And Now For Something A Little Different!

Lune Estuary.

By way of a change, I decided on a different viewpoint to observe the incoming tide on the Lune Estuary, and went to the embankment above the picnic site at Conder Green. This was a first for me, I always view the same stretch on the river from the bowling green at Glasson Dock, but both these locations have plus and minus points, some you win, some you loose.

Until the tide gained height, most of the waders were out of view below the marsh, but once the tide reached the marsh they were out in the open, though then the smaller birds were in the long grass.

On the shoreline I managed to see 4 Greenshank, 6 Black-tailed Godwit, a Ruff, Whimbrel, and Common Sandpiper. Then driven on to the marsh by the tide, a Curlew Sandpiper and Snipe. Overhead a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard was briefly attacked by a Kestrel, and 3 Migrant Hawker were patrolling the trees.

When I left the area, there was little dry land for the waders to escape to. The group pictured in my header were hanging on in at high tide.

Birk Bank Bog.

Black Darter male. Pete Woodruff.

Thinking it could well be my last chance for the dragons, and the day being at least decent weather-wise, I decided to give Birk Bank a return visit where I found 6 Black Darter, 5 male and a female.

Black Darter female. Pete Woodruff.

Eleven Common Darter were seen as 6 male and 5 female. It was good to find the male Emperor Dragonfly again, still patrolling and checking out the vegetation by the boardwalk.

Common Darter. Pete Woodruff.

I reckon these are the last of the dragons at Birk Bank Bog in '25. 

Guillemot Inner M'cbe Bay.

Scaup Off Broadway 17 January. Pete Woodruff.

 

I met Steve Edmundson at Birk Bank, he reminded me we had met earlier in the year at Morecambe when we were watching the female Scaup off Broadway. Steve told me of a Guillemot he'd seen off Teal Bay during the week. I told him he had been fortunate to find a scarce sea bird for this area of Morecambe Bay, he said he would send me a picture of the bird.

Guillemot Teal Bay 9 September. Steve Edmundson.

Thank you Steve, much appreciated.

Swifts.

When I found the quite amazing record of 60 Swift on passage through Borrowdale in the Lake District on Thursday 11 September, I thought it was a sighting worthy of mention. Even more amazing when I read they were observed over a 2 hour period flying north, which is in the opposite direction of their wintering grounds in Africa. Only a minority of Swifts would still be in Europe during September....Sixty Swift flying north in Northern England in mid-September doesn't sound like a minority in Europe.

Finches Make My Day....Again!

On Friday a pleasant couple of hours in Morecambe, where I walked along the Stone Jetty to find a lone female Common Scoter well offshore into the bay, also 8 Eider to note and 2 Great-crested Grebe.

Along the promenade off Broadway, 74 Eider were in two groups, 2 Great-crested Grebe seen, and up to 200 Pink-footed Geese flew north.

A 1st winter female Scaup behaved impeccably, close in and diving constantly on a flat calm sea. 

I've traced four past records on the internet from 1 December of Scaup off Morecambe Promenade in the area around Strathmore/Broadway, all except one have been recorded as a female, the exception being that of a 1st winter female which is what Fridays bird was. 

1st winter female Scaup. Pete Woodruff.

  

The Bullfinch.

A pair of Bullfinch made my day when I found them in Lancaster Cemetery during the week, my eighth record of the species at this location. I'm not the tree expert here, but I think the one they were feeding on was a Hornbeam.

Bullfinch Female. Simon Hawtin.

I was quite surprised when searching through my records. I was reminded that I had found my first Bullfinch in Lancaster Cemetery over 10 years ago, and doubly surprised to see the number of birds there in 2014....

2014 Oct 30 5 birds

2021 Dec 17  male

2022 April 3 3 birds

2022 Nov 13 4 birds

2022 Dec 6 pair

2023 Feb 6 pair

2023 May 1 pair

2024 Jan 15 pair 

Brent Geese, Sea-Ducks, And The Diver That Wasn't!

Heysham Geese.

The geese numbers at Heysham have been picking up, with a three figure count nearly reached recently. So I decided to pay a visit on Thursday, parking up on Knowleys Road and walking down to the promenade, the high tide was around 1.50pm which was 90 minutes away when I arrived.

It wasn't easy to initially get to grips with the count, they were weaving through the stones and boulders on the north shore.

