For the Record.

Little Stint. Pete Woodruff.

Well the title - I couldn't think of another - refers to the record shots of the 3 Little Stints today off the esplanade at Knott End, probably the most obliging 'stints' I've ever seen, also whilst here 2 Little Egret which are almost everywhere these days and it's quite amazing how blase you can become about anything over time.

Little and Large. Pete Woodruff.

Just two of the birds in this shot with big brother HG close by. I was with JB today and we had made a very brief visit to Conder Green where we did nothing at all serious but made a quick scan of the pool were I noted just 6 Little Grebe and 4 Wigeon before we shot off to Pilling Lane Ends to find up to 10,000 Pink-footed Geese on the marsh and had no opportunity to grill them because the 'Rambo types' had taken to Fluke Hall Lane with their armoury and immediately they opened fire it was bye bye PFG. At Cockers Dyke were I found 2 Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Egret just in time before another one of those 'doggy numskulls' had the same effect as the previous bunch at Pilling and put everything in sight to flight including c.24 Snipe which had obviously been hidden from view on the marsh, a favour of sorts we could well have done without....thanks a lot 'numskull and Rambo's'.

I'm always very hesitant to call any birding dull, but to be honest Cockersands was little more than that today though the visit could hardly have been called a serious one but 12 Eider were off Plover Scar as were 4 Red-breasted Merganser, and the c.30 Greenfinch were still in the set-aside area, one day I'll make the concerted effort to count these birds.

On the Lune estuary at Glasson Dock I found an adult Mediterranean Gull again, a Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, a solitary Snipe, the c.400 Golden Plover and c.180 Bar-tailed Godwit numbers were both down again today, and would you believe it we suffered our third disturbance of the day when a Peregrine Falcon true to form put up everything in sight and gave me excellent views in doing so. I didn't mind this final act of disturbance, nothing unnatural about this one and I can accomodate a PG anytime, a Red Admiral in pristine condition seen here.