Did it again!

The birding walk from Skerton Bridge to Glasson Dock appears to have taken a hold on me and I decided what better than to do it again for the fourth time in recent week's...and what an excellent decision it was too.

There was nothing of any particular interest between Skerton Bridge and Marsh Point though I noted 8 Goosander but only saw 3 Goldeneye today, well down on recent number's. At Marsh Point I counted at least 110 Black-tailed Godwit and 12 Dunlin, but despite grilling several hundred 'gull's' on the river on the way down here I found no Med Gull today.

Freeman's Pools are still frozen in places with the one in the west corner still 90% ice and about 25% still in the east pool, however 2 Green Sandpiper on here were flighty and appeared to object to each others company and soon flew over the embankment and on to the River Lune where I retraced my steps to see one briefly, a few minutes later and back at the pools they were there again but still at loggerheads before flying off again - at one point quite high - and this time in a SE direction, regular 'Aldcliffe parishioners' will perhaps know where they were likely to have been heading but I certainly didn't. Thanks to Brian Rafferty for the Green Sandpiper image.

On Aldciffe Marsh the only geese remaining were c.140 Canada Geese and 44 Greylag with which the Dark-bellied Brent Goose of 29 December had made a return appearance, also on the marsh were 2 Little Egrets and 2 Meadow Pipit were noted, on the wildfowlers pool 6 Black-tailed Godwit seen. Between Aldcliffe and Conder Green I counted 13 Blackbirds but take particular note of not having seen a solitary Song Thrush despite having recorded 22 on 31 December in the same area, 2 Dunnock, a Reed Bunting, 18 Goldfinch, and a Little Egret was distant on Colloway Marsh.

At Conder Green I found 24 Twite to the north of the old railway bridge and saw a distant Merlin on the marsh. I added some mileage to the day - I think its called dedication to the cause - by wandering down Jeremy Lane to find just five of Sundays seven Whooper Swans......I reckon the other two were hiding in a 'dip' somewhere. 

 

Its rather unfortunate to end the post on a down note but I found this dead Mute Swan on Aldcliffe Marsh and couldn't help but wonder how/why it had died. I didn't suspect the 'freeze' was the cause but did note the injury on its upper throat to below the lower mandible, the bird was otherwise unmarked.