Here and there.

But first....

Iceland Gull. Mike Watson  

An excellent photograph of the juvenile Iceland Gull currently present at Preston Dock and obviously showing well as the picture above clearly illustrates, more via the link below the photograph....Thanks for this Mike.

I paid two visits to Conder Green today, the first one was abandoned until the tide receded when I returned three hours later. Birds noted were a Kingfisher, Goldeneye, 2 Wigeon, and 2 Little Grebe all on Conder Pool, two of the latter were in the creeks along with a solitary Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank, Common Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Red-breasted Merganser, a flock of 14 Chaffinch were also of note from the coastal path.

On the canal basin at Glasson Dock, a Little Grebe and 6 Pochard interestingly two of which were female, much more unusual than the drakes on here as per past records. On Glasson Marsh, educated estimates of 5,000 Lapwing, and 2,000 Golden Plover.

Little Owl. Phil Slade

From Jeremy Lane the Little Owl was on the roof of the old farm building once again, this one isn't it but is one of 'Phil's birds'....Thanks Phil, an excellent photograph of the smart Little Owl.

I decided to give Cockersands a miss today and went off to the Pilling area where I saw 10 Whooper Swans way out at the seaward end of Pilling Marsh, with c.350 Pink-footed Geese seen, on the sea I noted a single Great-crested Grebe, 2 Red-breasted Merganser, and a 'few' Pintail. I was looking forward to a good grilling of the excellent stubble field's off Fluke Hall Lane but with the usual unpredictability of birds was disappointed as the field's where totally void of birds. At Fluke Hall a short circuit resulted in at least 22 Meadow Pipits in stubble, and c.350 Jackdaw were also of note in a ploughed field. Single Little Egrets seen on the day were....Conder Green, Glasson Marsh, Fluke Hall, and 2 on Pilling Marsh. 

And finally....

Nothing glamorous about the pic of the boat above but it isn't supposed to be, for those acquainted with Conder Green you will know this boat. I've no idea how it got there but I picked up a Stoat running along the rim of the bodywork of this boat soon followed by it disappearing into the hull from whence it came out with what I took to be a Rat in its jaws but it quickly disappeared once more never to show again before I ran out of waiting time. I remain mystified by how this animal actually got on to the boat....not via one of the ropes surely!