Tuesday 2 Sept - Friday 5 Sept.

Not as much action on Conder Pool as my last visit 28 August, but impressive all the same, and didn't loose any ratings in the Hot Spot League as far as I'm concerned. 

I had been at Conder Pool about an hour, and had got back to the motor to move on, when AC knocked on the windscreen to tell me the Spotted Redshank had flown in and joined the company of 10 Greenshank....Thanks Andrew.

Also to note on the pool, 8 Little Grebe and a lone Black-tailed Godwit. I'm convinced this is the same BTG as seen here in previous years, and always alone. A Common Sandpiper was in the creeks.

Within the space of about 15 minutes, a Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Buzzard were overhead, along with a good number of hirundine, high like dots in the sky.

Thirty minutes on the canal towpath at Glasson produced 2 Migrant Hawker and 2 Brown Hawker, and along the coastal path 4 Migrant Hawker, with a 'blue butterfly' seen. This was a disappointing sighting in that it was too distant for ID to species, so I was left with a possible third brood Holly Blue, or second brood Common Blue which can last until early September. Other butterflies seen, Painted Lady, 5 Red Admiral, 5 Speckled Wood, and 3 Small Tortoiseshell.

Migrant Hawker.

Migrant Hawker 2 September. Pete Woodruff.

I find the Migrant Hawker one of the easier dragons to observe, their behaviour is often to be seen hovering frequently, hawking along hedgerows, and regularly basking low down on vegetation as mine was today.

Conder Pool Friday 5 September.

I paid my second visit of the week to Conder Pool where the scenery was much changed and reduced in numbers of birds, though I was delighted to find my highest all time count upgraded by the presence of 32 Greenshank on the pool. The only other records of note were, 10 Little Grebe and a lone Ruff.

Birk Bank Friday 5 September.

My visit the bog at Birk Bank was suitably rewarded by recording 14 dragons in the hour spent here. Pick of the bunch was 2 Emperor Dragonfly which were something of a surprise, though I did find two here last year 19 September 2024....Late! 

Black Darter Birk Bank 5 September. Pete Woodruff.

Also seen, 5 Black Darter were all males, and 7 Common Darter were seen as 5 male/2 female. I had two sightings of Buzzard, both of which were seen as two pairs 10 minutes apart, but to be honest I reckon it was just the one 'mewing' pair seen twice.  

Garden Moth.

Seeing what appeared to be a moth through the kitchen window, I dashed out to find it was the most obliging of its kind, giving good views as it lingered a few minutes nectaring on Soapwort.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

In the header image, we can see the 'Keep Britain Tidy' man with the strimmer at Saltcote Pond has done the right thing this year, leaving the pond side vegetation to flourish, in which case it seems my conversation last year with Glasson Councilors has paid off. 

Conder Pool & Birk Bank.

Conder Pool 27 August.

Having landed at least two first records this week - four in my book - Conder Pool has earned the recognition of one of Lancashire's birding hot spots. This weeks header for B2B bears testament to that claim with a grand total of 46 Little Egret, seen on Conder Pool early Wednesday morning as an all time best count. On the same day, a Little Stint was on Conder Pool.

Little Stint Conder Pool. Tom Parkinson.

The second of four first records in my book at least, I don't recall a Little Stint on Conder Pool before.

Wednesday was a good day, and 31 Greenshank was certainly an all time best count here, and represents first record No 3....All this and more, whilst I was waiting to get my motor fixed 😝

Conder Pool 28 August.

I put in a couple of hours on Thursday to join Mark, a birder I respect, and who is as keen and dedicated as anyone I know for accuracy of the count. During my stay, Mark probably counted through the species a dozen times to come up with a result of 19 Ruff....Yet another all time best count No 4 for Conder Pool. 

There's a Black-tailed Godwit in the video, it thinks it's a Ruff!

Green Sandpiper Conder Pool 28 August. Pete Woodruff.

Other notes on Conder Pool for the little black book, a Green Sandpiper, was seen in pursuit around the pool of a Common Sandpiper, 420 Redshank were accompanied by 22 Greenshank, 4 Snipe, and 15 Little Grebe.

