Migrants At Last.

Conder Pool.

I found my first migrants this week, the first being a pair of Little Ringed Plover on Conder Pool.

The first bird was seen on the small island to the right of the viewing platform, it soon flew off. The next sighting was of a bird on the island behind the main Common Tern raft, was joined by a second bird. I was soon able to observe display behaviour, with posturing seen. I had seen the same behaviour between a pair last year on Conder Pool 26 March.

Other notes from Conder Pool, numbers of godwit continue to fall, with just 280 Black-tailed Godwit today, they were accompanied by at least 10 Knot. Also 15 Avocet in view, and 5 Tufted Duck noted, the Shoveler have departed.

 Cockersand.

My second migrant species was the 2 Wheatear male, seen off the headland. 

Wheatear. Pete Woodruff.

I'm not seeing the Tree Sparrow at Cockersand in anything like the numbers that used to be, though I did find 40 here last September. this time just 3 Tree Sparrow were around Bank Houses, 2 Stock Dove were in a field. The number of swans are dwindling, with no more than 160 Whooper Swan in fields off Moss Lane. I noted 3 Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

Deceased Gannet Plover Scar 2 April. Pete Woodruff.

Lune Estuary.

The estuary at Glasson Dock was near deserted 3 hours after high tide, but 10 Avocet saved the day. If this number is in addition to the birds seen on Conder Pool 3 hours earlier - I ran out of time to call back and check - the grand total would be 25 Avocet. A pair of Red-breasted Merganser were also to note. I saw not a single Wigeon here today, but a few lingering gulls also added a bit of life to the area. 

Red-tailed Bumblebee.

Bombus lapidarius. Pete Woodruff.

In the garden this week, I found my first Red-tailed Bumblebee of the year. 

Back Big Time!

The Cockersand Whooper Swan are back, better still they were accompanied by the 2 Bewick's Swan. 

Clarkson's Farm: 44 Whooper Swan

Tomlinson's Farm: 67 Whooper Swan, 2 Bewick's Swan

Abbey Farm: 75 Whooper Swan

Braides: 126 Whooper Swan

Cockersand 186, Cockerham 126....The grand total being 314.

Whooper Swans Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

The swans took up most of my time on Tuesday, but it was good to find up to 2,25o Black-tailed Godwit off Crook Farm. Also to note, 8 Stock Dove and 2 Buzzard, and I finally found my first winter thrushes when about a dozen Fieldfare were seen from a moving motor on Moss Lane....Better late than never!

There was a large selection of wildfowl on Conder Pool today, including a near 50/50 mix of 200 Greylag and Canada Geese, 62 Mallard, 3 Wigeon, 2 Goosander, 23 Mute Swan, and a Little Grebe. Bird of the day here for me was a female Stonechat.

Hen Harrier.

I had a chance and very fortunate encounter with someone at the viewing platform at Conder Pool. Through an interesting conversation which developed, I gleaned some info regarding the Bowland Hen Harriers. I make no mention of who this person was, nor any mention of details about the site location. I learned only what I was entitled to, and if I'm honest the meeting ended with my wishing I could have heard more, but details were guarded and sparse.

Hen Harrier Forest of Bowland. Simon Hawtin.

Bowland held good numbers of Hen Harrier in 2024, although there was a below average breeding success. But the site I heard about held three pairs of Hen Harrier, all of which had broods successfully raising 12 young to fledging.

Simon Hawtin held a license which offered him to get close enough for many brilliant images of this stunning bird. I'm grateful to Simon for the use of these images of the Hen Harrier in Bowland. 

Monday's Mooch.

English Dictionary definition...To walk and do things slowly without much purpose....The latter 'wmp' definitely not true when I'm birding!

Conder Pool lost another place in the 'Hotspot' league table on Monday, with the exception of the nice to see again pair of Stonechat and 6 Goosander, there was an unbelievable nine other birds present, 4 Wigeon, 3 Little Grebe, a Redshank and a Carrion Crow. Nothing spectacular on the Lune Estuary at Glasson either, but a lone Greenshank by the Conder mouth was good.

Whooper Swan 25 October 2024. Pete Woodruff.

In fields at Clarkson's Farm, up to 120 Whooper Swan were early signs that they have returned to winter at Cockersand, where some waders had taken to the fields, with at least 350 Curlew equal to last Wednesdays count, and up to 320 Golden Plover, with 62 Back-tailed Godwit over>south. Six Stock Dove and 2 Skylark seen, with a Sparrowhawk from the CP over the marsh in its 'flap-flap-glide' hunting mode, also seen was last weeks male Stonechat which seems to be alone.

