Bongo Bird

Having missed the spoonbill on the Lune estuary last summer, I was rather thrilled to hear that Pete Crooks had found one yesterday on Colloway Marsh.
Of course Colloway is on the other side of the river but as far as I'm concerned if one can see a bird from the Aldcliffe area, then it counts as a patch bird.
And so it was that I headed along the cycle track this morning in pursuit of the big white 'bongo bird'. I'd bumped into Ray Hobbs at the parking area, he wasn't aware of the spoonbill's discovery and he joined me in searching for it.

Spoonbill. No, really.

A 'scope along the marsh north of the pylons failed to locate anything other than a few little egrets, and so we continued down to the horse paddocks at Low Wood. 
'Scanning over the marsh on the opposite bank I soon found the spoonbill just south of the pylons, loosely keeping company with at least 5 egrets. It was quite active, wing-stretching and preening.
Through bins it was just another distant white blob and a 'scope was a definite necessity from this side of the river.
As you can see from the amazing photograph (almost as definitive as those infamous images of the Cottingley Fairies) the bird was some way away...
Anyway, it was an Aldcliffe tick for both Ray and I, so that's all that really matters!
 
Jon

There's No Bunting, Like Snow Bunting

With some time on my hands today, I decided to hop into the motor and head off to pastures not-so-distant.
So, I started off with a stop at Conder Pools. The tide was high in the creek and a quick scan revealed a greenshank on the banks. The pools were relatively quiet with just 3 little grebe and the usual scattering of wigeon, teal, tufted duck, mute swan etc. A couple of snipe were visible in the waterside vegetation and at the back of the pools there was a feeding flock of 20 black-tailed godwit.
I then headed along Jeremy Lane where a quick stop to go through the large herd of mute swans only came up with a pair of whooper swans among them - and adult and a juvenile bird.

Whooper swans

As I continued along Moss Lane toward Cockersands I came across another mass of swans.
Pulling over, I could hear the distinctive honking of whooper swans and was soon looking at almost 200 wild swans grazing in the roadside field.
Scanning through, I could see a handful of Bewick's swans among them.

Bewick's swan among whooper swans

After taking a few pics I carried on toward Plover Scar. The tide was pretty much at its peak by now, though it was not an especially high tide so there were some areas of saltmarsh visible.
I walked toward the fishing skeer where a small selection of roosting waders included ringed plover, turnstone, oystercatcher, knot, redshank and curlew.
After a couple of minutes I came across the long-staying snow bunting picking its way through the rocks and marsh.

Snow bunting

This is the first snow bunting that I've seen in the UK for quite a few years - the last I saw anywhere was last May in Canada, where I am pleased to say that they do actually call them snow bunting and not something like 'Frosty longspur'.

On my way back I stopped off at Conder once more. The pools were even quieter now, even the godwits had gone.
In the creek there were the usual numerous teal and mallard, redshank, little egret and other assorted common stuff.

Spotted redshank

A pair of spotted redhank were, erm, spotted and I even managed a digi-scope snap of one as it snoozed on the creek bank and a lone grey plover was in with some lapwing.
From the bridge I scanned through the wigeon, hoping for a yankee interloper but it wasn't to be. A mobile flock of 12 reed bunting were moving from tideline to marsh and everywhere in between. A single rock pipit flew over.

Next stop was good old Aldcliffe. There wasn't a great deal going on to be honest and I struggled to find anything worthy of mention. The 30-40 fieldfare that have been a feature of the last week were still in the area and there were c400 pink-footed geese on the marsh but little else.
A quick check of Freeman's Pools saw the return of the redhead smew and a handful of goldeneye back on the main pool.

Jon
 

Thank Godwits Friday

I couldn't locate the redhead smew at all today. As it happens the pools were still hosting plenty of dabblers but there were no diving ducks to be seen at all. Gone were the goldenenye, gone were the tufted ducks and gone too was the smew. It was a mild and bright day, and there were lots of dog-walkers around so perhaps someone had been less than sympathetic to the 'please keep out signs' and been lolloping around Freeman's Pools' edges, as quite occasionally happens...

