On Friday a pleasant couple of hours in Morecambe, where I walked along the Stone Jetty to find a lone female Common Scoter well offshore into the bay, also 8 Eider to note and 2 Great-crested Grebe.
Along the promenade off Broadway, 74 Eider were in two groups, 2 Great-crested Grebe seen, and up to 200 Pink-footed Geese flew north.
A 1st winter female Scaup behaved impeccably, close in and diving constantly on a flat calm sea.
I've traced four past records on the internet from 1 December of Scaup off Morecambe Promenade in the area around Strathmore/Broadway, all except one have been recorded as a female, the exception being that of a 1st winter female which is what Fridays bird was.
1st winter female Scaup. Pete Woodruff.
The Bullfinch.
A pair of Bullfinch made my day when I found them in Lancaster Cemetery during the week, my eighth record of the species at this location. I'm not the tree expert here, but I think the one they were feeding on was a Hornbeam.
Bullfinch Female. Simon Hawtin.
I was quite surprised when searching through my records. I was reminded that I had found my first Bullfinch in Lancaster Cemetery over 10 years ago, and doubly surprised to see the number of birds there in 2014....
2014 Oct 30 5 birds
2021 Dec 17 male
2022 April 3 3 birds
2022 Nov 13 4 birds
2022 Dec 6 pair
2023 Feb 6 pair
2023 May 1 pair
2024 Jan 15 pair
Nice shots and video of the Scaup Pete, glad it was obliging. The white patch on the face showing nicely.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the Bullfinch in the cemetery.
Thanks for the update.
Ian Mitchell from iPad