Stamp Collecting!

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

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

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

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

Shelduck. Pete Woodruff.

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

I'm considering taking up stamp collecting!

Terns and Gulls.

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

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

A Flurry Of Excitement In The End.

A dull and cold windy day on Thursday, which started at a snails pace with no pen and paper required, and ended in a flurry.

To be honest my visit to Conder Pool was a bit of a non-starter, interrupted by the conversation with a nice man from Barrow who was passing by and thought he'd take a look in at Conder Green. By the time I had explained the history of Conder Pool, and the birds to be seen there, I had run out of time. But I did note a lone Black-tailed Godwit, 28 Wigeon, 10 Redshank, 6 Canada Geese, 4 Oystercatcher, and 2 Little Grebe. In the field at the north end of Jeremy Lane, 94 Greylag, 42 Whooper Swan and 26 Curlew.

Considering it was a high tide, the circuit at Cockersand produced surprisingly little, the fields were almost void of waders save a number of Lapwing and an even bigger number of Starling. An estimate of up to 200 Whooper Swan were distant and scattered over four fields. 

Oystercatcher. Pete Woodruff.

It wasn't until I got to Plover Scar that things began to look a bit more interesting, with up to 250 Oystercatcher which dominated Plover Scar, and 13 Eider off here. 

As I walked the headland, c.120 Shelduck were of note, and heading towards the Caravan Park up to 286 Black-tailed Godwit - 39 in the video - were feeding as the tide ebbed.

There was a flurry of 30 minutes excitement which started with a nice male Stonechat flitting here and there on the marsh. The Stonechat was soon followed by a Barn Owl emerging from the entrance to the Caravan Park to fly off out of sight and in the direction of Bank End.

I went in pursuit of the owl, but as I turned the corner it was flying back towards me. I managed to get a short video as it went to ground, but it soon took off again and out of view. 

No sooner had I lost sight of the Barn Owl, than a smart male Hen Harrier showed over the marsh at the Cocker Estuary....A flurry of excitement in the end.

The Cockersand Hen Harrier.

I was pleased to keep up with the Hen Harrier in my sights, and managed a short video as it flew towards Bank End.

2nd winter male Hen Harrier Cockersand 13 February. Pete Woodruff.

But I can't say I was pleased with my image of the bird, but the excuse is that it is a still from the video and a murderous crop, but a good enough record to compare with what could well be the very same 2nd winter male Hen Harrier....

2nd Winter Male Hen Harrier Eagland Hill 15 December 2024. Paul Ellis.

....seen and photographed at Eagland Hill on 15 December.

Short List Short On Inspiration.

A tour around the estuary on Friday produce a short list lacking in inspiration, not least of which was obvious on my visit to Conder Pool. But there's never anything at all lacking about the sight of 2 Little Ringed Plover on a near island. Also present on the pool, 4 Avocet, a Greenshank, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Knot were roosting with 45 Redshank, and 34 Oystercatcher which was a good count here for the little black book.

Little Ringed Plover.

Not know as a gregarious bird, outside the breeding season they are mostly found in singles or in small flocks rarely exceeding ten. But Ian Mitchell observed and filmed some territorial behavior between four birds on Conder Pool, which ended with a serious altercation between two of them....Excellent stuff Ian, thank you.

At Cockersand, a Barn Owl showed hunting a field on the north side of Bank Houses, but it was soon lost to view. Three Shoveler were seen as two drake and a female in the large ditches at the junction of Moss and Sack Lane, they all soon took off. In the stubble field off Slack Lane, I noted 16 Shelduck, and during my circuit 3 Swallow in singles flew north, and a Wheatear was on the shore opposite the abbey.

Wheatear Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

The power of storms combined with high tides, has caused this large section of the headland at Cockersand to collapse. There are another three sections to the south which have also collapsed onto the shore. The sea must have been within inches of breaching here this time.

Out For The Count!

