Briefly Birding.

I took an opportunity to get out briefly birding yesterday, and having not been in eight days I was overdue a visit to Conder Green so went there to find a Common Sandpiper had returned.

Common Sandpiper. Warren Baker @ Pittswood Patch 

Last year a Common Sandpiper was still at Conder Green on 27 May, then not seen again until a month later on 26 June 8 days later than yesterdays bird. By the end of June the Common Sandpipers will no doubt be at Conder Green in a double figure along with the Spotted Redshank which in my records was on 1 July. My first returning Greenshank in 2014 was seen here on 7 July....It will be interesting to see where all these dates fit in with this years returns.

Also on Conder Pool at near high tide, at least 40 Redshank, 6 Tufted Duck, a juvenile Pied Wagtail, and two young Oystercatcher. A few Sand Martin were hawking over the pool, with fewer Swift and a single House Martin.

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was a wide expanse of water with the tide at it's height, but I was rewarded by finding 2 Mediterranean Gull both 1st summer birds, also singles of female Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, and Goosander.

The Conder Pool Common Terns.

I was lucky to see the Common Tern on Conder Pool yesterday, none of the boxes are in view, now completely overgrown with vegetation.

Common Tern. Howard Stockdale. 

But on my visit to the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, one of the Common Terns came over the river and did so 5 times in 20 minutes to return to Conder Pool each time it caught small fry. When I returned to Conder Pool a little later I watched the bird come in once again from the River Lune to feed the one in the nest box....Wonderful stuff.

Thanks to Warren and Howard for the photographs, 'clik the pik' to see them at their very best.  

Our Garden.

Ladybird. Pete Woodruff.

This Ladybird was on a Rose petal where I photographed it - badly - in our garden recently. As is to be expected of me, I'm a little confused about it's identity, but I think it's a 14-Spot Ladybird variant....Anyone with a liking to correct me is most welcome.

Also in our garden, it was good to see the regular Goldfinch at the feeders had brought along four juveniles with them in the last few days, and our Blackbirds fetched the same number of four young with them too....Great stuff.