Beauty And The Beast. Pete Woodruff.

Struggling for pictures this time, so filled the gap with one over the fields at Cockersand. The power station at Heysham with the hint of a rainbow overhead.

Mottled Umber. Pete Woodruff.

The female of this moth is wingless and variable, and I was surprised to find the Mottled Umber on the white-washed wall at Lighthouse Cottage. 

Little Grebe.

Perusing through a 2024 annual report, I came across a couple of interesting records, one of which lists several sites where breeding Little Grebe occurred, and includes Conder Green which surely can't possibly include Conder Pool, albeit up to 20+can be seen here during the summer months. A short distance on the River Conder upstream from the A588 road bridge, soon turns right, out of sight and inaccessible. I know of nowhere that Conder Green could support breeding Little Grebe....Mmmm! 

Thanks to Paul Ellis for the Greenshank header, striding out at Conder Green. 

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.

Third Time Lucky!

With the good company of Steve Graham, I made my third circuit of the surrounding area of Birk Bank in three weeks, with the perspective two pairs of eyes are better than one.

At the top end of the numbers scale and with song in our ears throughout, at least 50 Willow Warbler was impressive, whilst at the bottom of the scale, 3 Meadow Pipit was to say the least unimpressive, but only added to my list of 18 Meadow Pipit seen in 5 visits to Bowland during the month of April.

Two Cuckoo were heard, one sounded to be around Baines Cragg, the other on the top of Birk Bank, an area where the Cuckoo is annual.  

Throughout the walk between Rigg Lane and Cragg Wood, Bullfinch heard in the car Park and the area around Rushy Lea, I've seen Bullfinch before at both these areas. Other birds seen/heard to reaching Cragg Wood, 6 Blackcap were singing males, a Chiffchaff, 3 Mistle Thrush, 2 Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Linnet, Pied Wagtail, Robin, and Wren, a Buzzard overhead was the only raptor of the day.

At Cragg Wood, a Garden Warbler singing on territory - 100% volume needed to hear the bird in the video - was almost certainly the early bird I found here on 9 April. Also noted here, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Greenfinch and Swallow.

Along the lower path below Birk Bank, just the one Red Grouse, and 3 Stonechat were seen as a pair and male, having my records to read, possibly 2 pairs of Stonechat breeding this year below Birk Bank, future visits might confirm that.

Butterflies.

A small number of uncounted Orange Tip and Small/Large White, 4 Specked Wood, 3 Green-veined White, 3 Green Hairstreak, and 2 Peacock.

Damselfly.

Large Red Damselfly. Pete Woodruff.

Seven Large Red Damselfly were all seen on Bilberry from the path to the bog.

On leaving Birk Bank bog, the day ended with the scarce sighting of a Slow Worm as it disappeared in the undergrowth.

Thanks to Ian Mitchell for his excellent image of the Large Red Damselfly.

And The Winner Is....

Hard to pick a winner from Friday's bag full of sightings at Conder Pool. A female Yellow Wagtail I found in the morning was looking good to take first place, but a Hobby seen later on my second visit to the pool, won by a small margin over the wagtail.

The Falco subbuteo came on the scene and zipped over the pool, putting every bird in sight to the wing, including at least 900 Redshank which were roosting with 20 Greenshank, and a Spotted Redshank.

My attempt to get some decent footage of the Spotted Redshank was in vain. Too far off, and in poor light. But good to see some behavior of the Common Terns, and the Little Egret in the background.

Spotted Redshank With Redshank. Pete Woodruff.

Other waders mixed with the shank's, a male Ruff, 75 Lapwing, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Dunlin, and a Snipe. When things settled down after the Hobby panic attack, I found 5 Little Ringed Plover which were seen as an adult with 4 juvenile, certainly not the Conder Pool birds, I would guess from somewhere on the Lune Estuary, Aldcliffe perhaps?

I made no attempt to count the Conder Pool Common Tern population, but noted fledged young and counted 5 chicks on the platform. At least 2 Linnet and a Stock Dove seen. A Red Admiral was the only butterfly seen during the time spent at Conder Green and Glasson Dock where 2 Raven were over the estuary. Two Emperor Dragonfly were seen from the canal towpath.

Saltcote Pond.