As soon as I set the camera for a video, the Green Sandpiper shot off and disappeared behind an island.

A Whimbrel was in the creeks and was another first in my book at Conder Green. As with the Little Stint on Conder Pool, I don't recall seeing a Whimbrel in the creeks before.

Birk Bank 25 August.

I connected with just three species of dragonflies today, but observed some interesting behavior. Five Keeled Skimmer were seen as two pairs in tandem and a lone female, all the females were noted to be 'old'. It was interesting that a male never let the female out of its sight, following its every move, and hovering around the female whilst she was egg laying and seeing off any other dragon that approached it.

Five Black Darter were seen as 2 pairs in tandem and a lone male. It was fascinating to watch the pair thrashing quite violently whilst egg laying.

The third species seen were 6 Common Darter, they were all males.

And Finally.

More pictures from my inbox....

  

Small Red-eyed Damselfly. Martin Jump.

Martin continues with his luck to find the Small Red-eyed Damselfly, and to achieve excellent results in his images.

Wasp With Green Bottle Prey. Martin Jump.

It's a one word comment here from me....WOW!

Red Admiral. Ian Mitchell.

Buff Ermine. Ian Mitchell.

Ian progresses with his success of butterflies and moths in flight.

Small Tortoiseshell. Pete Woodruff.

And we continue to get some nice butterflies and bumblebees in the garden.

Red-tailed Bumblebee. Pete Woodruff.

Comings And Goings At CP And Some Other Bits!

On my last visit to Conder Pool in the week, the comings were represented by 17 Greenshank accompanied by 14 Redshank, and building up to look more like winter numbers, were 12 Little Grebe.

The goings were represented by the last of the Common Tern, with a youngster being fed small fry by the adult like there's no tomorrow, it was fishing the creeks at high tide.

Avocet Juvenile. Howard Stockdale.

The last of the Avocet, the juvenile flagged C6 was accompanied by an adult, and the last of the Little Ringed Plover which put in an appearance just as I was about to leave, and showed close in as I filmed a clip of a Ruff.

As far as I'm aware, the last sighting of the lone surviving juvenile Little Ringed Plover, was in the creeks on Wednesday 13 August. Many thanks to Howard Stockdale for his unfailing updates for me on things Conder Pool related.

Other notes from the pool were, 24 Lapwing and a similar number of Pied Wagtail which included juveniles, some of which will no doubt be from underneath the tern platform where the wagtails bred this and in previous years. A lone Common Sandpiper was seen, and a Buzzard overhead was briefly attacked by a Common Tern. From the viewing screen I saw 4 Brown Hawker and a Migrant Hawker past, also 4 Gatekeeper.

A short 15 minute walk from Glasson Dock along the canal towpath, a Brown Hawker and Gatekeeper noted. And at Saltcote Pond, just 4 Common Blue Damselfly, 4 Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock.

Thanks and congrat's to Howard Stockdale for his fourth header image in as many weeks.

Grisedale Brook.

Golden Ringed Dragonfly Male Grisedale Brook. Pete Woodruff.

In the end, Fridays dragonfly hunt wasn't to be called riveting stuff, but I was keen to see what the situation was downstream on Grisedale Brook to Holme Wood. After a pleasant hour spent, I had to be satisfied with just 3 Golden-ringed Dragonfly and a Common Hawker.

Common Darter Male Grisedale Brook. Pete Woodruff.

I also found 2 Common Darter, and having never seen these here before, they were a species first for me.

Hawthornthwaite Fell/Catshaw Pond.

The visit to Hawthornthwaite was a bit of a non-starter, apart from anything else it was chat'less and therefore - the chat fanatic that I am - very disappointing. But throughout the hour spent here, I did see what could only be described as mid-autumn movement, when a total of at least 30 Meadow Pipit, including 10 as a flock, exploded out of the heather. Otherwise, a Buzzard was seen soaring high overhead. 

Hawthornthwaite Fell Viewed From Catshaw Pond. Pete Woodruff.

For the sake of recording, I christened this small waterbody Catshaw Pond, perhaps it will stick! It has hosted Emperor Dragonfly for the past two years, but I didn't see the Emperor this time, although AC recorded it here last Wednesday 13 August.

