Blue Sky, Blue Sea....

....Blue'dy cold wind still!

Mare and Foal. Pete Woodruff.

No bird pics today but I did manage a couple of decent one's of this mare and its foal at Banks Houses Cockersands which - according to the owner - is barely a week old....both beautiful creatures.

I suppose I'd have to refer to today's birding as quiet and certainly so at Conder Green though the Little Ringed Plover pair did show on the pool but you do have to be patient with these two. Also noted a (the) Whitethroat was singing from the same branch of the same bush as Monday, and a Song Thrush, 2 Eider and 3 drake Wigeon were seen on the River Lune from here. On Jeremy Lane 2 Wheatear, a Skylark, and a male Linnet was observed feeding a female, a first for me.

At Cockersands where the tide was at it's height c.60 Dunlin and a similar number of Ringed Plover were pushed by the tide below the headland and gave good views, I was hoping perhaps one or two Sanderling would be with them, but if there's to be a repeat of these turning up here again as three years ago in 2007 - when 120 were present on 31 May - I'll need to wait a couple more weeks perhaps. Also of note, 12 Eider were off Crook Farm, a Great-crested Grebe has been a little rare anywhere off Cockersands recently. From the road back to the lighthouse from Banks Houses I saw just 2 Tree Sparrows, a Skylark, a Wren, 2 Sedge Warbler in full song, and 24 Lesser Black-backed Gulls were noted in a field, and a Lesser Whitethroat has either moved to the line of Willows on the road towards the lighthouse, or it's Mondays bird having moved, 6 Brown Hare were also noted.

I thought I'd give Aldcliffe a look over but a circuit here was a little unproductive, even the 'Whitethroats' went silent on me, the biggest surprise was a pair of Gadwall on the wildfowlers pool, the only other bird of any note was a singing Blackcap....such is the variation of birding. I saw only seven butterflies in six hours today, 3 Speckled Wood, 2 Orange Tip, and 2 Small Tortoiseshell, all at Aldcliffe. One worrying sight here today was that the two excellent and rather large stubble fields have become Lancasters 'Sahara Desert' and several Lapwing adults were stood around in a forlorn state....nothing new there then! 

I note no House Martins have arrived at Conder Green as yet especially at 'River Winds' where up to five pairs nested last year.