Out For The Count!

On the pretence of being a 'proper birder', I decided to do a stock count Conder Pool on Thursday, and arrived at the count of 177 birds of 14 species in view. The count included the long staying Short-eared Owl which gave excellent views, albeit that it spends most of the time around the east corner of the pool hunting for an obvious abundance of voles, being it still hangs around two weeks since it was first reported at Conder Pool 27 February.

Couldn't resist a second helping of footage of the SEO and the Cockersand Snow Bunting, best viewed Full Screen. 

There was an arrival of 7 Avocet, though there had been 9 here on Tuesday 8 March. Many thanks go to Howard Stockdale for the excellent header image.

Also in my notes for Conder Pool, 21 Tufted Duck, 18 Wigeon, 8 Teal, 7 Shelduck, 13 Redshank, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 47 Black-headed Gull, 2 Little Grebe, and a Little Egret. 

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, c.300 Dunlin, 30 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Bar-tailed Godwit were accompanied by a lone Knot, 3 Goldeneye and a Goosander were also noted.

At Cockersand, a casual count of 23 species saw c.4,000 birds, the bulk of which was at least 3,500 Golden Plover in the air on the circuit, which I saw a few minutes after a female Merlin flew along Slack Lane to turn south and disappeared along the shoreline behind Lighthouse Cottage. I failed to relocate the grounded plovers again, but off Plover Scar, I counted 42 Eider, and strung along the shore south from here, at least 120 Shelduck noted.

The Snow Bunting was by the kissing gate north of Cockersand Abbey, and is one of the most confiding bird I ever saw, but not looking quite as exotic as it would have in the Cairngorms. There was at least 350 Whooper Swan over four fields today, including some in a field below and west of the A588, this was an increase in number of at least 150 since my last visit on 4 March. 

The day of the owl, the bunting, and although cloudy and windy, time checking Conder Pool, and another enjoyable wander around Cockersand....HAPPY DAYS.

    

The ferry leaves Heysham and out of Morecambe Bay into the Irish Sea, seen at 2.40pm. The far western Cumbrian landscape is in the misty background, with Plover Light off Plover Scar in the foreground.

Wheatear Banks Marsh 11 March Stuart Darbyshire

There's a claim to have found the first Wheatear for Lancashire at Banks Marsh on the mean arrival date of 11 March....I reckon Stuart is spot on.