On the pretence of being a 'proper birder', I decided to do a stock count Conder Pool on Thursday, and arrived at the count of 177 birds of 14 species in view. The count included the long staying Short-eared Owl which gave excellent views, albeit that it spends most of the time around the east corner of the pool hunting for an obvious abundance of voles, being it still hangs around two weeks since it was first reported at Conder Pool 27 February.

Couldn't resist a second helping of footage of the SEO and the Cockersand Snow Bunting, best viewed Full Screen. 

There was an arrival of 7 Avocet, though there had been 9 here on Tuesday 8 March. Many thanks go to Howard Stockdale for the excellent header image.

Also in my notes for Conder Pool, 21 Tufted Duck, 18 Wigeon, 8 Teal, 7 Shelduck, 13 Redshank, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 47 Black-headed Gull, 2 Little Grebe, and a Little Egret. 

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, c.300 Dunlin, 30 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Bar-tailed Godwit were accompanied by a lone Knot, 3 Goldeneye and a Goosander were also noted.

At Cockersand, a casual count of 23 species saw c.4,000 birds, the bulk of which was at least 3,500 Golden Plover in the air on the circuit, which I saw a few minutes after a female Merlin flew along Slack Lane to turn south and disappeared along the shoreline behind Lighthouse Cottage. I failed to relocate the grounded plovers again, but off Plover Scar, I counted 42 Eider, and strung along the shore south from here, at least 120 Shelduck noted.

The Snow Bunting was by the kissing gate north of Cockersand Abbey, and is one of the most confiding bird I ever saw, but not looking quite as exotic as it would have in the Cairngorms. There was at least 350 Whooper Swan over four fields today, including some in a field below and west of the A588, this was an increase in number of at least 150 since my last visit on 4 March. 

The day of the owl, the bunting, and although cloudy and windy, time checking Conder Pool, and another enjoyable wander around Cockersand....HAPPY DAYS.

    

The ferry leaves Heysham and out of Morecambe Bay into the Irish Sea, seen at 2.40pm. The far western Cumbrian landscape is in the misty background, with Plover Light off Plover Scar in the foreground.

Wheatear Banks Marsh 11 March Stuart Darbyshire

There's a claim to have found the first Wheatear for Lancashire at Banks Marsh on the mean arrival date of 11 March....I reckon Stuart is spot on.

Riverine Bonanza.

The day started with Steve guiding me to one of his favourite haunts in Halton, to view the River Lune below Forgebank where we enjoyed stunning scenery and marvel at an extraordinary riverine bonanza. 

In the space of 45 minutes and in no more than 100 metres along the riverside from one viewpoint, we saw up to 20 Grey Wagtail, 4 Kingfisher, and 3 Dipper. Also 3 Grey Heron, a Goosander, and a juvenile Shelduck which seemed a little out of context to us both. 

It was always going to be a shot in the dark when we paid a visit to Lord's Lot, and it certainly did end up 'in the dark'. But it was at least to be a recce for future reference for where the bog is here. During our search at Lord's Lot Wood, we recorded at least 12 Speckled Wood, 2 Nuthatch, and a Buzzard and Raven overhead.

So now, it's back to the drawing board in our quest to find Lord's Lot Bog.....Meanwhile, on my way back to Lancaster, I decided to take a look in at another bog, perhaps I might get lucky and find a September Golden-ringed Dragonfly at Birk Bank....Wishful thinking!

View Full Screen

But there was a bit of activity on the bog again, which resulted in one of my now becoming repetitive dragonfly video's, with up to 14 Common Darter, including pairs coupled and ovipositing, also 2 Black Darter seen. Bringing up the rear, a Common Lizard, a Jay, and a flock of around 20 Goldfinch in flight between the treetops.

By Recent Standards....A Nice Day.

Weather-wise a nice day, if there's not even a hint of a breeze at Cockersand it's certainly a nice day, but a couple of bod's out on Plover Scar meant the end of any chance of a roost, but n'er mind, there's more to Cockersand than a high tide roost. And anyway....why wasn't I out looking for Yellow-browed Warblers!

