Cockersand.

I've spent endless hours engrossed in birding at Cockersand, often there until dusk and beyond, and occasionally got drenched in a downpour with nowhere to hide. I always had my camera to hand for the scenery if not for the birds. 

VIEW FULL SCREEN WITH SOUND

With birds to be discovered, Cockersand sits on the chart in my book as the best in our area. Many are the times I've rocketed there in response to calls and text alerts from a birder to get gripping views of American Golden Plover (4) and Long-billed Dowitcher to mention but five.

The list of some of the birds found over the past 14 years....

2006. Broad-billed Sandpiper 15 May Maurice Jones.

2008. American Golden Plover 19 Nov Stuart Piner.

2009. Long-billed Dowitcher 13 Oct Stuart Piner.

2009. Black Redstart 9 Nov Pete Woodruff.

2011. American Golden Plover 4 Nov Stuart Piner. (Photo Stuart Piner)

2011. Kentish Plover 3 May Pete Woodruff. (Photo Mick McGough)

2012. American Golden Plover 5 Sept Stuart Piner.

2013. Dotterel 16 April Pete Woodruff. (Photo Chris Batty)

2014. American Buff-bellied Pipit 4 May Stuart Piner. (Photo Stuart Piner)

2015. Wryneck 13 April Pete Woodruff.

2016. American Golden Plover 28 Sept Stuart Piner.

2017. Lapland Bunting 24 March Pete Woodruff.

2017. Sabine's Gull 11 Sept Ian Hartley.

2018. Red-backed Shrike 27 May Kate Hughes. (Photo Ian Hartley)

2018. Pallid Harrier 16 Sept Ian Hartley.

And Finally....

I found Margery earlier in the year, she's been featured on B2B before, but certainly worth another look, and I'll swear the image of her husband is that of a birder I know!

GP's Still Rule Cockersand.

Golden Plover. Jan Larsson @ Vingspann

The numbers were up again at Cockersand on Friday, with at least 1,400 Golden Plover seen in three groups, 450 on Plover Scar, 750 on the weed covered shore off the headland, and 200 in the field off Slack Lane, where up to 90 Meadow Pipit were grounded, 3 Stock Dove and 2 Reed Bunting seen.

It was a little after high tide when I got to Conder Green, life on Conder Pool consisted of, 17 Oystercatcher, 12 Tufted Duck, 10 Black-tailed Godwit, 9 Shelduck, 5 Goosander, 4 Snipe, a drake Wigeon, and a Kestrel over. Of note on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, 16 Black-tailed Godwit, 10 Wigeon left overs, a lone Goldeneye, and a drake Goosander.

The main purpose of this birding session was to check out the field off Slack Lane at Cockersand SD432542 which has looked interesting for the best part of this year so far, and which I have checked regularly, looking perfect for a goodie, two past examples being....

American Buff-bellied Pipit 4 May 2014 (SP) Image Stuart Piner .


Lapland Bunting 24 March 2017 (PW) Image Chris Batty.

Otherwise....

Little happening on the migrant front, with Portland Bird Obs reporting a 'glimmer of quality' with an Osprey over the Bill, the first dozen Swallow, 2 House Martin and other minor flurries. 

Hopefully I'm back in business tomorrow.

The Rewind.

I've been perusing through my 2017 records, and pulled out some random finds and seen, and included my breeding records of the Stonechat which sadly doesn't make such good reading. In fact the records don't even mention Clougha, which - rightly or wrongly - I have abandoned as our once local stronghold in the same way the Stonechat has. I also visited Barbondale three times and found not a single Stonechat there. The Dalton Cragg record (*) credited to Bryan Yorke.

Eight Stonechat breeding records - 20 young - in 2017....Disastrous.

17 May Hareden, a pair and 2 young.
19 June White Greet, a female and 2 young.

03 July Foulshaw, a male and 4 young.

12 July Birk Bank, a pair and 2 young, a male, and a female. Four visits May - August.
12 July Harrisend, 2 male, a female, and a young.

17 July Hawthornthwaite, a male, two female, and 7 young. 

14 Sept Dalton Cragg, a pair and 2 young *

15 Sept Hawthornthwaite, a pair and one young. Five visits May - Sept.

Five December Lowland Stonechats.

