Full House!

Apparently the result of crossing out all your numbers on a Bingo card is called a 'Full House'. Well I crossed out one or two birds yesterday and reckon my birding was a reasonably packed house if it wasn't a full one.  

I started at the end again - Bank End - where I counted at least 14 Little Egret on Cockerham Marsh, with 3 Buzzard soaring together overhead.

Whinchat Martin Lofgren

Cockersands started well with a little gem called the Whinchat initially seen atop of a distant bush and looking interesting but flew off before I could get anything conclusive on the bird - some strong language ensued - but my luck was in and following its line of flight I found it again a little closer than it had first been, it was on a fence post in the Abbey Farm area. I was more than a little disappointed with Plover Scar which held only 35 Knot, 4 Ringed Plover, and 2 Whimbrel, with 12 Eider off here. A raptor was too brief and too distant for my liking but was a small male Sparrowhawk/Merlin mobbed by c.150 'corvids'. Also of note, 2 Wheatear, a 'few' Tree Sparrow, a hovering Kestrel, and 5 Little Egret.

Noted on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, a juvenile Spotted Redshank, up to 48 Golden Plover, 2 Ringed Plover at best irregular here, 4 Little Egret, and a Peregrine Falcon.

Little Stint Jan Larsson

And the Grand Finale at Conder Green was kicked off by 2 Little Stint in the creeks, followed by 2 Ruff, 4 Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, 7 Snipe, a single Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Little Grebe, 2 Wigeon, and a Little Egret which made the tally for the day of 24 Little Egret. A Kingfisher was upstream from the A588 on the River Conder.

The Conder Common Terns.

I watched a Common Tern on the River Lune at Glasson Dock, the bird was diving and took at least one fish to eat it before taking another and promptly flew off to Conder Green. When I got to Conder Green 30 minutes later, I eventually saw an adult flying off towards the Lune Estuary again and also saw both young birds. I was immediately surprised to see how much the runt was catching up in size with the other since I saw them both together a week ago, though I have reason to doubt it has yet fledged, but if I get to see them again by Wednesday I'm taking bets it has by then.

I'm grateful to Martin Lofgren and Jan Larsson for the use of their excellent images of two equally excellent birds I saw yesterday.