Bonus Birding.

Any birding for me these days is 'Bonus Birding'. Yesterday was a bit of a late start at 11.00am but I was able to put my mind to giving the area a bit of a going over, but it didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to and ended by my throwing in the towel. Read on....unless you've something more important to do! 

Rock Pipit Phillip Tomkinson  

Starting at Conder Green where the number is gathering some momentum with 8 Little Grebe on Conder Pool as was the wintering Common Sandpiper, and c.120 Teal. But the pools best birds were the first returning 2 Goldeneye. The circuit produced 2 Rock Pipit and c.35 Goldfinch.                

Bar-tailed Godwit Brian Rafferty 

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock c.650 Bar-tailed Godwit was both impressive and another sign of the approaching winter, as was at least 900 Golden Plover, 2 Mediterranean Gull were both adults, and a Little Egret noted. Wader and gull numbers were relatively low today though a 'few' hundred Redshank seen, but here and Cockersands later the question I asked myself....where are the Dunlin, I saw two today.  

Scaup. Copy Permitted.

On the Canal Basin, an adult female Scaup reported last week seen again, the very bird in the pic above. 

Wigeon Dave Appleton  

At Cockersands the best bird award went to the Little Stint on the mud opposite Crook Cottage. Off Plover Scar up to 1,000 Wigeon, 2 Pintail, two drake Eider, and 4 Red-breasted Merganser. On the scar, a Little Egret, and I saw a Red Admiral fly by.

The rest of my plan for Cockersands was slightly derailed because I then found an adult Mediterranean Gull, it was 'Fred The Frustrating Med' for the third time in recent weeks, this bird carries a green ring on its left leg and on the two occasions at Glasson Dock and today it has been too distant to read. But I made a dash to get closer this afternoon by which time the bugger had squat and looked like it had settled for the afternoon, but it rose to its feet after about thirty minutes to come closer only to stand on its right leg. So I staked out for another thirty minutes only to find when it came even closer to me and stand on two legs that it was still too distant to read the ring I'd spent in excess of an hour to nail....I ran out of time and was forced to throw in the towel.