The Nearly Wasn't Day!

It took me a couple of hours to find anything to inspire me to get out the little black book on Thursday. 

Conder Pool.

Whilst in the process of finding just 7 Redshank and a similar number of Wigeon, Conder Pool was otherwise deserted. But I was encouraged by finding in excess of 100 Teal in the creeks, the duck being noticeably absent in decent number here since the onset of autumn into winter.

Plover Scar.

The message via WhatsApp...'male Snow Bunting Plover Scar 13.12pm'....had me donning my twitchers hat and heading of to Cockersand to spend the next 45 minutes searching for the bunting that wasn't.

Snow Bunting Cockersand 30 October. Ian Hartley.

Despite my being told by the finder, that the Snow Bunting was at Plover Scar when I arrived at the car park, I set off on what turned out to be a search with a disappointing 'dip', but Ian Hartley found the bird the following day....Ah'well can't win'em all!

Cockersand. 

At Cockersand CP, things took a turn for the good and lifted me out of what was looking like an afternoon of gloom. On the marsh a pair of Stonechat are always my best fix, also three small flights>south amounted to 120 Golden Plover, and by the time I left Cockersand I had noted 61 Whooper Swan.

Whooper Swan Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

Six Whooper Swan, 2xadult/4x2nd winter, were in a field at the junction of Moss/Slack Lane, 13 in field behind C'sand CP, and 42 in field by the junction of Moss Lane/A588.

The Nearly Wasn't Day, which in the end, was no less interesting for me than any other day.

Black-headed Gull.

The Black-headed Gull seen on the Lune Estuary 22 October was on Conder Pool a week later. This bird has also seen last week by Ian Hartley who called it an 'interesting bird' when I contacted him about the confusion it has caused me.   

Black-headed Gull Conder Pool 29 October. Pete Woodruff.

What's going on with this bird then, has it ever moulted this year, has it moulted out of summer plumage and into another summer plumage, or has it moulted but not its hood. I am left with no answers as to why in November, a Black-headed Gull is in breeding plumage....Anyone!

Garden Birds.

An excellent result of 17 birds of 9 species from a 30 minute watch from the patio window....

Robin

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Coal Tit

Dunnock

Goldfinch

Wren

Starling

Swallow-tailed Moth.

Ian Mitchell kindly sent me a set of images of the Swallow-tailed Moth found in his trap yesterday.

Swallow-tailed Moth. Ian Mitchell.

This moth is large and spectacular, and in good conditions can have a second brood, this one being clear evidence of that. 

Swallow-tailed Moth. Ian Mitchell.

Thanks for this Ian, I would have been as chuffed to find this one as I know you was....Excellent.

A quite spectacular sunset at 6.00pm Friday 30 October over Morecambe Bay from our west facing bedroom window.

Resurrection!

Well my birding has been very patchy of late, in fact it's been non existent to be honest, but I'm working on getting myself out of the hole I find myself in. Meanwhile, there's some resurrection on the horizon in some areas starting with a fledged c.6 week old juvenile Tawny Owl seen in Bowland.

This is the best image available, a phone shot for the record. I've decided to keep my mouth shut about details on this one....Schedule 1 birds and all that!

The Lancaster Orchids.

It was good to find the orchids again this year east of Lancaster.

Southern Marsh Orchid June 2026. Pete Woodruff.

This time I found at least 120 spikes of Southern Marsh Orchid, a slight improvement on last year, when I made a count of up to 100 spikes.

Common Spotted Orchid June 2026. Pete Woodruff.

My count this year, was of 48 Common Spotted Orchid, better than last year when it was 25 spikes.

Garden Birds.

Our birds have had a good breeding season so far this year.

I managed to get some footage of the Blue Tit feeding young, also Great Tit, Goldfinch and Dunnock all have young, and a Blackbird with a juvenile. The House Sparrow has done well with a total figure of at least 40 adult and young.

Who knows how many adult and young Starling have visited us over the past few weeks, it could have been a three figure number, and included this bully juvenile on the apple.

Garden Bees.