But a couple of times disturbed and split, and the tide pushing the geese ever closer, I checked through at least four times, I eventually arrived at the count of 112 Brent Geese....'the highest count so far this winter'. Thanks to Malcolm Downham for some info regarding Brent Geese movement in the area earlier in the day.

Broadway Ducks.

My next move was to Morecambe to see if there was any sign of last weeks sea-ducks, but this time as opposed to flat calm sunny weather, there was a cold wind and a swell to contend with, and it wasn't going to be as easy to search, but I eventually latched on to 8 Common Scoter.

Common Scoter. Malcolm Downham.

My sighting was much further out into the bay than these, and with a bigger swell on the sea on Thursday, but almost certainly the same birds as MD's on 17 December off the Stone Jetty.

I later picked up a 1st winter female Scaup, again almost certainly my Wednesday 8 December bird.

Pine Lake Diver.

Great Northern Diver. Brian Rafferty.

My quest to find the Great Northern Diver at Pine Lake was a failure, the bird had moved on, but a little compensation came with a lone adult Whooper Swan, 5 Goldeneye, and a drake Goosander.

All in all a decent couple of hours, resulting in the best count this winter of Brent Geese at Heysham, and 8 Common Scoter, regarded as an erratic visitor to our recording area, and in my book, verging on a rarity to the inner Morecambe Bay.  

Goodies Off Broadway!

Cold, overcast, and calm in the days before Darragh arrived, it was good enough for me to take a look at the incoming tide along Morecambe Promenade.

Strung out in groups of various size from Broadway to Bare, I counted at least 110 Eider. Also between Broadway and Teal Bay, 7 Great-crested Grebe and 5 Red-breasted Merganser. 

At Teal Bay, a Bar-tailed Godwit, was with Redshank and four other species. I always think it odd to see usually flocking waders as lone individuals. Also to note, 38 Wigeon, 8 Pintail, and a Wren seen a little out of context on the saltmarsh.

Scaup And Scoter.

 Scaup 4 December. Pete Woodruff.

One of the best from the visit was a female Scaup off Broadway, seen as an erratic and scarce winter visitor to Morecambe Bay.  

The Scaup was distant, but it was good to get some record footage of the scarcity, my first since I found a drake on Conder Pool 6 March. Last year there was just 21 records of Scaup in Lancashire, but included three singles in Morecambe Bay in November/December....Lancashire Bird Report 2023

Common Scoter. Paul Ellis.

But star birds were a drake and female Common Scoter which were also off Broadway. The Common Scoter doesn't feature very often in my records, in fact a clear indication of the rarity status for me, is that this is my first record since I found a female on Conder Pool 16 years ago on 27 October 2008. Seen as another duck scarce to our area, at best erratic, though sometimes seen as a common passage bird, for example flocks of 30 and 57 south past Heysham in August 2021....Birds of Lancaster & District 2021

Interesting that c.30 miles south of Morecambe, conversely I could have seen up to 2,000 Common Scoter off Blackpool North Shore on 16 November 2023....Lancashire Bird Report 2023.  

Thanks to Paul Ellis for his image of the Common Scoter at Shard Bridge 10 years ago in August 2014.

Stonechats.

It pleased me to receive three more wintering Stonechat records from Bowland recently, with a male seen on the top of Grit Fell by the adventurous Ian Mitchell. Also birds seen recently in Bowland by the ever reliable Andrew Cornall, a male by the Mountain Rescue Centre east of Langden, and a pair on Abbeystead Lane.

Quiet Around The Lune Estuary....Again!

The lull before the storm migration takes off. But for what it's worth, high spring tides this week, 10.64m where I'm planning on going Tuesday. 

On Conder Pool, by the time I had noted the number had declined considerably from 4,000 recently to 1,500 Black-tailed Godwit today, a drake Scaup with 6 Tufted Duck had come into my view. This smart little drake was seen as another 'goodie' to add to the long list on Conder Pool, and was my first here since I found one 7 years ago in August 2017.

On the eerily quiet Lune Estuary at low tide, probably the same 9 Avocet as seen on 9 February/4 March, this time they were fragmented into 3 groups, 4 opposite Fishnet Point, 3 upstream opposite Waterloo Cottage, and 2 at the Conder mouth. The only other note was of 2 Goldeneye drake.

