Six In Five!

Brilliant  weather on Thursday....enough  for me to  drop everything  and do  the  six miles  in five hours birding Lancaster - Glasson Dock, always with the 'you never know' principal in mind.

Gadwall Antonio Puigg  

Having  checked out  the gulls  which 'hang around' on the River  Lune between  Greyhound and Skerton Bridges I headed south to soon note 25 Redshank high  tide roosting  on the  far bank opposite St Georges Quay, 6 Goldeneye where the only other  birds of note on the river before I diverted  to look over  Freeman's Pools  to find  another  6 Goldeneye making twelve my best count of the species so far this winter with no numbers  found downstream at Glasson Dock yet. Also noted, 8 Wigeon, 6 Teal, and 10 Gadwall....Thanks for the lovely drake Gadwall Antonio.

There was a good number of Chaffinch again in the stubble field, almost certainly the same as last Thursdays 150 but not as mobile so difficult to assess and no Brambling found this week, a  'few' Fieldfare seen. Noted en route to Conder Green, 14 Long-tailed Tit, a Mistle Thrush,  6 Robin, a Kestrel, and an excellent count of 52 Blackbird, 2 Goosander were floating downstream opposite Stodday.

Little Grebe Noushka Dufort

At Conder Green I counted 12 Little Grebe,  five on Conder Pool and seven in the creeks were I saw  a Spotted Redshank.  I'm beginning  to suspect  the  Common  Sandpiper is  no longer present here for whatever reason,  not seen since 5 November,  but its sure to  be  found lurking somewhere now I said this. Thanks for the brilliant Little Grebe Noushka. 

By the time I reached Glasson Dock the light was almost gone and my bus is coming....Nothing riveting, but a brilliant walk on a brilliant day.

And....

Richard Shilling Landart. 

I've caught up with RS again and hey....he's got a calendar published for 2013. Richard has been highlighted on Birds2blog many times before, but if you've not heard about him yet or would like some info on the calendar....have a look HERE