Estuarine Pleasantries.

I count myself fortunate that I can leave home, and within 15 minutes can be enjoying the wildlife of places like the Lune Estuary, or maybe 30 minutes away from a day in the Forest of Bowland, the Yorkshire Dales and beyond.

On my latest visit to the Lune Estuary and surroundings, I made a decent count of 16 Mediterranean Gull, one was with Black-headed Gulls on Conder Pool, 8 in fields at the north end of Jeremy Lane, and 6 in a field north of Crook Cottage. As far as I could see, all these birds were adults except one distant bird on Jeremy Lane, which was a 2nd winter with small amounts of black on primaries, and one on the Lune Estuary at Glasson where there was a vanguard of up to 900 Golden Plover.

On Conder Pool, I made a count of 19 Greenshank which equaled my best count here in August last year, also 16 Little Grebe, 20 Tufted Duck, and 16 Canada Geese. Up to 6 Migrant Hawker and 2 Brown Hawker were over and around the pool. A Snipe and female Goosander were of note in the creeks, and House Martin have young still in the nest at River Winds, with two heads looking out and on the verge of fledging.

 

A Kingfisher came on to the outflow on Conder Pool a couple of times and obliged whilst I got some footage, the bird currently seems guaranteed to put in daily appearances on the outflow.

At Cockersand, decent views of a not very obliging Cattle Egret, which thought it was a wader on the tideline and denied me the chance of a classic pik with cattle. Also 7 Swallow flew purposefully north, 22 Linnet were around the abbey, and on Plover Scar, 6 Wheatear, 75 Dunlin, and 17 Ringed Plover.

Earlier in the week, along a short stretch of the canal in Lancaster between Haverbreaks and Deep Cutting, 15 Migrant Hawker seen, and a brief visit to Birk Bank, became a struggle to find a Common Darter female, a Black Darter male, and a Common Hawker.

Parasitoid Wasp.

Pimpla rufipes Pete Woodruff

I got engaged in a little entomology at Glasson Dock. This wasp on a wall disappeared into a cavity for a moment before reappearing. It is a predator, its main host being - but not limited too - the Large White butterfly. There is a huge amount of info on this insect of which there are vast numbers of species worldwide. Historically, parasitoidism in wasps is claimed to have influenced the thinking of Charles Darwin.

Thanks to Ian for his classic image of the Cattle Egret in the new B2B header.

Tom Wilmer.

I was saddened to hear of the death of Tom Wilmer yesterday. 

Although I hadn't seen Tom for many years now, I used to bump into him occasionally often at a twitch, the one that stands out in my memory the best - though many years ago - was the Great Grey Shrike in the Levens area.

It was always a pleasure to meet Tom on the road whilst out birding, he was a birder who 'knew his stuff' and was modest about it, he was never seen to be above anyone about his knowledge. 

Tom Wilmer will be greatly missed by all who knew him....R.I.P.