Mediocre!

 

Woodchat Shrike Antonio Puigg

Not connected to today's post, but it kinda reminded me of Friday 9 May, a day a little more exciting than my birding day was yesterday. 

Thanks Antonio....Excellent. 

Well I'm probably likely to try again many more times on the Conder/Glasson/Cockersands tour, though yesterdays results won't go very far to encourage me to do so, this is at best mediocre, but here goes....

Though the weather certainly wasn't dull, and I don't use this kind of language readily, I'm tempted to say my birding was dull yesterday, the count of 4 Common Sandpiper at Conder Green was a clear indication of this. Other notables were singles of Greenshank, Snipe, Little Egret, Little Grebe, with c.120 Redshank, and 3 Dunlin.

Yellow Wagtail Simon Hawtin

Two reports of Yellow Wagtail at Cockersands on Sunday/Monday had me spending the rest of the afternoon looking for these Mellow Yellows to find two in the dried out ditch running through a field to the south of Slack Lane. A good number of Swallow with fewer Sand Martin and fewer still House Martin, were feeding over the many fields having had a grass cutting day here. I saw a mobile flock of at least 30 Tree Sparrow, and picked out a Peregrine Falcon overhead before going into rocket mode to take a wader out of the sky over the Cocker channel in what must have been the easiest strike this bird has had in a long time.

Common Tern on Conder Pool.     

The female Common Tern on Conder Pool sits tight on the nest whilst the male was seen heading off to some nearby fishing ground.

I reckon with luck there should be young here by around 6 August, they are known to leave the nest in three days though they return for brooding, which means they could be seen by 9 August, they can swim at an early age, and should be fledged by 3 September. Watch this space, or better still....watch Conder Pool.