PL Nearly Wins The Day.

 Painted Lady Warren Baker 

I found my first Painted Lady of the summer on Wednesday, it was on Corricks Lane at Conder Green and was set to take the 'Best Of The Day' award....

Stonechat Cockersands. Pete Woodruff. 

....but the PL took a knock for the top spot when I saw a bird silhouetted against the light atop of a bush at Cockersands, but it didn't take many seconds for me to make it out to be a brilliant male Stonechat and the butterfly had to make do with being knocked into second place....and I at least got a reasonable 'clik the pik' into the bargain.

Also at Cockersands, 8 Wheatear were seen in close proximity of each other along the headland, the Little Owl was sunning itself again in the bushes at Bank Houses horse paddock. I saw no more than 20 Linnet today compared to the 250 seen on Monday, 14 Eider were off Plover Scar. A Kestrel seen, and a Peregrine Falcon took me by surprise as it rose out of long grass along the headland only a few metres in front of me with prey in its talons and dropped out of sight again at the far side of the field.

A small build up of c.70 Wigeon, 30 Golden Plover, and 9 Little Egret was all I could find of note on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock.

Ruff/Redshank. Pete Woodruff.

Meanwhile back where I began with the Painted Lady at Conder Green, a Ruff, 2 Spotted Redshank, a Common Sandpiper, the long saying lone Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Snipe, a Grey Wagtail and Little Egret were all in the creeks. On Conder Pool the build up continues with 14 Little Grebe now counted. I'm not aware of any location in our recording area where the number of this species comes near those on Conder Pool.

Yes, winter's around the corner, and two early Whooper Swan were reported over Heywood, Greater Manchester yesterday afternoon, and the berries are ready and waiting for the Fieldfare, Redwing, and maybe Waxwing at Conder Green.