10 Dec Heysham Half Moon Bay, 1st winter male and female.
11 Dec Crook Cottage Cockersand, 1st winter male.
22 Dec Off Caravan Park Cockerham Sands, 1st winter male and female.

Other notable birds found in 2017, and (*) not my credit.

20 Jan Conder Pool, Great White Egret. *

27 Jan Pilling, Red-breasted Goose and 10 White-fronted Geese. *

27 Jan Knott End, Black Redstart. *

03 Feb Conder Channel, Conder Green, Little Stint. 

17 Feb Moss Lane, 22 Bewick's Swan.

17 Feb Lune Estuary, Glasson, 46 Goldeneye peak count.
24 Feb Cockerham Marsh, 2 Shorelark. * (Andrew Cornall)

27 Feb Plover Scar, Snow Bunting. 

06 Mar Jeremy Lane, 6 Stonechat.

23 Mar Deep Cutting Lancaster Canal, 2 Little Owl. *

24 Mar Cockersand, Lapland Bunting.

10 Mar Conder Pool. 2 Avocet.

08 May Conder Pool, 2 Common Tern.
25 May Barbondale, 11 Pied Flycatcher.

25 May River Lune Bull Beck, 6 Little Ringed Plover including 3 chicks.
31 May Sykes Farm Bowland, 15 House Martin nests.
31 May Langden Brook, pair Ring Ouzel.
14 Jun Tower Lodge area, 6 Spotted Flycatcher.
19 Jun White Greet, 3 Stonechat, Bloe Greet 3 Stonechat.
12 July Birk Bank Bog, 3 Keeled Skimmer.

04 Aug Conder Pool, drake Scaup.

26 Sep Lune Estuary Glasson, 18 Ruff.

06 Oct Cockersand, 14 Ruff.
23 Oct Cockersand, adult male Stonechat.
02 Nov Crimbles, 2 Ruff on flood.

A decent selection of records, and if my birding this year is anything like as good as the last was, I'll be well happy.

Good Friday!!

A decent day, topped by the smart male Lapland Bunting at Cockersand....Good Friday. 

In the same flooded field I saw at least 25 Pied Wagtail and 15 Meadow Pipit, with one extra bird making up 5 Shoveler today, also 24 Lapwing, 14 Teal, and 3 Redshank. Up to 80 Twite were flighty in the cover crop by Lighthouse Cottage, 55 Black-tailed Godwit were over going south, c.270 Whooper Swan in a more compact group now than they've been all winter is an indication that some have left the area, and I saw 4 Small Tortoiseshell along the headland.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, little more than 80 Black-tailed Godwit , with 2 Knot and 150 Redshank to note, 3 Buzzard were soaring high over Colloway Marsh. Conder Pool could be described as dull, with 13 Tufted Duck , 2 Canada Geese , and the pair of Lesser Black-backed Gull loafing around and domineering Tern Island. On a wander, the Spotted Redshank was in the creeks, the Grey Wagtail was by the iron bridge, and I found 4 Goldcrest from the coastal path.

On the way back to Lancaster, a Buzzard flew over the A588 at the entrance to Lancaster Golf Club. 

The spider.

I don't think the fact this spider was on the bonnet of my car yesterday had any photographic disadvantages, but that it was taken in brilliant sunlight has certainly burnt out body detail. The best I can come up with is a female Philodromus dispar, but I could be way off the mark there for all I know .... maybe someone could put me out of my misery.

Cockersand Delivers....Again.

The flooded field by the junction of Moss Lane/Slack Lane has looked good for a few weeks now, and I've never failed to give it a serious grilling on every visit to Cockersand, it turned up a couple of White Wagtail recently, and in themselves even the Shoveler's are a decent record there.

Yesterday I set myself up at the metal gate and decided to be a better birder for once by making an effort to count the bird's present in the field. Not long after starting the exercise, I glimpsed a bird instantly not a Meadow Pipit of which there was a good number, the bird flew, but I had already muttered to myself what I was certain I had seen....but where's the bloody thing gone to. My lucky day, and it was soon relocated and I kept my eyes glued to the scope whilst making a call to make sure I wasn't going to be the only observer of this bird and to get the news out.

Male Lapland Bunting. Cockersand 24 March Chris Batty. 

Lapland Bunting 1.25 miles SW of Glasson in flooded field by junction of Moss Lane/Slack Lane, Cockersand SD433541 at 1.15pm....The bird was still there at 6.20pm.

