Better Late Than Never.

It took until 6 January to get my birding off the ground, and not much pen and paper needed to write up my records when I did. Most of the time on Friday was spent chasing chats and a start, but it was all good stuff in the end.

On Jeremy Lane 2 Bewick's Swan, with a Whooper Swan and a Greylag, they were taking advantage of a flood with 225 Greylag in the same field. At Cockersand 4 Stonechat, seen as a male and female in the Lighthouse Cottage area, and a male and female in the rough field behind Bank Houses.

Black Redstart.

I had met a local birder on Moss Lane on my way to Cockersand, he'd had a negative result with the Black Redstart which has been present here a few days now since the later days of December. During my time at Cockersand, I met five other chat hunters who all had negative results. 

Having had to sit out a heavy 30 minute squall in the car, I set off on the circuit hopeful for something more positive than the unsuccessful six.

As I went through the kissing gate at Cockersand Abbey, constantly peering down to the shore as I walked along the headland, a bird took my eye. I'm thinking is this what I'm looking for....Yes, it was a Black Redstart.

It took me 30 minutes to reach the caravan park, and as I did a bird flew on to the gatepost in this image, then to the roof, and promptly flew across the road and on to the marsh....Yes, it was a Black Redstart. 

I called AC to tell him I had seen another Black Redstart, he had just left me to go home, but made a U turn on Moss Lane, and on his return soon had views of the bird flying back off the roof and on to the marsh again. AC and myself agreed if it was a second bird, it was a female/1st winter bird as was the one seen off the headland previously on several ocassions.

Realistically, perhaps this sighting at Lower Bank House, was of the same bird I had seen 30 minutes earlier having flown c.1/4 mile, it has been seen here three times in recent days....Maybe time will tell, but unless we get simultaneous sightings we will never know, but in my opinion it is possible there are/have been two Black Redstarts at Cockersand. 

It was a sad sight for me to find this recently deceased 1st winter Kittiwake on the shingle at Cockersand. Unfortunate that such a beautiful bird should only survive little more than six months since hatching.

Also sad that I should find a Whooper Swan close by, and in the same circumstances as the Kittiwake.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for his excellent image of the Black Redstart in my header, the bird was at Knott End on 3 January.