On Cockerham Sands/Cocker Estuary, a conservative estimate was of 3,500 Wigeon, with an excellent count of up to 1,250 Curlew, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, 275 Shelduck, and 3 Great-crested Grebe, there was no significant numbers of uncounted Redshank and Dunlin. I was impressed by 25 Greenfinch flighty around the Bank Houses area, a sample of 18 Skylark which I could hear during my time at Cockersand, they were heading SW towards Pilling, also 15 Meadow Pipit, a Wren was around the abbey ruins and 2 Grey Plover were on the shore below the headland, c.250 Pink-footed Geese went over SW, and 8 Little Egret were in fields with 82 Curlew around Abbey Farm. 

Although c.750 Golden Plover were on the mud below Colloway Marsh, the Lune Estuary was otherwise pretty quiet, but 155 Dunlin noted, with 24 Curlew, 12 Wigeon, and the Black Swan emerging from the Conder Estuary. Conder Pool was equally quiet, with a roost of 6 Greenshank and just 10 Little Grebe seen today. In the creeks, 120 Teal, 4 Little Grebe, 2 Goosander, and 15 Goldfinch flighty as ever over the marsh.

Giant House Spider Tegenaria duellica Pete Woodruff Clik the pik

No appropriate piks for the post again, but thought you would like to see this beauty in our house recently, the coin for scale is a two pence piece. KT wasn't too keen on it staying here, so we decided to eject it from the living room and into the garden....Hope this wasn't a fatal decision for the spider, after all it is a House Spider.

The Estuary Terns et al.

Not easy to be accurate about the number around the Lune Estuary yesterday, but I reckon over a five hour period 6 Common Tern were seen in five sightings. When I arrived at Conder Pool, two birds were present, whist I was there four joined the two and flew around the pool briefly before heading off towards the River Lune. In the afternoon a bird was patrolling the canal by Christ Church, later I presumed the same bird was leaving the canal basin towards the estuary where I found two birds plunge diving, both to return to the same area of the river bank before soon taking off to plunge again, they returned to the bank together three times. I went back to the car to get my telescope to see if I could make out what this behaviour was about, I thought perhaps a male was feeding a female, but when I returned the pair were heading back off the river towards Conder Pool. I drove straight to Conder Green to find 3 Common Tern on the pool, two on the pontoon and one in the background on the island.

There's no telling what will happen on the pontoon, having beaten the Common Tern to it, the Black-headed Gull is obviously sitting by now, and a Common Tern was creating a scrape yesterday and looking intent on nesting there. I think I know the outcome....watch this space.

Stock taking on Conder Pool, 6 Common Tern, 6 Avocet, a Little Ringed Plover, 28 Black-headed Gull, 13 Oystercatcher, 10 Tufted Duck, 2 Shelduck, 2 Wood Pigeon.

Turnstone Plover Scar 20 May. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand high tide, Plover Scar held up to 550 Dunlin, 80 Ringed Plover, and a single Turnstone, a Whimbrel was on the marsh off Lighthouse Cottage, and a Whitethroat was singing on the wires. The only butterfly was my first Common Blue at Cockersand, with 3 Orange Tip at Glasson Dock.   

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.

Cockersand Transformed.

Cockersand was completely transformed yesterday, where the fields had recently been crawling with waders by the thousands, they were deserted, birdless and silent, creating a sense of eerie about the place.

On the east shore at Sunderland Point, c.450 Curlew was a good count seen off Crook Farm. On Plover Scar, 2 humans and 2 mutts were trespassing as far as I'm concerned, 950 Wigeon and 7 Eider were off here. I found no Stonechat again today, but 6 Greenfinch, 3 Goldfinch and a Wren were on the tide wrack at the Caravan Park, with 4 Stock Dove seen, and a Stoat running ahead of me across Slack Lane.

The Barn Owl.