At Cockersand, the circuit was again quiet, but I had a brief view of a Barn Owl leaving its roost in a farm building, to perch on a post and return to roost 2 minutes later. A Sparrowhawk and later a Buzzard seen over fields, a Raven overhead on Slack Lane, from where c.35 Linnet poorly seen in the stubble field, and 4 Snipe exploded out of the ditch.

Through the doorway to the shell of a barn, I heard alarm calling which initially fooled me, until 4 Great Tit erupted out of the thicket.

Park and Garden.

Yes, this is the pond in Williamson's Park, and yes, this is a drake Pintail. 

I think Amazon have had a hand in the delivery of this duck here...I've seen the invoice!

And in the garden at dawn around at 6.15am, I watched a pair of Robin exploring the possibilities of using this open nest box for breeding....Definitely a case of watch this space.

On Wednesday, a Comma in the garden was my first, and the first one this year to be reported on the Butterfly Conservation website.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for the header image of the Scaup on Conder Pool Tuesday 5 March.

Birds & Hymenoptera.

Made my first venture of the year on to Harrisend and Hawthornthwaite Fell this week. It was my first visit to both these fells which I made at the onset of the return of the beast from the east.

Add to the bleakness of the day, I got no returns for my search for Stonechats, drawing a blank at both venues, despite my finding possibly two pairs of Stonechat on my last visit in Nov/Dec last year.

Hawthornthwaite Fell. Pete Woodruff. Clik The Pik

On Hawthornthwaite, at least 12 Red Grouse, a Buzzard over, a Snipe flushed out of a ditch, and 2 Fieldfare seemed deserted in a nearby field. 

On Harrisend, 2 Red Grouse, 2 Reed Bunting, a Raven over, and a Brown Hare which I don't recall ever seeing before on Harrisend Fell.

Garden Birds.

Over 20 minutes, I watched 9 Blackbird leaving a blossom tree to go to roost. Five left the tree and flew in an easterly direction, and four northerly. Two Buzzard were soaring together, then drifting off directly over the house.

Five Years Ago.

Rooting through my records, I was chuffed to find this coming Thursday was the anniversary when I found a wintering Little Stint on the mudbank midway between the old iron railway and the Lune/Conder confluence on 18 January 2016. I remember the day well, when my good friend Stuart Piner later joined me to share and enjoy this smart little wader, on the same day a Spotted Redshank was on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, and a female Scaup on the canal basin....Nice!

Thanks to Antonio for the beautiful header image of a beautiful bird.

Bees, Wasps and Ants.

Tawny Mining-Bee. Pete Woodruff.

Though the subject is mostly outside my comfort zone. I well recall one encounter when I found some Tawny Mining-Bees emerging from a lawn in a garden whilst visiting a relative at a care home in Lancaster. These creatures create a distinctive 'soil volcano' (tumuli) around the nest hole, and it was a delight for me to witness the emergence of these little beauties.

 

Ben Hargreaves with Steve White (Editor), and all involved in this informative and beautifully illustrated book, should be congratulated for the huge effort involved in this publication. 

I would like to personally thank Dave Bickerton as the Honorary Secretary of L&CFS for being in touch with me, and for posting copies to members....A recommended read. 

The Parish Of Aldcliffe And Beyond.

On Monday I went for another two pennyworth of the Snow Bunting on Plover Scar, saw a Sparrowhawk disappearing into a bush at Bank Houses, a Buzzard soaring over Abbey Farm, and a little evidence of Skylark and Meadow Pipit movement. Notes from the Lune Estuary included 128 Curlew, 11 Snipe, and 5 Goosander. On Conder Pool, 9 Little Grebe, 3 Greenshank, drake Goosander, and 5 Tufted Duck. 

Yesterday I did a circuit of the parish of Aldcliffe and was asked by a regular birder here if I had a permit for the area, but I seemed to get let off the hook even when I said I hadn't!....Good to see you again Barrie.

