....and some excellent cloudscapes!

Apologies, but this is a 'no birdie pics' post as I couldn't resist pretending I still 'did' photography with some excellent cloudscapes to be seen at Cockersands yesterday where I took all three of these pics on another of my 'escape for the afternoon' days. Not for the first time recently, weatherwise there was an element of risk attached to leaving the car at Cockersands as the pic above shows just after I arrived....clik the piks if you like to see a bigger picture. 

But I had started the rounds at Conder Green where I found 2 Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, and a Snipe. Seven Little Grebe was the best of about six counts of this 'up one minute, down the next' bird. Two female Scaup were with c.55 Tufted Duck on the canal basin at Glasson Dock, with a drake Pochard of note. 

On Jeremy Lane 12 Whooper Swan included six juvenile which made for pleasant viewing. On Moss Lane I managed to count at least 60 Fieldfare this time as opposed to 'uncounted' from a moving vehicle on Monday. 

At Cockersands, where the skies weren't quite as threatening when I took this pic as they were when I got here. 

As some say 'nowabout'....I never do, though it was quite uninspiring today, but c.80 Golden Plover were off Crook Farm with singles of Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover. A Little Egret flew up from behind me and continued following the coastline south. On the Cocker channel I counted up to 90 Black-tailed Godwit, and the only other birds to go into the book were 6 Greenfinch, a Sparrowhawk, and Kestrel.

As the sun went towards the horizon, the skies were slowly clearing, but 30 minutes after I took this pic the hail came crashing down in quite a heavy and prolonged shower.