Barn Owl Brian Rafferty  

As I looked inland from Cockersand Abbey, I picked up a Barn Owl hunting a ditch east of Abbey Farm. The bird eventually perched on a fence post, and was joined by a Magpie, which soon became four Magpies. All four began to harass the Barn Owl continuously, jumping off one wire to the next, dropping to ground, then flying up toward the owl as if to stab at the bird with their bills. The owls head twisted and turned to watch all four birds, but otherwise ignored them and their antics, before having had enough and flew off.

As I walked along the headland I kept the hunting Barn Owl in view, until I lost sight as it flew toward the rough field behind Bank Houses.

Thanks for the image Brian, I reckon this could well be the very bird you photographed here recently. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull. Pete Woodruff.

On Conder Pool, all the three's was as good as it got, with 2 Goosander drake, 28 Mallard, 2 Shelduck, and a Lesser Black-backed Gull seen. In the creeks, 2 Little Grebe made it into the notes. 

A Merlin squat on Colloway Marsh was presumed to be the culprit for twice in 30 minutes causing a mass dread amounting to several thousand waders, most notable of which were, up to 2,750 Golden Plover, 170 Black-tailed Godwit, and 6 Goldeneye, 2 Shoveler and 2 Goosander were all drakes. I found only 2 Goldeneye on the canal basin, and on Jeremy Lane, 22 Whooper Swan.

Wednesday 24 January.   

On Wednesday I had to be in Morecambe mid-afternoon, but I had a couple of hours to spare, and went to see if I could find the Chough at Half Moon Bay. 

I watched the bird performing its impressive aerobatic skills in the windy conditions, before dropping down into a field for me to stalk it down to a few metres and get a couple of half decent shots as it displayed it's fearless character whilst worming. Later the long stay female Stonechat also offered good views for me down on the shore.

After The Rewind....Fast Forward.

Fast forward into 2018, but not that fast, with my first day's birding on Friday.

Stock taking on Conder Pool was a little mundane, yet again more like Conder Lake since the current high tides. I noted 105 Mallard, 6 Teal, 2 Shelduck, a drake Goosander, 25 Black-headed Gull, and 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Little Grebe were seen in the creeks.

On the canal basin at Glasson, a scarce if not rare drake Pochard took the prize by a mile, but the basin did contribute to 15 Goldeneye being my best count this winter, with nine on here, and six on the Lune Estuary where everything had already been driven off by the incoming 10.07 tide, but I noted a lone Whooper Swan and a 'pale' Pink-footed Goose on the south end of Colloway Marsh.

Ducktacular.

Wigeon. Martin Jump.

On a mainly sunny day with calm conditions and clear visibility, on the sea from the Lighthouse at Cockersand, along the headland, into the Cocker Estuary, and out toward Lane Ends as far as the eye could see until it wasn't possible to tell what the dots on the sea were, I saw an impressive conservative estimate of at least 9,000 wildfowl, with up to 4,000 Wigeon off the length of the headland in dense rafts, with 20 Eider off Plover Scar.

A bit of interesting if odd movement, with c.350 Pink-footed Geese over south, soon followed by 75 south, then 55 north, with presumably the same returning 10 minutes later going south. Waders in the fields here were in lower numbers than of late, but noted were 175 Curlew, 65 Turnstone and 120 Dunlin. Two separate finch flocks 10/40 in bouncing flight appeared to be all Linnet, also a small group of 10 Pied Wagtail, 6 Skylark, 4 Reed Bunting, 2 Greenfinch, and a Song Thrush. 

The Whooper Swan herd are again settled down towards Bank End, and from the distance appear to be still in the same number, and on Moss Lane at Clarkson's Farm, 6 Bewick's Swan remain since first reported 27 December.

The Barn Owl. 

  
As I drove along Moss Lane at dusk, a Barn Owl was hunting a ditch a half mile away from my last sighting of one over the lane on 30 November. My two sightings, three other reports, and recent conversations I've had with farmers and residents, lead me to know there are currently up to five Barn Owl locations in the Thurnham/Cockersand area. 

