The Swans Have It!

Bewick's Swan. Copy Permitted. 

On Monday 4 Bewick's Swan easily qualified for my best of the day award and were - and always are - a delight to find, they were in a field east of Abbey Farm with 5 Whooper Swan. Sadly the splendid Bewick's Swan suffers a continuing decline and finds itself of European concern and on the Amber List. Twenty two Whooper Swan flew over going south, and 3 Whooper Swan on Jeremy Lane included a juvenile. 

Turnstone. Howard Stockdale.

A 9.7m tide was almost at its height when I arrived at Cockersands, but Plover Scar held just 25 Turnstone, with a single drake Eider off here. The fields held variable numbers of feeding waders, Lapwing, Curlew, and Oystercatcher, with at least 100 Golden Plover in a distant inland field seen from the path to Bank End. I made no attempt at counting but saw at least 30 Skylark over one field, also of note, c.30 Goldfinch, 8 Tree Sparrow, a 'few' Pied Wagtail, female Kestrel, and 2 Little Egret. As I left I noted a single Grey Plover on the mud opposite Crook Cottage.

At Glasson Dock on the Lune Estuary, I failed to find anything with the gulls, but noted 30 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Little Egret. On Conder Pool, try though I may the count didn't get beyond 14 Little Grebe, with a Little Egret on here. In the creeks 2 Spotted Redshank, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Snipe, 5 Goosander, and up to 200 Teal.

Dunnock Warren Baker 

A bird close by in the hedge by Conder Pool initially had me guessing, it called persistently for several minutes before I saw it, and despite my birding for a year or two I'm not acquainted with the call of the Dunnock....always learning something new.

Thanks to Howard and Warren for their respective excellent photographs. 

Below is a recording of the 'seep' call I heard at Conder Green, but you may need to pump up the volume.