Fourteen Days Later.

Two weeks since my last birding day, one word springs to mind about that....chronic. But I was back in business on Thursday when the day should and could have been a decent one to start and end with a geese bonanza, but wasn't.

To start with, a Fylde birder joined me on the viewing platform, with news that he had been alerted to sightings of a Bean Goose on Conder Pool earlier in the day. As the saying goes - to cut a long story short - I left Conder Pool one hour later unconvinced a Bean Goose had ever been anywhere near Conder Pool.....To end with follows later.

Snipe Conder Pool. Pete Woodruff.

At least 8 Snipe were hunkered down amongst the stones and vegetation on one of the islands on Conder Pool, difficult to see let alone count, and even more perfectly camouflaged than the four Snipe in the image above, taken on Conder Pool 8 years ago in 2015. Three Pink-footed Geese were with a small group of Greylag and around 10 Black-tailed Godwit. Also noted, the Kingfisher obliged with a couple of visits to the sluice, up to 70 Wigeon, and 120 Black-headed Gull. The Stonechat pair were busy at the east end in the long grasses, and a male Ruff was seen in the creeks.

As I drove to Cockersand, I estimated at least 250 Whooper Swan in four fields, mostly distant and inaccessible, including 50% being in fields off Hillam Lane at Cockerham. The visit to Cockersand had to be a success in that I found 7 Stonechat, though the circuit proved quiet, with a Reed Bunting and a Skylark which was in song seeming to pronounce the early arrival of spring. Four Snipe came off the marsh as the tide pushed in.

On Plover Scar c.60 Turnstone and 6 Ringed Plover, and when I got back to Bank Houses, 5 Black-tailed Godwit dropped in and spent a few minutes on the shore before flying off.

To end with, the geese bonanza that wasn't....

As I got back to the motor, I was alerted with a text at 14.08....'3 Bean Geese, a White-fronted Goose, 7 Barnacle Geese, and 2,950 Pink-footed Geese' were on pasture not far from Cockersand. I was set to go but, 6 minutes later at 14.14, another text told me....'geese all flushed by someone on a quad'.....I luv these 'somebodies', lets face it, what would we do without them, well for starters there would be a few more million birds around in the countryside!

Little Egret.

It must be very rewarding to be able to watch a Little Egret in the field behind your house at Cockersand.

Grey Plover.

I must note, since my claim regarding the paucity of Grey Plover on the Lune Estuary and my finding 26 on Plover Scar 9 February, 39 Grey Plover were seen there 24 February per FBC. This record now stands as the best count to date of the Grey Plover on Plover Scar and the Lune Estuary. 

Avocet.

An Avocet made landfall on Conder Pool Wednesday at 11.00am, but didn't hang around very long flying off towards the Lune Estuary and hasn't been seen since. This bird arrived a day earlier than last year on 23 February 2022. 

First....A Plovers Tale.

The Grey Plover is at best scarce on the Lune Estuary, although it can be found in good number during the winter months not far to the north and to the south west of Cockersand. A couple of examples are, 525 at Middleton Sands, and 174 at Fluke Hall during this years January WeBS counts. In all my visits to Cockersand over many birding years, personal counts have only ever once exceeded single figures on Plover Scar, that of 14 Grey Plover 17 November 2017, and rarely on the Lune Estuary upstream from Glasson, I cannot recall ever seeing them there. 

Although the wind is a little annoying in this unsteady zoomed in clip, I decided not to mute so the feeling of real-time remains.

Finding 26 Grey Plover on Plover Scar was another first for me, and went some way to making my day. Also to note at Cockersand, 4 Stonechat seen, the pair at Bank Houses, and singles on Moss Lane east of Abbey Farm, and at Lighthouse Cottage. A mix of at least 50 Fieldfare and Redwing in the field behind Bank Houses, also two raptors seen, a Merlin over fields, and a Sparrowhawk over Slack Lane.

I counted 15 species in as many minutes on a very lively Conder Pool. With thanks to Howard Stockdale who saved me the trouble of counting by supplying the geese figures.

Stonechat Pair Conder Pool 9 February. Howard Stockdale.

The wintering pair of Stonechat, a Ruff and Greenshank, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Pink-footed Geese, 88 Greylag, 34 Canada Geese, at least one each Reed Bunting and Goldfinch, a 'few' Wigeon and Tufted Duck, 2 Little Egret, 2 Little Grebe, a Grey Heron and a Kestrel. 

Making another one of my mis-timed visits to the Lune Estuary at Glasson, saw most of the waders and gulls driven off by the tide, though I noted about 40 Black-tailed Godwit hanging on, with c.350 Wigeon....The end of a most enjoyable and rewarding visit around the Lune Estuary.

Thanks to Martin for the header Reed Bunting, the image cropped with Martins permission, and which caused no loss of quality in my opinion, and to Howard for the Conder Pool duo of Stonechat.