Black Darter Birk Bank Bog 13 August. Barbara Southward.

This is Britain's smallest dragonfly, and I reckon the 2 Black Darter seen today, were no more than 30mm in overall length, and were my first for the site.

Thanks to Barbara Southward for permission to publish on B2B this excellent image.

And Finally.

I can't resist ending this post with a splash of glorious technicolour in our garden.

 In full bloom, the stunning Dahlia....Sincerity Rose

Invading AC's Territory For Starters!

I messaged AC on Monday morning to ask if he was on territory at Bank End today, he replied he was and off I went to meet up.

It's quite an easy task to find and observe the birds at Bank End, all you have to do is to check out the sheep on the marsh, though that's a task in itself as there are a quite a few of'em. But having spent a pleasant hour here, I racked up 8 Yellow Wagtail, all entered in the book as juvenile, none being close enough to be noted as female, and certainly not a male in sight.

Worthy of note, AC recorded 10 Yellow Wagtail at Bank End yesterday Tuesday 22 July, seen as  a stunning male, 2 female and 7 juvenile. 

I went off to pay my first of two visits to Conder Pool, to find 16 Common Tern, including juveniles, one of which was exercising its wings lifting itself a few inches of the ground with every flap. Avocet seen were one adult and the juvenile marked C6. Also 4 Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, and 2 Little Grebe. But the mega triple surprise was 1) the sight of a pair of Little Ringed Plover 2) accompanied by 2 chicks no more than a few says old, and 3) the report of a juvenile seen on Conder Pool recently....Well, work that one out if you can!

On the Lune Estuary, another 16 Common Tern here, brought the total on the day to 32 Common Tern estuary and pool. 

The count on the estuary included an adult with juvenile, the adult had a yellowish ring bleached to near white on the left leg, metal on the right. Also noted, 5 Mediterranean Gull, a Greenshank, and 2 Avocet adult. 

On a short walk along the canal towpath, an Emperor Dragonfly, Brown Hawker, and a Sedge Warbler.

Brown Hawker. Pete Woodruff.

On Saltcote Pond a Brown Hawker, in my experience the species doesn't readily settle very often, though this male did oblige if briefly. A female Broad-bodied Chaser went to oviposit briefly, also 5 Common Blue Damselfly and a Speckled Wood butterfly.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for the header image. I struggled to find one, I've never taken a photograph of Yellow Wagtail in my life. 

Lots Of Interest....Pool And Estuary.

Managed a pleasant sortie to Conder Pool and the Lune Estuary around and after high tide, where my records of the birds I noted can only be taken as totals of the species on the day, as they were present at both locations, many having left Conder Pool for the estuary during my visit at high tide.

I paid two visits to Conder Pool, at 11.30 and returned there at 3.30, the combined sightings were, 12 Common Tern, with 6 chicks on the platform, adults still sitting, and some coming and going to the river to feed young and fledged juveniles, two of which were noted as blue ringed 418/424. 

I made a count of 26 Avocet, and saw just one juvenile which wasn't going to pose for me, and was preening all the time I was filming.

Six Mediterranean Gull, included an adult and 1st summer on the island to the right from the screen. Also, a male Ruff, 9 Greenshank, a lone Black-tailed Godwit in splendid breeding plumage, c.150 Redshank, 3 Common Sandpiper, and 2 Dunlin which were seen as non breeders/early returners?

On the Lune Estuary, it was a treat to see adult Common Terns and 5 juveniles, one of which was being fed small fry by the adult. Four Mediterranean Gull were on the shore below Colloway Marsh, and 6 Avocet were by the Conder mouth. But the biggest surprise here today, had to be the adult Whooper Swan around a tidal pool below Waterloo Cottage. I don't recall ever seeing a summer Whooper Swan before.

On a short wander along the canal towpath, 2 Chiffchaff, a Song Thrush, Mute Swans with 9 cygnets, and a brief Emperor Dragonfly.

Blue-tailed Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

At Saltcote Pond, modest numbers of 8 Blue-tailed Damselfly, including a female of the colour form infuscans, and 3 Common Blue Damselfly.