Clik The Piks....It Looks Even Worse

A visit to Saltcote Pond had me find the result of some bad management. All the pondside vegetation had been taken out, and the edges trimmed like a bowling green in 'Keep Britain Tidy' style. In performing this mis-management, they will have excluded a number of aquatic creatures and dragonflies from using this excellent little pond which hosted a Ruddy Darter, found by Martin Jump on 20 July last year. The Ruddy Darter is one of the rarest of our areas breeding dragonfly, second only to the Golden-ringed Dragonfly....I found no dragonflies here on Friday.

Thanks for the header image Martin....Much Appreciated.

Conder Pool's Got Talent.

Good results at Conder Pool Tuesday, including my finally catching up with a count of 19 Avocet including a bird marked Yellow Flag 6V. Another excellent find was 5 Mediterranean Gull which were seen as 2xadult, 2x2nd summer, and one unaged out of view save a full black hood behind the island.

Distracted by the other excitement, I failed to get a count of the godwits which flew off before I could, but I made an estimate of up to 900 Black-tailed Godwit which were accompanied by the lone Bar-tailed Godwit which obviously thinks it is one of them, and up to 400 Knot, a number I've never seen on Conder Pool before.

Also present, a Greenshank, 6 Snipe, a pair of Shoveler, 4 Tufted Duck, and a Stock Dove. I also caught up with the Spotted Redshank away from the Lune Estuary this time it was on the River Conder at Conder Green.

At Cockersand, interestingly a Barn Owl was on a post as I arrived here, it was in the same area as I left 2 hours later. Up to 80 Meadow Pipit were in the stubble field off Slack Lane, mostly flighty and not easy to assess, also in the same area 22 Linnet. Off Plover Scar, 8 Eider, and 6 Small Tortoiseshell were within a few metres along the path behind the caravan park.

Avocet. 

Avocet Conder Pool. Howard Stockdale.

Yellow Flag 6V was ringed as a chick at Conder Green in Lancashire on 1 June 2021. This bird paid a visit to Alkborough Flats in Lincolnshire on 31 July 2021, to return to Eric Morecambe Pool Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve on 26 August. Another interesting sighting was that of 6V seen at Conder Green with two chicks on 12 June 2022. The bird was sighted multiple times in 2021/22/23 up until 26 March 2024 at Conder Green.

You can't fail to ponder and question, why would an Avocet ringed as a chick on 1 June, fly out of Lancashire to Lincolnshire, then fly back to Lancashire 26 days later on 26 August?

I am grateful to Ian Hartley for the info on Avocet 6V, and to Howard Stockdale for his record shot of 21 Avocet on Conder Pool 24 March....Clik the pik for a better view.

Better Late Than Never!

On a nice bright if cold sunny day, Conder Pool was as dull as it gets, with just 2 Little Grebe, a Goosander, and a few Mallard making the total of no more than 20 birds present. Conder Pool rules....but not this time.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson, at least 2,500 Black-tailed Godwit, a couple of hundred Redshank and Dunlin were hanging on to the shoreline as the tide rushed in, with 3 Goosander noted, and then the Peregrine Falcon flew onto the scene.

The Peregrine Falcon caused a mass dread for a few thousand waders, including the Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, and Dunlin, and created a spectacle that lasted several minutes.

At Cockersand, 5 Stonechat seen, a pair in the rough field behind Bank House, a pair at Lighthouse Cottage, and a female along Moss Lane. Seeing 32 Stock Dove come down into a field was a first for me in our recording area, where birds seen in single figures is the norm in my experience. Whilst watching the doves, a Merlin rocketed over towards the estuary, and in the area around Bank House, 45 Linnet was a decent count, with 5 Greenfinch and 5 Reed Bunting seen, 13 Eider were off Plover Scar.

Sandylands Geese.

On Sunday, I'm quietly confident the geese flying silent and in silhouette north>south towards the harbour, were 20 Brent Geese. Earlier a Peregrine Falcon was seen unsuccessfully chasing a small wader, before doing a U turn to fly off inland.

Stonechat At Cockersand.

My header image is of one of the Lighthouse Cottage birds sent to me by Ian Mitchell....Thanks Ian, much appreciated.

This cropped image from Ian Mitchell, is of the same female Stonechat in the header, showing something best described as thin white plastic wire wrapped around both left and right lower leg.

I was in touch with and forwarded this image to a front line ringer in Cumbria, who notes they are both identical in dimension and position, otherwise is as baffled as me....Are we missing something here I ask myself!

Barn Owl.

