Early Birds.

Whooper Swan. Pete Woodruff.

An early date, but it was good to find the winter swans had returned on Friday when I found my first 8 Whooper Swan on Jeremy Lane. My photographic efforts above are worse than ever this time, but a 'clik the pik' brings up the original which is a slight improvement, also a Sparrowhawk flew off a fence post and across the field.

If your going to bird at Conder Green, you have to count the LG's on Conder Pool, why would you not want to, 14 Little Grebe was my count on Friday, also counted were at least 120 Teal on the pool, with 3 Snipe noted, another decent count was of up to 150 Goldfinch over and on the marsh, seen as the kind of numbers and maybe more to be expected of this finch here around now, the Common Sandpiper and 3 Goosander were in the creeks. 

I wasn't able to be at Cockersand before, or to stay much after the high tide on Friday, but I was hoping the plovers might be either on Plover Scar, or gathered in one of the Abbey Farm fields escaping the tide, either way they might be accompanied by Wednesdays AGP to give me a second bite at the bird, it didn't happen unfortunately....but thanks to SP for the new header of this brilliant bird.

Grey Plover. Pete Woodruff.

But a good rake around produced, off the headland, 2 Grey Plover seeking refuge from the tide, with c.60 Turnstone flying past south, and 2 Wheatear seen. I saw up to 80 Skylark over the fields, 2 Snipe took to flight out of a ditch, a few small skeins totalling c.300 Pink-footed Geese went over, some high up in the clouds, and all heading to the Fylde goose fields, small trickles of Swallow were heading south whilst I was here, and my records were rounded off by 2 Brown Hare.