The Numbers Game.

Pink-footed Geese. Brian Rafferty.

There was some impressive numbers to be seen on Thursday on the Lune Estuary, with probably in excess of 13,000 Pink-footed Geese seen, an estimated 4,000 were on Colloway Marsh, with 9,000 on Cockerham Marsh which I viewed from midway between Cockerham Sands Country Park and Bank End, amongst these was a Barnacle Goose

I found 1,300 Black - tailed Godwit on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, then later in the day as the tide raced in around 3.45pm, I saw up to 2,500 between the lighthouse and Crook Farm, that's an impressive 3,800 Black-tailed Godwit into the little black book, though I strongly suspect some were duplicated from the earlier count upstream from here at Glasson Dock, even so an unprecedented number of at least 2,500 of the species on the Lune Estuary.

When I found the Curlew on the Cocker Estuary I decided to become more diligent in my counting for once, and came up with 1,620 as another impressive number of a bird in serious decline. Continuing with my diligent counting, the long staying and excellent high number of swans had formed a more compact herd than of late, today up to 400 Whooper Swan were behind the Caravan Park, seen as another unprecedented number in our area.

Starlings. Brian Rafferty. 

There was huge black patches in the fields and black clouds in the sky with a combined total of at least 10,000 Starlings seen on Jeremy Lane and at Cockersands. 

The best of the rest.

On Conder Pool, 45 Wigeon, 21 Redshank, a Snipe, and 3 Little Grebe. Other notes from the Lune Estuary, 31 Goldeneye, 2 Red-breasted Merganser and a Goosander. And at Cockersands, waders in the fields included at least 200 Golden Plover, 4 Eider were off Plover Scar, and 6 Blackbird, a Meadow Pipit, and Robin were in Bank Houses horse paddock.

Thanks to Brian Rafferty for the Pink-footed Geese and the Starling mumuration at Blackpool North Pier.