Think It's Called Twitching!

My latest visit to Conder Pool was rewarded by another first, when at least 2,500 Redshank were  present, including up to 100 in the creeks. This record puts an end to the 2,000 Redshank seen here on 7 August. 

Also, 14 Ruff, 6 Greenshank, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Dunlin, 2 Snipe. and 15 Little Grebe. A pair of Shoveler always create some interest on Conder Pool for their scarcity, and 4 Wigeon are the early winter returners.

Saltcote Pond. Pete Woodruff.

At Saltcote Pond, it was a surprise to find a Common Hawker again, it was patrolling in a cool, windy and gloomy 18 °C    flying low and investigating the pool. The male is known to be very active, even in overcast conditions.

The Cockersand Dip!

At Cockersand, I failed to find a couple of target species - I think it's called twitching - but noted up to 450 Dunlin and 12o Ringed Plover, also 4 Turnstone one of which retained some of its smart breeding plumage.

Mediterranean Gull Conder Pool 25 June 2025. Pete Woodruff.

Checking a group of 12 Black-headed Gull off Lighthouse Cottage, I found 4 Mediterranean Gull with them, they were all males in winter garb, and nothing like as smart as the black-hooded ones I saw on Conder Pool 25 June 2025. Also off here, 4 Eider.

Interest In The Garden.

There was interest in the garden yesterday, when I found a Garden Spider with prey. 

I think what we see is a Sphaerophoria sp of hoverfly, of which there are 11 confirmed species in Britain, and not easy to ID. 

Todays unfortunate find was in the jaws of a Garden Spider.

Garden Spider With Prey. Pete Woodruff.

Eventually the head was separated from its body which hung from a thread of the spiders web.

Another interest was in the form of the 8th Hummingbird-hawkmoth in as many weeks in the garden.

The moth performed perfectly for several minutes, nectaring on Salvia in the garden.

Green Shieldbug. Pete Woodruff.

And finally another first for me, an appropriately named nymph Green Shieldbug. 

Other Peoples Birds To The Fore!

Invasion.

There has been an unprecedented invasion of some species into our area in recent days, and if I'm going to keep a website with local birding interests, then this certainly has to be documented on Birds2blog.

Ringed Plover Plover Scar 19 May. Howard Stockdale.

Howard Stockdale must have thought he was hallucinating when he found c.1,200 Ringed Plover on Plover Scar 19 May. I know of no previous records of RP in such number on Plover Scar. The record of 160 Ringed Plover on the River Lune at Glasson, is also unprecedented in my book. Many Thanks to Howard for the record and image. 

Sanderling Heysham 23 May. Malcolm Downham.

If I'd have been at Heysham on 23 May, I certainly would have thought I was hallucinating at the sight of at least 500 Sanderling on Heysham skeer. As far as I am concerned, a record of historical proportions. Many Thanks to Malcolm for the record and image.... Heysham Bird Obs

 

Curlew Sandpiper Rossall Point 24 May. Jonathan.

Brilliant find west of Rossall Coastguard Tower, a Curlew Sandpiper advancing into breeding plumage. For permitting the record and image of this stunning bird onto B2B, Many Thanks to Jonathan.... Fylde Bird Club

Spotted Flycatcher Fluke Hall 22 May. Paul Ellis.

There has also been a large influx of flycatcher into the area recently, with up to 33 Spotted Flycatcher on the morning of 22 May, and still coming through today FBC WhatsApp....Many Thanks to Paul for the image.

Foulshaw Moss.

In company with Ian Mitchell, we managed a pleasant couple of hours around Foulshaw Moss, with nothing seen to called unexpected, and on a date too early for dragonflies, though one or two damselflies were seen, being Large Red/Blue Tailed/Common Blue Damselfly.

Of course we were able to view the two Osprey nests through the haze, and other birds to note, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, and Reed Warbler, with just one moth seen, a Common Heath. The butterfly had to be the highlight of the visit, with at least 6 Brimstone seen.

Garden Magic.

It was our treat of the year when the Goldfinch family turned up in the garden for lunch yesterday.

The Show Goes On.

After an unplanned leave of absence from birding for 13 days, it was good to get back out on Monday to catch up with a few things I've been missing recently, but now the show goes on....

