Up And Down Birding Again.

Whinchat Brian Rafferty

Having met SP at the lighthouse cottage on Thursday and set off towards Plover Scar around high tide, we had gone through the kissing gate when to the left in bushes there was a Whinchat with Linnets....I didn't see my first Whinchat in 2015 until 3 May. Thanks to BR for the excellent image. 

Plover Scar was pretty quiet and with waders hunkered down amongst the stones, some were difficult to find, but barely a double figure of Dunlin and Ringed Plover present, with a single Grey Plover standing out well. Also at Cockersands, 8 Wheatear, five of which were on the Cockersand Abbey ruins. The rest of the circuit was rather grim, with lots of Lapwing sitting quietly in some of the fields, a single Skylark, and the 2 Whooper Swan still hanging on here.

As I drove along Jeremy Lane en route to Glasson Dock, in excess of 450 Lesser Black-backed Gull were of note in a freshly slurried field. On the Lune Estuary, a Common Sandpiper was on the mud feeding with Redshank, and the only other note made was of 3 Eider hauled out by the Conder mouth.


Three moderate quality images below courtesy of yours truly!!  

Spotted Redshank. Conder Green 21 April.

High tide at Conder Green, the Spotted Redshank was showing it's transformation to black breeding plumage to good effect....

Greenshank/Common Sandpiper. Conder Green 21 April.

....and a Greenshank was with one of the 2 Common Sandpiper seen here today.  

Lesser Black-backed Gull. Conder Pool 21 April. 

This brute of a resident currently on Conder Pool with it's mate, was eyeing up a female Mallard which had it's ten goslings stringing along....dangerous neighbours, dangerous times! 

Bryan Yorke is first past the post with his Cuckoo seen on Dalton Crags yesterday morning Here  

Thanks to SP for the excellent header image of the Temminck's Stint found on Conder Pool 28 May 2013.