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. 

Friday 17 October.

I suspected some kind of recent disturbance had caused me to think, the best one word description for Conder Pool was dire. With the exception of c.120 Black-headed Gull, the best on offer was 7 birds, being a lone Redshank, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Mute Swan, a Robin was singing -  as they do all year round - in the hedgerow, with 3 Little Grebe bringing up the rear. 

The grebes seem to be moving away from Conder Pool earlier this year, according to my records they move to the creeks and on to the Lune Estuary early January, this autumn it seems they are deserting at least 8 weeks earlier. But as I made the move to leave the pool, things certainly took a turn for the better. Looking toward the creeks, I picked up a couple of small waders to see they were Curlew Sandpiper.

At the first cursory glance I prefer to rule out Dunlin, the sandpiper being more elegant and gangly. But on this occasion one bird started to preen, briefly showing its striking white rump and doing the elimination for me.

At Cockersand, I was pleased to find my first pair of wintering Stonechat here, they were in and around the dyke opposite the junction of Moss/Slack Lane. AC had already found two Stonechat last Monday 13 October, his birds were around the Bulrush dyke behind Lighthouse Cottage, I reckon mine were the same pair relocated slightly to the south.

Thanks to Ana for the stunning male 'Spanish' Stonechat

I managed the circuit to find 100+Linnet flighty around the fields off Slack Lane, the same flock here as those seen 22 September. Also a count of 6 Long-tailed Tit, with Song Thrush, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Great Tit, 2 Kestrel, and 38 Curlew were in a field north side of Abbey Farm. Two small skeins totaling 100 Pink-footed Geese were over Plover Scar>south.

Short and sweet again!   

The Pool Strikes Again!

It was another whizz around on Wednesday for me....Don't like whizz arounds, not proper birding in my book.

But none of this matters, when I arrived at Conder Pool I was greeted by the wonderful sight of 18 Whooper Swan, an even better surprise was that the ratio was 50/50, 9 adult and 9 juvenile/2nd winter.

Although the status of the Whooper Swan is of a common winter visitor in Lancashire, it also appears to be declining in the county, though not as dramatic as the Bewick's Swan, which is that of an uncommon and declining winter visitor.

The Whooper Swan aside, Conder Pool was no better than mundane, with no more than 44 birds noted in a stock taking exercise, 21 Canada Geese, 11 Redshank, 5 Little Grebe, 3 Wigeon, 2 Mute Swan, a Little Egret, and a Kestrel hovering over the pool border.

Short and Sweet....Whooper Sweet!

Rock Pipit Cockersand 10 February 2016. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, in 20 minutes stood by the motor, I counted 10 Rock Pipit driven off the marsh by the incoming tide, with at least 22 Snipe suffering the same disturbance over the same period.

Plover Scar.

Plover Scar on the Lune Estuary, with the lighthouse and Black Combe in the western Lakes in the background is a pleasant scene.

But two consecutive visits to check the high tide for roosting waders have had to be aborted, the first one on account of someone exercising ten dogs. I eventually spoke to this person - politely of course - and explained the significance of the area for roosting birds, and asked if it was possible they could avoid the area in future. I was pleased to hear an understanding, and an agreement to what I had asked.

The second incident was of two fishermen out on the scar, this time I was unable to make contact, but by coincidence at the same time, met someone in authority who had been inspecting the collapsed storm damaged areas along the headland at Cockersand. In conversation we discussed at length the problem of trespassing and disturbance on Plover Scar, during which I asked if, bearing in mind the area is a SSSI, it was possible to make an application for the erection of signs to try to halt the disturbance of birds at an important roosting site.

The disappointing end to this tale is, having given this person in authority my name and e-mail address, two weeks later I've heard nothing since!

Iceland!

It wasn't the plan when I set out to do my estuary thing on Thursday, but the day soon became one that took account of how some of the birds I found where struggling with the freezing conditions of the past couple of weeks....Thankfully conditions have eased a little now.

The day started with my finally finding one of the Stonechat currently residing at Conder Green, with a bird seen at Conder Pool. 

