Owt About!

I never know how to answer the dreaded question....'owt about'....as I never really fully understand the question in the first place. But I was asked by two nice people at Conder Green if I'd seen anything interesting which makes a little more sense to me and we were able to have a nice chat about the answers I gave them, though in the end whether they knew what a Spotted Redshank or a Goldeneye was I have no idea.

The tides are dropping in height and for now they will no longer flood Conder Pool which would make an excellent boating lake now, I think it may be a good idea to put in a planning application in that regard and make myself a few quid, otherwise the pool is in ruins....unless you're a duck.

Spotted Redshank/Greenshank Astland Photography

On Conder Lake on Monday I found a Spotted Redshank roosting with 11 Redshank - so there was some waders on here after all - 2 Goosander, c.90 Teal, 27 Wigeon, a Little Egret, and 2 Little Grebe. A Grey Plover was down the Conder channel from the old railway bridge, an annual winter visitor but usually solitary, otherwise a rare bird anywhere on the Lune Estuary. At Glasson Dock I saw c.700 Redshank again with a Ruff glimpsed with them as they occasionally flew around looking for a high tide roosting area, also of note, a Spotted Redshank and 8 Skylark.

At Cockersands, c.230 Whooper Swan off Moss Lane were still in the distant field as I drove past and were almost certainly still present in the same number as last Wednesday. Also off Moss Lane 4 Little Egret were in a field by Haresnape Farm with a Grey Heron. A Snipe flushed off the marsh and a Kestrel seen here again, in one of Abbey Farm fields waders amounted to in excess of 4,000 with estimates of 1,500 Golden Plover and a similar count of Lapwing, with 900 Dunlin, 100 Turnstone and 6 Ringed Plover.

 Red-breasted Merganser Simon Hawtin

Off Crook Farm, 11 Bar-tailed Godwit, with 2 Red-breasted Merganser on the estuary, and a rare sighting according to my records book, that of 2 Great-crested Grebe.

There are at least 63 Goldeneye on and in the Lune Estuary area with Monday's records of....

40 Glasson Dock.

18 Canal Basin, Glasson Dock.

5 Conder Pool.

The Wheatears are coming.

Wheatear Phillip Tomkinson 

Hard to believe, but....if I'm going to find an early Wheatear this year, it might be only six weeks away before I do. The earliest ever record of Wheatear in Lancashire is of a male found at Pilling Lane Ends 11 years ago on 26 February 2003....and that's just three weeks away.

Thanks to Peter and Susan at Astland Photography, Simon and Phillip for the photographs in this post, they are much appreciated.