Doing the rounds again....

....well 'sumovum'....means some of them!

Nothing spectacular or professional about the pic but I was a bit surprised to see a little snow on the Bowland fell tops today, the pic taken from Glasson Dock where I watched a definitely spectacular aerial display by at least 8,000 waders - Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit - of which I could never have produced a ratio figure if I'd have viewed them all day, not from the distance they were, they were a tightly mixed group at the mouth of the Conder, and although it is of no value for recording purposes a sighting here last year on 6 November was of c.4,000 Knot and c.2,000 Bar-tailed Godwit and is probably a reasonable indicator of what I saw today. Also noted were the first 18 Goldeneye on the River Lune here and is hopefully another indicator of the good numbers found here during the winter 2009/10, and 7 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Little Egret were on Colloway Marsh.

I had first been to Conder Green where a drake and female Goldeneye were on Conder Pool, as was a Little Egret moderately photographed above. In the creeks were 2 Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, a Kingfisher was upstream from the road bridge, and 5 Little Grebe were also in the creeks, no wonder I can't find them on the pool when the little buggers are in the creeks. At Cockersands the tide was well advanced and I spent little time here but noted up to 240 Oystercatchers being the guardians of Plover Scar as ever, 14 Turnstone were also of note, and 8 Snipe took to the wing to escape the tide.

On Fluke Hall Lane I was delighted to find 2 Bewick's Swans with 7 Whooper Swans in the brilliant condition stubble field, also - with my recorders hat on once again - I counted/estimated 320 Lapwing, 260 Redshank, 120 Dunlin, 22 Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Golden Plover, and 5 Snipe.

It's worthy of note that on this day last year I found a 1st winter/female Black Redstart at Cockersands where I also found a male Stonechat which I eventually referred to as the wisest Stonechat around as it fed daily on the tide wrack whilst most of the others perished in the big freeze, this bird stayed here until the last time I saw it on 22 February this year, another male was found on the same date of 9 November at Conder Green.

MEGA NEWS. 

A Pied-billed Grebe was found today on Hollingworth Lake in Greater Manchester reminding me of the summer plumaged bird found on Dockacres 13 years ago on 24 May 1997 staying until 8 June to the delight and satisfaction of the many.