On Conder Pool I found 3 Curlew Sandpiper in a mix of 16 Greenshank and a few Redshank, also 10 Little Grebe and 15 Canada Geese, whilst at least 10 Long-tailed Tit passed in procession through the bushes, and a Kestrel hovered overhead for the unsuspecting vole no doubt. But the big surprise was an adult Whooper Swan, although the surprise was lessened when I remembered seeing this bird on the Lune Estuary at Glasson on 9 July.

On my way to Cockersand, I stopped off at Clarkson's Farm to find c.120 Black-headed Gull accompanied by an adult Mediterranean Gull, this bird was marked with a white darvic ring, frustratingly too distant to read, but based on the colour, the best I could come up with, was ringed in the near continent perhaps. Also seen around a small flood in the same field, a Ruff, up to 6 Golden Polver and a similar number of Ringed Polver.

The traditional Cockersand circuit started with a surprise just beyond Bank House Farm, when I counted at least 40 Tree Sparrow. I've not been seeing many Tree Sparrow here the past 2 years, in fact I saw just 2 on 7 April this year, previous to that, I recorded 16 on 16 October 2023. Worth noting the Tree Sparrow is Red Listed, with a BTO report showing a significant decline across the country.

Further into the walk, I found another encouraging sight, that of 100+Linnet. Although the arrival of wintering geese has been noted, it was a bit of a surprise to find just 3 Pink-footed Geese in a field off Slack Lane, from where I heard a Skylark burst briefly into song.

Clouded Yellow Cockersand. Pete Woodruff. 

Butterflies on the day were a pleasing 4 Clouded Yellow, 2 Red Admiral, 2 Speckled Wood, and a Silver Y moth.

Large White Chrysalis. Pete Woodruff.

As I walked along the side of Lighthouse Cottage, I spotted about a dozen chrysalis 'glued' to the whitewashed wall, a bit of searching had me find they were Large White butterfly.

Wheatear 21 September. Pete Woodruff.  

On Sunday, a pleasant walk along Morecambe Promenade at Sandylands, was made all the more pleasant with 3 Wheatear seen along the sea defences.

The Header.

Struggling to find a suitable pik of my own for the header, I remembered Ian's stunning Merveille du Jour, and....Bingo!    

Pleasing Rewards Around The Local!

The best counts I came up with on Conder Pool Thursday was 10 Common Tern, but the peak count here to date has been fifteen. My best count was of 13 Avocet, but I suspect there may be double that number and the breeding stats are encouraging.

Also present 3 Greenshank and 3 Little Ringed Plover, though two pairs are reported breeding, with one pair having already suffered a first brood lost. In the creeks, 42 Black-tailed Godwit seen.

The Cockersand wander was a pleasant and rewarding experience.  

As I set off, no sooner had I passed Bank Houses, a Sedge Warbler was in full song hidden in the hedgerow, a second Sedge Warbler was at Slack Lane, 4 Stock Dove were in a field with up to 70 Carrion Crow and a Buzzard over. 

At the junction of Moss/Slack Lane, I saw a passerine fly out of the field to the vegetation along the ditch, it was soon followed by a second bird to be revealed as a male and female Whinchat. I was reminded of a good year in 2022, when I had records of three Whinchat sightings, two at Cockersand on 26 April and 3 May, and a male at Harrisend on 29 April.

As I arrived at Lighthouse Cottage, 3 Whimbrel were on the shore opposite Crook Cottage, and a pair of Eider were drifting on the tide. At Plover Scar, 2 Sandwich Tern were lingering around the lighthouse, occasionally plunge diving and completely submerged for several seconds.

On Plover Scar at high tide, 220 Dunlin, 15 Oystercatcher, and 4 Ringed Plover. As I approached the abbey, a Wheatear was on the kissing-gate. In the 30 minutes along the coastal path between Lighthouse Cottage and Cockersand CP, I must have seen up to 40 Large White butterflies, with 2 Peacock and Orange Tip.

Picture Gallery.

I'm in receipt of two excellent action photographs from regular visitors to B2B which warrant publicity.

Common Tern. Howard Stockdale.

Howard activated the shutter with split timing to achieve the terns in conflict about who can claim the best corner on which to perch on the raft on Conder Pool.

Mallard vs Avocet. Martin Jump.

Martins image of the Avocet in an attack on the Mallard with ducklings, also needed precision to freeze the action between the wader and the duck.

