A Beady Eye......

......and just a pair of bino's round my neck today, too cold to be standing around with a cruel north wind blowing in your face counting waders and in any case the tide was at its height at Glasson Dock rendering the Lune Estuary too much water but here goes......

At Conder Green I must first note not having seen the Common Sandpiper here since 2 November though it has been reported twice on the LDBWS website since that date. The Spotted Redshank obliged in the creeks as did a single Grey Plover, 2 Little Grebe also here by way of a change. Conder Pool was going to be recorded on the blog this evening as 'deserted' but - as if to prove the point that there are so many areas on here which are out of view - a Sparrowhawk over the entire length of the pool transformed it from desertion to there being in excess of 155 birds in seconds, with at least 85 Teal and 62 Mallard, a pair of Wigeon, a Goldeneye, 3 Little Grebe, and 9 Snipe in the air. From the picnic area I saw in excess of 3,000 Knot huddled out of the sight of almost everyone on the bank of the Conder Estuary, also 17 Black-tailed Godwit and 18 Bar-tailed Godwit noted. On the canal basin at Glasson Dock I noted 4 Pochard drake's and a Little Grebe.

At Cockersands I'm not proud of the fact that with my telescope still firmly locked up in the boot of my car I totally ignored any waders present but walked the headland and returned via the road to record the male Stonechat at the lighthouse end for its 28th day on the same fence posts for four consecutive sightings over this period......fascinating creatures aren't they! Also 12 Greenfinch seen again - which prompts me to note I should comment on Birds2blog at some point on a good number of the species disappearing from a location in Lancaster - a solitary Black-tailed Godwit was on a flood with 22 Lapwing, a Little Egret was by the pool in the field NW of Bank Houses where it was seen on several occasions last winter, a Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, and a Brown Hare.

And with just four hours available for birding today back at the lighthouse meant the end of the day unfortunately.

For anyone who knows John Bateman and hasn't already seen these two images above on the LDBWS website, I'm pleased to pass on the news that John is feeling much better now and has had the enthusiasm to get outside his house to photograph the Starling and the Blackbird. Hopefully perhaps by the New Year he will be able to accompany me on the 'Coastal Run' once again.

Three CB's!

Three more 'gap-filler images' from globetrotter Colin Bushell starting with the Lear's Macaw which Colin encountered recently on his current trip to NE Brazil. Colin tells us the birds were seen following a trek to see them leaving their overnight roost near Canudos. Apparently the total population of the species appears to stand at around just 250 birds and this party of birders reckon they saw about 50% of the population at this sighting if this is the case.

Lettered Aracari in NE Brazil.

And the Northern Caracaras seen and photographed in Guyana earlier this year. You can keep up with the travels of Colin Bushell here http://latinamericabirding.blogspot.com/ also linked 'Ribble to Amazon' on the left of this post.

The new link 'LinkWithin' which I have added to the blog will take the viewer to a previous post at random on Birds2blog, so if by chance you have no interest in a blast from the past......ignore it!

Over the Rainbow.

Quite a nice rainbow formed over Aldcliffe Marsh this morning - my efforts at capturing it are above - which is where I called with BT......well it is Friday and that's where we start on Friday. As it turned out it was the right decision by BT today as 45 minutes into the visit c.250 Greylag went up into the air accompanied by 4 Snow Geese which immediately prompted the thought 'Leighton Moss birds', later they were better viewed from 1/2 mile SW of the Golden Ball. Also noted at Aldcliffe was an excellent count - in my book - of  10 Dunnock including six together, the best count of the species at one time I ever recorded,  a good number of Blackbirds were in evidence with at least twenty seen. On the wildfowlers pool which has now become a lake a Goldeneye was noted and c.90 Redshank were also on here, c.170 Feral Pigeon were in one of the stubble fields, and a Goldcrest was on the edge of Freeman's Wood. On Freeman's Pools 3 Little Grebe and 3 Gadwall were of note.

Having had better views of the SG's and a Little Egret on Colloway Marsh we went to Sunderland Point were I counted 260 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Goldeneye were drifting downstream, everything else was too distant way over on the Glasson side of the River Lune and at this point BT declared our birding day had ended, we saw another Little Egret as we left the marsh at Overton.

A good day with BT as always as he is a good companion who knows 'quite a bit of stuff' about wildlife in general and is very helpful on my learning curve......thanks BT.

Pushing it!

Well I was really pushing it today, but with the weather as it has been and still is, if I don't then I'm never going anywhere. As I turned left going south at the top of our road this morning the sky was black as midnight and already I was muttering to myself 'why are you doing this', however I did manage 3.5 hours before I finally gave in and came home......this is becoming too much.

Two birds managed to 'cheer me up' the first was at Conder Green where the Spotted Redshank was found in the creeks with its commoner 6 Redshank relations, also noted here were 12 Snipe in the air together, on the pool I could only find 5 Little Grebe today, also just the one Goldeneye, a single drake Wigeon, and 85 Teal was an increase from Monday.

