Med Gull Spectacular.

Mediterranean Gull.

When I arrived at Conder Pool on Wednesday, someone was leaving the viewing platform, a nice man not serious about birding and just passing by I think. I said hello and asked if there were any Mediterranean Gull here, he answered saying he'd not seen any.

Mediterranean Gull Conder Pool 25 June. Pete Woodruff.

To my amazement, the first birds I saw were 7 Mediterranean Gull which were seen as 5 adult and 2x1st summer. It only took a few more minutes for me to pick up a total of 17 Mediterranean Gull, 8 adult, 7x2nd summer, and 2x1st summer birds.

I sensed a male following a female with a little posturing here....

Fourteen Mediterranean Gull in the video below....

I thought I was hallucinating, and I reckon the next birder to visit Conder Pool the following day thought he was too, when he found a total of 29 Mediterranean Gull....I think it'll be a while before this record is beaten! 

Avocet & Common Sandpiper.

It didn't take long for another spectacle to develop, that of a line of 42 Avocet at the back of Conder Pool, and when I panned right of the Avocet, 6 Common Sandpiper were also lined up along the back of the pool.

Common Tern.

Mainly focused on and distracted by the gull fest, I made no count of adult birds, but noted 15 Common Tern chicks on the raft, which included one young bird exercising it's wings.

Dragonflies.

Emperor Dragonfly Saltcote Pond. Pete Woodruff.

On Saltcote Pond, a lone Emperor Dragonfly was patrolling, occasionally egg laying around the edge of the pond, also up to 14 Common Blue Damselfly including some pairing.

Butterflies.

Ringlet. Pete Woodruff.

Nothing spectacular about these, as I saw just one Red Admiral, but 10 Ringlet lifted the gloom, and takes my sightings of this species to 16 Ringlet seen on two days, with six more seen at Birk Bank on 20 June.    

Glasson- Conder Green Circuit.

Reed Bunting, 3 Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, and 6 Sedge Warbler.

And Finally.

Ian Mitchell kindly sent me a couple of images....

This of an Elephant Hawk Moth

And one of a Large Yellow Underwing.

Ian says 'I was playing around trying to photo this moth in flight'....I don't think you need to try much harder Ian.

The Header.

Howard Stockdale does it again, this time with another excellent header image of 42 Avocet, perfectly lined up for a photograph and an accurate count on Conder Pool this week. 

I would like to take this opportunity, to thank all those who joined me - and some who later hindered me - in reporting this amazing record of 17 Mediterranean Gulls, which I found on Conder Pool on Wednesday 25 June.   

More Blanks Than Birds!

Barn Owl. Phil Slade.

The photograph of the Barn Owl is just one of the two birds PS of Fylde fame recorded today which JB and I failed to connect with, the second of which has to take precedence over the BO being an adult Hobby which caused us to don our 'twitching' gear for a while to no avail, despite two separate twenty minute visits to Pilling Lane Ends the Hobby was nowhere to be seen, but PS had got the message out (RBA) for which we all must be grateful, Phils website is HERE where you can see his account of today's birding, and always some excellent photography. 

More blanks than birds today but that didn't go for Conder Green which - in keeping with it's excellent past record as the best in the area for the species - produced at least 12 Common Sandpiper along with the Spotted Redshank which is just beginning to show signs of plumage change, the Little Ringed Plover pair were seen and evidence shows they continue with their breeding programme, a single Dunlin in the creeks was lost in the midst of c.200 Redshank, the Shelduck with a creche of at least 30 young were again in the Conder channel. On Conder Pool, 4 Wigeon drakes, at least 60 Lapwing, and two pairs of Oystercatcher have two young each, a very young downy duckling - obviously detached from the parent bird - was of some concern looking lost and bewildered and appeared to be a Tufted Duck.

As expected there is no build up yet on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock but 6 Little Egret were over on the far side in the Waterloo Cottage area. At Cockersands the Common Tern seen here on Monday and previously at Glasson Dock on 24 June was still patrolling in the Plover Scar area and regularly plunge diving, the guardians of Plover Scar were again represented by just c.60 Oystercatchers, I heard a Skylark, and saw 6 Brown Hare together in the abbey field in the brief visit here.

The two aforementioned visits to Pilling Lane Ends was in all honesty to view a vast empty marshland but a Buzzard soared over Fluke Hall, and a 'large' number of Swift over the marsh unfortunately has no recording value whatsoever.

And finally....

 

Elephant Hawk Moths. Katie Fuller.

An excellent macro image of Elephant and Small Elephant Hawk Moths - left and right respectfully - with my thanks to Katie whose website can always be linked to from my sidebar on the left.