On Freeman's Pools, 15 Gadwall, up to 60 Teal, 6 Tufted Duck, 4 Wigeon, and a Little Grebe noted. Off Marsh Point, 122 Herring Gull with a lesser number of Black-headed Gull. In the harvested maize field, c.250 Greylag and 62 Canada Geese, and on the Wildfowlers' Pool, the female Scaup had the place almost itself, this pool would be more appropriately called Aldcliffe Wetlands, and the birdless flood called a lake.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, c.650 Black-tailed Godwit and 250 Golden Plover, with 8 Wigeon and 3 Goosander drake noted. A Merlin was squat quietly on the south end of Colloway Marsh. At Conder Green, 8 Little Grebe were seen as four in the creeks, and four on Conder Pool with a Greenshank to note, a Kingfisher flew the length of the pool, and 4 Tufted Duck seen numbered five on Monday, today the drake was missing.

Common Sandpiper Conder Green. Howard Stockdale. Clik the pik 

Despite five visits, I've not seen the Common Sandpiper at Conder Green since 13 October. Many thanks to Howard for the image. 

A Chat In The Soup.

I was only half way round the circuit of Cockersand on Monday and the weather had turned nasty, by mid-afternoon it was pea soup and drizzle, but a bird flying across the field ahead had me 'if it moves check it out', the bird landed on the reeds in the ditch and with the naked eye I'd called it a Reed Bunting, but hey....wrong again it was a cracking migrant male Stonechat.

Eider. Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

Also at Cockersand, a decent count of at least 150 Turnstone on Plover Scar, and 45 Oystercatcher, with 6 Eider off here. In fields by Abbey Farm, c.550 Golden Plover, 95 Curlew and 25 Black-tailed Godwit. At Bank Houses, 25 Tree Sparrow, and by Slack Lane cover crop 2 Greenfinch.

In a field off Jeremy Lane, an adult Mediterranean Gull was with 152 Common Gull and 26 Black-headed Gull. On the canal basin at Glasson, a female Scaup and my first lone Goldeneye. Three wader species noted on the Lune Estuary, a new wave of 44 Snipe and up to 150 Dunlin with fewer uncounted Redshank. 

On Conder Pool, another 10 Snipe, 3 Goosander, 9 Little Grebe, and in the creeks, it looks like we might be back to one Common Sandpiper again at Conder Green.

Recently deceased Guillemot on the tide wrack off Bank Houses, Cockersand.

Until The Rains Came!

Star bird for me on the Lune Estuary at the moment has to be the drake Scaup, yesterday it was tucked away and out of sight until I found it at the west end of the pool with 5 Little Grebe close by. A second female Tufted Duck has six ducklings, hope it has better luck than the first one with seven ducklings on 25 July and not seen since, no surprise there it has to be said, 92 Lapwing were also present, and the Kingfisher put in an appearance, first time for me on Conder Pool in over three months since 29 April.

On the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock, an adult Common Tern, estimates of waders in view, 1,500 Lapwing, 800 Redshank, 250 Dunlin, and 190 Curlew, with 14 Little Egret and 2 Great-crested Grebe noted. A call here on the way back to Lancaster at 4.30pm had the drake Scaup now on the canal basin, also a juvenile Great-crested Grebe was of note....You was right about the duck John!! 

Whimbrel. Plover Scar 8 August. Pete Woodruff.

At Cockersand, on Plover Scar up to high tide, 750 Dunlin, 45 Ringed Plover, 14 Redshank, 2 Turnstone and a Whimbrel. On the walk to Plover Scar, 2 Wheatear, 4 Linnet, a Peacock and Common Blue were seen in anything but ideal conditions if your'e a butterfly. 

The plan now was down the A588 to Fluke Hall, but a detour via Gulf Lane had me finding an adult Mediterranean Gull in a field of predominantly 1,250 Black-headed Gull, before a 15 minute deluge with more to come, had me doing a U turn back to Lancaster and....The End! 

Can't Be Birdin'....Won't Be Birdin'.....

Not in this yesterday afternoon anyway.

A Scaup In The Scope!

Drake Scaup. Conder Pool 4 August. Pete Woodruff.

In Lancashire, no better than an uncommon winter visitor to the coast, it was a surprise to find my first ever summer Scaup, a drake on Conder Pool Friday afternoon.

Also on the pool, 5 Little Grebe were seen, in the creeks and downstream channel, 6 Common Sandpiper, a Greenshank was with 320 Redshank and 5 Goosander noted, with butterflies on the coastal path, a Red Admiral and Gatekeeper. The Lune Estuary was big on water and little on birds, but 2 Common Tern adult and 2 Whimbrel were seen.