The garden bees were busy on Sunday with the weather warming.

Red Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

The Mason Bees were back and forth to the hotel....

The Blue Mason Bees were filling in the holes, with an upstairs neighbour having a nosey!

Blue Mason Bee. Pete Woodruff.

....this one was resting on the roof. I think these will leave later than their red cousins, but both will have gone by the end of July.

Common Carder Bee. Pete Woodruff.

A Common Carder Bee was nectaring on Viper Bugloss.

Conder Pool.

It's good to see the Common Terns have taken control of the platform, and even better to hear they have started to produce this years chicks. The news from Conder Pool gets better by the day, when two new Common Terns arrived yesterday.

The Avocets are also having a good season, and adults have already succeeded to guide chicks off Conder Pool, to cross the busy B5290 to the River Conder. I have no accurate figures, but I get the impression there are at least 20 Avocet chicks with 5 nests to hatch.

There seems to be no end to the good news from the pool this year, when a new Avocet arrived here to breed. This is a bird ringed at Boulais in France 20 June 2008, according to its history, a much traveled 18 year old Avocet.

I am grateful to Howard Stockdale for this update with news and images from Conder Pool. 

Not Much To Write Home About....

 ....but one record on Thursday lit up Cockersand. 

I actually skipped a visit to Conder Pool, three men in high vis overalls were having a discussion on the viewing platform, with a flailing machine parked up in the layby waiting to be fired up, so I jogged on to Cockersand.

In a field south end of Jeremy Lane I counted 62 Whooper Swan and up to 150 Golden Plover. The resident herd at Cockersand are still in fields south towards Bank End, and remain as a count of c.200 Whooper Swan as far as I can see.

Starting the circuit at Lighthouse Cottage where, on a beautiful if icy cold day, I found a male and female Stonechat. The best Plover Scar could muster at low tide, was c.250 Oystercatcher and a 50/50 mix of up to 100 Knot and Dunlin, with 10 Eider off here.

A Buzzard was inland flying purposefully north with its a slow wingbeat and intermittent glides. In the field south side of Abbey Farm, at least 325 Golden Plover. Having checked the shingle area for 15 minutes to find it bunting'less, a Rock Pipit dropped in and immediately took off again, and I was entertained by 12 Turnstone turning the stones as they do.

Dunnock Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

The confiding Dunnock showed well again at the same location for my third consecutive visit.

By the time I got back to Slack Lane and the Lighthouse Cottage in my sights on the return from the circuit, up to 2,500 Pink-footed Geese were in the same field as Wednesdays 12 November 188 P.F.G.

In the field to the south of the Pink-footed Geese, there was the wonderful sight of 2 Bewick's Swan accompanied by 2 Whooper Swan. The video isn't world class, but it's an excellent record, and the size difference between the Whooper Swan on the right is obvious.

Bewick's Swan.

The status of the Bewick's Swan in Lancashire mirrors that of the national one, being an uncommon and declining winter visitor, teetering on the brink of becoming a rarity. In fact information gained to date, says there are little more than 30 Bewick's Swan anywhere in the country. According to my record of these two seen on Thursday 20 November, appear to be an average first arrival record in Lancashire on that date. 

Records in Lancashire in 2024 can only be described as at best sparse, with just 8 birds recorded up to mid-March. My records of Bewick's Swan for 2024....

6 Cockersand 12 Jan

3 Cockersand 17 Jan

2 Cockersand 12 Dec

But I made an interesting discovery when I found in my notes, a claim that AC had told me in a conversation, that 11 Bewick's Swan were in fields at Jeremy and Moss Lane on Saturday 13 January 2024. Even more interesting was the fact that this record included three 1st winter birds.

And the winner is....The Bewick's Swan! 

Brief Encounters.

Conder Pool did nothing to spur on my enthusiasm again on Monday, with 3 Little Grebe, 28 Teal, 22 Mallard, and a Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Within easy viewing range on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, barely moderate numbers of 600 Lapwing, 225 Golden Plover, and 90 Curlew, with more moderation of Dunlin and Redshank seen. At least 400 Wigeon, 3 Goosander, and a Great-crested Grebe on the river.

