Signs of the times.

Lapwing. Phil Slade.

There were some signs that the weather was playing its part in some of the bird-life I observed today, the inland Lapwings looked more inclined to be able to feed a little better than of late....

Snipe. Phil Slade

....whilst the Snipe were more inclined to be out in the open than is usual. Thanks to PS for both these photographs, please take a look at Phil's website for more pics/birding/ringing accounts. Time seemed to run away with me somehow today but I managed the Conder/Cockersands circuits and a look in on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock though I unavoidably mis-timed it and the tide had almost taken over the area.   

At Conder Green 2 Greenshank and a Spotted Redshank put in an appearance along with 2 Grey Plover, 5 Snipe, and 2 Little Grebe. In the channel downstream from the railway bridge c.125 Teal and 65 Wigeon, 2 Skylark were on the marsh, and 4 Reed Bunting were seen from the coastal path. At Glasson Dock just prior to the tide pushing them off, c.350 Bar-tailed Godwit, 11 Black-tailed Godwit, and c.120 Dunlin, at least 80 Goldeneye are living up to retaining last years record numbers here. On Jeremy Lane the Little Owl was again on the roof of the old farm building.

I was off to Cockersands to collect a first record here with what I assumed to be a cold weather movement of 22 Grey Plover, this is my first ever double figure of this species at Cockersands, based on my observations you just don't get double figure numbers of these wintering birds here, another excellent record today was at least 80 Turnstone, actually only 28 birds less than the entire WeBS count for the month of December in 2009, 25 Knot, c.600 Oystercatcher, 3 Eider, 8 Red-breasted Merganser, and - as Monday - a Rock Pipit again. On the return via the road and some nooks and crannies, 2 Meadow Pipit, c.25 Fieldfare in a distant field, a single Redwing - I've seen just three so far this year all single birds - a Dunnock, Reed Bunting, Kestrel, and 3 Wren one of which took me by surprise foraging on a large washed up tree trunk on the shingle, my first Wren to become a shorebird. The set-aside 'finches' made life easier today being an easy count of 55 Linnets, quite interesting how numbers/species have varied since they first took up here.

And finally....

Fallow Deer. Gary Jones

The Fallow Deer in Dallam Park, Milnthorpe. If you'd like to see Fallow Deer and you're in easy reach of Dallam Park, then this is the place to go. Thanks for the pic Gary.