The Lune Estuary was on another unimpressive day with c.220 Redshank, an estimated 1,000+ Lapwing, 4 Goosander, and 2 Goldeneye of note. On Glasson Marsh from Bodie Hill quite impressive numbers of c.1,500 Golden Plover and 3,000 Lapwing to note with presumably either the Merlin/Peregrine Falcon giving them a hammering but neither of which could I pick up.

By now I was getting rather more than pretty fed up of dodging the showers AGAIN but decided against my better judgement to go to Cockersands where at least I found the second bird to 'cheer me up' in the male Stonechat which was yet again on the same fence line as the previous three sightings since 9 November, and c.12 Greenfinch which I was now viewing in a hail storm and decided do the defeatist act and departed for Lancaster.

Thanks to David Cookson for the excellent image of the Little Owl in the centre of this post......Thanks David.

A counter and two pic's.

First a couple of images from my friend Paul Baker over there in BC Canada. Its really good to have made contact and gained permission to post some of Paul's excellent pics on Birds2blog. This one of the Long-billed Dowitcher is a species we've seen on the blog before but its another good shot of these two birds with some attractive reflections.

And the Lesser Yellowlegs, which has to be my favourite 'yank' as I have been fortunate enough to have found two over the years, both at Leighton Moss and both on the Eric Morecambe complex. This image has even more attractive reflections than the LBD one.

After running the blog for over twelve months I have decided to install a Flag Counter. I thought it would be interesting to see where visitors to Birds2blog actually came from. If I read all the facts correctly the counter only records a visitor on his/her first visit and then not thereafter, in other words it has already counted my visit and won't ever do so again, and the same goes for 'you'. The counter therefore doesn't count the number of 'hits' and I've never wanted one that did.

So the last laugh could be on me when in a years time the counter has registered just a couple of dozen Union Jacks indicating I've been posting virtually to myself for 2 years and nobody outside the UK has ever visited Birds2blog......Oh dear!!

3D Birding!

That was going to be the title for today's post 'Dull, Damp, and Dismal' when I set out but in fact it made quite a pleasant day eventually but I thought I'd leave the title as it was being I couldn't think of an alternative. From a busy day I managed to salvage four hours for birding and gave Conder Green/Glasson Dock/Cockersands a reasonable 'going over' mainly all legwork. Thanks to Brian Rafferty for the excellent but unrelated pics - other than they're birds - of a bathing Mallard and the Magpie.

At Conder Green a Spotted Redshank put in an appearance in the creeks, and on the pool I noted just 5 Little Grebe today, 2 Goldeneye, 42 Teal, 10 Snipe, and the Kingfisher flew the entire circuit of the pool in stages landing within 5 mtrs of me at one point. On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock a 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull was excellent, a Little Egret was over below Waterloo Cottage again, 6 Goosander, a solitary Goldeneye, and the number of 380 Wigeon had much increased here today, wader numbers were unimpressive this visit with circa 320 Bar-tailed Godwit, and 280 Golden Plover noted.

I decided on a full count of the canal basin today with 32 Coot, 15 Mallard, 10 Tufted Duck, another solitary Goldeneye, a drake Shoveler was something of a surprise on here, 8 Mute Swans were seen as a pair with six juveniles, a Little Grebe, and 2 Great-crested Grebe.

 

Something of an amazing transformation on Glasson Marsh from Bodie hill today which - by comparison to last Friday - was deserted and I made a hasty retreat.

At Cockersands - where by now I was running out of time - I noted a Stonechat on the same fence line I had seen one/it two weeks ago on 9 November, also 14 Eider were off Plover Scar, 35 Black-tailed Godwit and 3 Bar-tailed Godwit were in a flooded field, 3 Kestrel seen, and a Brown Hare was on the shore, and from Moss Lane c.20 Fieldfare were seen. I have noted the male Stonechat seen at Conder Green on 9 November has not been seen since, and no Stonechat/s have yet been seen at the caravan park end of Cockersands this early winter......but is the one at the lighthouse end on its way there!

Another Showcase.

Its easy to liven and brighten up this blog with so many excellent images available from photographers I have lined up with permission to post their images on Birds2blog, like these two of the smart Jay currently visiting Brian Rafferty's garden......

......and these two images from Simon Hawtin of the delightful Long-tailed Tits.

Short and sweet but serves the purpose of 'filling the gap' perfectly until I can get out birding again tomorrow......if!!

Well this post simply had to be edited because of an e-mail I received from Ian Tallon soon after posting it which had an attachment containing these two young Jay photographed by Ian this summer in the Silverdale area. Ian doesn't yet know how delighted I was to find this image in my inbox but hes about to as I'm off to send my reply now thanking him very much for sending me this truly brilliant shot of these two dudes.

The Best of Bodie.

Bar-tailed Godwits thanks to Brian Rafferty.

