Quiet Around The Lune Estuary....Again!

The lull before the storm migration takes off. But for what it's worth, high spring tides this week, 10.64m where I'm planning on going Tuesday. 

On Conder Pool, by the time I had noted the number had declined considerably from 4,000 recently to 1,500 Black-tailed Godwit today, a drake Scaup with 6 Tufted Duck had come into my view. This smart little drake was seen as another 'goodie' to add to the long list on Conder Pool, and was my first here since I found one 7 years ago in August 2017.

On the eerily quiet Lune Estuary at low tide, probably the same 9 Avocet as seen on 9 February/4 March, this time they were fragmented into 3 groups, 4 opposite Fishnet Point, 3 upstream opposite Waterloo Cottage, and 2 at the Conder mouth. The only other note was of 2 Goldeneye drake.

At Cockersand, the circuit was again quiet, but I had a brief view of a Barn Owl leaving its roost in a farm building, to perch on a post and return to roost 2 minutes later. A Sparrowhawk and later a Buzzard seen over fields, a Raven overhead on Slack Lane, from where c.35 Linnet poorly seen in the stubble field, and 4 Snipe exploded out of the ditch.

Through the doorway to the shell of a barn, I heard alarm calling which initially fooled me, until 4 Great Tit erupted out of the thicket.

Park and Garden.

Yes, this is the pond in Williamson's Park, and yes, this is a drake Pintail. 

I think Amazon have had a hand in the delivery of this duck here...I've seen the invoice!

And in the garden at dawn around at 6.15am, I watched a pair of Robin exploring the possibilities of using this open nest box for breeding....Definitely a case of watch this space.

On Wednesday, a Comma in the garden was my first, and the first one this year to be reported on the Butterfly Conservation website.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for the header image of the Scaup on Conder Pool Tuesday 5 March.