Wheatears Depart....Whoopers Arrive.

A most rewarding sight on Conder Pool Thursday, was that of a Wheatear which behaved obligingly, feeding then preening giving opportunity for a pik, but unfortunately too far off for my digital camera. Also, 3 Meadow Pipit with presumably a few others flighting around the east corner of the pool. I managed to count 12 Little Grebe, with at east 8 Long-tailed Tit working their way through the hedgerow, and the Kingfisher put in an appearance on the purposely placed perch by the sluice.

Short on time, I didn't give justice the Lune Estuary deserved on the visit here at low tide, and despite a large gathering of gulls, I found just the one Mediterranean Gull, but it was good to see up to 450 Golden Plover, with 220 Black-tailed Godwit also to note. 

Two more Wheatear were seen at Cockersand, in a poor year for me. I have only 5 Wheatear records to my name in 2024, the first being 2 Wheatear at Cockersand on 29 March, and what will probably be my last on Thursday 10 October. 

Also at Cockersand, the first 13 Whooper Swan have returned to winter, they had settled in the field at the Moss Lane/Slack Lane junction. These swans arrived here 15 days earlier than the first 120 Whooper Swan I found last year on 25 October in the Thursland Hill area.

Mottled Grasshopper. Pete Woodruff.

I found another Mottled Grasshopper at Cockersand, perhaps not as uncommon in the north as I had thought. Butterflies seen, it was good to find another 2 Small Tortoiseshell here again, also a Red Admiral, and 8 Large White.

Better Late Than Never.

In a spell of decent dry but windy weather last week, I decided to put in a couple of brief appearances at Conder Pool and Cockersand to take a look at Plover Scar over a high tide.

Conder Pool.

Both sites were a little short of anything to inspire, the first visit to Conder Pool was a non-starter as it turned out to be a management day. A tractor of sorts was in the east end, with a robotic mower cutting the grass bank on the south side, the resulting birdless pool was no surprise, but calling back 2 hours later, 16 Greenshank were present, with 14 Little Grebe to note.

Cockersand.

Not particularly overjoyed with the Plover Scar experience, but good to see 125 Turnstone, 36 Dunlin, 21 Ringed Plover, 12 Oystercatcher, and a lone Grey Plover which took star prize in my book, 25 Eider were off Plover Scar. 

Fourteen of the twenty five male and female Eider in various dress, were on the choppy sea.

Insects.

There was some interest with insects, including the welcome sight of at least 6 Small Tortoiseshell at Cockersand. This sighting was very welcome as the Small Tortoiseshell has two expert opinions that I have been in touch with, both agree the species could have had a population crash.

Not one of the Cockersand butterflies, this one was on Verbena in our garden in August 2022.

A female Common Darter was on the footpath briefly before flying off over the fields, probably my last of the year. But this was my second sighting of a coastal dragonfly, a male Common Darter seen here at Cockersand on the shingle, by an amazing coincidence 11 years ago to the day on 4 November 2013.

Eristalis Tenax. Pete Woodruff.

I found a large number of hoverfly had emerged, presumably on account of some warm weather. I made up to a three figure count of Eristalis sp.

Mottled Grasshopper. Pete Woodruff.

I also found an interesting insect on the shingle in front of Bank Houses Farm. The best suggestion I have is that it is a Mottled Grasshopper....I'm not 100% on this ID and any other suggestions are welcome!

Short List High Counts....Well Two Counts!

I managed a couple of decent estuary counts this week in an area I'm slowly becoming familiar with.

Conder Pool.

With the usual difficulty of counting birds on the surface one minute and diving the next, after several attempts I eventually arrived at 20 Little Grebe. This is not an all time personal highest count, last year I had 22 Little Grebe here 24 September. But both my records pale into insignificance, with 32 reported at Conder Green 3 years ago on 25 September 2021, a record I'm not holding my breath to be beaten by anyone any time soon.

Other notes from Conder Pool, 8 Greenshank, 2 Snipe, and 2 Wigeon were my first of the winter, also c.50 Swallow flew through with some taking on water.

