Back In Business!.

I was back in business when the weather finally improved this week, and there was plenty of action on Conder Pool when I paid my first visit there following a gap of 11 days, to find the pontoon deserted of the 9 Common Tern chicks I had seen on 23 July. Amazing to think the progress they made in under a fortnight, to fledge and scatter around the pool.

The Common Tern has had the best year to date on Conder Pool in 2023, and my guess is that at least 15 birds have made it to fledging this year. Today I made an estimate count of 15 Common Tern adult and several juvenile, probably with as many out of sight as there was in view. 

I saw just one adult Avocet accompanied by a juvenile, but understand there is a nest out of view and still active. Up to 350 Redshank, c.20 Dunlin, and a Ruff were lined up at the back of the pool with an impressive count of 18 Greenshank. Just one Common Sandpiper seen, 9 Little Grebe, 2 Stock Dove, and a Collared Dove. 

I caught a glimpse of 2 Kingfisher flying together as they whizzed across the pool. A Sparrowhawk was patrolling high above the pool, and a few House Martin were around the now defunct cafe on Corricks Lane with one nest still active. 

Saltcote Pond.

In my last post, I made a comment that Saltcote Pond was an attractive little waterbody, but on a wander from Glasson Dock and back to Conder Green today, I looked in and was disappointed to find some badly timed management having been carried out....The Keep Britain Tidy gang had been at work.

Hopefully all the dragonflies will have now bred, maybe my concern was unnecessary, but it wasn't a pretty sight.

Along the canal towpath, 8 Brown Hawker were the only dragonflies encountered. Butterflies verged on abysmal, with 2 Comma, 2 Gatekeeper, 2 Meadow Brown, and a Speckled Wood.    

I paid two visits to Conder Pool, one before and one after the high tide, it took me 2 hours for 3 Little Ringed Plover juvenile to show, which actually made my day when they did. There was a bonus attached to the sighting, through a conversation with Ian Hartley, I am aware of 2 juveniles being seen here recently, and I agree with the opinion, that this third juvenile is a visitor to Conder Pool from elsewhere probably on the Lune Estuary.

Food For Thought!

Camera's had been in place on the Conder Pool raft to monitor fish species being brought in for the broods as research for the RSPB. Sprats were the main fish with smaller numbers of Sand Eel and the odd fresh water fish such as Roach and small Pike, probably taken from the canal where I had recently seen the terns up and down the length of the canal Glasson - Conder Green.

An excellent image of an adult Common Tern bringing in food for the chicks stood in line to get to the front of the queue with anticipation....It's my turn next please!

Thanks to Howard Stockdale for the info and camera footage. Also for the header image of one of two of this years Little Ringed Plover.

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And Finally.

Southern Hawker. Ian Stephenson.

A dragonfly came to rest on a window box at a house in Brookhouse yesterday. Identified as a Southern Hawker female, and photographed on a Smartphone, with thanks to Ian for alerting me and sending me the image.