These 8 Little Grebe - and a passing lorry on the B5290 - were taking advantage of an ice free area in the creeks, though I have to say, these grebes from Conder Pool have usually taken to the ice-free waters of the Lune Estuary by December.

The waders and wildfowl were really struggling with the frozen Conder channel and mud banks, and a small group of Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit together with a Snipe out in the open, appeared to be making futile attempts to find food on the now frozen marsh.

Along Jeremy Lane, up to 40 Whooper Swan of which notably, probably 25% were juvenile, they were with c.50 Mute Swan also desperately prodding at the grass in an attempt to feed....I saw not a single other Whooper Swan at Cockersand today.

At Cockersand, 3 Song Thrush seen, this one was with a Redwing searching the shingle. Also to note on a wander, 4 Stonechat, 9 Meadow Pipit, and 4 Wren.

Of 82 Pink-footed Geese in a field north of Bank Houses, 45 took to the wing to circle before settling again in the field.

This Robin was one of 10 Robin and at least 40 Blackbird I saw on the day at Glasson/Cockersand. I have no idea what it was up to walking around my feet. In the header image, the bird looks in good nick on the old iron railway bridge, but maybe it was on the lookout for a snack. 

For the wrong reasons it was a good days birding for me, though it wasn't good to see the struggling icebound birdlife. I hung around for one of those amazing Cockersand sunsets, to end the day with a mindful moment....Sound On!

Aspects Of Conder Pool.

There are a few issues around Conder Pool that need addressing, for the time being, I'd like to highlight  two of them.

Land Management Issues. 

Conder Pool had a facelift in 2018, and the powers that be are again working towards better management on Conder Pool.  

Predation and water levels both need to be addressed, but I reckon the stumbling block on this, will be the lack of funding. Examples of the huge problems facing this, the sluice needs fixing and probably represents a cost of around £8k, add to this, a predator fence that will last many years hence, and the machinery needed for infilling and reprofiling the eroded pool, would probably end up with a bill for £40k....I'm not holding my breath here, and to be honest I don't think anyone else will be either.

Grazing Issues.

With stock trampling and disturbing nests during the breeding season. The agreement needs to be, that all livestock is kept off the area at least between mid-April and mid-June to avoid these problems. It seems to me, keeping to these dates re grazing, is about all the management for Conder Pool is able to do for the near future, staff and resources appear to prevent anything beyond that. 

This distressed Avocet is a good example of disturbance and says it all about last years breeders on Conder Pool, some of which included....two pairs of Common Tern, two pairs of Avocet, one young from three Oystercatcher survived, and three Black-headed Gull were all casualties.

There's currently something like 20 tons of manure dumped on Conder Pool, clearly not acceptable, and having detrimental impacts on water quality not only on the pool, but the wider Lune Estuary.

Conder News.

I was chuffed to hear news of c.2,500 Black-tailed Godwit on Conder Pool yesterday 13 March, including a ringed bird.

Mute Swans.

Three Mute Swans have been reported dead on Conder Pool recently, it's my understanding, these swans are to be recovered for testing.

There have been a few cases of Avian Flu reported recently, involving Pink-footed Geese and migrant swans in Lancashire, and several other species elsewhere in England. This reminded me of the occurrence of 12 Mute Swans I found dead in the Conder/Cockersand area over a period of three weeks in February 2015.

I got heavily involved in this event, eventually meeting with someone collecting the corpses on behalf of DEFRA, and making the request to be kept up to date on the results of the autopsies on these birds to be carried out at Penrith. I was disappointed not to have ever reached anything conclusive about this, and the loss of twelve beautiful Mute Swans in such a small area ended shrouded in mystery.

After The Break.

After a break from the Lune Estuary - 10 days actually - I was back on parade there yesterday. But since 15 January, Heysham has been the location for me, being I saw 6 Brent Geese, after which I got hooked on the unprecedented numbers of the birds there which culminated with a peak count of 88 Brent Geese on 28 January. Still there, with MD seeing 65 yesterday.

The 50 sec video is another one of the Brent Geese with Wigeon and Oystercatcher at Red Nab 30 January. The wind is annoying, I'd suggest turning off the sound. 

  

View Full Screen

It's a pity these videos on Blogger aren't viewed as clear as elsewhere on the computer.