Scalloped Hazel. Ian Mitchell.

Ian's image is of a variable moth species which can range from brown to almost black, it is fairly common throughout the British Isles.

Giant House Spider. Pete Woodruff.

And I discovered a Giant House Spider Eratigena atrica in the greenhouse.

Pleasantries Around The Estuary.

A nice little trio of waders at Conder Green on Monday were seen as the rapidly transforming Spotted Redshank in the creeks. On Conder Pool, an adult male Ruff is also transforming into breeding plumage, also present 2 Little Ringed Plover, with 2 Black-tailed Godwit. up to 10 Avocet were the only ones in view.

The Ruff was a little distant for footage of any quality, but there was entertainment provided by a male Redshank pursuing the female with no sign of any letup in the chase for several minutes.

At Cockersand, there was no sign of any Whooper Swan, but up to 2,500 Pink-footed Geese were distant in fields on the north side of Bank End Farm. A Raven was high over head, probably the highest I have ever seen a soaring Raven, a count of 52 Eider were on the estuary between Plover Scar and Crook Farm.

At Bank House I saw 2 Tree Sparrow, these were the first I have recorded at Cockersand since I saw 16 on 10 October 2023, they were in company with half a dozen House Sparrow. I don't recall ever seeing the two species literally side by side. Hybrids between the two are rare, the only record I know of, is that of a bird in Somerset probably 40 years ago, which showed mixed characters obviously intermediate between the two.

Do Not Disturb.

Four bodies with seven mutts decided a visit to the seaside was a good idea.

I'm really hoping this is going to be the only time they decide to trespass out on to Plover Scar. This is a known breeding site for the Ringed Plover, and today there was no chance of me seeing the odd Sandwich Tern plunge diving off here, which I did in early May 2018.

It's important to know, Plover Scar is an essential high tide roost for waders, and is within a SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest. 

....And Another Double Bonus.

I made no accurate count of Avocet on Conder Pool this visit, I reckon more where hidden from view than in view, but 6 were in the creeks, and a count of 10 on the Lune Estuary has my records reading up to 24 Avocet seen. My only other notes from Conder Pool were, 48 Greylag, and at least 225 Black-headed Gull which looks like breeding might reach in excess of 100 pairs.

At Cockersand, 220 Golden Plover were in their favourite field south side of Abbey Farm, and I regarded distant finches to be a grounded spring flock of c.60 Linnet, similarly distant were at least 24 Meadow Pipit. A Snipe erupted out of a ditch on Slack Lane, also a Sparrowhawk seen. A relatively small roost on Plover Scar consisted of c.200 waders, 120 Dunlin, 75 Oystercatcher, 4 Grey Plover, and 2 Ringed Plover.

Driving along Moss Lane leaving Cockersand, a male Hen Harrier flew over fields from the north, across the road to disappear from view south over fields. This was my fifth sighting of a Hen/Marsh Harrier in visits to Cockersand over a five week period since February.

Rookery Fenham Carr 20 March. Pete Woodruff.

A wander through Williamson's Park had me count eight Rook nests at the entrance to Standen Park, down 50% on a count I made of 15 nests at the rookery on the very same date of 20 March 2024.

A Double Bonus.

In Lancaster Cemetery, Goldcrest, Jay, Coal Tit, and 2 Buzzard together in the air. But a very pleasant surprise and double bonus awaited me when....

I heard a Bullfinch probably contact calling in the Pine, it calls six times in the video before it flies to the tree next to me on the left, then 3 Bullfinch fly out of the tree - two male in pursuit of a female - and back to the Pine. 

This is my ninth sighting of Bullfinch in the cemetery, always in the same area, my last was 17 January. With the exception of a pair seen 1 May 2023, all sightings have been during the winter period, this is only the second time I've seen them during the breeding season....Must try to find out where these are nesting!

Bonus No2.

Another tree another bird, a male Nuthatch sings six times as I walk down the path to view another Pine to find 2 Nuthatch, one of which is checking the area around the nest hole, whilst the other is clawing its way up the tree.

Prospecting Pair Of Nuthatch. Pete Woodruff.

This is the same tree the Nuthatch has bred in for the past 3 years.

Garden News.

Peacock. Pete Woodruff.