The birds on display today on Glasson Marsh from Bodie Hill were by far the best I ever witnessed at this location and my wish was that John Bateman could have been with BT and I to see the spectacle for himself. When we arrived here at about 11.45 we were confronted by what was eventually estimated to be up to 20,000 birds mainly - of course - waders which included reasonably accurate circa numbers of 7,500 Knot, 6,200 Lapwing, 3,100 Golden Plover, 2,000 Bar-tailed Godwit, 160 Redshank, 120 Curlew, with 135 Shelduck, 125 Wigeon, 4 Goldeneye, and 3 Red-breasted Merganser, the other c.660 were represented by swans, gulls, and any small waders I may have 'missed'.  This spectacle was made all the more spectacular by the arrival of a female Merlin which drove the amazing mass into a thoroughly mind boggling synchronised eruption into the air followed very soon after by the approach of a Peregrine Falcon which brought about a repeat performance of 20,000 birds activated into mass panic, later both these raptors were observed 'stood' on the marsh just 20 mtrs apart for several minutes, truly amazing......you really don't need the BBC and Autumn Watch.

Knot thanks to Brian Rafferty. 

But before all this BT had gone to Aldcliffe though I'm as ever not sure why, we stood at the gate at the bottom of Aldcliffe Hall Lane for a few minutes and saw 2 Little Egret, walked the top path North for a few mtrs, went back to the car and off we went, not to be seen as a complaint or criticism you understand......Mmmmmm!

At Conder Green 8 Little Grebe were on the pool - I reckon the other two were in hiding - 2 Goldeneye were seen before we had to make a hasty retreat to the car to escape a shower which looked like it may last for ages but actually blew over in several minutes by which time we were now at Bodie Hill and the above observations.

At Cockersands I walked the headland to the caravan park to achieve a resounding zero but 18 Greenfinch around the CP area has to be regarded as a major find these days. At Pilling Lane Ends a Little Egret was in one of the fields, and on Fluke Hall Lane two adult and five juvenile Whooper Swans were in a stubble field.

So, although after leaving Bodie Hill just after high tide the day became something of a dull event, seeing today's spectacle will remain one of the many aspects of birding I could'nt do without.

Washed Out.

Well the weather is dominating the scene again just now and like everyone else I was washed out again today and am in serious danger of becoming a victim of SAD (Seasonal Adjustment Disorder) but have so far managed to fight it off. Still, my living room isn't under two foot of water.

So perhaps we should take a look at four more excellent examples of superb photography to brighten things up a little, the first two of which are courtesy of Colin Bushell who is away at the moment in foreign parts and allows me to post some of his photographs......Thanks very much Colin. The bird above is the Grey-breasted Parakeet one of a long list of species no doubt Colin will return to the UK with firmly held in his memory card.

                                                 

And this one is the amazingly colourful Red-necked Tanager.

I had cause to contact Simon Hawtin today and during our conversation couldn't understand why I had never approached Simon to ask permission to use any of his pictures from his website, so today I put the situation right and was told it was perfectly OK for me to use any of his images for which I am truly grateful......Thanks very much Simon.

So what about the Nightjar which incredibly took a liking to Simons fencing in his garden one day a while back. Amazing that it chose to locate in the very place a man and camera could record this once in a lifetime occurrence......WOW!

A positively superb image - and one of many Simon has in his library - of the stunning Short-eared Owl posing nicely on a stone wall in some upland area I probably visited on many a days birding.

I just watched the latest weather forecast......anyone know of a rowing boat for sale!

Back on the Road.

It was good to be out today having not been so since last Thursday but the day 'fizzled out' after I left Fluke Hall but that becomes apparent later.

At Conder Green the high tide today was unavoidable but the marsh here is as good a place as any in the area for Snipe and today 4 Jack Snipe came off as the incoming tide displaced them. At low tide - if you want to risk breaking your ankle or ending up to your kneecaps in a small hidden channel - its always worth a wander over to flush out the birds, but that's not my favourite pastime and the birds don't like it either. A Greenshank was on the pool as were 10 Little Grebe after about 6 counts, 2 Goldeneye were also noted. With Glasson Dock and Cockersands pretty hopeless until the tide dropped I went off to Fluke Hall stopping en route were a single Whooper Swan was with 17 Mute Swans in a field opposite Sand Villa. A walk from Fluke Hall to Cockers Dyke turned out to be a good idea if only to find two smart adult Mediterranean Gulls on Preesall Sands, not the one in the pic above of course which I took some time back and is a good comparison picture......should'nt Black-headed Gulls be called Brown-headed Gulls? The dyke was a little quiet today save 4 Little Egret, 9 Grey Plover, and circa 125 Lapwing, 53 Shelduck, 15 Redshank, and a single Knot and Pink-footed Goose.

And this is where the day came to an abrupt end in relation to birding because I went to Cockersands with enough time to checkout Abbey Farm to see if the BR was still around, it didn't appear to be though I had to cut the visit short to beat some pretty horrible 'stuff' in the sky and heading towards Cockersands which I regret caught up with me before I reached the shelter of my car and I ended up drenched and boy do I mean drenched, not happy......but eventually got over the unhappiness!

I heard mention on the television the other day of a round Britain coastal path, but it was only a mention I heard so don't know the details but sounds excellent to me. I couldn't help wondering - when I reached the fence which confronts you on the marsh behind Fluke Hall Wood telling us 'NO PUBLIC ACCESS BEYOND THIS POINT' - what will the man who had the rights (didn't he?) to put up the sign have to say when they arrive in time to come armed with the equipment to remove the fence!