On Conder Pool yesterday, 32 Wigeon, 20 Curlew, and a drake Goosander. In the creeks, 7 Little Grebe was a count equal to 26 December.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, I just wish the c.2,500 godwits would stay apart and didn't mingle like today, they were either side of the Conder mouth making life difficult, but the estimates I came away with were, at least 1,600 Black-tailed Godwit and 900 Bar-tailed Godwit. Other waders of note, 350 Dunlin, 325 Golden Plover, and 120 Curlew. Up to 450 Common Gull noted, also 8 Goosander, 4 Goldeneye, 35 Greylag, and a Merlin which was distant on Colloway Marsh. 

At Cockersand, the herd of c.300 Whooper Swan and 2 Black Swan were seen over four fields including some on Jeremy Lane, and 5 Bewick's Swan were with 2 Mute Swan off Slack Lane. The low tides don't push the waders into the fields, but c.250 Curlew were by Abbey Farm, and at least 10 Pied Wagtail were around a flood at the junction of Moss/Slack Lane.

Garden Birds.

A pair of Greenfinch, the male showing resplendent yellow-green underparts, seen as a species nudging at mega status in our garden this morning.

Golden Moments.

Another short - but I was raking about for 5 hours - and sweet job!

I was tempted to say Tuesdays birding was a little quiet, but then if I was to report seeing in excess of 1,000 Golden Plover at Cockersand, that would make the comment a bit of a nonsense. There was at least 750 in a field to the south of Abbey Farm, 175 to the north, and 125 in a field off Slack Lane.

When the sun eventually came out, and the wind dropped too in the late afternoon, it shone some brilliant light on to the plovers in the field south of Abbey Farm to give a stunning golden carpet effect to the birds which twice left the field to fly low over my head to create a 'whoosh' of 1,500 beating wings as they went out over the shore to turn and return to the field....Golden Moments to savour.

Curlew. Howard Stockdale. 

There was also the good number of 550 Curlew in a field at Cockersand today. An excellent count in one field for a species in the Red on the UK Conservation Status list. One of the most rapidly declining birds at a near 50% fall in number, even exceeding this in Wales and Scotland. If like me you've been lucky enough to have heard the evocative bubbling call of the Curlew when on the moors in Bowland, it stays with you forever. 

Only c.50 Whooper Swan were in view at Cockersand today. On Conder Pool, 6 Little Grebe, 6 Goosander, 4 Snipe, 18 Curlew, and 4 Wigeon. Up to 80 Teal were in the creeks. A bit of a howler in the face made the Lune Estuary hard work, but only 350 Golden Plover of any note, with 32 Tufted Duck and 2 Goosander on the canal basin.

In Greaves Park this Thursday morning, 4 Jay together were closely accompanied by 6 Magpie.

In the header, a large number of gulls follow the small fishing boat in Morecambe Bay. Also I was grateful for the excellent set of images Howard sent me yesterday, of which the most appropriate for this post was the Curlew. Clik the pik, the light reflecting on the bird is quite something.

After The Break!

After the break of fourteen weeks since the event of 2 September, thanks to my good friend Mike, I achieved a couple of hours birding in exchange for taxiing and escorting me around the Lune Estuary.

Of note on Conder Pool, 6 Goosander and 14 Wigeon. In the creeks, 3 Little Grebe seen, and a Kingfisher flew by c.150 Teal roosting on the marsh, also a Kestrel seen.

Goldeneye Brian Rafferty

On the canal basin at Glasson Dock, a decent early December count of 23 Goldeneye, also 4 Great-crested Grebe. Of note, two Goldeneye were still at Glasson on the canal basin last May.

On Jeremy Lane, 5 Whooper Swan were with Mute Swans, and with birds on the north side of Moss Lane by Clarkson's Farm, and in fields to the south side, up to 450 Whooper Swan present, and in the field south of the junction of Moss Lane/Slack Lane, 6 Bewick's Swan were seen as two adult and a full compliment of four juvenile. Six Bewick's Swan is a rewarding sight in itself, but a party of 4 immature is exceptional, another first for me in my book.