A Peacock - not the one in the image above - was my first butterfly of 2025. Another first for the garden was a Rook which took just 2 sec's to realise it couldn't land on the feeders and took off!

  

Moorhen. Martin Jump.

I was sent this image of the Moorhen in flight, it is a first for me and has me wondering how many are as surprised as I was to see the Moorhen with such underwing markings/colour....Thanks Martin much appreciated.

There are no such underwing colours in the illustrations in my comprehensive Birds of the Western Palearctic reference book. 

Another Flurry Of Excitement!

Most notable on my latest visit to Conder Pool, was the pair of Shoveler which were seen as nothing more than irregular here. Also of note, the lone Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Snipe, 82 Wigeon, 2 Little Grebe and a Little Egret.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, up to 3,250 Lapwing, 1,500 Wigeon, 325 Dunlin, 8 Black-tailed Godwit and a pair of Goosander. In the field north end of Jeremy Lane, 46 Whooper Swan, 78 Greylag, and 34 Canada Geese. As I drove down Jeremy Lane I saw a flock go down into a field to find them to be 15 Meadow Pipit.

At Cockersand, I estimate there to be up to 400 Whooper Swan, 50% of the count being in a field north of Hillam Lane at Cockerham, from where I saw c.1,250 Pink-footed Geese, these were seen as my best local count in our area this winter. In fields north side of Abbey Farm, 800 Golden Plover, 450 Lapwing, 14 Dunlin, and 6 Ringed Plover. Off Plover Scar, 32 Eider and 250 Wigeon, and as I reached the Caravan Park I saw 4 Reed Bunting.

There was a cold east wind in my face as I trundled along the headland, by the time I reached the car it had got the better of me and I had decided to call it a day. But hang on....all of a sudden, the wintering pair of Stonechat were foraging on and off the marsh, the Barn Owl again came out of the Caravan Park entrance as it had my last visit here, soon disappearing out of sight towards Bank End, soon followed by a female Marsh Harrier which disappeared in the same direction as the owl....Déjà vu

February 2024....Some of my sightings worthy of note.

Feb 7. 1st winter White-fronted Goose Conder Pool.

Feb 7. 700 Curlew Cockersand.

Feb 12. Spotted Redshank Conder Pool.

Feb 12. 8 Rock Pipit Cockersand.

Feb 19. 9 Avocet Lune Estuary Glasson.

Feb 26. 3,500 Black-tailed Godwit Conder Pool. 

Feb 26. 4 Cattle Egret Cockersand. Entering their 5th month stay in the area.

Better Late Than Never.

In a spell of decent dry but windy weather last week, I decided to put in a couple of brief appearances at Conder Pool and Cockersand to take a look at Plover Scar over a high tide.

Conder Pool.

Both sites were a little short of anything to inspire, the first visit to Conder Pool was a non-starter as it turned out to be a management day. A tractor of sorts was in the east end, with a robotic mower cutting the grass bank on the south side, the resulting birdless pool was no surprise, but calling back 2 hours later, 16 Greenshank were present, with 14 Little Grebe to note.

Cockersand.

Not particularly overjoyed with the Plover Scar experience, but good to see 125 Turnstone, 36 Dunlin, 21 Ringed Plover, 12 Oystercatcher, and a lone Grey Plover which took star prize in my book, 25 Eider were off Plover Scar. 

Fourteen of the twenty five male and female Eider in various dress, were on the choppy sea.

Insects.

There was some interest with insects, including the welcome sight of at least 6 Small Tortoiseshell at Cockersand. This sighting was very welcome as the Small Tortoiseshell has two expert opinions that I have been in touch with, both agree the species could have had a population crash.

Not one of the Cockersand butterflies, this one was on Verbena in our garden in August 2022.

A female Common Darter was on the footpath briefly before flying off over the fields, probably my last of the year. But this was my second sighting of a coastal dragonfly, a male Common Darter seen here at Cockersand on the shingle, by an amazing coincidence 11 years ago to the day on 4 November 2013.

Eristalis Tenax. Pete Woodruff.

I found a large number of hoverfly had emerged, presumably on account of some warm weather. I made up to a three figure count of Eristalis sp.

Mottled Grasshopper. Pete Woodruff.

I also found an interesting insect on the shingle in front of Bank Houses Farm. The best suggestion I have is that it is a Mottled Grasshopper....I'm not 100% on this ID and any other suggestions are welcome!