I'm grateful to CB for the video-grab he sent to me. 

Burning The Stubble!

Lapland Bunting Martin Lofgren 

On Friday last week Lapland Bunting were found at Cockersands which were later the cause of a brief discussion on a birding website I visit daily about the conduct of someone trampling through the stubble field in order to flush and get a more accurate 'picture' of the bird/s. Obviously there were those in defence of the action and those against it in the discussion. But my post isn't about whether or not 'burning the stubble' is good or bad, right or wrong, but is to highlight something I witnessed on the very same day two fields away from the Lapland Bunting/s and which went unnoticed by the entire world and was far more damaging to wildlife than trampling in a field for a small bird.  

Wood Pigeon Warren Baker 

I've seen this car - and others - parked up at Cockersands before, and as a consequence knew what was going on. Someone was in a ditch hidden from view and from the birds he was out to kill, I'm never surprised at the lengths these people will go to but this one was a first for me. This guy had placed three dummy Wood Pigeons well spaced out, I can only assume the dummies were fitted with a mechanical device, or perhaps filled with helium, they were rising and falling to create the impression of birds taking off and coming down in order to get the real thing to follow suit. In this instance if you're a Wood Pigeon these people are dangerously crazed and have warped minds, in my view they are at the other end of the spectrum of what's right and what's wrong when it comes to the welfare of our wildlife. No amount of trampling through a stubble field to find a bird can ever be regarded as a danger to the welfare of wildlife, unlike the 'sportsman' I watched for a few minutes who gets his kicks from blasting birds out the sky as a form of enjoyment....he killed a few Wood Pigeons whilst I was in the area. 

Meanwhile, the person two fields away looking for a small bird failed to do so on several occasions that I personally know of, and when he was successful simply put the bird to flight. I think there are issues for and against 'bush bashing' and 'stubble burning' when it comes to searching for birds, though not exactly life threatening like the actions of the guy from the Dark Ages.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!....But no serious chance of doing so at the moment I'm afraid.

Missing Out!

In twitching language....'dipping'.

Collage of Lapland Bunting at Cockersands October 18. Copy Permitted. 

At 9.53am on Friday morning just as I was about to leave the house I received a text message to tell me of 3 Lapland Bunting at Cockersands. The first person I saw at Cockersands was my informant, soon followed by the farmer complete with tractor and slurry tank in the very field the birds were in, I decided to continue with my plan to visit Plover Scar at high tide. Some decision that was, it held 3 Oystercatcher and a Wheatear, it doesn't get any worse than this....does it? 

It was a lovely sight to see 29 Whopper Swan had pitched up in one of the Abbey Farm fields, the party included five juvenile. An hour later eleven Whooper Swan dropped into the field adjacent to Bank House Cottage, I assumed part of the earlier twenty nine, but they had gone thirty minutes later. Another hour later 41 Whooper Swan flew south west and landed on Cockerham Marsh, this group obviously included the initial twenty nine as the field at Abbey Farm where they had been seen was deserted by the time I got back there.

Other birds to note during a four hour stretch at Cockersands, for not much reward to be honest, c.80 Dunlin, 2 Grey Plover, 15 Eider, 5 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Great-crested Grebe - now there's a surprise - a Snipe, 4 Greenfinch, and a 'few' Tree Sparrow, 35 Pink-footed Geese came in off the sea and flew inland. 

The Lapland Bunting/s had apparently showed again just the once at 1.00pm - in my absence of course - so I suppose this is called a sort of....dip, dip, dip!

And finally....

Lesser Whitethroat Marc Heath 

Just a memory until next summer, but a brilliant image of the Lesser Whitethroat that I couldn't resist posting, with thanks to my man in Kent. 

'Bits'....to fill the gap.

Yesterdays ten Twite at Cockersands gave me the added bonus of experiencing the birds at close range. I had initially seen these ten birds in typical bouncing flight from a distance as I walked towards Crook Farm and immediately supposed they could be Twite. Just after I confirmed my suspicion they disappeared from view but I soon found them at the edge of a small pool behind the banking separating the field from the road and high tides. 

Creeping up on the birds from below the bank I was able to observed them at close range eventually having the privilege of watching them with interest as they bathed on the edge of the pool to later leave the water to preen their feathers in the necessary way that birds do in order to maintain good plumage condition. This turned out to be one of the many added interests we can have with the birds if we watch them closely enough and cautiously stalk them to gain a good advantage point without disturbance to them.

