thought was a Snipe flying over Abbey Farm towards me. But those thoughts were short lived, when I soon realised it wasn't the flight or behaviour of a Snipe, but that of a bat.

Noctule Bat. Dennis Atherton.

I watched in amazement for a full 15 minutes to see this creature making several dives as it caught the flying insects to eat on the wing, it was a Noctule Bat. The head and body measurement is 60 - 82mm, with a wingspan of 320 - 400mm, and is one of the largest of UK Bats....I made six attempts at catching it on video but failed miserably.

The Godwits.

Black-tailed Godwit. Howard Stockdale.

Howard was in touch and sent me his image of Black-tailed Godwit over Cockersand on Thursday. I would guess this is a large part of my 3,500 which flew purposefully south over Plover Scar on Monday.

The Cuckoo.

Lots of visitors to B2B will remember Wilfred the Cuckoo who was satellite tagged last year in June 2024 at Worlingham Marshes Suffolk. I featured Wilfred in two posts last year, and posted this piece from a BTO update earlier this year in March 2025 when he was on his return to the UK....

There had been no signal from Wilfred's transmitter since 20 March when he was in south-east Guinea, but good news eventually came through in the past few days, that he had made remarkable progress and was in fact now in Spain. Currently just north of Guadalupe, having covered at least 2,174 miles since leaving Guinea, and in excess of 4,350 miles since he departed his wintering grounds in Angola.

Today Sunday 16 November, I'm saddened to read the following from BTO....

Sadly it looks like we may have heard the last from Wilfred the Suffolk Cuckoo, his last transmission was received on 20 September when he was in southern Niger. Having been tagged in 2024, he has provided us with data for a complete migration route to his wintering grounds and back, as well as his southbound journey as far as Niger. 

I am personally gutted and saddened to hear the news about the demise of this remarkable bird....LONG LIVE WILFRED.

Brief Encounters.

Conder Pool did nothing to spur on my enthusiasm again on Monday, with 3 Little Grebe, 28 Teal, 22 Mallard, and a Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Within easy viewing range on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, barely moderate numbers of 600 Lapwing, 225 Golden Plover, and 90 Curlew, with more moderation of Dunlin and Redshank seen. At least 400 Wigeon, 3 Goosander, and a Great-crested Grebe on the river.

Along Jeremy Lane, swans in a field at the south end, were seen as 7 Whooper Swan and 3 Mute Swan. The Cockersand c.200 Whooper Swan herd were seen again in the fields south of Moss Lane stretching to Bank End.

Cockersand produced some interesting encounters today, not least of which was my finally nailing the Snow Bunting present here since 25 October.

The Snow Bunting is a ridiculously confiding bird, but can be difficult to spot when it is camouflaged whilst feeding amongst the tidewrack, but this one presented no such problem.

This Snow Bunting I saw on Plover Scar 5 January 2024, is a perfect example of just how cryptic the Snow Bunting can be at a distance.

Setting off on the circuit I soon came across the Dunnock, it was in the same hedgerow, and probably the same bird seen on 30 October.

This bird was just as confiding as the bunting, and gave me the opportunity to appreciate it as an attractive bird, with some nice plumage detail and colours, not as dowdy as sometimes portrayed.

As I walked along Slack Lane, 2 Snipe were high west overhead, and up to 12 Long-tailed Tit were working their way through the Willows.

Long-tailed Tit. Pete Woodruff.

One of the tits thought it was an autumn migrant Swallow on the wires!

There was a gathering of waders on Plover Scar, the best of which was a decent count of 14 Grey Plover, with 55 Turnstone and 350 Oystercatcher. A female Shoveler offshore was unusual, and certainly not a regular occurrence here, also 5 Eider. Another unusual and novel sighting was that of 5 Brown Hare driven off Plover Scar by the incoming tide, they were in a follow-my-leader line, up onto the sea wall, and away into the fields.

As I was leaving Plover Scar, in the space of a few minutes, 42 Pink-footed Geese, followed by up to 250 Golden Plover, and a spectacular encounter was of 3,500 Black-tailed Godwit were all purposefully in a fly-by >south. 

The Bogey Bird!

