Distant Dreams

I jumped out of the car and glanced towards the distant tide line whereupon I noticed a Marsh Harrier closer in, dead ahead but already heading west. As quick as possible I grabbed the camera from a shoulder bag on the passenger seat, set it to “sport” mode, switched it on and pointed. But already the harrier was on its way towards Fluke Hall, Knott End and eventually I guess the River Wyre which it could follow south and west. On autofocus the camera picked up some clear pictures of the Isle of Man ferry far out in the bay but missed the dark dot of the receding Marsh Harrier. They may fly quite slowly but they can certainly cover some ground, and by the time I reached Pilling Water, the harrier was over the horizon. Over the last couple of years I have had many local sightings of Marsh Harrier without getting one decent photo; one of these days!

Marsh Harrier
Marsh Harrier

There was nothing for it then but to forget Marsh Harriers for another day, concentrate on birding the sea wall, the fields behind and Pilling Water itself. I substituted the harrier with 2 Kestrels that quartered over the marsh, hovering now and again as a few Swallows buzzed them briefly. I counted 40+ Swallows hawking over the outflow, others settling on the usual rail, then just 2 Swift, several House Martin and a lonely Common Sandpiper, the peak of autumn migration now passed for this species. At the wildfowler’s pools I heard a Willow Warbler call from the willows and watched a party of 9 Goldfinch move through a margin of thistles. Out on the marsh I could see 2 Grey Heron, but in contrast to a couple of days ago, only one Little Egret. A handful of Dunlin went west towards Preesall Sands, and a single Snipe flew calling from the marsh then overhead.

Swallow
Swift

I made my way back to Lane Ends car park where another Willow Warbler called from the nearest trees; there’s been more than a few about this week.

Next it had to be Conder Green - “Wader City”, where each birder dreams of falling over the next “biggy”, spotting it in the creek from the wound down car window or peering from the “hide” at the mud where the bird waits for fame and probable torment. It was not to be, as I settled for 5 Greenshank, 155 Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 190 Lapwing, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Snipe,7 Oystercatcher. So sorry folks that log on here for the chance of seeing the one good enough for the pager, it’s just common old stuff I’m afraid with yet another Little Egret picture, but I did take it myself today. Passerines today were represented by the Goldfinch flock and a couple of Tree Sparrows that I watched searching the roadside traffic signs for hidden insect food.

Redshank
Lapwing
Curlew
Little Egret

A word of caution. If you are at Conder on a Saturday morning look out for the guy that has taken to sleeping in a car in the layby after a heavy Friday night. When he opens the car windows, the air sure does hum. On the other hand I guess he could have received a duff pager message about a wader at CG and had no petrol to get back home. He’d be better doing his local patch.

The weather looks better for some ringing tomorrow with maybe Willow Warblers on the cards after the numbers around this week.