Not many opportunities for piks today, so I grabbed the chance of 6 Greenshank with one of the vanguard Wigeon putting in an appearance.

Lune Estuary.

From the bowling green at Glasson Dock, I picked out 11 Mediterranean Gull in reasonably close proximity. This was certainly a personal best ever count here on the Lune Estuary and was followed by the decent count of up to 550 Golden Plover which can be compared to the Morecambe Bay WeBS count of just 205 Golden Plover in September 2023....Lancashire Bird Report 2023

Also in my notes from the Lune Estuary, 2 Greenshank, 12 Wigeon, and 2 Goosander.

Two Peregrine Falcon were at the south end of Colloway Marsh - two distant dots in the video - one of which took to the wing to fail miserably at taking out one of two Lapwing as an easy choice for a meal, before returning to the spot in the video where I first found it.

A short walk along the canal to Saltcote Pond and return to Glasson, had me see a surprise Migrant Hawker on the coastal path, it was patrolling trees at a height of 6 metres in 14°c and dull, cloudy, and breezy conditions, probably my last of the year.

Mystery bird in my kitchen?

On Tuesday afternoon, Lynn Woodruff walked into her kitchen at Brookhouse to be confronted by the surprise of a lifetime. I subsequently received an e-mail with a phone photo attached, the title being 'Mystery bird in my kitchen?'....No mystery to me as it was instantly recognisable as a Wheatear.

Wheatear. Lynn Woodruff.

In Lynn's absence, the bird had flown in through the open kitchen door. In a panic Lynn also opened the windows, but the bird eventually escaped flying back out through the door to freedom. But the bad news about this little tale, the bird appears to have a length of string attached to its leg. How come you ask yourself, and why on earth did a Wheatear find itself trapped in a house and perched on a pressure cooker on a shelf in Brookhouse?

Twice Around The Estuary.

Thankfully with the summer making a surprise return this week - well it turned up for a few days once before didn't it! - I managed a couple of days around the Lune Estuary, and had an hour to spare to check out the bog at Birk Bank at the end of the second one.

Conder Pool.

Best of the pool was the sight of 2 Whinchat on and around the long grasses at the east end. The male Whinchat obviously a cinch to ID, two days later the female at the distance and not very obliging, not quite so obvious. The Kingfisher delighted the gathering photographers of which I met five over my two visits, staked out and living the dream for a good pik. The Kingfisher obligingly and repeatedly perched either on the goal post or on the water level measuring post. It's a pity the light wasn't at its best for some footage when it caught a large fish for lunch.

There was a decent count of 15 Greenshank and 15 Little Grebe on Friday, with 2 Snipe noted. Also 12 Migrant Hawker recorded past the viewing screen over the two visits.

Migrant Hawker Conder Green 19 September. Howard Stockdale.

Cockersand.

Not for the first time I botched my visit, arriving only 30 minutes before the high tide and barely just a few metres of Plover Scar above water.

No more than 60 Dunlin, 6 Ringed Plover and one or two Turnstone were there to entertain me on what remained of Plover Scar today, but 48 Eider were of note off here.

Up to 150 Wood Pigeon were in and around three Wheat fields, and I don't get to record 65 Rook very often, seen today in a field east of Abbey Farm, though I did see a corvid mix of at least 500 Rook/Carrion Crow/Jackdaw grounded on the mud on the Lune Estuary at Glasson on 17 October 2019, of which I reckoned at the time 50% were Rooks.

Birk Bank.

A pleasant hour spent at the bog showed 12 Black Darter including two pairs in tandem, also a male Common Darter. But the pleasant hour turned even more pleasant and surprising, when I spied towards the eastern end of the bog, 2 Emperor Dragonfly both male....Certainly wasn't expecting that!

Black Darter Male Grit Fell/Ward's Stone 19 September. Ian Mitchell.

On the subject, Ian Mitchell reported to me c.15 Black Darter including ovipositing, found on a pool on the hike midway between Grit Fell and Ward's Stone.

Emperor Dragonfly.