Wheatear Plover Scar. Pete Woodruff.

Plover Scar was almost deserted, but did provide me with my first autumn Wheatear. Long Tongue held c.250 Oystercatcher, a few Golden Plover and Turnstone. Later from Plover Scar north to Crook Farm, probably in excess of 1,500 Dunlin and 150 Ringed Plover were strung out and feeding along the shoreline, with a Whimbrel seen, and a Great-crested Grebe off here. A Meadow Brown was on Slack Lane with a Kestrel hovering over, and the lone Whooper Swan appears to be on friendly terms with a Mute Swan, the only two birds in the field.

Garden bird and a LRP.

I was chuffed to see a juvenile Robin in our garden on Friday morning, and was also chuffed to see an e-mail telling me of a juvenile Little Ringed Plover on Conder Pool yesterday afternoon....Thanks AC. 

Many thanks for the Robin header image Geoff....Nice, and puts my terrible Scaup pik to shame.

Ducks And Others.

I noted 20 species in the time I was on the Lune Estuary at Glasson Dock yesterday, and ducks were worthy headliners, if only because 48 Goldeneye were the new peak count here surpassing 42 seen 1 February. Also on the estuary, a female Scaup was with 7 Goldeneye at the Cocker mouth, c.150 Black-tailed Godwit were difficult to count well scattered, with c.1,200 Golden Plover and 6 Snipe of note.

Great White Egret. Pete Woodruff. 

The Great White Egret was on the southern end of Colloway Marsh, this picture taken at Conder Pool 20 January.

A drake Pochard was on the canal basin with a Great-crested Grebe noted. Ten Tufted Duck had turned up again on Conder Pool where the drake Goosander was seen again, 5 Little Grebe, the Spotted Redshank, and a lone Black-tailed Godwit were in the creeks. In a field at the junction of Jeremy and School Lane, 2 Whooper Swan were with 42 Mute Swan.

In a shortened version of a visit to Cockersand, Whooper Swans here were seen as, 22 in a field behind Crook Cottage, and the herd of at least 400 were now mainly at Bank End. Off Slack Lane, 20 Bewick's Swan, and at high tide Plover Scar, 455 Oystercatcher, up to 50 Lapwing, 26 Turnstone seen, with c.1,500 Wigeon off the scar and to the south.

Snipe. Pete Woodruff.

I did well to spot the Snipe in the pik above, they were hunkered down in the field by Abbey Farm. One on the left can be picked out, two heads centre and right not so easily, but there are four Snipe there....honest! 

Thanks to Peter Rhind for his Goldfinch header, and to Peter Guy for the Conder Green cross column image....Much appreciated.

Other Notes.

Another first for our garden was 3 Robin together on Thursday, and a peruse through my records uncovered a Peacock on the wing seen on Clougha 11 February 2004, from memory my only winter butterfly record. 

News of a Peregrine Falcon shot and killed at St Thomas church at Lytham St Annes Here 

The Parish Of Aldcliffe.

On the best spring day we've had so far, I spent a pleasant couple of hours in the Aldcliffe area on Friday and was pleased to find the former Wildfowler's Pool has been transformed by the floods into a brilliant wetlands. The area held an impressive 11 species of waders and wildfowl, top of the pops being at least 50 Black-tailed Godwit, with 32 Dunlin, and a few scattered Redshank. Wildfowl were topped by 4 Shoveler seen as two pair, a pair of Pintail which I'd say were exceptional here, with Goldeneye, Wigeon, Teal, and Mallard present too, and not forgetting the trusted Coot and Moorhen, 3 Long-tailed Tit were filing through the bushes. Four Goldeneye had taken to the flood which now resembles a small lake at the bottom of the field, and c.40 Black-headed Gull were for some reason patrolling the flood backwards and forwards like it was the power station outflow.  

Scaup with Wigeon. Jon Carter @ Birding Aldcliffe

The drake Scaup was showing well on Freeman's Pools, along with 6 Goldeneye, a few Wigeon and Tufted Duck, and a Little Grebe quietly in the corner. In the area it was good to see a Song Thrush and 2 Mistle Thrush, with 2 Grey Partridge below the hedge in one of the huge stubble fields,  the last time I saw Grey Partridge was heading towards two years ago on 13 May 2014 when I had two birds at Cockersands.

