Birding Till Dusk....Again.

Anchors Aweigh. Pete Woodruff.

Yes, birding until dusk at Cockersand again, and saw the FRI LAKE with pilot ahead approaching the lighthouse, sailing out of the Lune Estuary and into the Irish Sea during one of the west coasts famous sunsets. Meanwhile, I was watching the male Stonechat still foraging on the tide wrack near Crook Cottage in the half light of dusk.

Merlin. Cockersand 11 December. Pete Woodruff.

Also of note earlier, a male Merlin was on the old stone gate post opposite the first kissing gate near Lighthouse Cottage, also a Kestrel here was one of two seen, the second at Bank Houses. Up to 50 Twite were in the rough field by Bank House Cottage, and I found only the male Stonechat opposite the caravan park, with no sign of the female. Five Stock Dove were in a field from where I saw 3 Reed Bunting together, and c.1,500 Golden Plover were in the field they've  favoured in recent weeks off Slack Lane.

With the exception of a good number of Lapwing and Redshank, I saw nothing near three figure counts of any other waders on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, but noted 14 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Snipe, 4 Goldeneye, 3 Goosander drake, a Great Crested Grebe, and the lone Whooper Swan still on the south end of Colloway Marsh. On the Canal Basin, 2 Pochard drake were the 'mega' birds of the day, with 45 Tufted Duck.

At Conder Green, of 3 Little Grebe seen, one was on Conder Pool, with two in the creeks. Also on the pool, 32 Wigeon, and the same count of 32 Curlew, with a Dunnock by the viewing platform, a Greenshank was seen off the bridge down the channel.

Thanks to Richard O'Meara for the Reed Bunting header.