With abdomen measurements being equal to that of the Emperor at 50-59/61mm, there was only one other species the Birk Bank sighting could have been, that of the Common Hawker. Best diagnostic feature being my Emperor Dragonfly at the distance was the abdomen being distinctly blue, not black with blue spotting, also the patrolling flight was leisurely and certainly not strong, fast, and tirelessly as in Common Hawker.

Having searched the Emperor Dragonfly on iRecord, I found 13 records for September 2024, two of which are later records than mine on 19 September. All the records carry the note....'Date is outside known flight period of Anax imperator'.

Much appreciate the excellent images from Martin Jump who saved me the trouble of looking for a header image, and from Howard Stockdale, Ian Mitchell....Thanks to all.

Little To Write Home About Mother!

Given its recent history, Conder Pool was at best pretty quiet on Friday, with just 60 birds noted in my stock taking exercise. The bulk of the count being 42 Lapwing and 13 Little Grebe, with 2 Tufted Duck, a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Little Egret bringing up the rear. I've reluctantly called this a dull and boringly routine experience, and not what I'm acquainted with for Conder Pool....But that's birding in'it!

The Lune Estuary didn't light any fires either, with up to 550 Lapwing, 155 Curlew, 24 Little Egret, 4 Greenshank, a lone House Martin flyby, and not a Golden Plover in sight. But I did see my first of the winter 120 Pink-footed Geese in two skeins >south. Other than finding them too distant to sift through, I ignored a couple of hundred gulls to the north of the Conder mouth.

Common Darter Saltcote Pond. Pete Woodruff.

On a relatively short walk along the canal towpath, 7 Migrant Hawker, 3 Brown Hawker, and a mewing Buzzard over. On Saltcote Pond, 3 Common Darter, one of which provided me with the only pik of the day.

Garden Goings On.

Garden Robin. Pete Woodruff.

A Robin returned to our garden nearly 2 months ago on 18 July after its summer break, and I tracked it down for a pik through the kitchen window yesterday in the plum tree. 

I captured this Dunnock out of the kitchen window too, they have had at least one brood this year with a juvenile>1st winter seen.

We have had some regular butterfly sightings in the garden, with probably 10 Red Admiral and a couple of Peacock seen over a couple of weeks.

Making Hay While The Sun Shines.

With summer days making another brief appearance over the weekend, it was more like finding dragons than making hay while the sun shines. 

A wander along the canal towpath for a little more than a mile east of Glasson Dock to Conder Green, had me collecting a decent count of 36 dragonfly records.

Migrant Hawker 6 September. Pete Woodruff.

A total of 19 Migrant Hawker, with 13 Brown Hawker, and 4 Common Darter male seen. Little wonder that given the record of 19 Migrant Hawker on this stretch of the canal today, saw me find 112 Migrant Hawker along the length from Conder Green to Galgate 12 months today on 8 September 2023. 

Swallow/House Martin. Pete Woodruff.

At one point, there was probably a mix of up to 150 Swallow and House Martin hawking and gathering on the wires on their southward movement.

Small Copper 6 September. Steve Graham.

Worth noting....Steve's image of the Small Copper is one of three he saw while he notes they have been scarce this year. Steve also had a remarkable movement of c.10 Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler through his garden yesterday, with some song heard from both species.

Speckled Wood. Pete Woodruff.

There's no chance of the butterflies making any miraculous recovery this year, and my sightings today reflect this situation, with just 3 Red Admiral and a lone Speckled Wood. But the good news for me is, that I saw a Small Copper by the lock at The Mill at Conder Green, my favourite small butterfly which made my day and was only the second one this year.

A look in at Saltcote Pond, a Migrant Hawker and Brown Hawker were in company with Common Blue Damselfly, and 8 Common Darter including a pair in cop.

Of note on Conder Pool, a Ruff mingled with 12 Greenshank and a similar number of Redshank, also a Common Sandpiper and 4 Teal female were the first seen here all summer, probably birds returning to winter. I failed to find any more than 4 Little Grebe on this visit, but 4 Brown Hawker flew by the viewing screen.

Thanks to Martin Jump for his image of the in flight Southern Hawker from the canal towpath on Friday.  

Last Chance Saloon!

