Green sandpiper puts on a good show

A walk around the patch with Jenny early afternoon and it was much the same as yesterday with the exception of around 450 pinkfeet on Aldcliffe Marsh.
Freeman's Pools - 6 shoveler, 5 wigeon & 3 gadwall were the wildfowl highlights.
A little egret was flying over the marsh and there were still 50 or so greylag near Bank Pool while the bulk of the birds (c200) were by the Wildfowlers' Pools. A green sandpiper was showing well here, as viewed from the gate on the cycle track.
40ish fieldfare and a few redwing were in hawthorns along the upper track.

Time, tide and geese wait for no man

Following the exciting sightings made by others in the past week I couldn't wait to get down Aldcliffe this morning, my first opportunity in nearly 2 weeks. I was particularly hoping that some of the several thousand pinkfeet in the area would be present for me to grill. They weren't.

Highlights otherwise as follows:
Frog Pond - 63 oystercatcher, 34 Canada geese, 27 greylag and 1 measly pinkfoot.
Wildfowlers' Pools - c250 greylag, 4 teal & 9 skylark over. A green sandpiper was flying noisily around.
Aldcliffe Marsh: very quiet with just 22 teal on the river of note plus a flock of 34 skylarks.
Bank Pool: 50 greylag, 1 Canada goose
Freeman's Pools: 1 little egret, 2 tufted duck, 3 gadwall, 3 shoveler & 7 snipe (on the island). I was pleased to see that the spotted redshank was still present on the top pools along with a single common redshank.
5 goldeneye were on the Lune at Snatchems.
No sign of the tawny owl in Freeman's Wood, though I heard one hooting merrily away from there yesterday evening. Pretty quiet all round with just bullfinch of note.

Bumped into Pete Crooks near the Spar shop (glamorous eh?) who reported the waxwing still present in his front garden. I'm on my way there now...

LATE BREAKING NEWS....
Waxwing seen upon arrival! It was in the top of a tree behind the house opposite the Rowan - easily accessed by a footpath off Leighton Drive which allowed me to stand directly below the bird as it preened (and indeed defacated - the waxwing, not me).
Decided to have a quick look round Admiralty Wood where I soon found 2 little owls. Hundreds of redwing and fieldfare were in Pony Wood and the immediate area.

Think Pink.....

Met up with Dan and had a chilly trawl through the Parish, worth the cold feet for the aerial displays, as the Pink Footed-geese were in the fields, 1500 or so, they eventually took flight and joined another couple of thousand over the marsh, very impressive. Also highlights today were 8/9 Rock 8/9 Meadow Pipits, Peregrine, Reed Bunting 2. Dunlin flock of 10 flying over shortly followed by 8 Golden Plover and 5 Bewick’s over the far side of the marsh. The high tide brought many waders and gulls onto fields. The 155 Linnets seen yesterday by Dan were not around today, though a smaller flock of 14/16 at the dung heap were present. Freeman’s Pool saw Shoveler 9, Wigeon 2 and Gadwall 2. The Tawny Owl is back at the usual roost. The Abraham Heights Waxwing again around Leighton Drive- as 'artistically' photographed by Dan.
SteveW.

Any ansers?

Steve W called yesterday saying that there were around 2000 pinkfeet at Aldcliffe and Guy McC today posted the following on the LDBWS wesbsite.

4 European white fronts associating with the greylags on the field next to the new sea defence. I later saw only three in the Lune. c. 2000ish PFG's in the improved fields. These were later flushed and moved across the Lune to the bypass area.
8 rock pipit, 6 meadow pipit, 1 grey and 1 pied wag and 4 snipe counted along the high tide mark. 12 linnet counted along cycle track. 1 merlin and 1 little egret near Bank pool.
4 shoveller and 2 gadwall in one small area of the Freemans pool. Goldcrest in Freemans.

A conversation with Pete Crooks last night revealed that there were/are apparently also 3 barnacle geese consorting with the pinkfoot flock. On top of that, a waxwing has been visiting his garden which just about falls into the 'parish' boundary... what a weekend for me to go to Cornwall to see my old mate Ziggy!! Bet there's nowt left by Saturday...

Winter thrushes return

A pair of raven were displaying over my house this morning - moving between the Castle and Aldcliffe.

Not too much to report from a leisurely stroll around the patch with Mrs C today.
The main thing was the annual 'late-winter' re-appearance, right on cue, of the large numbers of winter thrushes around the Admiralty Wood fields.
At least 200 redwing with smaller numbers of fieldfare (60 or so) were in the usual field to the immediate west of the wood. A GS woodpecker was here too but I couldn't see any little owls today.
110ish pinkfeet were flushed off Aldcliffe Marsh by a passing helicopter. Otherwise the marsh was quiet.
Good numbers of lapwing, golden plover, BH gulls were feeding in the fields along with a few curlew and common gulls.
A pair of gadwall and 12 coot were on Freeman's Pools along with a few mallard and single Canada goose.
A male bullfinch was seen in Freeman's Wood.