Ian Mitchell finds a fair share of interesting stuff....Bilberry Bumblebee at Birk Bank in June 2023, including an amazing video of it burrowing on Clougha. The Merlin at Cockersand in October 2023 with some excellent photo and video footage of the bird taking a bath on a flooded stubble field. Two Otter in the Lune Valley in January, and the Stonechats at Cockersand this week, one of which has what appears to be thin white plastic rings on both legs.

Then up to date, a Barn Owl at Cockersand on Thursday 1 February bearing a metal ring on its right leg....What next Ian!

Movements of Barn Owl.

The West Palearctic population is basically resident, though young birds are known to make occasional dispersals, with no clear overall directional trend within Europe.

As a result of Ian Mitchell's discovery of the Cockersand Barn Owl bearing a metal ring. I made enquiries to another front line ringer, this one in Lancashire, about any known movements of Barn Owl, to be told they are usually only over fairly short distances. However, in the conversation I learn of one bird recovered in Lancashire having been marked in Nottingham.

And Finally.

At this point I'm not sure of the significance of the record, but I'd suggest it is a first for Lancashire and beyond. What I do know, is that this bird should have been more likely to be seen in West Africa.

Curlew Sandpiper Record Shots. Ian Walker.

An amazing record of a Curlew Sandpiper on Warton Marsh yesterday 3 February....Ian Walker FBC.

Gone Fishing!

I was struggling for a header image this time, so decided to give some publicity to the fishing duo - that's me being diplomatic for a change - who completely ruined my birding, and more importantly were responsible for disturbance to hundreds of waders which use the dry land on Plover Scar each and every day to rest and escape the tide. I watched dozens of flocks flying in towards Plover Scar to roost on Friday, only to have to divert elsewhere because of the action by these two who were fishing on and from a SSSI location on the Lune Estuary....Think there may be some laws being broken here!

But none of this fazed the smart 1st winter Little Gull which sat on the sea, accompanied by a mix of at least 600 predominantly Black-headed Gull and many other large gulls off Lighthouse Cottage....No Little Gull, and just a fraction of the gulls in the short video.

Also seen here at Cockersand, 12 Wheatear, 46 Eider, 6 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Stock Dove and a small flock of 15 Linnet.

Curlew Sandpiper. Brian Rafferty.

A couple of hours after high tide, I called in at the Lune Estuary at Glasson, to find a lone juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, with a few Dunlin and larger numbers of Redshank and Lapwing. On a stretch of the canal Glasson - Conder Green, I found 7 Migrant Hawker, and at Conder Pool saw 4 Greenshank, 10 Redshank, 2 Ruff, and after a few counts arrived at 18 Little Grebe. Geese seen, 16 Canada Geese and 4 Greylag. As I was about to leave Conder Pool, a Tree Sparrow came onto the sluice.

I was struggling for pictures for the post, so grateful to Brian Rafferty for his excellent Curlew Sandpiper moulting into breeding plumage at the opposite end of the season to my juvenile bird on the Lune Estuary on Friday.    

Good Rewards Around The Estuary.

Yellow Wagtail.

The Yellow Wagtail no longer breeds in our LDBWS recording area of Lancashire, and any evidence of breeding attempts is largely restricted to the south of the River Ribble, and the nearest site for breeding Yellow Wagtail to the north as far as I'm aware of, is in South Cumbria. That taken into account, Andrew Cornall dedicates the entire month of August to monitor the Yellow Wagtail on autumn passage moving south through Bank End, his peak count in 2022 was 14 on the 15 August.

On Monday, I first shot off to Bank End to immediately find 3 Yellow Wagtail amongst the sheep, seen as a female and two juvenile. 

Next stop Conder Pool, to find 10 Greenshank accompanied by 2 Ruff, also a Common Sandpiper, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Stock Dove, and a Kingfisher which came briefly to perch on the sluice. If you really need to see a Kingfisher, patience and a little time gives you a 75% chance of seeing one, especially during the winter months.

As I was about to leave Conder Pool, things began to 'hot up' when Andrew Cornall pulled up to tell me a goodie had been found just down the road on the Canal Basin at Glasson Dock. I hot footed it there to find an adult Black Tern in winter plumage. It was great to watch the tern with its lazy flight, hawking and dipping down to the surface to take insects.

From the canal basin, I crossed the road to view the Lune Estuary from the bowling green to find 8 Common Tern, including 2 juvenile one of which was fed by an adult which had been seen hovering and plunge diving. Following good numbers seen on the estuary recently, I counted at least 10 Mediterranean Gull in view distant, certainly there was more hunkered down, with 3 Back-tailed Godwit to note.