Twice Around The Estuary.

Thankfully with the summer making a surprise return this week - well it turned up for a few days once before didn't it! - I managed a couple of days around the Lune Estuary, and had an hour to spare to check out the bog at Birk Bank at the end of the second one.

Conder Pool.

Best of the pool was the sight of 2 Whinchat on and around the long grasses at the east end. The male Whinchat obviously a cinch to ID, two days later the female at the distance and not very obliging, not quite so obvious. The Kingfisher delighted the gathering photographers of which I met five over my two visits, staked out and living the dream for a good pik. The Kingfisher obligingly and repeatedly perched either on the goal post or on the water level measuring post. It's a pity the light wasn't at its best for some footage when it caught a large fish for lunch.

There was a decent count of 15 Greenshank and 15 Little Grebe on Friday, with 2 Snipe noted. Also 12 Migrant Hawker recorded past the viewing screen over the two visits.

Migrant Hawker Conder Green 19 September. Howard Stockdale.

Cockersand.

Not for the first time I botched my visit, arriving only 30 minutes before the high tide and barely just a few metres of Plover Scar above water.

No more than 60 Dunlin, 6 Ringed Plover and one or two Turnstone were there to entertain me on what remained of Plover Scar today, but 48 Eider were of note off here.

Up to 150 Wood Pigeon were in and around three Wheat fields, and I don't get to record 65 Rook very often, seen today in a field east of Abbey Farm, though I did see a corvid mix of at least 500 Rook/Carrion Crow/Jackdaw grounded on the mud on the Lune Estuary at Glasson on 17 October 2019, of which I reckoned at the time 50% were Rooks.

Birk Bank.

A pleasant hour spent at the bog showed 12 Black Darter including two pairs in tandem, also a male Common Darter. But the pleasant hour turned even more pleasant and surprising, when I spied towards the eastern end of the bog, 2 Emperor Dragonfly both male....Certainly wasn't expecting that!

Black Darter Male Grit Fell/Ward's Stone 19 September. Ian Mitchell.

On the subject, Ian Mitchell reported to me c.15 Black Darter including ovipositing, found on a pool on the hike midway between Grit Fell and Ward's Stone.

Emperor Dragonfly.

With abdomen measurements being equal to that of the Emperor at 50-59/61mm, there was only one other species the Birk Bank sighting could have been, that of the Common Hawker. Best diagnostic feature being my Emperor Dragonfly at the distance was the abdomen being distinctly blue, not black with blue spotting, also the patrolling flight was leisurely and certainly not strong, fast, and tirelessly as in Common Hawker.

Having searched the Emperor Dragonfly on iRecord, I found 13 records for September 2024, two of which are later records than mine on 19 September. All the records carry the note....'Date is outside known flight period of Anax imperator'.

Much appreciate the excellent images from Martin Jump who saved me the trouble of looking for a header image, and from Howard Stockdale, Ian Mitchell....Thanks to all.

The Short List!

A short list on a restricted visit, with nothing much to shout about on a recent blast around the Lune Estuary, but I did find my first 2 Wheatear at Cockersand....well where else, seen together from the path above Plover Scar, from where I noted 82 Dunlin, 55 Ringed Plover, and 46 Turnstone.

On the Lune Estuary as viewed from Glasson, 23 Avocet were distant upstream from the Conder Estuary. More obliging were 86 Black-tailed Godwit a few were feeding below the bowling green as the tide came in, some looking smart in their advancing rufous breeding plumage, and two of which were ringed. Other interest here was up to 1,500 Knot, a number of which I don't ever recall seeing on the Lune Estuary here before, also 4 Eider were of note. 

I'm grateful to Richard du Feu and to Boddi for their help in recording the Black-tailed Godwits. I look forward to seeing the history of both these godwits from Boddi in Iceland.

Woodchat Shrike.

Todays plan was to mow the lawns, but the weather had other ideas. So to find something to fill the gap, I looked through my records of 10 years ago, to find anything of interest in my birding for 1 April, but the best I could find wasn't until May 2014.

On this day I had intended to walk the embankment south from March Point, to return via the footpath towards Lancaster.

Bank Pool From Dawson's Bank. Pete Woodruff.

Having walked just a few hundred metres, I spotted a bird atop of this tree....