Thanks to Martin for the Wigeon, and to Brian for the Pink-footed Geese header.

The Great Escape.

Well I did manage to break free in the early afternoon yesterday, and for that reason alone it certainly was great....birding always is.

Swift Simon Hawtin

I saw my first 11 Swift at Cockersand, two flew low and close by me off Crook Cottage - where 3 Whimbrel were on the shore - with another nine Swift two hours later over Lighthouse Cottage. A female Whinchat was around the cover crop, with a singing Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat in the area, and in the time spent at Cockersand I saw 8 Wheatear. 

In what was the flooded field, a pair of Shoveler were still there, as are the 2 Whooper Swan, with 2 Linnet, and a Skylark seen. I found another 4 Lapwing young, two of which were in the road with screaming adults above, I had to break into a gallop to usher them under a hedge to save them from the wheels of a fast approaching van. 

The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was virtually waderless, though 10 Bar-tailed Godwit were distant below Waterloo Cottage, my only other notes were of 85 Shelduck, 10 Eider, and 6 Wigeon.

House Martin. Martin Lofgren @ Wild Bird Gallery 

At Conder Green, I watched a House Martin entering a nest at River Winds, another was nest building at Cafe d' Lune, a Whitethroat was around the car park at The Stork, and the Avocet pair were seen as one on the nest on Conder Pool - where 30 Black-tailed Godwit were roosting - the other Avocet was in it's favourite feeding area in the creeks, were I found 4 Common Sandpiper and a Whimbrel.

Twelve months ago to the day, the Common Tern pair arrived on Conder Pool....Eyes down look in! 

Thanks go to Simon/Martin for their excellent in flight images.

The Ladybird.

l recieved a photograph from Cheryl Woodruff of a Ladybird asking me if I could identify it.

Ladybird. Cheryl Woodruff. 

It's a Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis, the most invasive Ladybird on earth, and one of the most variable species with an exceptionally wide range of colour forms. It was introduced to North America and Europe to control aphids, in the UK it threatens our native Ladybird and other species.

The Non-Starter.

We had a 'numbers' first on Friday when 3 Siskin visited our garden, all males on the same feeder, excellent....But little did I know that these three were going to be birds of the day as I set off from home on my birding trip around the Lune Estuary, which turned out to be something of a non-starter.

But I must have foreseen the lack of quantity if not quality I was going to have today when I arrived at Conder Pool, which has once again become more a lake than a pool, with little to attract the waders, so to make sure I had something in the book I decided to note every bird I saw, all 55 of 'em....12 Wigeon, 10 Oystercatcher, 10 Black-headed Gull, 9 Tufted Duck, 8 Mute Swan, 3 Shelduck, 2 Mallard, and a Goosander. In the creeks, the Common Sandpiper and a single Little Grebe.

On the Lune Estuary, a Spotted Redshank that could have been the Conder Green bird which I hadn't seen there today, but I last saw a Spotted Redshank at both Conder Green and the Lune Estuary on 3 February. Also, 550 Black-tailed Godwit were well down on Tuesdays count of c.2,250, 3 Goldeneye were seen, but the big surprise was a Peacock butterfly west. 

Whooper Swan. Pete Woodruff.

Separated from the wintering swan herd at Cockersand, 45 Whooper Swan were in a field by Tomlinson's Farm, and the recently seen 4 Shoveler were again in the flooded field at the junction of Moss/Slack Lane.

With five hours and the ground covered, I reckon I'm in the relegation zone and heading for the bottom of the league now after this result!!....but that's birdin in'it.

Coming Soon.

Common Tern. Conder Pool 2016. Pete Woodruff.

A pair of Common Tern arrived on Conder Pool Friday 6 May last year and went on to breed there successfully for the third consecutive year, hopefully 2017 will be the fourth.

Avocet. Conder Pool 2016. Pete Woodruff.

A pair of Avocet arrived on Conder Pool Friday 20 May 2016, they too went on to breed successfully, though unfortunately only one young from four survived. This was a first record for Conder Pool, lets hope 2017 will be the second.

