A Ruff Old Morning

In the half-light of dawn the Kestrel of Head Dyke Lane was where it often sits atop one of two telegraph poles. Birds are such creatures of habit, just like the birders who watch them. It was too dark for a photo and asking for trouble to stop along this double white-lined stretch of the A558, one of the most dangerous roads in England. 

In the tree tops at Lane Ends I counted 41 Little Egrets waiting for the off, any minute now. And then through Cockerham I spotted a roadside Tawny Owl as it too saw the car’s headlights slowing to make it fly back to the nearby trees. 

A heavy autumn mist lay across Conder Green and the River Lune, so much in fact that there was no point trying to bird watch until the sun lifted a little more. At Glasson Dock the boats were enveloped in misty light as early rising Swallows and Starlings attached themselves to any masts which reached into the emerging sunshine. 

Misty Sunrise - River Lune

 Glasson Dock

A few Swallows were feeding low across the water as frrom the left a Kingfisher appeared amongst them, slowed as if to stop and then vanished once more into the gloom. There was a Common Tern doing a hunting circuit but too fast with no light for a picture, and then a croaking Grey Heron flying out of and back into the mist. 

After a while the mist cleared enough to count the Swallows at about 200, a drop from recent counts, and the Alba wagtails at 20+, also a fall from the highs of late. 

Swallow

The towpath walk gave a couple of Chiffchaffs and a Great-spotted Woodpecker but otherwise quiet. By now folk were stirring, the overnight camping anglers and the first doggy walkers on the path so I high-tailed it to Conder. 

Black-headed Gull

First check was the far creek where a small, juvenile Ruff picked along the sand, my first Ruff of the autumn. The Ruff fed on its own, away from the usual assortment of 2 Greenshank, 7 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Snipe, 2 Common Sandpiper, 6 Curlew, 30+ Lapwing, 20+ Redshank and 20 Teal. 

Ruff - Photo credit: Aaron Maizlish / Foter / (CC BY-NC 2.0) 

On the pool - 3 Common Tern, 7 Little Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Cormorant, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Wigeon. And in the vicinity - 50 Goldfinch, 1 Kestrel, 1 Reed Bunting and 1 Chiffchaff, with the hedgerow and the old orchard quiet following an overnight clearout of the birds from Friday and Saturday. 

There have been a lot of Chiffchaffs this week with many dozens being reported along the coast, even one migrant juvenile in my own garden on Saturday where they are but occasional visitors. 

Chiffchaff

I called back at Lane Ends, Pilling hoping to see Wheatears but there were none, just 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Buzzard, 25 Goldfinch, 2 Skylarks and lots of folks out for the sun. 

Yes, the pun was highly unoriginal and the morning slightly disappointing but it’s nice to add Ruff to the autumn list of Another Bird Blog. 

Sunday Shanks

First off and for all my blogging pals especially Wally in Florida who knows a good British pub when he sees one, here's a picture of The Stork at Conder Green with their sign depicting a heron. Confused? - Read the last post on Another Bird Blog or click the pics below for close-up views of The Stork and this morning's first Grey Heron spotted just yards away from the inn. 

The Stork at Conder Green

Grey Heron

Yes I was there again this morning hoping for pictures and more than a few birds in the bright sunshine. That dusky stunner Spotted Redshank was still in the creek, the naked eye all that was needed to pick it out from the centre of a gaggle of 20+ Redshanks. At least 8 Common Sandpipers noted today as the birds moved up and down the creek according to pedestrian traffic over the bridge or vehicles heading to the car park. Oystercatchers still have two young, the chicks now very mobile in exploring all parts of the pool edges. 

Less obvious was a single Greenshank hiding away at the back of the pool, sometimes in view, mostly not. 

Greenshank

The Canada Geese have quite big youngsters now, the goslings looking for all the world like tiny versions of their parents. The young Shelducks are getting there and it is obvious who they belong to especially when the female is so attentive because dad has done a runner. The drake Goldeneye still there with 8 Tufted Duck, 2 Wigeon and now 1 Little Grebe 

Canada Goose

Shelduck

The warm sun definitely helped but there appeared to be more passerines about this morning with small groups of calling finches, mainly long the old railway line. Into the notebook went 15 Linnet, 12 Goldfinch and 10 Greenfinch as a clear improvement on recent counts and hopefully the start of larger flocks of each. Good numbers of Whitethroats too with 3 singing males, a couple of family parties and additional churring adults lifting the morning count to 15. Others – 3 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Bunting, 2 Tree Sparrow, 3 Stock Dove. 