Woodchat Shrike Aldcliffe 8 May 2014. Jo Bradley.

....it was instantly recognisable as a stunning male Woodchat Shrike....My passion for the birds had gone through the roof once again! 

The Twite Return.

Monday is best described as sunny and chilly with a flat calm sea at Cockersand. It could also be described as the best mid-October conditions I ever experienced here.  As the coaster Silver River passed the lighthouse, 8 Eider were drifting in the foreground, and as I watched this pleasant and atmospheric scene, waders gathered on Plover Scar at high tide.

Dunlin/Ringed Plover Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

I counted 105 Turnstone, 55 Dunlin, 25 Ringed Plover, and a lone Grey Plover. Also of note here, up to 40 Meadow Pipit, and my first 30 Twite of the winter which I'm tempted to suppose are possibly the same flock in the same number as seen several times last winter at Cockersand, 110 Pink-footed Geese were over >south.

I made my third circuit of Cockersand this month, which again resulted with little of note, but in one field a lone Black-tailed Godwit was with 34 Curlew and a similar number of Lapwing, 35 Teal, and 10 Wigeon were on a flood. On a post by Slack Lane, a Kestrel and later 2 Red Admiral seen.

On Conder Pool, I regarded 2 Reed Bunting as unusual here, also 4 Greenshank and 10 Redshank, with a decent count of 24 Tufted Duck and 6 Wigeon, the Little Grebe were uncounted today.

Amongst the few hundred gulls on the Lune Estuary, I picked out 7 Mediterranean Gull, seen as four adult and three 2nd winter, also 3 Greenshank on the south shore.

The Cockersand Merlin.

In my opinion, the same bird has been seen on two ocassions since my first sighting on 12 October when I aged/sexed it as an immature/female, my description being based on immature Merlin not being separable from female in the field. It was seen three days later on 15 October at Cockersand as an adult female, and seen again two days later on October 17 when it was described as a female-type, seen to fly from Sunderland Point to Crook Farm in the Cockersand area, and return to Sunderland Point.  

Ian Mitchell had similar good fortune as me and grabbed some footage of the Merlin at Cockersand on Monday. It was on a fence post following a wash and brush up....I'm pleased you saw the bird and many thanks for sharing this video with me Ian.

Pool And Scar.

 
Conder Pool 4 September. Pete Woodruff.

With the recent high tides approaching near 10m, Conder Pool once again resembles a lake, and with the summer breeders having now departed, 10 Greenshank found a roost from the Lune Estuary, 2 Common Sandpiper, and a double figure number of uncounted Little Grebe, were joined by a sure sign of winters approach, with a vanguard of 2 Wigeon putting in an appearance.

A surprise was on Corricks Lane, where I saw several House Martin, one of which entered a nest at River Winds, where I had established no breeders here earlier this year. House Martin were also around the ex-cafe, where I also saw one to enter a nest hole.

Having dusted of my twitchers hat, I made haste to catch the rising tide at Cockersand, to join five birders at Plover Scar in the hope of finding some goodies.

With the sun in my monitor, I was supposed to point the camera at a Curlew Sandpiper which five pair of eyes took an hour to find. I missed the target and ended up with a few of the c.250 Dunlin and 150 Ringed Plover in the frame. The only other waders here were no more than 8 Turnstone.

As I left Cockersand, I saw a female Marsh Harrier quartering the fields....And a good time was had by all! 

Fourteen Days Later.

Two weeks since my last birding day, one word springs to mind about that....chronic. But I was back in business on Thursday when the day should and could have been a decent one to start and end with a geese bonanza, but wasn't.

To start with, a Fylde birder joined me on the viewing platform, with news that he had been alerted to sightings of a Bean Goose on Conder Pool earlier in the day. As the saying goes - to cut a long story short - I left Conder Pool one hour later unconvinced a Bean Goose had ever been anywhere near Conder Pool.....To end with follows later.

Snipe Conder Pool. Pete Woodruff.

At least 8 Snipe were hunkered down amongst the stones and vegetation on one of the islands on Conder Pool, difficult to see let alone count, and even more perfectly camouflaged than the four Snipe in the image above, taken on Conder Pool 8 years ago in 2015. Three Pink-footed Geese were with a small group of Greylag and around 10 Black-tailed Godwit. Also noted, the Kingfisher obliged with a couple of visits to the sluice, up to 70 Wigeon, and 120 Black-headed Gull. The Stonechat pair were busy at the east end in the long grasses, and a male Ruff was seen in the creeks.