Along Jeremy Lane, swans in a field at the south end, were seen as 7 Whooper Swan and 3 Mute Swan. The Cockersand c.200 Whooper Swan herd were seen again in the fields south of Moss Lane stretching to Bank End.

Cockersand produced some interesting encounters today, not least of which was my finally nailing the Snow Bunting present here since 25 October.

The Snow Bunting is a ridiculously confiding bird, but can be difficult to spot when it is camouflaged whilst feeding amongst the tidewrack, but this one presented no such problem.

This Snow Bunting I saw on Plover Scar 5 January 2024, is a perfect example of just how cryptic the Snow Bunting can be at a distance.

Setting off on the circuit I soon came across the Dunnock, it was in the same hedgerow, and probably the same bird seen on 30 October.

This bird was just as confiding as the bunting, and gave me the opportunity to appreciate it as an attractive bird, with some nice plumage detail and colours, not as dowdy as sometimes portrayed.

As I walked along Slack Lane, 2 Snipe were high west overhead, and up to 12 Long-tailed Tit were working their way through the Willows.

Long-tailed Tit. Pete Woodruff.

One of the tits thought it was an autumn migrant Swallow on the wires!

There was a gathering of waders on Plover Scar, the best of which was a decent count of 14 Grey Plover, with 55 Turnstone and 350 Oystercatcher. A female Shoveler offshore was unusual, and certainly not a regular occurrence here, also 5 Eider. Another unusual and novel sighting was that of 5 Brown Hare driven off Plover Scar by the incoming tide, they were in a follow-my-leader line, up onto the sea wall, and away into the fields.

As I was leaving Plover Scar, in the space of a few minutes, 42 Pink-footed Geese, followed by up to 250 Golden Plover, and a spectacular encounter was of 3,500 Black-tailed Godwit were all purposefully in a fly-by >south. 

Around The Block....Again!

Tufted Duck. Pete Woodruff.

With just four species present on Thursday, Conder Pool seems to be loosing its grip at the top of the league table, but 21 Tufted Duck gave the feeling that all is not yet lost. Also 4 Goosander came into view from behind an island, 3 Little Grebe, a lone Redshank, and a Kestrel was hovering over the Stork Inn.

Calling in on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, if there was anything to call spectacular here, it was the sight of at least 2,000 Lapwing on the north side below Colloway Marsh. Also of note, a small group of c.70 waders were predominantly Knot and a 'few' Black-tailed Godwit. Up to 250 Wigeon were along the shoreline upstream to the Conder mouth.

In the field at Clarksons Farm, my notes read up to 200 Whooper Swan, in fact AC who I met later, told me he'd made an earlier count of 196 Whooper Swan.

Third time lucky....Having finally caught up with a female chat at Cockersand, I found a pair of Stonechat today on the marsh by the Caravan Park. Also to note, a large raft of at least 2,000 Wigeon were strung out along the length from Plover Scar to the Cocker Estuary.

As I set off on the circuit a small bird came out of the hedge, flew across the road and into the hedge opposite. It started a call which I'm not acquainted with, so I pointed the camera towards the hedge to get a recording.

Dunnock Cockersand 30 October. Pete Woodruff.

I did see the bird eventually whilst recording and found it to be a Dunnock, interestingly it's call was responded to by another Dunnock somewhere close by.

 

Best with full volume

So what's going on here, communication between 2 Dunnock at the end of October!

As I approached the junction of Moss Lane/Slack Lane, I spotted a raptor zipping at barely 1m above the stubble. I picked the bird up in my bino's and watched it come to land on a mound by a small flood, its was a stunning male Merlin. 

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.

Little To Write Home About Mother!

Given its recent history, Conder Pool was at best pretty quiet on Friday, with just 60 birds noted in my stock taking exercise. The bulk of the count being 42 Lapwing and 13 Little Grebe, with 2 Tufted Duck, a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Little Egret bringing up the rear. I've reluctantly called this a dull and boringly routine experience, and not what I'm acquainted with for Conder Pool....But that's birding in'it!

