A Wednesday Wander

It was early doors and at Cockerham four Swallows flew almost alongside the road; I think they had just left their overnight roost in farm buildings I passed. I saw no more Swallows this morning, 99.9% of them have left these shores for sunnier and warmer climes. 

The water level on Conder Pool looked high again after recent high tides overflowed into the pool so it was going to be hard to find many birds. It was also pretty cold too and took a while for the air to warm and birds to appear. After counts in the teens the Little Grebes seem not to like the deeper water and I could find only four this morning although a Great Crested Grebe may be the same one from a week and more ago. 

Great Crested Grebe

The Kingfisher was about and flew across the pool towards the more sheltered creek and away from its usual spot at the sluice gate and where the rippling water might be a deterrent to fishing. Apart from a Cormorant, a few Teal, 3 Little Egret and 3 Pied Wagtails that was it for the pool so time to survey the creeks. 

Three Goosander flew in from The Lune and proceeded to fish the shallow water amongst the mixed waders and wildfowl. The tides appear to have prompted Snipe to leave with not a one to be seen, but the usual array of 3 Greenshank, 60+ Redshank, 1 Spotted Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper, 6 Curlew, 8 Lapwing and 90+ Teal.

They are pretty distant pictures of the Goosanders, very wary birds which sailed up and down the creeks according to how and when vehicles parked at the roadside space and whether the occupants remained in or ventured out. A Curlew was more obliging even though feeding in and out of the tall grasses which line the creeks made a picture difficult.

Goosander

Goosanders

Curlew

Curlew

The wind began to increase. From the car park I found a flock of 30 or more Goldfinch but nowhere like the numbers of last week with a walk along the railway proving fairly fruitless apart from Robins in autumn song, a couple off Blackbirds and a Song Thrush. 

 

Robin

At Fluke Hall I rather wished I’d been there soon after first light as I found a few fresh-in birds. 

Two Wheatears were moving about the rocks below the sea wall with 10 or Chaffinches in the tree tops, a calling Nuthatch, a a party of 8 Mistle Thrushes and 2 Jays. 

The thrushes were into the light and as I walked along the road they chattered amongst themselves until I turned around to see them fly off to the south to leave just one, and then it too was gone. As they say, a “record shot” of this shy thrush. 

Mistle Thrush

The wind picked up more, the leaves began to rattle and rain arrived. Shame, but the morning was a good one.