Nice to see the Snowdrops, soon followed by the sight of a brilliant pair of Bullfinch in Lancaster Cemetery recently, also a beautiful cluster of half a dozen Daffodil's by the shore at Cockersand this week....'I wandered lonely as a cloud'....   

Fringillidae's Ring My Bell!

It was good to get back up to Birk Bank again on Monday, though I found no Stonechat, but didn't feel any guarantee to do so to be honest. I only managed to chalk up 9 species in the 3 hours spent there doing the circuit, Rigg Lane - Ottergear Bridge - Crag Wood - Littledale Road -  Rigg Lane, but like I have said many times before....this is upland birding, and this is mid-winter.

The first of my pick of the day birds were, 8 Siskin, seen briefly in Alders around the car park, they were soon followed by a mix of around 50 Redwing and Fieldfare in a field with c.500 Starling off Rigg Lane, nearby a Jay seen. Birds noted on the circuit were, 5 Blackbird, 5 Robin, 2 Wren and a female Chaffinch.

At least 14 Red Grouse seen, included probably my tenth encounter over three years, of a rogue individual. I've not yet worked out this behaviour by all these grouse which, given they are game birds subject to being shot out of the sky, they don't take kindly to humans and take to flight on sight.

Like every other encounter I have had with these birds, this one either went ahead of me, or followed behind with its loud bouncing barks and 'go back' calls. This one flew three times at me from behind....I remain puzzled!

Calling in at Lancaster Cemetery on my way home was a good idea as I made my second 'pick of the day' and sixth contact with a pair of Bullfinch, the male calling/singing to a female in the tree opposite before both flying off....Must keep my eyes on these two for possible breeding evidence in May.

Stonechat Records January 2023.

Stonechat Cockersand. Ian Mitchell.

Having collected 33 wintering Stonechat records during the month of January, I'm supposing they had a good breeding season in 2022. There have been a couple of January records which surprise me, in that I either haven't seen records from the location before, or don't know the site, examples are....

9 Jan Milnthorpe Sewage Works, female.

9 Jan Haweswater Moss, bird.

15 Jan Longridge Fell, 4 pairs.

21 Jan Light Ash, pair.

Two birders have been in touch with me, and passed on records from two locations which they claim haven't had wintering birds, both have suggested spring migration of the Stonechat is already underway in the first week of February.

Ring Ouzel.

Known to winter mainly in southern Spain and N.W. Africa, I was surprised to see one reported 3 days ago on 5 February at Tarn Crag, Langdale, Cumbria. I was further surprised to learn this sighting isn't the first winter record of Ring Ouzel in Cumbria, that being of a bird reported 27 years ago on 2 February 1996.

Absolutely no apologies for two stunning images of Stonechat at Cockersand. With many thanks to Howard Stockdale and Ian Mitchell.   

....Wot No Piks!

There was a little more life on Conder Pool than my last visit here when I called in this week, and I finally caught up with a pair of Stonechat on the eastern perimeter of the pool taking top spot for me. Next best bird was a Ruff seen along the back edge, it was accompanied by 2 Greenshank and 9 Redshank. Also noted, 45 Wigeon, 4 Tufted Duck, 5 Goosander, and a Little Grebe. 

It is worth noting that a Ruff is heading towards a year long stay on the Lune Estuary in the Glasson/Conder Green area, with at least one having been recorded every month - including my dozen sightings - since 9 April 2022, this is seen as a first record for the species in this area. 

As I arrived at the bowling green at Glasson to look over the Lune Estuary, at least 1,500 Lapwing were on the wing in a dread, together with large numbers of waders which were also in the air a couple of times during my stay here, the culprit of which remained undetected throughout my stay. Estimates noted along the south bank, 425 Black-tailed Godwit, 320 Redshank, 240 Curlew, 350 Wigeon, and a Goosander.

On a brief visit to Cockersand, 3 Stonechat was another top spot for me. A Snipe exploded out of a ditch as I walked along Moss Lane, and 28 Twite came off Plover Scar and flew the distance towards Crook Farm, almost certainly the same flock seen on Plover Scar previously on 20 December. At least 1,200 Curlew were along the shore by the Cocker Channel. I've recorded a similar number of Curlew at this location perhaps 5 years ago, when Brian Rafferty experienced the same.

Another interesting record was of a drake Shoveler in the ditch running parallel with Moss Lane at the junction with Slack Lane. This Shoveler record follows one seen in this ditch several times from 22 March - 18 May 2018, and includes a pair of Gadwall seen here 21 May the same year, a first for the area in my book, and not seen since. As far as the Shoveler record is concerned this is a scarce bird for the estuary around Cockersand, and is seen as a scarce resident breeder at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve, irregular elsewhere. 

I didn't fire up the little digi camera today, and I'm out of appropriate bird piks for the blog, but hope my header image portrays the beauty of Morecambe Bay with the Cumbrian mountains in the background.