And a couple of pics....

Red Deer Gary Jones

Gary paid a visit to Leighton Moss recently, he got there early morning before the sun rose and the mist was still around to achieve this brilliant image of the two young stags creating a stunning picture oozing with atmosphere....Thanks for this Gary, an excellent image with my appreciation as always.

Lapland Bunting Marc Heath 

Marc has recently had the enjoyment of at least three 'bonus birds' one of which was this brilliant little 'Laplander' yesterday on the shore at Coldharbour in Kent. I think the Lapland Bunting should be a feature on Birds2blog sometime soon....Thanks for this Marc, yet another excellent image - where does it all end - my appreciation once more.

The Stone Jetty Morecambe. Pete Woodruff.

Morecambe on the Med. Pete Woodruff.

Last Friday KT and I had to go to Morecambe in the afternoon which gave me the opportunity to  have a stroll along the promenade....with my binoculars round my neck of course. I think the weather was as good on the day as any other we have had during this summer of 2012 and to be honest it was like being in the Mediterranean as the couple of pics I took with my mobile show.

I decided to give a 'plug' to Bob Bushell  who should be an inspiration to us all. If you've already visited his website via this link please be sure to view his Profile 

Birding again tomorrow hopefully, but certainly can't be for a few days after that I'm afraid.

Its Saturday....

....and as usual my birding is sidelined by 'other things' - yes there are 'other things' in life - and I have to get on with them like it or not. But never mind all that....

Please take a look at the video below whilst making sure you treat yourself to some more excellent photography, video's, and sound recording's on Hugh Harrop's Shetland Wildlife website, including the recently added Isabelline Shrike video which brilliantly illustrates why this bird is also known as the 'butcher bird' and which you can see along with others via the link from this Lapland Bunting video. My thanks to Hugh Harrop for allowing us to share these.

Lapland Bunting from Hugh Harrop on Vimeo.

Notes.

I've been contacted by a regular to Birds2blog who has given me some really interesting information regarding yesterdays post 'Clougha/Birk Bank' in which I described the truly magnificent panoramic view from the summit of Clougha Pike on days with perfect visibility. I have been told that on two occasions when he has reached the top to take in the view, he has actually identified two jutting peaks to the left of the Isle of Man as the Mourne Mountains in N.Ireland. It has been suggested next time I'm up on Clougha looking through by binoculars from the summit on a perfectly clear day, that I should look carefully to see if I too can add these mountains to an already amazing sight. Thanks for this BD, much appreciated for your interest in Birds2blog, your comments and info.

MEGA NEWS.

Locally, a Great Grey Shrike was found along the path to the Allan Pool Hide at Leighton Moss on Thursday and a couple of excellent pics can be seen of the bird in the 'Photos' section HERE with thanks to Steven Grimshaw.

Nationally, an 'albatross' species was reported on the RBA pager service flying west past Salthouse in Norfolk at 1.25pm.

And finally....

I could never have believed I would be making this confession on the world wide web, but since the good, the bad, and the ugly have been discarded from The X- Factor I've been glued to the television for in excess of two hours for the past Saturday evening or two. As I like to think of myself of at least average intelligence I find this very worrying and I'm going to have to deal with it as best can, but I tell you what....there's some pretty good talent on there, but following a very tough contest with some very tough and excellent challengers I'm predicting  - at this moment in time - Cher Lloyd to be the winner at the end of it all.

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING !

A Weasel and other things!

Weasel. David Cookson.

I don't ever recall seeing an image of the Weasel taken by someone I know and in any case this has to be the best you'll ever see of a creature difficult to find and see let alone photograph. I think you excelled yourself here David....great stuff, and many thanks.

Notes of interest for today....

There is - and has been for a day or so recently -  a significant movement of Rough-legged Buzzard through the UK. I've done no searching for when this happened last but this one is certainly notable with 'several' birds seen. Locally the bird making a name for itself is a Red-breasted Goose, initially found on Fluke Hall Lane NW of Pilling, and later on Pilling Marsh. On all sightings the bird has taken up the company of Pink-footed Geese. On a personal note, involved with 'other things' but with my birding eyes firmly in place in their sockets, I saw a Little Grebe from a moving car this morning on the River Lune just upstream from Carlisle Bridge, and in the afternoon saw c.25 Fieldfare flying NE over Skerton in Lancaster. There are still lots of Lapland Buntings in the country, and the Waxwings are here and have also been showing themselves in fair number, the nearest of which at the time of writing are/were in Kendal. 



