Grim if not Gruesome.

By way of a change I'll credit the excellent pic of a Red - throated Diver first which goes to Peter Guy. Once again not at all connected to the content of the post other than my visit to the coastal areas but what's new there, an excellent image of the bird exercising its wings......thanks Peter.

Well I readily call today grim if not gruesome, but birding continues to be bloody hard work at times yet and today was no exception. Bird of the day went to the Ruff on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock this late morning and 'appeared' to be the 27 July juvenile seen here and three days later in the channel at Conder Green. My timing was out today with the tide still quite high on the River Lune as viewed from Glasson Dock and the only other birds of note were just 3 Black - tailed Godwit, otherwise absolutely nothing new to add to recent visits. At Conder Green the adult Spotted Redshank now stands out from the Redshanks in its winter plumage even at a distance without optics, also 4 Greenshank, 7 Common Sandpiper, and in the channel below the old railway bridge c.150 Redshank, and 50 Dunlin. At Cockersands I struggled to find anything of note save just 8 Golden Plover, 10 Ringed Plover, and 2 Turnstone, a 'few' Redshank and even fewer Dunlin went uncounted.

Always keen to take a look at Cockers Dyke and Knott End especially around this time of year, I drove to both locations to find them almost totally void of birds by which time I was now well and truly 'peed off' and decided to go to check out the bird-life on Harrisend where it took me 1.5 hours to find a family party of 5 Stonechat being a female and four juveniles. Also to note here, 4 Red Grouse had escaped the attention of any 'sportsmen' who may have been out since the twelfth, 2 Buzzard, 2 Kestrel, and just 4 Meadow Pipit.

Now I don't wish to labour the 'grim' issue but in comparing what birding can really be like at its best......what else can I say.