Another shower-dodging, breezy morning saw me try my luck at Conder Green where I bumped into PW on the windswept viaduct. We chatted briefly whilst both looking west at the incoming clouds and bemoaning the summer, watched the local House Martins battling over the salt marsh, then went our separate ways with better luck we hoped.
On the pool and creek I counted 1 Grey Heron, 9 Common Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank, 4 Greenshank, 2 Black-tailed Godwits, 55 Redshank, 12 Oystercatcher and 5 Curlew before I headed south to more familiar territory of Pilling. If only our locally occurring Greenshanks were as accommodating as the few I saw in Egypt.
At Lane Ends the sky to the west looked dark to say the least as I set off to Pilling Water thinking the rain had moved around and north out over the bay; no such luck as I got the tail end of a heavy shower and a good soaking in exchange for 1 Reed Warbler, 40 Linnets, 1 Greenfinch, 2 Kestrel, 5 Pied Wagtail, 3 Common Sandpipers, 1 Grey Heron, 28 Curlew, 18 Redshank and 80 Lapwings.
I called it a morning, drying out at home then did a little garden ringing pm when the wind dropped and the showers died out. Goldfinches are back in numbers for the irresistible Niger feed and I also caught 3 Blackbirds – adult female and 2 juveniles, one of them in the stages of growing its blacker male tail feathers. Also 2 Wrens and a juvenile Robin – the fault bar mid-way through the tail tells a tale of changeable food availability of late.
Our Goldies down here aren't bothering with the garden feeders as they have plenty of supplies still in the local headgerows.
ReplyDeleteHar det. E.
The Greenshank is cute, and I always enjoy Oystercatchers, but I love the bright red of the adult Goldfinch.
ReplyDeleteNice to be home and able to comment on my favorite blogs again. Your photos are always wonderful to me, a non-birder.
— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Beautiful images... I have really enjoyed my browse around your wonderful blog.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images... I have really enjoyed browsing your blog.
ReplyDeleteI love these close up pics!
ReplyDeleteQue buenos y bellos detalles en estos primeros planos amigo Phil, y la fotografía del cielo es genial, un abrazo para ti amigo
ReplyDeleteNice to be connected and be able to visit your wonderful blogs again, thanks for sharing, Phil
ReplyDeleteSo, are we going through a period of changing the bird picture for the header? All of them have been very good. Very much like the picture of the Oystercather, and the Goldfinch is becoming a regular feature. The Pilling sky has a formidable appearance. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLooks like the starts of a funnel cloud there Phil - hope you weren't underneath it.
ReplyDeleteGot soaked in your neck of the woods this arvo!
Cheers
D