There was good birding to be had today, the only problem being that I came back home with 300+ pictures on my camera. This meant more time in the “office” when I should have been making a curry for supper. Looks like a late meal again after the essential blogging.
The glut of pictures came mostly from a rather smart and obliging Black-tailed Godwit at Conder Green. There were approximately 200 of them again this morning across the far side of the pool, out of camera reach and very flighty as usual. I don’t think experienced adult birds would have been as accommodating as the second year shown here.
Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
Other waders today were 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 12 Redshank, 10 Oystercatcher and 3 Lapwing. It was good to see Lapwings back on site and with luck they should breed again.
Wildfowl; 16 Tufted Duck, 2 drake Wigeon, 1 Canada Goose. If this is the Canada Goose which bred here last year with one of its own kind there might be some weird and wonderful offspring this year as it is now paired up with a white, domestic Greylag; an incongruous pair indeed.
Wigeon
Canada Goose
Magpie!
For a change of scene I drove to Bank End, Cockerham Marsh which can be ok for birding provided the parachute centre isn’t open for business with the constant road and air traffic it entails. Apart from sheep, I didn’t see a lot of stuff - 2 Wheatear, 1 Little Egret, 3 Whitethroat, 4 Tree Sparrows and several Swallows, but by now I was keen to reach Fluke Hall.
Bank End - Cockerham marsh
Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa
After yesterday’s Willow Warblers today it was the turn of the related Wood Warbler to show. It’s something of a scarce bird around here in in Spring, always late April/early May and agreeable to catch up with on a yearly basis, even if it's usually a single bird. One was in the tree tops and I managed to get a couple of distant shots at the wrong camera setting but the main features are there - striking lemon yellow and white underparts coupled with a noticeably yellow supercilium; altogether a more colourful bird than its cousin the Willow Warbler.
Wood Warbler
Willow Warbler
There were Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps in song and Lesser Redpolls in the tree tops. A Tree Pipit flew over, but after spending too much time elsewhere my Thursday ticket was almost out of time. In any case after Wednesday's huge fall of Wheatears in parts of the Fylde and Lancaster I was busting a gut to do my own Wheatear walk.
Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa
I found a gang of 12/13 Wheatears along the sea wall, eminently catchable until in their eagerness for a meal worm they set off traps but failed to get caught. Most birds are far cleverer than us humans give them credit for, so the experience of the moving parts of the traps had made them more wary the second time around, even as they returned to the lure of an easy meal.
After a while I did catch two, both definitely of the “Greenland” type, one a male the other a female.
Northern Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa
Northern Wheatear- Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa
Northern Wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa
An excellent morning of birding for Another Bird Blog. But now if you’ll excuse me, there's a lamb curry to prepare.
"Click the pics" and come back soon.
Linking this post to Anni's bird Blog.
"Click the pics" and come back soon.
Linking this post to Anni's bird Blog.
