'The Walk'

Two definite things about the pic....its definitely one I took and its definitely been on Birds2blog once before but I deleted it accidentally probably before anyone got to see it so its here again, its title is 'Coming to Bread'.

I did the walk from Skerton Bridge to Conder Green again, it was a brilliant day and its a brilliant walk and will be even more so in the coming weeks when it'll be alive with birds, today not quite so but here goes....

Despite checking through several hundred 'gulls' all the way to Conder Green I could locate not a single Med Gull. I counted 6 Goldeneye distant and all upstream from Skerton Bridge toward the weir but the rest of the way to Freeman's Pools resulted in a nothing of significance. At the pools the Smew was soon seen but with my lingering limited I noted just 3 Goldeneye, 2 Gadwall, a drake Shoveler, and a Little Egret. Up to 60 Black-headed Gulls with Lapwings and Oystercatchers were all showing interest in the island perhaps as a breeding ground....Mmmmm!

On Aldcliffe Marsh 2 Little Egrets to note, and something put c.3,000 Pink-footed Geese up off Colloway Marsh, and I noted 26 Moorhen around the main wildfowlers pool. From the path to Conder Green, 15 Blackbirds, 4 Song Thrush included one in full song at CG, 2 Mistle Thrush, 2 Robins, a single Wren, and c.180 Curlews were noted in a field close to the picnic area at CG.

Green Sandpiper courtesy of Brian Rafferty.

At Conder Green on a much more brief visit than is my norm produced the Common Sandpiper, 2 Grey Plover, 3 Snipe, and singles of Back-tailed Godwit, Goldeneye, and Little Grebe. The last - and best - bird of the day five hours after leaving Lancaster was initially thought - briefly at a distance - to have been the Common Sandpiper until it flew to show the white rump of a Green Sandpiper.