As I drove to Cockersand, I estimated at least 250 Whooper Swan in four fields, mostly distant and inaccessible, including 50% being in fields off Hillam Lane at Cockerham. The visit to Cockersand had to be a success in that I found 7 Stonechat, though the circuit proved quiet, with a Reed Bunting and a Skylark which was in song seeming to pronounce the early arrival of spring. Four Snipe came off the marsh as the tide pushed in.

On Plover Scar c.60 Turnstone and 6 Ringed Plover, and when I got back to Bank Houses, 5 Black-tailed Godwit dropped in and spent a few minutes on the shore before flying off.

To end with, the geese bonanza that wasn't....

As I got back to the motor, I was alerted with a text at 14.08....'3 Bean Geese, a White-fronted Goose, 7 Barnacle Geese, and 2,950 Pink-footed Geese' were on pasture not far from Cockersand. I was set to go but, 6 minutes later at 14.14, another text told me....'geese all flushed by someone on a quad'.....I luv these 'somebodies', lets face it, what would we do without them, well for starters there would be a few more million birds around in the countryside!

Little Egret.

It must be very rewarding to be able to watch a Little Egret in the field behind your house at Cockersand.

Grey Plover.

I must note, since my claim regarding the paucity of Grey Plover on the Lune Estuary and my finding 26 on Plover Scar 9 February, 39 Grey Plover were seen there 24 February per FBC. This record now stands as the best count to date of the Grey Plover on Plover Scar and the Lune Estuary. 

Avocet.

An Avocet made landfall on Conder Pool Wednesday at 11.00am, but didn't hang around very long flying off towards the Lune Estuary and hasn't been seen since. This bird arrived a day earlier than last year on 23 February 2022. 

Mustn't Grumble!

An enjoyable wander around the Lune Estuary in the week is best described as quiet, but as always had it's rewards in varying degree. But it must be said, I find it amazing how bird numbers can fluctuate dramatically at places like the Lune Estuary at Glasson, with the few seen this visit, then maybe in their thousands the next. But....mustn't grumble.

On Conder Pool, 2 Greenshank and 10 Little Grebe counted, and a limping adult Avocet remains there.

I have no idea of latest departure dates of Avocet from Conder Pool and the surrounding estuary, up to seven seen recently, and 11 Avocet were at Lytham on 26 December 2020....Perhaps the limping lone ranger is planning on spending the winter around the Lune Estuary.

On the circuit, 2 Ruff in the creeks, with 3 Black-tailed Godwit, a Greenshank and Snipe. A lone Sand Martin was the latest one ever in my book, it was over the creeks with a 'few' lingering Swallow, a Red Admiral was the only butterfly seen on the day.

On the estuary at Glasson, little of note to be honest, but an adult Mediterranean Gull picked out, 15 Wigeon, a Snipe, and 52 Canada Geese flew in from the south. 

I wanted to check Plover Scar up to the high tide, if I said the scar was also quiet it would be a contradiction when I note up to 550 Dunlin, 45 Turnstone, 24 Ringed Plover, 3 Grey Plover, a single Knot and Redshank. A few Swallow hawking around Lighthouse Cottage, c.25 Skylark erupted out of the stubble field behind the cottage to fly around and return there.

Migrant Hawker.

Despite the sun disappearing behind the clouds and a cool breeze blowing by the time I arrived there. I found 18 Migrant Hawker on a walk along the canal towpath for about a mile from Glasson Dock to Conder Green.

 

Whirligig Beetle.

Couldn't resist a bit of footage of a few hundred beetles swirling around in the canal.

Interesting little critters, they have two pairs of compound eyes, one looking upwards over the surface of the water, the other pair looking down and under the water. Aptly named Whirligig for their unmistakable circling behaviour, they belong to the Gyrinidae family of which there are c.1,000 species worldwide, they are the only beetle to spend their entire life in a watery environment.

Red Admiral. Pete Woodruff.

A Red Admiral was in our cloudy and windy 14°C garden yesterday.

Thanks to Martin Jump for the brilliant Kingfisher header. This bird - often two - are guaranteed daily on Conder Pool given patience and time spent.