Deja Vu.

I had only a couple of hours available for birding on Friday, and decided to give the time to scrutinize Conder Pool and a brief look in on the Lune Estuary....Well what a good idea that was.

These two beauties were on Conder Pool in June 2019, and it was Deja vu when I found 2 Mediterranean Gull there again on Friday, seen as an adult and 2nd summer.

Also on Conder Pool, a similar number of up to 400 Black-tailed Godwit seen on last Tuesday, including a colour ringed bird, the details of which I await from Iceland, these were accompanied by 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, c.50 Knot and a lone Dunlin in their midst, at least one lingering Pink-footed Goose, and I noted a single figure of Avocet.

On the Lune Estuary, c.120 Black-tailed Godwit, a lone Bar-tailed Godwit was bathing then preening with them, 9 Avocet, 8 Eider, a Swallow working its way upstream, and a Willow Warbler briefly singing on the coastal path is the first of the year for me. Interesting, that I found 22 Willow Warbler on a wander around the Birk Bank area 14 April 2022....What a difference a year makes! 

Thanks to Howard Stockdale for the image of the stunning Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits currently on Conder Pool.

Early Birds.

Close to home, a male Pied Flycatcher at Stoops Bridge Abbeystead yesterday, was three days later than one in Wray on 12 April 2021, also a Whitethroat yesterday at Wesham Marsh. 

An interesting record at the Portland Obs, was of a Great Skua yesterday, the first this year, a note added to the record read, the Bonxie is usually year ticked on 1 January, making it inconceivable that it has taken three and a half months to see one this year, also a Whinchat was new in there three days ago on 13 April....Eyes down up look in!

Lost And Found!

The Mute Swans are always to be found on the River Lune at Glasson, they are particularly attracted to and take advantage of the grain swept off the quayside as spillage from the unloading of ships, peak counts of these birds can be towards 200 on occasions. 

Mute Swan. Gary Jones @ Portraits Of Nature

In my last post I made a note that the Lune Estuary Mute Swans had disappeared en mass, with not a single bird seen on the River Lune at Glasson Dock on my last visit there Thursday last week, nor on Jeremy Lane and Moss Lane to Cockersands where they can usually be found when some of them leave others behind on the estuary, though in the case of Jeremy Lane, I'm aware of someone on a quad bike intentionally driving the swans off the fields, it's beyond me why anyone would find it necessary to do this. 

I was grateful to Jean Roberts and Andrew Cornall who got in touch to tell me they had both independently seen a large number of Mute Swans in fields off Hillam Lane at Cockerham, it's reasonable to assume these are the Glasson birds. Andrew had counted 78 Mute Swans on Hillam Lane on Thursday, he had also noted two dead Mute Swans here which brought back memories for me of the twelve found in close proximity and all about the same time around the Glasson/Cockersands area early in the year in February. This was a puzzling and worrying affair which I reported to DEFRA, I was involved in collecting the dead birds, and followed up the autopsy results, all of which concluded with my not being convinced - for one reason or other - that I'd been told the whole story about why twelve Mute Swans had been found dead, all in a small area, and all in a short period of time.

At the time these dead birds were being found, I was made aware of a message sent out by the police on 18 February which read....'Observations are requested for a silver Subaru car possibly linked to wildlife crime'.

Thanks to Gary for the Mute Swan, and to Marc for the Great Skua header....Brilliant photographs of brilliant birds.

Think Pink!

Pink-footed Geese Brian Rafferty 

The Pink-footed Geese are back, though my sightings yesterday didn't reflect other claims of 'a massive movement' elsewhere. My records were of 160 on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock with 80 over here going south, and 60 going the same direction over Cockersands.

I got to Cockersands about an hour before high tide, though places like Plover Scar are not the best to be caught in a downpour and I had to spend the next 1.5 hours in the car waiting to see if the constant showers would pass over. By the time I got to Plover Scar the high tide was heading up to an hour past, but the waders - reduced in number - were staying put and I found 3 Curlew Sandpiper still here with a solitary Sanderling, in excess of 100 Turnstone, and 4 Black-tailed Godwit to note, with c.60 Dunlin and Ringed Plover noted as 'a few' by comparison to recent visits here. Six Eider were bobbing up and down like corks off Plover Scar, a single Wheatear seen, and a Little Egret passing the scar fought against the howler blowing today and eventually flew over the end of Sunderland Point towards Middleton. 

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was relatively quiet, though c.200 Redshank and no more than 20 Dunlin were feeding close by, a single Bar-tailed Godwit, just 4 Wigeon, a Little Egret, and a Red-breasted Merganser appearing to nearly choke itself on a large fish it caught, I'm often amazed at the size of the catch these divers make and manage to down.

A quick look in on Conder Pool on my way back to Lancaster revealed another increase of two with 8 Little Grebe seen, a Little Egret was the only other note I made. 

The Pelagic.

 Manx Shearwater. Paul Foster.

On a nice day in August, with clear skies and a light wind, Paul went on a pelagic trip out of Liverpool. I couldn't resist posting two of his photographic results, this one of the Manx Shearwater....

Great Skua. Paul Foster.

....and this of the Great Skua. Paul's account and images of the day are HERE  

Thanks for allowing me to put your day on Birds2blog Paul, much appreciated.      

Sitting it out!

In brief....

It was a bit difficult today, for starters it was late when I got out birding, the tide was only a couple of hours from high and the waders 'disappeared', and there's a 'howler' still blowing, which reminds me....I was given some interesting statistics today when someone who had measured the wind speed yesterday, told me it had gusted several times at 65mph at Cockersands.

Gannet. David Cookson.

So I decided the best bet was to sit it out in the motor at Cockersands and put it to the sea-watching test, and see what  - if anything - happens. Well, I never really expected it to be the best sea watching location in the land but at least there was a little action and I ended up with 7 Gannets in two hours, including three lingering close in, three on the sea also close in, and a distant individual, also a Great Skua flying out of the bay. Also noted from the motor - not my kind of birding - during the watch, a Whimbrel, 2 Eider, and a Great-crested Grebe.  

With a few minutes to spare on the way home, I called in at Conder Green to see 2 Spotted Redshank both adults, and 2 Greenshank. On Conder Pool 5 Little Grebe, and 2 Wigeon drakes.

And being that seabirds are the topic....

Kittiwake. David Cookson.

Here's another of DC's excellent photographs, this of the Kittiwakes obviously not seeing eye to eye. If it's brilliant photographs you're after....they're all HERE