Another short - but I was raking about for 5 hours - and sweet job!
I was tempted to say Tuesdays birding was a little quiet, but then if I was to report seeing in excess of 1,000 Golden Plover at Cockersand, that would make the comment a bit of a nonsense. There was at least 750 in a field to the south of Abbey Farm, 175 to the north, and 125 in a field off Slack Lane.
When the sun eventually came out, and the wind dropped too in the late afternoon, it shone some brilliant light on to the plovers in the field south of Abbey Farm to give a stunning golden carpet effect to the birds which twice left the field to fly low over my head to create a 'whoosh' of 1,500 beating wings as they went out over the shore to turn and return to the field....Golden Moments to savour.
There was also the good number of 550 Curlew in a field at Cockersand today. An excellent count in one field for a species in the Red on the UK Conservation Status list. One of the most rapidly declining birds at a near 50% fall in number, even exceeding this in Wales and Scotland. If like me you've been lucky enough to have heard the evocative bubbling call of the Curlew when on the moors in Bowland, it stays with you forever.
Only c.50 Whooper Swan were in view at Cockersand today. On Conder Pool, 6 Little Grebe, 6 Goosander, 4 Snipe, 18 Curlew, and 4 Wigeon. Up to 80 Teal were in the creeks. A bit of a howler in the face made the Lune Estuary hard work, but only 350 Golden Plover of any note, with 32 Tufted Duck and 2 Goosander on the canal basin.
In Greaves Park this Thursday morning, 4 Jay together were closely accompanied by 6 Magpie.
When the sun eventually came out, and the wind dropped too in the late afternoon, it shone some brilliant light on to the plovers in the field south of Abbey Farm to give a stunning golden carpet effect to the birds which twice left the field to fly low over my head to create a 'whoosh' of 1,500 beating wings as they went out over the shore to turn and return to the field....Golden Moments to savour.
Curlew. Howard Stockdale.
There was also the good number of 550 Curlew in a field at Cockersand today. An excellent count in one field for a species in the Red on the UK Conservation Status list. One of the most rapidly declining birds at a near 50% fall in number, even exceeding this in Wales and Scotland. If like me you've been lucky enough to have heard the evocative bubbling call of the Curlew when on the moors in Bowland, it stays with you forever.
Only c.50 Whooper Swan were in view at Cockersand today. On Conder Pool, 6 Little Grebe, 6 Goosander, 4 Snipe, 18 Curlew, and 4 Wigeon. Up to 80 Teal were in the creeks. A bit of a howler in the face made the Lune Estuary hard work, but only 350 Golden Plover of any note, with 32 Tufted Duck and 2 Goosander on the canal basin.
In Greaves Park this Thursday morning, 4 Jay together were closely accompanied by 6 Magpie.
In the header, a large number of gulls follow the small fishing boat in Morecambe Bay. Also I was grateful for the excellent set of images Howard sent me yesterday, of which the most appropriate for this post was the Curlew. Clik the pik, the light reflecting on the bird is quite something.
Two super images from Howard, Pete! The light in them is wonderful.
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