Overdue.

A day round the 'patch' with JB today was well overdue but didn't quite produce the birds we know are there, but also didn't take any of the edge of the tour....it never does as results aren't everything. But the Stonechat's here and at Cockersands (four in total) didn't show, the White-fronted Geese at Aldcliffe didn't, and the Whooper Swan - presumably the one with 200 Mute Swan's on Jeremy Lane 9 December - at Glasson didn't.

c.2,000 Pink-footed Geese were too far away on Heaton Marsh and the fields beyond this morning. I'm not sure I personally ever saw PFG here in December and certainly never in this number if I did.

Two Spotted Redshank and 2 Greenshank were again at Conder Green, also two Little Grebe, and a Grey Plover were to note.

On the canal basin at Glasson Dock the female Scaup here again today, the drake Pochard number increased to eleven, c.100 Tufted Duck and a Goldeneye were also on here.

On the Lune Estuary the Goldeneye number also increased to at least 100 counted today which didn't include the ones 'under' whilst panning through them. Some more 'at least' numbers were 1,000 Bar-tailed Godwit and Knot. A Little Egret was on Glasson Marsh.

A brief visit to Cockersands was another mis-timed one at high tide but revealed 5 Turnstone near Plover Scar, a species always of note.

On Gulf Lane some uncounted Tree Sparrow were almost certainly the c.40 birds seen here on Friday 13.

On Pilling Marsh the only bird to note was a single Little Egret. Obviously the wrong time here as we missed the Bean Goose and 2 Barnacle Geese here this morning. Interestingly there wasn't a 'goose' in sight late afternoon.

On Bradshaw Lane Head 2 Short-eared Owl gave excellent views here again today.

The pic as always has nothing to do with 'birding' but is of the Central Pier many moon's ago in a thin shroud of mist, and - if you look hard enough - several hundred Starling's going to roost which they did in their thousands.