I had a problem when I arrived at Conder Green around 10.00am yesterday, there was a howler blowing from the west, Conder Pool looked more like the Irish Sea on a bad day, and I had no enthusiasm for going to Cockersands. Without thinking about a Plan B, I decided to go to Glasson Dock and found a nice sheltered spot to view the Lune Estuary and watch the tide racing in to push the waders off to roost elsewhere.
The birds in view on the south side were predominantly c.1,500 Redshank, a wonderful sight which offered the challenge to sift through them to find any odd ones out. Eventually I found 2 Spotted Redshank, c.150 Dunlin and 3 Black-tailed Godwit, with 6 Goldeneye and 2 Red-breasted Merganser on the river. On the canal basin, 5 Goldeneye, 2 Little Grebe, and a Great-crested Grebe.
I now had to decide what to do next, whilst I made up my mind about that I went back to Conder Green where the tide was at it's height and close to flooding the road.
Redshank. Conder Pool. 27 January. Pete Woodruff.
I hadn't been there a few minutes when 620 Redshank zoomed over from the Lune Estuary to seek sanctuary, they had brought a Spotted Redshank with them. It was quite a spectacle watching these birds which were initially uneasy and took to flight en-mass several times before settling down again. Whilst all this was going on, the Common Sandpiper was on the near island, 2 Snipe and 70 Curlew were also present, and 6 Little Grebe were difficult to pick out whilst bobbing up and down like corks in an ocean.
I spent some time enjoying the birds of Conder Pool, until a Sparrowhawk came on patrol to clear the pool out.... Having enjoyed the festival of Redshanks and Co, this time the decision was to call it a day.
Spotted Redshank.
Redshank. Conder Pool. 27 January. Pete Woodruff.
The Spotted Redshank on Conder Pool is in both these photographs I took yesterday, easily seen in the image above and would have been identifiable from its relations a mile away, but not quite as easy in the first one....top centre bird.
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