Thanks to MH for his brilliant drake Gargany header....Much appreciated Marc.

Rock On!

Rock Pipit. Pete Woodruff.

There was a decent count of at least 10 Rock Pipit at Pilling Lane Ends on Friday, some obligingly coming to perch on the fence post giving me the chance to achieve some of my usual 2nd rate pictures. Also eventually dropping on to the fence posts were a flighty 7 Twite. A lone Whooper Swan was on the sea towards Fluke Hall, numbers of wildfowl were unremarkable, though several hundred Shelduck were spread out the length from Fluke Hall to Bank End, and it's always good to see the Pintail here. Fifteen Pink-footed Geese were on the sea, then drifted in to start grazing on the embankment.

At Wrampool, up to 200 Linnet were flighty and eventually flew off, a Snipe came abruptly up out of the set-aside with it's characteristic scraping 'catch' call. I've driven past the flood at Braides recently, but calling in today I noted Wigeon and Teal present, but most notable was 5 Shoveler.

A Grey Wagtail was at Bamber's Farm as I drove down Moss Lane to find 110 swans in a field just west of the A588, amongst which I found 7 Bewick's Swan, with 10 Whooper Swan and 93 Mute Swan, all being disturbed by activities in the field when I called back there later in the day to see if anything had changed....necessary farming activities you understand.

Curlew. Pete Woodruff.

On the canal basin at Glasson Dock, 6 Goldeneye were there again as Monday, and on Conder Pool, I could find only 3 Little Grebe, 23 Curlew, and the Common Sandpiper which flew in off the marsh. I note I've had no sign of the faithful Spotted Redshank at Conder Green since 5 December.

The Bewick's Swan.  

I was made up when I found the first Bewick's Swans in our area this winter off Moss Lane on Friday, and only the second record in Lancashire with two at Hundred End in West Lancashire on 23 November. 

I'm not up to date on the current status of Bewick's Swans in the UK, but in early November there was only c.400 at the Ouse Washes and at Slimbridge, whilst at that time c.4,000 were in Holland, which is actually just under 400 short of the total population in Britain and Ireland in 2015.

Many thanks to Ana for the Woodlark header.

Time & Tide.

Snipe Brian Rafferty 

I'm pretty good at getting it wrong with my visits to the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, whilst I always know the tide times, I screw it up and arrive too late to find only a few waders hanging on to what little mud is left exposed. I managed another success in this regard on Wednesday, but I did have time to count 103 Snipe before they were pushed onto the marsh. These are amazing numbers of Snipe on the Lune Estuary at the moment, and I saw a report of 363 here on Sunday 30 October, surely an all time record.

At Conder Green, the faithful Spotted Redshank was in the creeks with the lone Black-tailed Godwit and up to 120 Teal, of the 14 Snipe seen here two were on Conder Pool, which is where six of the 8 Little Grebe were. Ten Long-tailed Tit were working their way through the bushes alongside the pool, with 2 Dunnock seen. 

On a run down the A588 to Pilling Lane Ends, 16 Whooper Swan were drifting on the incoming tide including two juvenile. Also notable from here, at least 1,500 Shelduck and 120 Pintail, although I'm not aquainted with the kind of figures this area can produce these seem high counts. Four Red-breasted Merganser were also noted, with c.150 Pink-footed Geese dropping onto the marsh.

Ruff Noushka Dufort 

As I got onto the embankment at Fluke Hall I found 4 Ruff close in on the tideline, and a walk along the coastal path as the tide dropped, waders were thinly scattered and feeding along Pilling Marsh to Cockers Dyke, predominantly Dunlin and Redshank, with 3 Sanderling, 3 Grey Plover, 3 Golden Plover, a Sparrowhawk zipped through Cockers Dyke.

Thanks to Brian/Noushka for the Snipe/Ruff images in the post, and to Antonio for the Firecrest header image....I appreciate the permission to use these very much.