Kestrel Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

Two sightings of Kestrel were at Bank Houses and Slack Lane, from where c.175 Golden Plover were with Lapwing, and c.250 Black-tailed Godwit seen in the air, then down in the field to the north behind Tomlinson's Farm, with a Buzzard perched atop of the hedgerow behind Crook Cottage, c.60 Twite flew over from the Bank Houses area to go down on to the marsh, a Reed Bunting seen by the Caravan Park.

Buzzard Cliff Raby

Two Buzzard were soaring over our house in Lancaster this morning.

The header image was taken on a beautiful cold and frosty December morning in 2010. Many thanks to Brian and Cliff for their photographs. 

Oh No....Not Conder Green Again.

Conder Green again....an addiction I hope I can never kick.

Greenshank Conder Pool 25 August. Pete Woodruff.

On a return visit to Conder Green in the afternoon, 12 Greenshank were in the creeks, ten of which had been on Conder Pool in the morning, a previous 16 Little Grebe count held firm again today, and 2 Ruff accompanied the Redshank in the creeks, with 2 Snipe seen. It was notable that at least one House Martin was seen entering a nest at Cafe d' Lune, but again I saw none at River Winds, 4 Speckled Wood seen along the coastal path.

Wheatear. Pete Woodruff.

A walk along the headland at Cockersand was rewarded by my first returning c.350 Golden Plover on the weed covered shingle, offering an opportunity to search for an 'American' with them, but I had left my telescope in the motor, no longer entitled to be called a 'real' birder any more....if I ever was. 

A Whimbrel was with the Golden Plover, and a Wheatear was my first returning bird to Cockersand, I had seen one here 3 weeks earlier on 4 August in 2017. A Kestrel was hovering over the abbey, and a lone female Eider and 29 Mute Swan were off Plover Scar which had been ruined as a high tide roost by the invasion of a couple with a dog.

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Organised crime covered up by  government authorities.

Natural England chose to publish it's long awaited satellite tag data over this Bank Holiday period, quietly uploading it to the DEFRA website in the hope few - if anybody - would notice it, to reveal suspicious clustering of 'missing' Hen Harriers on English grouse moors.

Natural England are the Westminster Governments statutory Nature Conservation Agency, and along with them down the list from here, many other authorities - not excluding the silent RSPB - are creating a smoke screen to shield the Hen Harrier killers, instead of efforts to get them all to the courts, and closing down the vile sport of shooting Red Grouse.

Wonder how long this years fledged Bowland Hen Harriers will survive....WE WILL WIN is the cry....but don't hold your breath.

Meagre Fare.

Don't usually express a days birding experience as meagre as none of it ever is, but Wednesday really did lack a bit of quality and quantity.

Both the Oystercatcher and Common Tern are now on eggs at Conder Pool. Also of note, 13 Black-tailed Godwit, only one of which was in stunning breeding plumage, 15 Tufted Duck, with 52 Mute Swan in the creeks. Three Whitethroat heard, and a female Goosander disappearing round the river bend out of sight upstream from the road bridge, try though I may, I was unable to find a viewpoint beyond the bend, it almost certainly had young with it....frustrating.

Dunlin Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, high tide Plover Scar held a pretty even mix of up to 300 Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A Lapwing had a chick in the field by Lighthouse Cottage which has now been ploughed, 3 Stock Dove and a Sedge Warbler seen. The Shoveler pair are still in the large ditch through the field at the Moss Lane/Slack Lane junction, but a bigger surprise was a drake Gadwall which accompanied them, my first ever at Cockersand and certainly never in a ditch.

Green-veined White. Warren Baker.

Two Green-veined White and an Orange Tip were my only butterflies. 

Friday Birds....

....a Sunday wander, and an excellent Monday arrival.

Excitement level on Conder Pool on Friday was almost non existent, with 12 Tufted Duck, 21 Mute Swan, and several noisy kip-kip-kip'ing Oystercatcher as good as it got. Three Sedge Warbler were in the reeds upstream from the road bridge, a House Martin seen attending to nest building at River Winds, a lone Black-tailed Godwit in full summer plumage was in the channel below the iron bridge, and a Kestrel seen. Twelve Eider were on the Lune Estuary, and 5 Wheatear were again in a ploughed field on Jeremy Lane.

