Out Now.

As you may have seen in my sidebar the Birds of Lancaster and District Annual Report 2011 is out now. But Birds2blog isn't going to be the place to review this report, in any case I've not had a chance to take a good look at it yet but have already found one record which to say the least surprised me....

Based on my observations over a 'few' years on the Lune Estuary from the bowling green at Glasson Dock and Glasson Marsh from Bodie Hill  I can make the claim that the Ringed Plover  (RP) is a wader not often seen at Glasson Dock. So it was with some surprise I read in this report quote....'400 at Glasson on 17/5', unquote....So I did some research if only to try and add some credence to my claim about records of the RP in this area.

I searched back 8 years of LDBWS Annual Reports to find Glasson Dock never once mentioned re RP at Glasson Dock. I also searched monthly WeBS data for at least the same 8 years - which represents 96 surveys of the Glasson area - to find a total of just five RP recorded at Glasson Marsh....21 August 2005 (2) 18 September 2005 (2) 4 May 2006 (1). Not associated with this record of 400, I also found some pretty interesting WeBS counts -  - of RP in May covering the Lune Estuary ranging from just 38 to 734 as follows....

2003. 38

2004. 67

2005. 48

2006. 479

2007. 269

2008. 530

2009. 734

2010. 685

2011. 181

Stonechat Isidro Ortiz

Well, there's always a place for a Stonechat image on Birds2blog and this one from Isidro serves the purpose perfectly.

The LDBWS report rightly notes, following the second severe winter in succession numbers have been considerably reduced, and no birds were reported from the lower fells early in the year. And as far as the breeding population is concerned in areas I covered comprehensively, Clougha, Birk Bank, Harrisend, Barbondale, and Hawthornthwaite, produced just one pair with five young at the latter location on 30 June....a complete disaster.