The New Post.

I ran out of title ideas again....HELP!!

'Clik The Pik' Pete Woodruff.

I think you'll appreciate I thought of hot-footing it back to the car when I saw this brewing up over the Fylde and heading toward Cockersands yesterday, but it passed by and actually cleared up to make a decent afternoon.

At high tide there was c.80 Turnstone on Plover Scar, a similar number of Oystercatcher departed and left them to it as I approached. I made my way along the headland though the wind was quite strong and blew the sea-spray over the top, 8 Twite were on shingle near the caravan park as was a Rock Pipit. Good numbers of waders were in the fields with uncounted Skylark noted again as Monday, though Golden Plover were only in small number, predominately Curlew, with Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Redshank, and curiously a few Turnstone, I don't recall seeing Turnstone inland in fields before. I briefly saw a Stoat as it dived towards a ditch for cover, the female Kestrel was seen again, and 5 Whooper Swan went over south.

A Kestrel was over Jeremy Lane on the way to Conder Green where I counted 11 Little Grebe on Conder Pool, I also saw a Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Little Egret, and 6 Wigeon. Up to 200 Teal were in the creeks again, and the Common Sandpiper was way down the Conder channel towards the estuary, a Rock Pipit also seen.

The Cormorant Problem. 

Cormorant Ana Minguez     

Three Cormorant were fishing on Conder Pool yesterday - something I've noted here recently but not a regular occurrence - sensibly steering clear of the 'fisheries boys' who are at liberty to blast them out of the water in as many numbers as they see fit. 

In a review, no evidence was found that predation by the Cormorant is worsening, but permits to kill up to 2,000 each year are still in place and this is claimed by the fisheries to be insufficient to meet their needs. But their calls to be allowed to kill unlimited numbers was rejected following the review. In my opinion this scale of killing is unacceptable and is all despite the existence of non lethal deterrents.  

Thanks for the Cormorant image Ana. I think it's been featured on Birds2blog before, but no less brilliant even if it has.