Not quite the last chance saloon for Odonata, but heading in that direction with the exception of Migrant Hawker being a certainty, and a few others possible.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly Male. Pete Woodruff.

A visit to Birk Bank Bog had me thinking I had probably seen my last Keeled Skimmer for 2024, and having not seen one this time this is even more likely to be the case. But there was a pleasant surprise when 2 Golden-ringed Dragonfly came obligingly close to the boardwalk, also 4 Black Darter were seen as 3 male and a female, with 2 Common Darter male seen.

Southern Hawker Male. Pete Woodruff.

On the same day, I readily took up an invitation to take a tour round a garden in the Lune Valley, here I enjoyed the sight of 2 Southern Hawker patrolling the impressive pond here, a few Common Darter were also seen and included a pair in cop.

Common Hawker Female. Steve Graham.

But the best of the tour came when a female Common Hawker was found basking on Teasel, not surprisingly this was a first for the site.

Butterflies.

Butterflies paid a major part of the day which was good news given the dire situation with Lepidoptera this year.

In this garden and surrounding meadow, 21 Red Admiral, 16 Peacock, a Painted Lady and Comma were seen.

At Birk Bank, 6 Peacock, 3 Red Admiral, and a Small Copper were around the bog. But best was to come, when 4 Purple Hairstreak were in a small Oak at the top of the path from the bog.

In my book, the perfect end to a perfect day. Last Chance Saloon....Are you having a laugh!

Golden-ringed Dragonfly.

The surprise of 2 Golden-ringed Dragonfly found at Birk Bank on 31 August, appears to be the latest in a search through up to 100 records of the species in West Lancashire, and certainly none to be found in September.

The earliest record of Golden-ringed Dragonfly in Lancashire, is of one found 37 years ago on the River Lune at Halton 28 May 1987, this record was regarded at the time as a site outside the range of Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Records show the species numbers peaking in July, before fading away in late August.

Owtabout!

Well there certainly wasn't as much about on Conder Pool as my last visit which was three weeks ago on 9 August when there was up to 2,500 birds there, with at least 2,200 Redshank present in a now established unprecedented record.

In stark contrast today, the number on Conder Pool amounted to a little under 100 birds of no more than 12 species noted, being 65 Lapwing, 8 Little Grebe, 6 Black-headed Gull, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gull including 4 immature, 5 Mallard, 3 Pied Wagtail, 3 Carrion Crow, 2 Greenshank, a Grey Heron, Little Egret, and a Swallow which scooped up a drink as it flew through.

But a return visit to Conder Pool in the afternoon paid off as it often does with me. As I scanned the area, I thought a nice Yellow Wagtail might be a good one to end the day, but hey'up, there's not one but 2 Green Sandpiper roosting in the channel.

Green Sandpiper Conder Pool 29 August

Not very obliging, asleep and too distant for a decent photograph, but the video footage is good enough for the record.

A look over the Lune Estuary at Glasson gave me sightings of 3 Mediterranean Gull, a Greenshank, a few Golden Plover, with probably more as they dropped out of sight below the mud bank which falls steeply as the tide ebbs, and 22 Little Egret counted.

At Saltcote Pond, a Brown Hawker was seen off by a Migrant Hawker every time it entered its air space. Also, 3 Large Red Damselfly included a pair in cop, and a Common Blue Damselfly.

Coastal Path. Pete Woodruff.

 

As I walked back to Glasson Dock, up to 6 Migrant Hawker were seen patrolling the hedgerow along the coastal path. 

Urban Dragonflies.

I've seen two urban dragonflies in Lancaster in the past week, a female Common Darter by the Chip Shop on Coulston Road before flying off, and a Migrant Hawker buzzing over our garden for several minutes yesterday.    

Dragons2blog....Episode 2.

Given the perfect conditions and the right time of the season, It was time I did the 3 mile/4 hour trawl along the canal towpath Conder Green to Galgate. 

