Heinz Variety!

Our best spring day yesterday, with a nice variety of birds to savour, though not all the 57 accounted for here.

The Avocet pair were nicely settled in on Conder Pool, though one did take off to go feed in the creeks whilst the other sat tight on the nest, a Great-crested Grebe on here is irregular, with a Wheatear on the far bank. On the circuit, 3 Sedge Warbler were singing in the reeds upstream from the road bridge as was a male Reed Bunting, with a Willow Warbler also singing in the triangle. In the creeks, 6 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Common Sandpiper, and a Greenshank, and it was good to see my first 2 House Martin which have returned to River Winds. 

Whinchat. Cockersand 2 May. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, one of the first birds seen was a stunning male Whinchat, it was on the fence posts at the cover crops, and was still there three hours later when I returned and managed another one of my half decent shots.

 

Whimbrel. Cockersand 2 May. Pete Woodruff.

Of 45 Eider seen on the Lune Estuary, 15 were at Glasson Dock, with 5 Wigeon and a lone Black-tailed Godwit seen, another 30 Eider were off Plover Scar at Cockersand, and 4 Whimbrel were seen off Crook Cottage. 

A little of the activity at Cockersand today was in the fields behind Lighthouse Cottage, with a mix of up to 250 Dunlin, 85 Ringed Plover, 52 Wood Pigeon, 6 Wheatear, and 5 Stock Dove. Two Tree Sparrow were a little out of context on the shingle off Bank Houses, and on my way back to the Lighthouse Cottage, 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Willow Warbler, and a male Reed Bunting. 

Into May now, and the 2 Whooper Swan seem to be looking set to summer in the area, they were still in the flooded field with 3 Shoveler being two drake and a female, 2 Canada Geese had taken to the airways and were flying NE inland.