Nice day....nice birding!

As always there are a good number of locations I'd like to have gone to yesterday but I've got into this routine of always going to Conder Green to start my day seeing of there's 'owt about' on and around the Lune Estuary, and today presented me with one or two nice rewards.

At Conder Green two trusted Spotted Redshank were feeding under the old railway bridge, in the creeks I found 6 Little Grebe with two more on Conder Pool where I noted a Little Egret, a Goldeneye, 3 Snipe, 12 Wigeon, and up to 55 Common Gull, c.35 Black-tailed Godwit flew over the pool to land for 10 seconds before taking off again to disappear in the direction of Jeremy Lane.

I wanted to get to Cockersands and the tide was coming in at the speed of a race horse, so having noted 14 Goldeneye and a drake Red-breasted Merganser on the River Lune at Glasson Dock I made a hasty retreat. On Moss Lane I noted swans in a field which I counted and made notes, they were still there at dusk and - with an increase in number since I saw them three hours earlier - there was 16 Bewick's Swan and 32 Whooper Swan.

Turnstone/Knot. Plover Scar Cockersands. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersands I did the stretch from Crook Farm to Bank End Farm. From my starting point I saw the foggy 9 January c.255 Black-tailed Godwit again, this time accompanied by up to 550 Curlew. By the time I got to Plover Scar you will appreciate I was pleased to find Sundays Snow Bunting there again, also a good count of c.65 Turnstone, 50 Knot, 9 Oystercatcher, and 2 Ringed Plover, as I was about to leave a Rock Pipit flew down on to the scar. On the return leg something spooked several hundred birds from the fields including at least 85 Skylark, I also noted 8 Reed Bunting and a Little Egret by a ditch in an inland field.

Photo Pete Woodruff.

About 50 mtrs short of Crook Farm an interesting find was that of a dead Porpoise on the shingle, but as can be seen in the photograph only the skull - its in shadow, clik the pik - on the head remains, and no fins can be seen....Washed up from far away, or a good live record in the area missed! 

Conder Pool. Pete Woodruff.   

When having been in the area on the day I rarely fail to call back in on Conder Pool on my way home, this evening it looked particularly attractive in the light of the setting sun.

And finally....

Black Wheatear Antonio Puigg  

Its hard to believe, in about eight weeks time I'll be thinking I might find a Wheatear maybe at Cockersands....one thing for sure I won't be thinking it'll be a Black Wheatear. Thanks Antonio, a brilliant bird.

John and Ann....I know you will be reading this and it was good to see you and have an interesting chat and some comments from you re Birds2blog which were much appreciated. Thanks for the info on the young Salmon you saw at Cockersands. When it comes to fish I'm lost I'm afraid, so why it was there and dying I have no idea, I should have asked you for your opinion. Hope to see you again soon, and there's always a good chance of that if your'e at Cockersands.