The Lune Estuary didn't light any fires either, with up to 550 Lapwing, 155 Curlew, 24 Little Egret, 4 Greenshank, a lone House Martin flyby, and not a Golden Plover in sight. But I did see my first of the winter 120 Pink-footed Geese in two skeins >south. Other than finding them too distant to sift through, I ignored a couple of hundred gulls to the north of the Conder mouth.

Common Darter Saltcote Pond. Pete Woodruff.

On a relatively short walk along the canal towpath, 7 Migrant Hawker, 3 Brown Hawker, and a mewing Buzzard over. On Saltcote Pond, 3 Common Darter, one of which provided me with the only pik of the day.

Garden Goings On.

Garden Robin. Pete Woodruff.

A Robin returned to our garden nearly 2 months ago on 18 July after its summer break, and I tracked it down for a pik through the kitchen window yesterday in the plum tree. 

I captured this Dunnock out of the kitchen window too, they have had at least one brood this year with a juvenile>1st winter seen.

We have had some regular butterfly sightings in the garden, with probably 10 Red Admiral and a couple of Peacock seen over a couple of weeks.

A Good Day At The Office!

I was a little surprised to note the last visit made to Conder Pool was 15 May. I was overdue because my focus on wildlife had shifted elsewhere, but I was off to make that right and chose a good day to do so.  

Common Tern Conder Pool 2 July

With little attempt at accuracy my records read, at least 38 Common Tern adult and up to 20 chicks with three fledged and out on the island close to the nesting platform. There are some colour ringed adults, including one thought to have been marked in South Africa according to a source who was viewing with me. I found it both educational and entertaining watching the young running up and down the platform in anticipation of the bird coming in being the parent bird with fish.

Mediterranean Gulls Conder Pool 2 July

There was some added interest in the 4 Mediterranean Gull, seen as two adult and two 2nd summer birds. One of the 2nd summer birds was ringed in France and bearing a Green Darvic R9UJ....There are only three of the four gulls in the video in which there's some commentary by MP.

It's difficult in this murderous crop of the 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull, but it can be seen bearing the left leg Green Darvic ring.

Uncounted, so not the faintest idea of the Avocet number currently on Conder Pool, but some advanced juveniles noted with a good number of adults....An Emperor Dragonfly flew past the viewing screen.

Ruff Conder Green. Paul Ellis.

It was good to see the black male Ruff in the creeks, with up to 220 Redshank seen as a large number returning early on 2 July, also 6 Common Sandpiper and 2 Greenshank seen.

Ruff Male Conder Creeks 2 July

There was good news at River Winds when I counted ten House Martin nests with three seen attended by adults....There wasn't a bird in sight when I visited here six weeks ago in mid-May. 

Ringlet. Pete Woodruff.

Along the coastal path to Glasson Dock, I saw the only butterfly of the day, but it was a good one in my book, a Ringlet. At Saltcote Pond, an Emperor Dragonfly and probably 20 Common Blue Damselfly with a few Blue-tailed Damselfly.

Common Blue Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

There was good numbers of damselflies along the canal towpath, including this Common Blue Damselfly paired with a dull green female.

Dunnock In The Garden.

The Woodruff's were delighted to see a young Dunnock in the garden recently.

New Arrivals....Long Stayers.

Monday wasn't quite the day I was hoping for weather-wise, with grey skies and a chilly wind, because of which I abandoned my planned traditional circuit of Cockersand, to backtrack to Glasson for my second look at the Lune Estuary and Conder Pool.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, three sightings in particular grabbed my attention, 1) 9 Avocet were feeding in a tight group with bills sweeping side to side, before flying off upstream to disappear from view, 2) the huge number of up to 3,500 Black-tailed Godwit seen on the Lune Estuary today, seems to continue increasing apace, with an all time record of 4,600 reported here on Sunday 18 February LDBWS, 3) a leucistic Dunlin was seen briefly with a few other waders before soon flying off, unfortunately no camera at the ready to record the little beauty. Also to note, at least 350 Redshank and 75 Golden Plover. 