I made a call to JC to ask - based on past sightings - precisely where I might see the long staying Siberian Chiffchaff if it was to be my lucky day, to no avail as I failed to locate the little eastern beauty, the bird was first reported at Aldcliffe on 28 February. 

Thanks to Jon for the Scaup image, and to Howard for the Dunlin/Ringed Plover header, much appreciated on both counts.

Yesterdays Stint Aside....

....the Common Sandpiper was again in the creeks, 9 Little Grebe were the only other notes I made, six were on Conder Pool and three in the creeks, 2 Red-breasted Merganser were in the Conder channel downstream from the old railway bridge, and at least 300 Pink-footed Geese flew south in three skeins.

Pochard. Noushka Dufort.

I found no Goldeneye on the canal basin, but did find a female Scaup, with a drake Pochard something of a surprise, and a lone Pink-footed Goose something of another surprise on here. On the Lune Estuary, a Spotted Redshank was distant at the Conder mouth, c.75 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Bar-tailed Godwit, and 22 Goldeneye. 

House Sparrow. Noushka Dufort.

At the bottom of Bodie Hill inside the entrance gate to Glasson Grain, I saw at least 50 House Sparrow and a Reed Bunting feeding on spilt grain. 

Having spent 1.5 hour with the Little Stint, the light was fading and my time was up. Thanks to Noushka @ 1000-Pattes for the images, they are much appreciated.

Stonechats.   

Stonechat in Bowland. Howard Stockdale.

I'm grateful to Howard for passing on to me his records of seven wintering Stonechats seen over the weekend at two locations in Bowland....Excellent stuff.

Looking Back.

Yesterday I made some attempt, getting an hour in the Conder Green area, then spent two hours sat in a car watching squall after squall at Cockersands whilst staring out to sea to see if any wind blown strays were in the area, before throwing in the towel and going home to do an interesting back date search through my records to compare some bygone November birds.

Grey Phalarope. Martin Lofgren @ Wild Bird Gallery  

2005.

I was surprised to find it was 10 years ago since I found the Grey Phalarope at Heysham on 5 Nov, the bird was between the old wooden jetty and number one outfall, a juvenile Arctic Tern and 2 adult Little Gull were also present. On 17 Nov 15  Stonechat and 13 Wren were both good counts at Clougha/Birk Bank, not sure when - if ever - we will get these numbers of Stonechat back up here again in summer let alone 15 in November.

2006.

On 9 Nov 12 Brambling were at Tower Lodge, not an easy bird to locate recently, and a Hen Harrier was on Hawthornthwaite Fell on 13 Nov, a sighting which gives the feeling today of something like a miracle has happened.

2007.

Three Jack Snipe were at Conder Green 16 Nov, and 3 Scaup there throughout November on Conder Pool.

2008.

Three Short-eared Owl were at Bradshaw Lane 12 Nov. A widespread arrival had me see 19 Waxwing at Levens 14 Nov, a Long-tailed Duck was at Conder Green 18 Nov, this bird was present here for around a week, a Snow Bunting was at Jubilee Tower 24 Nov, and 2 Cattle Egret at Milnthorpe 15 Nov.

2009. 

Slavonian Grebe Jan Larsson 

On 3 Nov I got my share of the Slavonian Grebe on Pine Lake for almost two months, 4 Snow Geese were on the Eric Morecambe complex 3 Nov, they were regarded as the same birds on Aldcliffe Marsh which I saw myself there on 27 Nov, and I found a Black Redstart at Cockersands 9 Nov, the bird was on the roof tops at Bank Houses.

2010.

In the Tower Lodge area in Bowland I found up to 80 Brambling on 10 Nov, and on 19 Nov I saw 20 Waxwing at Silverdale. 

2013.

On Fluke Hall Lane I saw 3 Curlew Sandpiper on the late date of 13 Nov, on the same day I saw another Curlew Sandpiper at Cockers Dyke, with 95 Twite also a good count here. 

2014.

A Snow Bunting was on Plover Scar at Cockersands 10 Nov, and 150 Twite were at Cockers Dyke.

2015.

In the middle of the month this year, I've had no sign of anything like this quality of November birds, but I'm keeping the faith and....here's hoping!

Many thanks to Martin and Jan for their images of the brilliant phalarope and grebe.