Plan B.

Not connected with Plan B but a good start to the post with an image of the smart male Sparrowhawk which has the interest of having been achieved through an iPhone 3GS attached to a Leica Apo Telescope and is with thanks to Katie Fuller who hails from Cambridgeshire and who's blog may interest some of the visitors to Birds2blog and is now linked via the sidebar on the left.

No car again unfortunately, a subject I'd sooner  leave out of here. So it was Plan B and my third walk in recent weeks from Skerton Bridge to Glasson Dock. In total I saw 24 Goldeneye ten of which were between Skerton Bridge and the weir upstream, 2 Little Grebe, and 3 Goosander were also up this end of the river before I had reached Carlisle Bridge. Two Snipe were flushed from the bank towards Marsh Point. I took particular note of Freeman's Pools which I would suggest will remain uninhabited for a 'few' days to come yet, and with a fresh dusting of snow from last night looks further away from thawing than ever in it's sheltered from the sun location. As always there were many 'gull's' on the River Lune but time today didn't allow me to grill them as closely as I would have liked to, however I was quite satisfied that no Med Gulls were to be found.

On Aldcliffe Marsh I estimated c.300 Canada Geese, all the 'uncounted' Greylag, Pink-footed Geese, and the four Snow Geese were in inland fields today between the flood and Aldcliffe village. Other birds of note up to Conder Green were, 25 Blackbird and 12 Song Thrush were encouraging counts the ice-age considered, 2 Dunnock, 3 Wren, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Reed Bunting, 4 Robin, and a solitary Fieldfare.

I had a half hour to spare when I arrived at Conder Green - though by 3.45 it was well on the way to nightfall - and noted a Goldeneye had found its way up the creeks nearly to the A588 road bridge, a Little Grebe was also in the creeks with 2 Black-tailed Godwit, and a Grey Plover. From the coastal path towards Glasson Dock I noted another solitary Fieldfare and a Redwing. Eight bouncy flight distant 'finches' on the walk had frustrated me and go unrecorded as probable/possible Twite.