As I made my way to the canal at The Mill at Conder Green, I noted 8 Avocet in the creeks. However, striking east along the canal, it soon became apparent that it wasn't quite 'the right time of the season' and had only seen 2 Migrant Hawker in the first hour of the walk. Realising I was at least 3 weeks ahead of myself, I note on the same route last year on 8 September, I had found 112 Migrant Hawker by the time I reached Galgate. This number added to the previous sightings made the grand total of 206 Migrant Hawker in 2023. 

I soon found the first of what became a total of 12 Emperor Dragonfly, soon followed by the first of 14 Brown Hawker, and went on to count 26 Common Darter including 4 mating pairs.

Banded Demoiselle. Marc Heath.

When I arrived at the penultimate lock before the junction of the Glasson Arm of the canal, I noted rafts of Water Lilies, and was soon relishing the spectacle of 16 Banded Demoiselle flitting over and occasionally coming to rest on the lilies.

The butterflies have now established a serious concern over their current status this year, and although I recorded 24 Large White, they were accompanied by just 4 Gatekeeper, and 2 Speckled Wood....Hard to believe!

Canal Closure.

For some reason the canal is closed between Conder Green and Galgate, perhaps one of the locks has ceased up. But some good has come out of the closure, in that void of any traffic the water looks clear and healthy. I don't recall ever being able to see the bottom of the canal before.

Knowing relatively little about fish, these seen in the clear waters of the Lancaster Canal, and with only size for detail, perhaps they are Minnows!

Time and the seasons move on apace.

I took this photograph looking towards a drab dark green Birk Bank on 19 July.

From the same viewpoint, I took this one 3 weeks later on 8 August, showing Birk Bank covered with carpets of beautiful purple Heather.

And Finally.

Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly. Marc Heath. 

My man in Kent has a new post about yet another discovery of a new species for the county Here

A Dedication.

THE COMMON TERNS CHAMPION.

I HAVE DEDICATED THIS POST TO THE MEMORY OF IAN PINKERTON WHO DIED 5 YEARS AGO YESTERDAY 10 AUGUST 2019. 

IAN PRETTY MUCH PITCHED CAMP AT CONDER POOL, HIS WIFE YVONNE OFTEN BROUGHT HIM LUNCH FROM THE CARAVAN PARK AS HE SPENT HOURS ON END WATCHING AND MAKING NOTES ON EVERY MOVE OF THE COMMON TERNS ON THE POOL DURING THE BREEDING SEASON.

Avocet Conder Green 1 August 2019. Ian Pinkerton.

This is the last of hundreds of images and e-mails Ian sent to me over his time at Conder Green. Something of an irony, as they are Avocet not Common Tern.

I WILL REMEMBER IAN PINKERTON FOREVER.

Four Hours Six Species.

I spent a couple of hours up to high tide at 3.00pm Conder Green on Friday, and if Conder Pool is going to turn up the odd goodie as it has done recently, I'd like to be in on the action if possible please.

According to PC, who stepped on to the Conder Pool viewing platform a couple of minutes after me, I had missed a Hobby earlier zooming over the creeks. But I spent a lot of time today reviewing the numbers of waders, and concluded that Tuesday's count now stood at an unprecedented minimum of 2,200 Redshank. The Avocet seen today, 2 adult and 3 juvenile. I counted 17 Greenshank, 8 Little Grebe again as on Tuesday, and 4 Swift over the creeks and pool could well be my last of the year.

Common Tern Adult & 2 Young. Pete Woodruff.

Of the Common Tern seen, two were begging young with an adult. I observed these two birds later for some time, they were being ignored by the adult which was constantly moving away from them.

By the time I left Conder Pool, in 4 hours I saw no fish being brought to these two young terns, and was left wondering if they were ever going to be fed!

As I approached the junction to turn left onto the A588 on my way back to Lancaster, a wader flying downstream shot in front of me and over the bridge, with a white rump and like an oversized House Martin....It was a Green Sandpiper.

Four hours, six species....Mmmm!

Migrant Hawker.

Martin Jump called by Conder Green on Friday, to tell me he was going to Saltcote Pond to see if he could find any dragonflies to photograph. I told Martin I might follow him there but didn't.

Migrant Hawker. Martin Jump.

Martin found a smart immature male Migrant Hawker which had me regretting running out of time to follow him there to see this beauty.