Half Day Closing!

Brambling. Phil Slade.

The genuine article, the Brambling seen by me yesterday at Cockersands and seen again today by PS. Thanks for the pic's and your co-operation Phil, the bird made my day and the ones in which it was in the company of are developing into an interesting observation as the foot of this post indicates.

Teal. Phil Slade. 

Along with lots of other birds I didn't count the Teal at Conder Green today with BT, but PS got a nice pic of four in flight. Some excellent news comes out of the visit here today in that one of the first sightings was that of the Common Sandpiper on Conder Pool, not seen since 12 October and which almost escaped my attention but I caught a glimpse of the bird as it disappeared, minutes later it gave me much more than a glimpse as it reappeared from behind the island, also a Little Egret, 7 Little Grebe, 3 Wigeon, 2 Goosander, and a Coal Tit, the circuit was as yesterday unrewarded. On the Lune Estuary from Glasson Dock a check through the 'gulls' proved the vast majority to be at least 400 Common Gulls, a Greenshank was the only wader of any note with unusual small numbers of the common ones.

By the time BT and I arrived at Cockersands it was becoming obvious we were going to get 'washed out' but not before making a concerted effort to get to grips with the set-aside 'finch' flock which has now increased in number. After some determination to stay with them the birds were a little more obliging as the pretty awful photograph below shows....no thats not the moon behind them but the eyepiece of my telescope. 

In this photograph you can attempt to count the birds for yourself, not easy I know and I appreciate you can't tell what they are, but you can take my word for it I've 'blown it up' and there are at least 95 birds on this wire.

OK, now this is merely a record shot of the 'finches' at Cockersands, the best I could do in the circumstances and with the abysmal equipment I have, but this gathering at the set-aside here is becoming interesting since I first found them on 14 September when there was c.30 Greenfinch, but since then - and six visits later with varying results - the flock today consisted of a reasonable estimate of at least 90 Linnet and 10 Greenfinch. So, this flock is fluctuating not only in number but also in ratio of Greenfinch/Linnet, and I'm quite convinced there may well have been/is in excess of 200 'finches' in the area making accurate recording difficult....but watch this space as I now have some help on the matter!

I was back home again just after 2 o'clock 'Half Day Closing'....Pooooh!