Seeing Is Believing.

The post title should really read 'Seeing Would Be Believing'.

Aldcliffe Marsh. Pete Woodruff.

Weatherwise Thursday was a brilliant day, sunny, mild, and not a breeze. Perfect for the excellent walk from Lancaster to Glasson Dock along the old railway track - now the coastal path - which follows the River Lune to the start of its estuary at Glasson Dock and out to the Irish Sea. Brilliant all round habitat for waders and passerines alike....but, you either don't find the birds, or there are none anyway, and after all this is the west coast not the east. The picture above shows Aldcliffe Marsh just surfacing one hour after a 10m plus tide.

 

I started in Lancaster on the River Lune by the Greyhound Bridge, soon to find the Long-tailed Duck here for its eighth day, but I found nothing more of note on the river to Freeman's Pools which was quiet, I saw 3 Goldeneye and 4 Gadwall hauled out onto the island, a solitary Redwing was on the fringe of Freeman's Wood. Birds noted between here and Conder Green were....26 Blackbird, a Reed Bunting, single Fieldfare, a Little Grebe, 2 Goldeneye, and 4 Little Egret.   

North of Conder Green. Pete Woodruff.

In terms of birding, if this photograph - taken just north of Conder Green and a section of the old railway track - had been taken somewhere along the east coast, what a difference to this one taken by me today on a walk on the west coast.

At Conder Green, Conder Pool now resembles a lake and was almost void of birds today at 3.30pm, I could find only one Little Grebe and saw 2 Spotted Redshank and a Goosander in the creeks. On the canal basin at Glasson Dock a female Scaup still here, and....my bus is coming!

I was birding on this coastal path for six hours today, a brilliant six hours....birds or no birds.

And....going to the pictures.

Waxwing David Cookson

Well, if the Waxwings are going to be found all over the place as they are right now, and I'm going to keep finding brilliant photographs of them, then they're going to keep popping up on Birds2blog. Great stuff DC....Thanks. 

Stonechat Marc Heath

A while since we had a Stonechat pic on Birds2blog - can't tolorate that - so this one puts that right. I'm inclined to title this one 'Long Lost friend'. Great stuff MH....Thanks.