OK, so this post is my latest gap filler until I free myself from the chains of 'other things' and get out birding again. There's some interesting reading about the state of seabirds in the UK which tells us of the good....the bad....and some all time lows in the breeding season of 2010 HERE

I'D SOONER BE BIRDING!

Magnetised!

Lapland Bunting. SP.

This is the bird I was unable to get to see and was at Ridge Farm on the Fylde on 16 October, with my thanks to SP and the permit to post on Birds2blog.

Redwing. Brian Rafferty. 

This is the bird I will get to see, in fact I did so today but only in flight and briefly at that....Thanks for the pic Brian, much appreciated as always.

I'd have liked to have got into the hills today but the weather put me off, in any case the magnetism of Conder/Glasson/Cockersands and beyond drew me once more to the coast....the pull is overpowering!

At Conder Green 3 Spotted Redsank and 3 Greenshank were in the creeks and I counted only 11 Little Grebe on the pool today, c.80 Fieldfare/Redwing in a mixed flock went over. I was unable to do the circuit today and regard Conder Green as only poorly covered. At Glasson Dock on the Lune Estuary  things were quiet and only c.200 Knot and 120 Bar-tailed Godwit seen with 2 Black-tailed Godwit, notable this early winter on the River Lune here is the low number with no more than 60 Wigeon in the Conder mouth today.

At Cockersands a roughly 50/50 flock of 700 Golden Plover/Lapwing in the field opposite Lighthouse Cottage and through which a Sparrowhawk flew, the c.40 Greenfinch flock were still around, c.550 Dunlin, 2 Grey Plover, and 12 Eider were all seen without my leaving the motor. I had the best sighting of the day here when 8 Barnacle Geese flew low overhead going south. In two days birding these eight take the count to at least 40 birds which is surely indicative of 'the real thing'.

From Hillam Lane 4 Whooper Swans were in a field with 65 Mute Swans, and 25 Fieldfare in flight over here. At Bank End - where I hoped to find a few hundred 'gulls' to grill but found none - 2 Little Egret on the marsh, a Grey Wagtail and 4 Linnet were noted, 62 Golden Plover were seen from the A588 in a field opposite Braides

On Pilling Marsh 7 Barnacle Geese were with c.5,000 Pink-footed Geese, and although it is usually easy to find a double figure on here these days I could only see 6 Little Egret today with 2 Whooper Swans out on the sands. On a flood on Back Sands Lane 2 Black-tailed Godwit were with 22 Black-headed Gulls. 

From Fluke Hall I walked only half way to Cockers Dyke before backtracking and drawing a blank of anything of note. From the embankment behind Fluke Hall Wood I watched a Peregrine Falcon mobbing 2 Buzzard which were down in the field....great stuff, but I worry for the safety of these two Buzzards if they're regularly preying on the poor unfortunate Red-legged Partridge - which I refuse to record and will never be seen on Birds2blog. A Raven was over the wood and I reckon may have a 'rarity' status here, I don't recall seeing one here before. 

I'm grateful for the contribution in the comments section of yesterdays post 'PFG' pointing me in the direction of the 2009 Lancashire Bird Report in order that I may make a correction to a claim I made at the end of the post when I stated with regards to the Svalbard population of Pink-footed Geese, quote....'there is no 'direct' evidence that any of the Svalbard population have ever occurred in Lancashire'....unquote.

In the report in the section 'Lancashire Ringing Report 2009-2010' there is a record of a Pink-footed Goose which is claimed to be 'One of at least two displaced Svalbard birds in the county during winter 2009/10'.

Since the bird was ringed as an adult in 2004 it was observed/read 26 times in Denmark/Norway/Netherlands/Belgium and finally in Upper Thurnham on 21 February 2010. This record clearly shows my error and brings me to suggest....A little knowledge can be dangerous! 

Piper and Fare!

Purple Sandpiper. David Cookson.