Greenfinch

Linnet

Also along the railway path, 2 Pied Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail flying over. It was from the old railway line that I saw a Roe Deer out on the marsh, the animal crossing from north of Conder and heading all the time to Glasson until it bounded up the embankment and disappeared from view; it's quite normal to see cattle out on the marsh or river mud at low tide, but not wild deer. 

Roe Deer - River Lune

Cattle - River Lune

I made it to Glasson where as I shaped to photograph another Grey Heron a Kingfisher flew up and landed on the jetty beyond the heron. It was good to see a Kingfisher after such a hard and prolonged winter even though the tiny bird was too distant for a photo. I settled for yet another heron shot, a Black-headed Gull and a juvenile Starling. 

Grey Heron

Black-headed Gull

 Starling

A blog reader asked where my bird ringing has been lately. The explanation is that after ringing over 25,000 birds home and away during 20+ years I decided to wind down a little from general mist netting to concentrate on smaller ringing objectives, bird watching and photography.

So stay tuned to Another Bird Blog for the same mix as before with perhaps less frequent ringing news and views.

A Green Day

Destination Conder Green again this morning. Just a couple of hours later there was a decent list of birds in my notebook plus new pictures to share with blog followers. And remember to "click the pics" for the birding tour.

There must have been a recent hatch or awakening of insects at the line of hawthorns because lots of hirundines and Swifts fed there, all dashing alongside, through and above the hedge. In all I estimated 25+ Swift, 20+ Sand Martin, 14 House Martin and 10 Swallows taking part in the feeding frenzy for an hour or more before most moved on to the next feast. 

It was less frenetic on the pool and the river where apart from the noisy Oystercatchers, the wildfowl go about their business in a quiet sort of way. Similar numbers to recent days with 16 Tufted Duck, 1 Teal, 3 Wigeon and then 2 Canada Goose with 2 youngsters. There are 3 broods of Mallards numbering about 15 chicks + 3 adult females, the males seeming to be absent on this Father's Day. 

Eurasian Wigeon

Mallard

Waders as normal with 1 Curlew, 15 Redshank and 10 Oystercatcher but a few passerines in evidence with 2 Pied Wagtail, 3 Whitethroat, 5 Greenfinch, 2 Linnet, 5 Tree Sparrow, 6 Goldfinch and then 1 Lesser Whitethroat singing from the car park area. 

Tree Sparrow

Two Ravens flew over honking loudly and heading in the direction of Cockersands/Pilling. My cue to take a look at Glasson Dock where I didn't find much save for more Tufted Duck in the dock, Swallows nesting in the toilet block, a Blackbird feeding young and a Grey Heron looking for a fishy breakfast down in the muddy waters of the dock. 

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Blackbird

Mostly From Wiki. The settlement of Glasson village built up slowly in the 19th century with the main buildings being Christ Church in 1830, a shipyard and Customs House constructed in 1834, a Watch House in 1836, and a Dry Dock in 1841. The shipyards were largely concerned with ship repair rather than shipbuilding, eventually closing in 1968, with the dry dock filled in a year later. 

Glasson Dock

The quay was connected to the UK railway network in 1883, operating until the closure of passenger services on 5th July 1930. Goods traffic continued until 7 September 1964. The trackbed of the disused branch-line is now a linear park and cycleway (popular with birders). A limited amount of commercial traffic still uses the dock, with outbound shipments including coal for the Isle of Man and the Western Islands of Scotland, and incoming cargoes including animal foodstuffs and fertilizer, which are stored in sheds located on the dock side. 

River Lune - Glasson looking to Conder Green

The River Conder meets the River Lune at Conder Green, the latter a tiny settlement of a few dozen homes (and The Stork pub) formerly served by the London and North Western Railway's Glasson Dock railway line which had three stations in the parish: one at Conder Green, the terminus at Glasson Dock and a private stop at the local gentry's home of Ashton Hall further north towards Lancaster. 

Conder Green

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