A Little Soggy In The End!

I went off to do some wandering around the Lune Estuary yesterday, based on the false hope that the weather would clear as the day progressed but didn't, by 2.30pm I was a little soggy. 

Conder Pool was as miserable as the weather with just two species and 35 birds present, seen as 3 Little Grebe and 32 Mallard. It was a different story on Jeremy Lane, in a field at the north end I found in excess of 3,000 birds, the bulk of which was up to 2,500 Lapwing, with 120 Whooper Swan, 12 Pink-footed Geese, 250 Greylag, and 30 Canada Geese, also small numbers of Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew, and the best bird a Ruff. On the canal basin at Glasson Dock, 9 Goldeneye were all drake save one.

I almost abandoned the day at Cockersand but pleased I didn't, as I got out of the motor, at least 4,000 Pink-footed Geese were heard then seen distant coming down on to Cockerham Sands west of the Cocker Channel, the tide put up 3 Snipe off the marsh. It was relatively quiet on Plover Scar, with 120 Oystercatcher, 20 Turnstone, 6 Dunlin, and 3 Grey Plover.

By the time I went through the kissing gate at the abbey, the mist was thicker with light drizzle and anything but pleasant, but I was soon rewarded by the Black Redstart on the shore south of the abbey. The bird was busy and never still, it covers a lengthy area between Lighthouse Cottage and the Caravan Park and has done so for over four weeks. 

There are still at least 300 Whooper Swan located in three fields around Cockersand. In the area around the caravan park I found 17 Reed Bunting, this was a first for me, having never seen a flock of this number before, also 2 Song Thrush and 2 Kestrel.

Stonechat Cockersand 24 January. Pete Woodruff

Five Stonechat seen today, the first on Moss Lane fence posts on the east side of Abbey Farm, a pair on Slack Lane, and a pair foraging the marsh in front of Lower Bank House, from where I saw the ringtail Hen Harrier giving excellent views quartering the marsh.