American Golden Plover With Lapwing Glasson Marsh 21 August. Copyright Paul Slade.

Bodie Hill was the next stop, the Golden Plovers had started to create a pattern, seemingly moving from Cockersand in the morning, and relocating to Glasson Marsh to roost over the high tide, from where a smart adult American Golden Plover had joined the small group of up to 60 Golden Plover.

Thanks to Paul Slade for his image of the AGP, much appreciated. Also thanks to Ian Mitchell for his header image of the Canary-shouldered Thorn. The connection to B2B and this post, being its beautiful yellow colours to match the Yellow Wagtail.  

Life On The Pool.

Conder Pool.

There was probably 400 birds on Conder Pool when I arrived there on Monday, at least 50% were 250 Redshank, with a large male Ruff in near black summer plumage, also 12 Greenshank, c.30 Dunlin, and a solitary Black-tailed Godwit.

A count of 24 Common Tern represents a good breeding season this year, which I don't have details for. Nine chicks were on the pontoon and six fledged birds seen on the wing, and at least 10 adult including birds seen as I walked the coastal path back and forth to the Lune Estuary with fish.

Avocet CA enjoys some new found independence

Nine adult Avocet, with seven fledged and three young still to do so, also a pair in the creeks with at least one young. I had three sightings of an adult Little Ringed Plover, probably the same bird which chased a Common Sandpiper around the pool for several minutes. I've never seen this behaviour by a LRP towards another small wader before. Two Little Grebe and 2 Stock Dove, a Kingfisher put in an appearance perching briefly on the outlet.

Coastal Path.

Gatekeeper male. Pete Woodruff.

By way of a change at least 40 butterflies seen, 24 Large White, 9 Gatekeeper were within a few metres of each other, 4 Red Admiral, a Small Tortoiseshell and Meadow Brown.

Saltcote Pond.

Painted Lady. Pete Woodruff. 

A nice pristine Painted Lady was here, with a lone Emperor Dragonfly male on patrol, also a male Common Darter, and a Common Blue Damselfly.

Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper. Pete Woodruff.

When I took this photograph I thought it was of a pair of Gatekeeper. But viewing the image on my computer, whilst it had brighter orange areas on its wings than the male on the right, it should have lacked the sex brand but didn't....So did I find a coloured variant Gatekeeper?

Being I had a better day for butterflies this year so far, I thought it appropriate for the header image of a Small Skipper....Credit and Thanks to Martin Jump.

A Few More Estuarine Delights.

Conder Pool came good again on Monday, and with apologies for rabbiting on about the Ruff, and a promise to try and never mention it again, it/one has finally run the 12 month course for the first time ever around the Lune Estuary.

There was up to 20 Avocet on Conder Pool, and the impressive sight of up to 900 Icelandic Back-tailed Godwit, some in near stunning rufous summer plumage, they were accompanied by a 'few' Knot, also 3 Little Ringed Plover, and a Greenshank.

When I called in 4 hours later on the estuary at Glasson, presumably the Conder Pool near 1,000 Black-tailed Godwit were present with c.250 Knot, 4 Avocet seen, and a Great Crested Grebe was to note.

Despite the routine circuit at Cockersand, nothing riveting to note, but c.40 Linnet were accompanied by a lone Reed Bunting, flighty in and around the stubble field, with 2 Stock Dove, 13 Eider were off Plover Scar. Insects to note here, I saw my first 3 Small Tortoiseshell and a Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

You Can Help The Birds.

Don't worry about the birds, they can look after themselves, even if they can't rest and conserve energy when the tide is high, or feed and even breed on Plover Scar like the Ringed Plover on the notice board does.   

Just carry on and do your birding and taking piks....Enjoy!

Moths.

Ian Mitchell does the decent thing and sends me brilliant images of brilliant moths in his trap two days in a row.

Hebrew Character. Ian Mitchell.

Early Thorn. Ian Mitchell.

And Finally.

Red Kite. Martin Jump.

Martin calls this image 'a poor distant one' of the Red Kite yesterday in Bowland. I call it an excellent record of one....Thanks Martin.

And I can record 2 Ring Ouzel yesterday in Bowland.

GP's Make The Comeback.

Cockersand.

On my visit to Cockersand this week, it was brilliant to see the waders had congregated in the fields, which looked more like what you would expect in mid-March, with one species of wader having been low in number throughout the winter on the Lune Estuary if not the entire recording area.

