Now I know what a caged tiger feels like. There I was pacing about the house waiting for the rain to clear as promised by them that are qualified to tell us. To be fair, they were right and as they often tell us, they only forecast the weather, they don’t produce it do they?
After a few false alarms of a brightening sky I finally got out for an hour or two to watch the tide roll in at Knott End before the rain beat me again. At least the rain and wind kept everyone off the beach allowing a half decent estimate of numbers even if the driving rain still ran down the back of my neck after finding its way through the vandalised windows of the bus shelter. The Oystercatchers have built up a bit recently but today I got a total count of 3150, those nearest the Bourne Arms marching ahead of the incoming tide plus the separate flock still on the beach but towards Pilling.
Birds are a mystery to the layman but I remember an occasion at Knott End quite recently when I overheard a snatch of conversation where a couple discussed the possibility that the pied birds walking ahead of the incoming tide were penguins! Alright they’re not birders, but don’t people read the papers, magazines, books or watch anything remotely educational or informative on TV these days to know one of the commonest British birds? Rant over – for now.
Six Black–tailed Godwits flew in with a single Whimbrel to land amongst the Oystercatchers and Knot where I counted 72 of them along with a dozen or so Redshank.
Apart from half a dozen birds most of the Sandwich Terns stayed close to the tide line and I counted a total of 72 of them as well.
The rain got heavier again so I drove around to the car park to look on the estuary where the usual Eider float along until the tide recedes. Today I only saw three as the visibility was so bad I could barely see beyond the end of the jetty.
For the gull enthusiasts out there I took a few pictures.
After a few false alarms of a brightening sky I finally got out for an hour or two to watch the tide roll in at Knott End before the rain beat me again. At least the rain and wind kept everyone off the beach allowing a half decent estimate of numbers even if the driving rain still ran down the back of my neck after finding its way through the vandalised windows of the bus shelter. The Oystercatchers have built up a bit recently but today I got a total count of 3150, those nearest the Bourne Arms marching ahead of the incoming tide plus the separate flock still on the beach but towards Pilling.
Birds are a mystery to the layman but I remember an occasion at Knott End quite recently when I overheard a snatch of conversation where a couple discussed the possibility that the pied birds walking ahead of the incoming tide were penguins! Alright they’re not birders, but don’t people read the papers, magazines, books or watch anything remotely educational or informative on TV these days to know one of the commonest British birds? Rant over – for now.
Six Black–tailed Godwits flew in with a single Whimbrel to land amongst the Oystercatchers and Knot where I counted 72 of them along with a dozen or so Redshank.
Apart from half a dozen birds most of the Sandwich Terns stayed close to the tide line and I counted a total of 72 of them as well.
The rain got heavier again so I drove around to the car park to look on the estuary where the usual Eider float along until the tide recedes. Today I only saw three as the visibility was so bad I could barely see beyond the end of the jetty.
For the gull enthusiasts out there I took a few pictures.
