Yesterday....

....all my troubles seemed so far away. Well they didn't really, but we'll leave that one there if you don't mind.

Common Lizard. Marc Heath

No appropriate 'birdie pics' again so a couple of non-birdies with thanks to Marc for the Common Lizard.

It was good to get out yesterday with JB and to work around the tide. We first did a trespass into Fylde territory where the tide had beaten us to it and was lapping against the sea-wall. But I did a wander NE along the esplanade and beyond to find 2 Mediterranean Gulls both of which were adult.

Pilling Marsh was almost under water though the just under 10m tide left some of it exposed. I thought a 'brush up' of counting skills might be useful and estimated 2,500 Pink-footed Geese, 1,000 Shelduck, 330 Curlew, 40 Lapwing, 30 Golden Plover, and 25 Redshank, all represented rather low figures in the wader category, 800 Teal and 35 Pintail. Two Peregrine Falcon put on a brief show of ariel skill, 7 Little Egret were together as were 7 Wheatear. Yesterdays 5 Whoooper Swans were in the field still with the Mute Swans opposite Sand Villa off the A588. A visit to Bank End to see just about everything in silhouette with a blinding sun in your face, produced 2 Little Egret and 3 Goosander of note. 

A visit to the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock didn't produce 'The American' but I note it was reported at 4.38pm after we had left, and again at 6.15, as I write there is no mention of the bird so far today Wednesday. I noted a 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull and up to 650 Golden Plover. At Conder Green the number has now increased to 7 Little Grebe on Conder Pool where the bonus bird was another adult Mediterranean Gull with c.100 Black-headed Gulls, a Greenshank and 3 Goosander were in the creeks.

And finally....

Norwegian Maple Autumn Fire Wheel. Richard Shilling. 

A long overdue - on Birds2blog - Landart creation by the man who certainly can do it. If you don't already know about this artist can I tell you....what you see in the picture above is natural, nothing in any of his work is transported in his pocket to any of his chosen locations and is made up entirely of natural materials....the mind boggles at such creativity. Thanks Richard brilliant as ever.