The full picture came together as I walked along the headland. I spotted a good number mid-distance already out on the shore, then over the next few minutes, several waves shot over my head with characteristic rapid flight, and dropped down to join the already mass to become the spectacle of at least 3,000 Golden Plover, many showing advanced breeding plumage....Alleluia.

In the field on the east side of Abbey Farm, at least 150 Redshank with a small number of Dunlin, and on the circuit, scattered in the fields were c.50 Lapwing looking territorial.

Lune Estuary. 

Noted on the River Lune at Glasson, 4 Avocet, 150 Golden Plover, 82 Black-tailed Godwit, and a distant c.100 Pink-footed Geese on Colloway Marsh.

Conder Pool.

All quiet on Conder Pool, though the Ruff feeding on the terrace, lifted my spirit as it always does. A Stock Dove and Little Grebe seen, with probably 50 Black-headed Gull screeching and behaving like they were checking out the islands for breeding sites, and all of which seemed unfazed by the management work taking place here.

Two birders joined me during my watch at Conder Pool, both agreed to be as puzzled as me about the structure we were seeing currently being assembled at the east end.

My guess is, perhaps a large raft is being assembled to the left of this image, which shows the existing small raft right of centre, to be joined soon by the new and larger one....Time will tell.

March Migrants.

Some early March migrants have now arrived in and around our area, with a Sand Martin reported at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve Wednesday 15 March, a Swallow at Bispham Thursday 16 March, Wheatear at Blackpool Airport Wednesday 15 March. Also out of our Lancashire area, *Sandwich Tern at Hodbarrow Sunday 12 March. And an Osprey over Tebay Friday 17 March.

*This bird at Hodbarrow in Cumbria, beats the earliest Sandwich Tern for Lancashire by one day, but according to info received, the earliest ever record of Sandwich Tern in Cumbria was of a bird seen on 9 January 2001. The implication being it was a very early migrant, but right to consider, either a very late departing bird, or one over-wintering....Thanks for this Andy, interesting piece of information and much appreciated.

Thanks to Howard Stockdale for the header image of the Goldeneye on Glasson Basin, where it is worth a mention, a male Pochard is currently present as no more than a scarce visitor to the area.

And Finally....

White-tailed Bumblebee Bowland July 2022. Pete Woodruff.

Had my first bumblebee of the year, this morning in the garden. Briefly, but Bombus lucorum I reckon. 

February Stonechats.

On 7 February I received e-mails from two Fylde birders reporting Stonechats in areas where none had been reported during the winter, in both messages it was suggested that Stonechat movement was underway.

So this is the first week in February, and both suggestions proved to be spot on, Stonechat migration was well and truly underway, and by the last day of the month I had collated an impressive 53 records of 102 individual Stonechats with not a single duplicated record. With 11 records in the LDBWS area, the rest were from the Fylde. 

All the records are regarded as migrants, good numbers were in many areas unfamiliar to me, or are new areas for the species, and interestingly most were inland birds, for example....

Hawes Water bird

Carr House Green Common male 

Westby pair

Mythop 4 birds

Singleton pair

Parrox Hall female

Whitters Lane male/female

Aldcliffe Marsh male

Thurnham Hall 2xmale

The Heads 4 birds

Preesall Flashes female

Holme male

Lower Ballam 4 birds

Lambs Lane pair

Longridge Fell 2xpairs

My personal best count has been 7 Stonechat at Cockersand on 23 February.

If the Stonechats behave so obligingly as this male did at Cockersand on Monday, then they are likely to feature regularly in videos on B2B.

Other notes from Cockersand on Monday, 4 Stonechat including another male and a female accompanying the male in the video, with a female seen on Slack Lane. Up to 350 Whooper Swan were seen in three fields, including at Clarkson's Farm where 150 Whooper Swan were accompanied by 2 Bewick's Swan, 7 Twite flew off the marsh by the caravan park.

A long time dead Razorbill was on the shingle below the Lighthouse Cottage car park.

If I'm honest, there was nothing to excite on Conder Pool, but noted were c.70 Wigeon, being almost entirely vegetarian, grazing in a compact group on the sloping grassy edges. Also 2 Stock Dove, a Little Grebe, a Snipe, and the seemingly annual visitors the pair of Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Avocet.

Yesterday 7 Avocet were seen feeding on the Lune Estuary as viewed from Conder Green, per LDBWS.

Many Thanks to Simon Hawtin who kindly sent me his image of the Aurora Borealis taken from Catshaw Fell on Monday night.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Simon who takes credit for furnishing me with Stonechat sightings in particular, but also Ring Ouzel records in Bowland.