With a hair cut and other management work since my last visit 7 days ago, on Conder Pool a good record was of a pair of Shoveler at best irregular here, c.120 Black-headed Gull have certainly taking a liking to the new look landscape, no doubt in due course many of them will take over and dominate the islands to breed. Also noted, 45 Teal, 36 Redshank, 24 Snipe, 4 Curlew, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Grebe, a Greenshank and Goosander.  

Garden Birds.

Robin. Pete Woodruff.

Best news from the garden, we had 2 Robin yesterday 20 February, with much interaction between them, 2 male/2 female/a pair....who knows! A Siskin has made three appearances since the first female seen 9 February, and we also have 2 Dunnock and a Wren visiting regularly.

Young Garden Dunnock. Pete Woodruff.

Hoping the Dunnock breeds again in the garden this year as they have in the past.

Stonechat.

To add to the 6 Stonechat seen at Fairhaven Dunes on 13 February FBC, it's beginning to look like the spring passage has taken off, and I agree that 4 seen at Fluke Hall by AC on Monday were definitely a start to the spring passage of the Stonechat.

The Header.

The 4 Cattle Egret found in the field opposite Lighthouse Cottage on 25 October 2023, are still being seen in the area and are now 4 days short of their 4 month stay. Many Thanks to Howard Stockdale for the excellent header image of one of them.

Red Turns Gold!

Handsomely rewarded for a visit to a couple of my Bowland hot spots, namely Grisedale Bridge where mutt-minders abound, and Cam Brow, where at this time of year, sun worshipers flock....there's the pun!

The nicest surprise was, despite drawing a blank on two previous visits to Grisedale Bridge 29 April and 13 May, this time I found a male Redstart exactly one month later on 13 June, in precisely the same location it had been the two previous years.

But the Redstart which previously prospected the Ash, and the Nuthatch previously nested, haven't chosen to do so in  this year.

The bigger surprise was, in one hour downstream from Grisedale Bridge to Holme Wood, I counted 12 Golden Ringed Dragonfly which included accounting for duplication. This record equaled my count of 12 on 11 July 2022. I also noted 3 Small Heath, and as I arrived back at the motor, a male Stonechat greeted me atop of Gorse.

Young Sand Martin can be seen in the video at the left hand nest.

A wander along the side of Cam Brook from Cam Brow to the Hawthornthwaite Fell track, Sand Martin were at the colony, where no more than four nest holes were active, 2 Golden Ringed Dragonfly and a Common Hawker were seen over Cam Brook.

Hawthornthwaite Fell. Pete Woodruff.

An hour on the fell track drew a blank for Stonechat, but definitely not the sheep. The c.14 Sand Martin colony were in the air up and down the brook, with 4 Meadow Pipit one carrying food, and 2 Small Heath noted. A Kestrel here was the only Bowland raptor seen all day.

Garden & Fairfield.

It was good to see our resident Blackbird had introduced an offspring into the garden yesterday, and was showing the Starlings some aggression. Also a young Dunnock seen and being fed by the parent....There is a colony of up to 30 Swift present and breeding in the Fairfield area of Lancaster.

Birk Bank.

Keeled Skimmer Pair. Ian Mitchell.

From the ever reliable Andrew Cornall. On Friday, 12 Keeled Skimmer, 8 male/4 female, including pairing and egg laying. This is an all time highest count on Birk Bank Bog. Well done Andrew....Rock On!

Conder Pool.

Mediterranean Gull 17 June. Howard Stockdale.

An adult and 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull were present yesterday morning on Conder Pool with thoughts of breeding....apparently not, they soon departed, but four were present at one point.

Thanks to Martin Jump for the Golden Ringed Dragonfly header image. 

An Interesting Trawl.

A very interesting visit to Bowland and the birds of Marshaw - Tower Lodge - Trough Bridge.