Blue-tailed Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

Butterfly numbers were also modest, although up to 35 Large White was a decent count, with 5 Gatekeeper, 4 Ringlet, 2 Speckled Wood, a lone Meadow Brown brought up the rear.

Swift.

Given the sparsity of my hirundine sightings so far this year, at least 20 Swift over Fairfield was notable, as were 4 Swift over Bowerham in the south of Lancaster, and a Comma in the garden was a welcome sight too.

Saturday 12 July.

A peasant walk south along the canal towpath and into Garstang, produced 6 Emperor Dragonflies, 6 Brown Hawker, a pair of Common Blue Damselfly in tandem, and a lone Blue-tailed Damselfly.  

Picture Gallery.

In receipt of another two excellent images which I'm obliged to share on B2B....

Banded Demoiselle. Martin Jump.

Martin's Banded Demoiselle impersonating a helicopter....my thoughts anyway!

Large Yellow Underwing. Ian Mitchell.

And Ian's Large Yellow Underwing impersonating a Lancaster Bomber....my thoughts anyway!

Much respect for these two photographers, the images must have been difficult to achieve to this level.

Med Gull Spectacular.

Mediterranean Gull.

When I arrived at Conder Pool on Wednesday, someone was leaving the viewing platform, a nice man not serious about birding and just passing by I think. I said hello and asked if there were any Mediterranean Gull here, he answered saying he'd not seen any.

Mediterranean Gull Conder Pool 25 June. Pete Woodruff.

To my amazement, the first birds I saw were 7 Mediterranean Gull which were seen as 5 adult and 2x1st summer. It only took a few more minutes for me to pick up a total of 17 Mediterranean Gull, 8 adult, 7x2nd summer, and 2x1st summer birds.

I sensed a male following a female with a little posturing here....

Fourteen Mediterranean Gull in the video below....

I thought I was hallucinating, and I reckon the next birder to visit Conder Pool the following day thought he was too, when he found a total of 29 Mediterranean Gull....I think it'll be a while before this record is beaten! 

Avocet & Common Sandpiper.

It didn't take long for another spectacle to develop, that of a line of 42 Avocet at the back of Conder Pool, and when I panned right of the Avocet, 6 Common Sandpiper were also lined up along the back of the pool.

Common Tern.

Mainly focused on and distracted by the gull fest, I made no count of adult birds, but noted 15 Common Tern chicks on the raft, which included one young bird exercising it's wings.

Dragonflies.

Emperor Dragonfly Saltcote Pond. Pete Woodruff.

On Saltcote Pond, a lone Emperor Dragonfly was patrolling, occasionally egg laying around the edge of the pond, also up to 14 Common Blue Damselfly including some pairing.

Butterflies.

Ringlet. Pete Woodruff.

Nothing spectacular about these, as I saw just one Red Admiral, but 10 Ringlet lifted the gloom, and takes my sightings of this species to 16 Ringlet seen on two days, with six more seen at Birk Bank on 20 June.    

Glasson- Conder Green Circuit.

Reed Bunting, 3 Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, and 6 Sedge Warbler.

And Finally.

Ian Mitchell kindly sent me a couple of images....

This of an Elephant Hawk Moth

And one of a Large Yellow Underwing.

Ian says 'I was playing around trying to photo this moth in flight'....I don't think you need to try much harder Ian.

The Header.

Howard Stockdale does it again, this time with another excellent header image of 42 Avocet, perfectly lined up for a photograph and an accurate count on Conder Pool this week. 

I would like to take this opportunity, to thank all those who joined me - and some who later hindered me - in reporting this amazing record of 17 Mediterranean Gulls, which I found on Conder Pool on Wednesday 25 June.   

Four Probable's In Bowland!

Probable: Something that is true and is likely to happen, but not certain.

Based on my observations in the Marshaw-Tower Lodge-Trough Bridge area 7 May/2 June equaling 10 hours. I have collated what my records read as probable breeding records in the area. 

Pied Flycatcher.

There are three breeding pairs of Pied Flycatcher in the area this year, all in nest boxes, with one box seeming to have been vacated and young fledged....Well they did fledge on Springwatch!

One of those million to one chances, when a Pied Flycatcher came on to the fence to perch next to a Swallow with food for young, the flycatcher bears a metal ring on its left leg.