The Snow Bunting seems to be a declining species, and isn't known to be recorded in any more than single figure numbers in Lancashire these days, though it's status is that of a fairly common winter visitor to summits and coasts. A single female spent the entire month of January in 2024 at Cockersand, and I caught up with it on the fifth of the month. But it's a different story for me this year.....

Snow Bunting Fylde Coast. Martin Jump.

Thursday was my sixth consecutive estuary wander in a row since 8 October, three of them being made since the Snow Bunting was found at Cockersand on 25 October. Despite it having been seen a few times by other birders - the latest one being yesterday Saturday 8 November - I still haven't had any success in finding this little critter....My bogey bird, well this years bogey anyway!

Conder Pool.

Some birds - but not that many to be honest - seen on my latest safari this week, another disappointing 17 birds to note on Conder Pool, 8 Little Grebe, 8 Canada Geese, and a lone Snipe hunkered down in the long grass. Up to 275 Teal and 2 Pink-footed Geese were in the creeks.

I did call back here early evening on my way to Lancaster, and just managed to see up to 32 Tufted Duck before making a hasty retreat as 24 birders complete with tour guide, were descending towards the viewing platform.

Cockersand.

The currently resident c.200 Whooper Swan herd had relocated to fields to the south of Moss lane and were strung out as far as Bank End Farm. 

With the exception of 120 Curlew by Abbey farm, the current high tides haven't driven the waders to take to the fields at Cockersand yet, and as I checked out the fraction of Plover Scar left above water, 9 Turnstone dropped in on a small patch as the tide ebbed.

A Rock Pipit and Skylark were the only other birds of note for the little black book, and I was leaving Cockersand disappointed not to have found a single Stonechat anywhere today, despite having seen 3 pairs here recently.

I decided to video the Grey Heron which had taken the place of the Merlin seen in the same field on 30 October. Until I reviewed the video full screen on the computer, I found I had also recorded a Stonechat which can be seen towards the end of the video as the Magpie takes off.

Dicranopalpus ramosus. Pete Woodruff.

The white-washed wall at Lighthouse Cottage has turned up a little interest recently with this Harvestman and it's amazing long legs, and the Wolf Spider seen this week.

Wolf Spider. Pete Woodruff.

The Header.

Note....Looking horizontally, the Grey Heron, the Magpie, and the Stonechat can be seen at the top right corner of the header image.

Around The Block....Again!

Tufted Duck. Pete Woodruff.

With just four species present on Thursday, Conder Pool seems to be loosing its grip at the top of the league table, but 21 Tufted Duck gave the feeling that all is not yet lost. Also 4 Goosander came into view from behind an island, 3 Little Grebe, a lone Redshank, and a Kestrel was hovering over the Stork Inn.

Calling in on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, if there was anything to call spectacular here, it was the sight of at least 2,000 Lapwing on the north side below Colloway Marsh. Also of note, a small group of c.70 waders were predominantly Knot and a 'few' Black-tailed Godwit. Up to 250 Wigeon were along the shoreline upstream to the Conder mouth.

In the field at Clarksons Farm, my notes read up to 200 Whooper Swan, in fact AC who I met later, told me he'd made an earlier count of 196 Whooper Swan.

Third time lucky....Having finally caught up with a female chat at Cockersand, I found a pair of Stonechat today on the marsh by the Caravan Park. Also to note, a large raft of at least 2,000 Wigeon were strung out along the length from Plover Scar to the Cocker Estuary.

As I set off on the circuit a small bird came out of the hedge, flew across the road and into the hedge opposite. It started a call which I'm not acquainted with, so I pointed the camera towards the hedge to get a recording.

Dunnock Cockersand 30 October. Pete Woodruff.

I did see the bird eventually whilst recording and found it to be a Dunnock, interestingly it's call was responded to by another Dunnock somewhere close by.

 

Best with full volume

So what's going on here, communication between 2 Dunnock at the end of October!

As I approached the junction of Moss Lane/Slack Lane, I spotted a raptor zipping at barely 1m above the stubble. I picked the bird up in my bino's and watched it come to land on a mound by a small flood, its was a stunning male Merlin.