My sightings for the day started with a Siskin I found drinking in the Marshaw Wyre by the plantation at Marshaw, from where I saw a pair of Lesser Redpoll and a few Sand Martin of which just one individual was seen to enter a nest hole in the bank upstream from the green bridge.

Birds seen on or around the length of the Marshaw Wyre, where my main interest was with sightings of 3 Dipper at three locations, one of which I reckon had a nest nearby, and was behaving with a small fish like it was food for young. I counted 6 Grey Wagtail with no evidence of breeding or young, also 5 Common Sandpiper with young hopefully to be seen in the coming weeks.

Three pair of Pied Flycatcher are occupying three nest boxes. This male was singing around the box, which I was able to stalk to close range with trees for cover....Pity about the wind pollution in the footage, the bird was singing nicely.

It took four hours for me to find Spotted Flycatcher, two were seen as a pair which eventually took off to see two other birds off which I strongly suspected to be two more flycatchers. If they were, there are only 4 Spotted Flycatcher here this year.

The supporting cast was, 4 Mistle Thrush, a Song Thrush, Long Tailed Tit, and 3 Dunnock. A clattering of 38 Jackdaw flew west, and 10 Willow Warbler were mostly heard, though one gave excellent close views, and in a short watch at Tower Lodge, I saw just one House Martin which eventually entered a nest. 

A Curlew gained maximum height at the top of a dead tree to advertise its territory....Don't recall ever hearing this call by the Curlew.

Banded Demoiselle.

Banded Demoiselle Garstang 27 May. Pete Woodruff.

A saunter along the Lancaster Canal and River Wyre at Garstang, resulted in finding 6 Banded Demoiselle. 

Ian Mitchell sent me an interesting image of a Large Red Damselfly at rest on an exuvia. Along with some comments from an expert, and given it was seen on an acidic bog, I'm suggesting this is the larva case of a Four Spotted Chaser.

Ian struggled to get this image of a Little Emerald being uncooperative amongst the Bilberry. There was an emergence of this moth, of which I also saw c.12 on my last visit to Birk Bank 22 May.

Edit.

Worthy of the edit, this Painted Lady was on Sandylands at Morecambe this afternoon. A rapid flier and strong migrant, they are expected to arrive in Britain in June, this is my first in May.....Make my day!

Good Day In Bowland.

In the good company of Martin Jump, we had an interesting day in Bowland with a little learning and some discoveries to boot.

A walk along the path by the 1/4 mile long plantation strip at Catshaw, produced up to 8 Willow Warbler, 4 Mistle Thrush, a Song Thrush, Reed Bunting, Dunnock, Robin, Kestrel, and a Coal Tit probably nesting in a wall cavity. As I drove away from here, a Wheatear flew across my path.

On Hawthornthwaite, Saturdays 5 Stonechat seen again, with further proof of breeding when a female was seen carrying food. Two Raven overhead were mobbed by a Curlew, of which three pairs are probable breeders here. Conversely, I've seen not a single Lapwing here in two recent visits. A Ring Ouzel frustrated by being heard in song but not located when falling silent. Martin succeeded in collecting numbers from the Sand Martin colony, and came up with 34 nest holes - not all occupied - and c.12 birds in flight.

We called at Marshaw for Martin to check out some breeding Dipper he is monitoring. The visit resulted in finding the first and never recorded Coal Tit breeding in a nest box, even more intriguing was a male Pied Flycatcher on an adjacent branch, looking as confused as I was, it had earlier been singing. Also noted here, a Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and 2 Treecreeper.

All in all, an interesting day.

Conder Pool.

Thanks to Howard Stockdale for the update and the quartet of images of 'beauties' on Conder Pool, two of which are....

Common Tern On The New Raft Conder Pool 17 May. Howard Stockdale.

1st summer Mediterranean Gull/1st Summer Common Gull Conder Pool 17 May. Howard Stockdale.

I'm also grateful to Ian Mitchell for his image of the colour ringed Common Tern having returned to Conder Pool for its 3rd year.

Common Tern Conder Pool. Ian Mitchell.