I've seen Purple Sandpiper (PS) at only three locations in Lancashire in my entire birding days and even at these sites have personally never seen more than one/two birds at Heysham Harbour, roosting on the groyne by the Stone Jetty at Morecambe, and at Rossall Point near Fleetwood.. So you've gathered the PS is a rare bird in Lancashire and that's by no means an overstatement, though I am aware of other locations in Lancashire holding past records of the PS but none of which I've visited, for example Lytham/Fairhaven, Blackpool, Freckleton, and Seaforth but I don't pretend to know the situation in 2010 without doing some more reading.

In Oakes days he considered it to be a scarce and infrequent bird on the Lune Estuary and Morecambe Bay. Today one or two can still be seen on occasions at Heysham Harbour and one bird on - or in the area of  - the groyne near the Stone Jetty at Morecambe, but overall recent decades have seen a decline in numbers of the PS.

There's no doubt Heysham Harbour in the past was always the most reliable county site for the PS and records can be found of up to 20 birds recorded in both March 1974 and November 1980 after which time the numbers began to decline, and by 2000 'regular' wintering at Heysham Harbour had ceased. Rossall Point and Knott End at the mouth of the River Wyre were also regular wintering sites but I'm not aware of any birds here since the very late 1990's/2000.

I found both of the only Lancashire ringed PS recoveries, those of a bird ringed at Seaforth in March 1978 and was on Hilbre Island on 22 September of the same year, and that of one ringed at Heysham in April 1977 which returned there every winter until 1989 and actually stayed the summer in 1987.

So....if you're lucky enough to see a PS this winter you may well be the only person to do so if you don't report it!

Fieldfare. David Cookson.    

I've not found my first Fieldfare this year yet but reckon I probably will do this week, possibly along Moss Lane on the way to Cockersands to find a Merlin, Twite, Stonechat perhaps, with the odd Lapland Bunting thrown in for good measure!! 

Thanks for the pic's David....'Coming in to land' and 'An apple a day'....excellent as ever.

A Gull, a Woodpecker, and a Bunting.

Yellow-legged Gull. Chris Batty.

Not remotely connected to the post but another of those excellent pics of the Yellow-legged Gull, this one a 1st winter bird to help you on your way to identifying this difficult subject of immature gulls. This individual appears on occasions in the Knott End/Cockers Dyke area if you're that way anytime....Thanks for this Chris, a great picture of a great bird.

I note with interest good numbers of Wryneck and Lapland Buntings into the country at the moment with one individual Wryneck having been at Cley in Norfolk for most - if not all - of the week in the area around the East Bank which brings me to recommend you getting your hands on a copy of the book above, about an amazing man and an equally amazing place, both of which I couldn't agree more, the East Bank has some good memories for me. The books author Moss Taylor - who was a GP - came under Richard. A. Richardson's spell on his early birding trips to Cley and in time became a member of the medical team who nursed Richard in Kelling Hospital near Holt in August 1977 during the last few weeks of his life.

So some brief notes on these two 'desirable birds to see' species....

The Wryneck.

Its hard to believe the Wryneck - a rare passage migrant from continental Europe -  was once a common breeder in Lancashire but even as far back as the 1850's the bird was already in decline, and by the beginning of the 20th century it was scarce if not rare, a nest found at Winmarleigh in 1883 is the last 'published' breeding record in Lancashire. I once read of a Wryneck turning up in a garage basement in 1973, an extreme example of a species regarded to be likely to 'turn up almost anywhere' though they do have a strong affinity to coastal watch-points with up to five at Heysham being a good example of this. I reckon Cockersands to be as good a place as any to search for the Wryneck and is the very location for a record of the species nearly 15 years ago on 19 October 1995.

The Lapland Bunting.

The Lapland Bunting is an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor from Fennoscandia - and possibly from Greenland - is also currently appearing in the country in notable large numbers, in terms of 'locally' I have seen a report today of one bird on the sea wall at Hesketh Out Marsh. However, this area is no stranger to the Lapland Bunting and nearby Crossens held a flock of 31 birds in January 1980, and again nearby six were at Marshside in 1986, all these three areas are excellent coastal birding hot-spots. Cockersands also comes into the reckoning with this species as with the Wryneck and wintering birds have been recorded in the past on the saltmarshes and coastal grasslands of coastal Lancashire and North Merseyside, so I'll certainly be doing some 'circuits' here if and when I can in the coming days/weeks.