BIRDING THE LUNE ESTUARY THE FOREST OF BOWLAND AND BEYOND...............................................................RED GROUSE HAWTHORNTHWAITE PETE WOODRUFF

Thursday, 25 February 2010

Dull and Grey....


....and not a good day to decide to do 'The Walk' but that's exactly what I did and got quite wet during an hour of rain on an otherwise dull and grey day.


I have no appropriate pics associated with today's birding but an Egyptian Goose is causing quite a stir at the moment, it is now at Cockerham Quarry SD461529 but is of Jeremy Lane fame at its first sighting and the image above is by kind permission of Phil Slade....Thanks Phil.

The leg work started at Skerton Bridge from where I could see 4 Little Grebe upstream towards the weir along with six Goosander, between here and Marsh Point I saw only 3 Goldeneye and checked a few hundred Black-headed Gulls to no avail otherwise. At the point were c.320 Black-tailed Godwit, and on Freeman's Pools the redhead Smew was soon found and I also noted just 2 Gadwall, 2 Goldeneye, 8 Tufted Duck, and a drake Wigeon, a Roe Deer was also seen here. On Aldcliffe Marsh, c.350 Pink-footed Geese and a Little Egret were seen, and a Green Sandpiper was on the flood viewed from Aldcliffe Hall Lane. At Stodday 52 Redshank had found a good food supply in the horse paddock by the water works.

Now I'm becoming depressed as the rain - which had been threatening all the time - finally set in and continued all the way to Conder Green....I'm mentally at my worst when out walking in the rain....deep breath, and count to fifty! 

On the entire route I saw just 4 Blackbirds in stark contrast to the 43 recorded on 31 December, also noted 2 Song Thrush (22 on 31 December) 2 Mistle Thrush, 6 Long-tailed Tits, a Dunnock, a Reed Bunting, and a Treecreeper. With what time I had left at Conder Green before catching the Lancaster bus at Glasson Dock, I noted a Greenshank in the channel, and also 3 Little Grebe. On the canal basin at Glasson Dock I noted a drake Goosander and a Goldeneye.

So five hours after leaving Skerton Bridge......my bus is here!!

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