Spotted Flycatcher.

I found just one pair of Spotted Flycatcher on this visit, but in fact there are 4 pairs. This is a record to which I have to add this note....Barry Dyson was in the area the day before me on Sunday 1 June, and reports three pairs of Spotted Flycatcher and a Dipper seen....So now the records read, 4 pairs of Spotted Flycatcher, and a Dipper feeding young on the Marshaw Wyre.

Thanks to Barry for getting in touch with me and for these records, they are much appreciated. 

Common Sandpiper.

I recorded 4 pairs of breeding Common Sandpiper, with one pair having young at one location, out of sight and adults alarm calling.

Grey Wagtail.

Grey Wagtail. Pete Woodruff.

I'm convinced there are no more than 3 pairs of breeding Grey Wagtail on the Marshaw Wyre. Last year I had a peak count of 10 Grey Wagtail here in mid-June.

Crossbill.

Following my 16 Crossbill seen west of Tower Lodge on 7 May, Andrew Cornall found 5 adult and 7 juvenile Crossbill today 2 June at Trough Bridge. 

Thanks to Andrew for this excellent record.

House Martin/Dipper.

There are no House Martin at Tower Lodge again as was the case last year, and with the Marshaw Wyre barely out of my sight throughout both visits, it was good to see it in good flow once again. However, as opposed to Barry Dyson's record, I found no Dipper throughout the 10 hours spent in the area.

The Runners Up.

I counted just 16 species during my visit on Monday, the ones to note being....c.50 Sand Martin up and down the Marshaw Wyre at Marshaw, 5 Mistle Thrush, just 4 Willow Warbler, 3 Treecreeper, 3 Wren, a Coal Tit feeding young, and a Cuckoo heard at the east end of the woodland strip above Tower Lodge, where the Swallow are nesting in a shed in the compound.

 

Large Red Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

I was a little surprised to see a Large Red Damselfly come to rest at my feet behind the plantation at Marshaw. The camera auto focused on the vegetation rather than the damselfly, but good enough for the record.

Banded Beauties And Others!

On Monday we visited our daughter who lives in an area that includes the beautiful Lune Valley. As an interlude, I decided to use the visit as an opportunity to spend a couple of hours around the River Lune at Bull Beck, a decision which turned out to be quite rewarding.

Coming off the footpath, going down to the track running east and above the riverbank, I soon saw something blue resembling a butterfly in flight and instantly recognisable. Walking on about 50 metres, within a few minutes I had counted at least 16 Banded Demoiselle, and managed to get a couple of shots of a female, but had no success with the males.

But there was never going to be any disappointment here. After all, who could wish for more, when you can film a female Banded Demoiselle, whilst a Garden Warbler sings in your ear....Magic!

Other sightings on a circuit of the area including a length of the river, an estimate of Sand Martin probably reached three figures, a Common Sandpiper seen flying upstream, and a Little Egret dropped in. From the footpath, 2 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, a Garden Warbler, Treecreeper, Dunnock, and 2 Swift over Brookhouse.

Butterflies of note, 14 Orange Tip, 3 Speckled Wood, a Red Admiral, and Peacock. 

Stonechat.

I now have two more breeding records with photographic evidence. 

Stonechat. Howard Stockdale.

Thanks to Howard for his image of the young Stonechat having just been fed the snack of a Red Soldier Beetle.

Stonechats. Ian Mitchell.

Thanks to Ian for his image of an adult Stonechat with young, with evidence there are three breeding pairs at this location in Bowland.

Bowland....Negatives And Positives.

Negatives.

Lets get rid of the negatives first....Over the 5 hours spent in the Tower Lodge and surrounding area this week, I counted 12 nest boxes and found no life at or around any of them, not a single Pied Flycatcher in sight. No Redstart, and no Dipper seen on the Marshaw Wyre. My records also read, no House Martin at Tower Lodge for the second year running, and no Cuckoo. 

Last year I had 3 Cuckoo seen together at Marshaw on 12 June, and observed interaction between the birds. Two hours later I heard 2 Cuckoos calling in the Tower Lodge area but couldn't rule out duplication. 