The best bit to come out of Cockersand was the sight of 5 Lapwing chicks recently out of the nest. I also found c.120 Linnet again, with the Shoveler pair still in the flooded field opposite.

Whimbrel. Pete Woodruff.

Thee Whimbrel were driven close in by the tide on Plover Scar, which also held up to 350 Dunlin and 60 Ringed Plover. Elsewhere, 4 Wheatear and 3 White Wagtail, with a Sedge Warbler singing in the roadside reeds, I also saw 11 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the day.

The Sunday Wander.

A pleasant wander with KT over Heysham Barrows produced, 5 Whitethroat, a Wheatear, and 2 Song Thrush being the sighting with more value than the migrants. In the woodland, 2 Chiffchaff and a Jay.

Many thanks to Antonio for the stunning Black-necked Grebe header image. As a scarce visitor to Lancashire, mostly in spring and autumn, one was found on Kincraig Lake, Blackpool last Friday, and is still present there today. 

The Monday Arrival.

I just received a text to tell of 2 COMMON TERN on Conder Pool 9.45am this Monday morning, one day earlier than last years arrival of 8 May....Many Thanks to IP. 

Coming & Going.

Avocet Brian Rafferty 

Following a text last Thursday, I received another one yesterday with the same message, that a pair of Avocet had arrived on Conder Pool, but by the time I got to Conder Green on Thursday, the birds had done a runner and were never seen again, but yesterday was different, the Avocet were still on Tern Island when I got there, but guess what, the birds had disappeared when I returned to Conder Green five hours later....Now you see us, now you don't. 

Spotted Redshank. Pete Woodruff.

On the marsh at high tide, a Greenshank and the now considerably darker Spotted Redshank, this photograph was taken at Conder Green last year on 21 April, almost certainly the very same bird. Also on Conder Pool, 2 Common Sandpiper seen, with a Goosander also noted. The Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock was almost deserted, but last Friday's 19 Eider seen again, also a Great-crested Grebe. My second Swallow was over fields along Jeremy Lane. 

It was actually more like January along the headland at Cockersand, though it was sunny the westerly howler took the edge off the day and I was in my 'why am I doing this' mode. Thirty Turnstone were on Plover Scar, and up to 400 Golden Plover were again in the field by Abbey Farm, with 2 Wheatear, 2 Skylark, 4 Tree Sparrow, and my third Swallow over fields on the circuit.

The flooded field had gone off the boil, and just one Whooper Swan appears to be left with 21 Mute Swan and 3 Shoveler drake.

The best is yet to come!

Thanks for the Avocet Brian, four more birds and much more elegant looking than the two sleeping birds I saw on Conder Pool.

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.

A Final Scurry.

My last birding day in 2016 on Thursday turned up some interest, not least of all that the Cockersand area swan herd had reached an unprecedented 600 individuals assembled in fields to the west of Thursland Hill, and were seen as.....

Thursland Hill: 550 Whooper Swan, 35 Mute Swan

Clarkson's Farm: 7 Bewick's Swan, 5 Whooper Swan

Slack Lane: 3 Whooper Swan

Twite. Jan Larsson @ Vingspann 

Up to 50 Twite were in the Bank Houses area though they were mobile, it was good to see 4 Song Thrush, and a lone Redwing and Fieldfare. On the round, 8 Black-tailed Godwit were feeding with Curlew in a field at Abbey Farm, 14 Linnet, 4 Robin, 2 Reed Bunting, and a Snipe in the air.

The Lune Estuary had been taken over by the tide, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Snipe, and 2 Shoveler were seen as a pair. Conder Green was also under water, but 6 Little Grebe were on Conder Pool, with a Song Thrush on the outlet dealing with a snail being removed from it's shell which was soon in bits, and I could see 8 Fieldfare from here on the bushes on the coastal path.

Looking forward to the birds of 2017.

It's always important to me that I express my appreciation for all the photographs shown on Birds2blog. Thanks to everyone for the images throughout 2016, and in this case to Jan for the Twite in the post, and to Howard for the Redwing in the header.  

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.