Weather is the topic for conversation again as always seems to be the case in this country, but I set off this morning pretending it wasn't going to be quite as bad as forecast but soon found out I was living a dream. However I wouldn't have missed for anything the hour or so I managed to squeeze in before it got the better of me and I'd had enough.
When I drove around the corner towards Conder Pool I saw what I am claiming to be a first record, that of a thousand waders in the air searching for terra firma at high tide over the pool on which they soon settled down on the large island across from the viewing platform. I need to be excused for what appears to be a repetition of photographs of the same Black-tailed Godwits and Knot, but they are all different groups and one of them includes the colour ringed BTG seen by one or two birders doing its rounds over the past month's and was a bird marked in Iceland as Orange over Red on both legs above the tibia, but as I understand has no other history to it.
In all honesty though I reckon the record fell just short - and I mean just short - of the thousand but an impressive sight for such a humble location all the same and Conder Pool retained its reputation of being one of the best things to happen in our area in years, that of taking out the material to raise the road just a few hundred metres on from here as a sea defence against the 10m+ tides for the caravan park and leaving the 'left overs' to nature....excellent stuff, if you are 'local' and know this area just look back through the records for the place and see for yourself.
So after my excitement illustrated in the introduction the records on Conder Pool this morning at high tide are....c.460 Knot, c.360 Black-tailed Godwit, a Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 42 Oystercatcher, 2 Dunlin (but surely more amongst the mass) c. 120 Redshank, and 3 Goldeneye.
On Jeremy Lane the 12 Whooper Swans presumably of last Thursday 25 March are still there, and at Cockersands where I had really made the mistake of going to considering the worsening weather, I had time to note 18 Eider off the lighthouse before I did the u turn back to Lancaster.
Pete. What a super session you had at Conder Pool and well deserved for all the time and effort you put in. Very impressive wader numbers and some of them coming into breeding plumage... a fine sight indeed. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was seeing things as I rounded the corner and saw the mass of waders which swallowed up the sky over Conder Pool before settling on both the island and terrace which runs the length of the pool at the back.
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking in Brian.
Some impressive counts there Pete, Sorrry I missed the event but as know Mondays is babysitting and I dont want to miss that either. As you say Tuesday not as bad as BBC predicted, see Phil - AnotherBirdBlog
ReplyDeleteThanks for comments Phil.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to take a look at 'AnotherbirdBlog' now.
Hello Pete
ReplyDeleteHave you another source of info for the ringed Blackwit which definitely gives no interim sightings prior to Heysham/Lune Estuary over the last month or two (i.e. other than Kane's posting on the LDBWS site)?
Thanks
Pete
No other source whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteWe all learned via LDBWS when I first found and reported the bird at C'sands that the only info was that the bird was ringed in Iceland but no other history available as I have indicated in this post.
Hope this answers your question Pete.
Thanks - I'll contact Kane - Richard normally does the contacting with Iceland & this bird was obviously in hand. Responses from Iceland on Blackwits have been a little on the slow side recently. Unexpected if there are no other sightings - its certainly been well-recorded in this area e.g. the first ringed Blackwit at Heysham where hitherto scarce
ReplyDeletePete