But it was a pleasing sight to chance upon a male Pied Flycatcher emerging from a natural nest hole rather than a box, though despite my hanging around a few minutes it didn't return. 

Positives.

Now the good stuff....I had a count of 24 species, just about an average count for the area on a spring day. Pride of place for top spot were 2 Spotted Flycatcher which were seen as a pair, and quite an early date for these birds to be here, and already on territory when all others of the species are only being reported in recent days on passage.

Spotted Flycatcher. Pete Woodruff.

But todays two doesn't match the number of 12 Spotted Flycatcher found here 7 years ago in June 2018, when the Tower Lodge area was leading the way as the top spot for the Spotted Flycatcher in our recording area, but hasn't done so since.

Running a close 2nd place were up to 16 Crossbill, they exploded out of the tree as a heavy goods vehicle thundered by, they flew off with their characteristic and explosive 'chip-chip' flight call, the ground at the base of the tree was littered with pine cones.

There was a healthy number of Sand Martin at Marshaw, with House Martin and Swallow around the farm. Other notes on the day, 4 Common Sandpiper might amount to three breeding pairs by the time of my next visit, 5 Grey Wagtail were not particularly exciting in such small number, up to 6 Willow Warbler, a Goldcrest, 5 Mistle Thrush included a recently fledged young, a Song Thrush, and a lone Redpoll.

Butterflies.

A pitiful four individuals, best of which was a Small Copper, with 2 Green-veined White and an Orange Tip.

On my way back to Lancaster, I called in at Stoops Bridge, to find 3 Blackcap, all singing males....Pump up the volume!

Garden Interest.

Large Red Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

Not at all the least interesting was a Large Red Damselfly found near our small urban garden pond, also a Green-veined White, and a Sparrowhawk over. 

Light Brown Apple Moth. Pete Woodruff.

Another nice surprise was the Light Brown Apple Moth. The origins of this moth is Australia, probably accidentally introduced into Cornwall in the 1930's. Today it can be found regularly in many parts of the country.

From The Archives.

Wall Brown. Pete Woodruff.

Looking through my older files I found this image of a Wall Brown. It is the last record of the species, seen at Cockers Dyke 8 years ago August 2017.

My thanks to Simon Hawtin for the header image of the brilliant male Crossbill. 

Stamp Collecting!

Little Ringed Plover at Conder Green, and Wheatear at Cockersand saved a pretty dull birding day yesterday, and being we're closing in on the merry month of May, more birds were missing than seen. Not a single warbler heard let alone seen, save 2 Swallow, not another hirundine. At Conder Green, no Common Tern, no Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, and no Greenshank. 

Ahhhh well, it all brings into play my motto....Not what you will see, but rather what you might, the element of surprise never fails to delight....No surprises today. 

On Conder Pool it was good to make contact with 4 Little Ringed Plover seen as 2 pairs, and good to see at least 20 Avocet, with a good count of nests according to info from the excellent management and monitoring work by the Howard and Ian duo....Sounded to me like Avocet breeding records on Conder Pool were hopefully being made.

At Cockersand, though it was pleasant to hear the Skylark in flight song heralding the summer, the circuit turned out to be the road to nowhere....

Shelduck. Pete Woodruff.

....but 28 Shelduck were settled in the field, and up to 60 Carrion Crow were in a adjacent field, and hey'up, things are looking up, 'cos there are 4 Wheatear on the marsh in front of Lighthouse Cottage. As I left Cockersand, a lone Swallow was around Bank House, and another lone Swallow was on wires at Gardners Farm on Moss Lane.

I'm considering taking up stamp collecting!

Terns and Gulls.

A Common Tern was reported to have been on Conder Pool 14 April and not subsequentially seen again, but Howard Stockdale informs me, a Common Tern was present 6 days later on 20 April and is featured in my header. Howard also tells of a pair of Mediterranean Gull Conder Pool, one of which was marked and was observed mating giving evidence of a male.

The history of this gull is confidential, and I have no permit to publish too many details on B2B, but I do know that it was ringed in the Netherlands as a chick, the bird is 10 years old and has been sighted only 7 times in the 10 years, 4 x in Lancashire, once in Cumbria, and has visited Ireland x 2.