Black-tailed godwits on the Lune

On the plus side, there were 52 black-tailed godwit roosting on the river by Marsh Point at low-tide. They were joined by a many lapwing, looking resplendent in the sunshine, along with redshank, curlew, dunlin and a selection of gulls including lesser-black backed and herring.
Near the Wildfowlers' Pools I came across a goldcrest among a party of long-tailed tits, the first 'crest I've seen since my return.

Bullfinch

Nearby a pair of bullfinch played hide and seek, giving their presence away with their lovely soft, somewhat melancholic call. I managed a quick snap of the male before they bounced off, white rumps waving me goodbye. 
Around the pool edges were a dozen or so feeding pied wagtails, which were joined by 6 meadow pipit. Also here were the usual snipe, teal, moorhens and little grebes etc. Everywhere I looked I saw little egrets today; the Flood, Freeman's and Wildfowlers' Pools, Snipe Bog, Aldciffe, Heaton and Colloway marshes. By contrast I saw 2 grey herons. My how time shave changed!
Out on the marsh there were a couple of hundred pink-footed geese.

In the evening I popped back down to Freeman's to see what the barn owl was up to. Same as usual as it turned out, appearing just after 5.30pm and showing beautifully.
  
Both yesterday and Wednesday, the smew was parading around on the main water at Freeman's Pools much to the delight of visiting birders.
Also yesterday I had a peak count of 104 dunlin on the Flood. A couple of dazzling sulphur-bellied grey wagtails at Stodday Wastewater Works certainly brightened the day.

Jon

The Green, Green Sandpiper of Home

I finally came across a green sandpiper down on the patch this afternoon - the first I've seen since I returned to the area.
Although primarily a spring and late summer/autumn passage wader in much of Britain, green sandpipers have been regularly over-wintering in the Aldcliffe area for several years. As such, this is usually one of the best places in Lancashire to 'year-tick' them early in the year.
The high water levels following the exceptionally wet summer and autumn (so we hear...) has presumably rendered the site unsuitable for much of the winter. Perhaps it's no coincidence that this one has appeared as the muddy areas around the flood and Wildfowlers' Pools are expanding as the water recedes.
Having spent the last 3 years getting to grips with solitary sandpiper it's great to see a green again, and check out all those features.
It was pretty horrible out there today; the blustery winds, hail and showers made being outdoors a trifle unpleasant.

A fraction of the gulls in the fields

Out on the marsh there were about 1000 restless pink-footed geese, but they were keeping their distance and I wasn't able to get a chance to go through them well. Easier to view were the 800+ black-headed gulls feeding in the newly slurried fields directly south of Aldcliffe Hall Lane (aka Railway Crossing Lane). Rather amazingly, I couldn't locate a single Mediterranean gull among the mass of birds. Where the hell are the Meds? I haven't caught up with one of these cracking larids since getting back - looks like I may just have to pop over to Heysham and get one in the bag.
There were a few common gulls and a handful of herring gulls mixed in, but nothing else of note.

On Freeman's Pools the redhead smew was still lurking around on the small sluiced pool to the west of the main water. It's been hanging around here for the last few days and can be extremely tricky to see as it appears to prefer hugging the invisible edges. Consequently, a few visiting listers have dipped on it.

Black poplar

While checking the smaller pools, take a moment to admire the rather rare and magnificent old female black poplar (pictured) that you have to pass along the path up to the Marsh Point viewing spot.   

I was pleased to see a brown hare a couple of days ago, again my first since I stepped foot back on British soil. I was beginning to worry that the lurcher-loving poachers that frequent the Aldcliffe area from time to time had wiped them all out, so it's great to know that their local extinction is still on hold.
Talking of such things, I couldn't help but notice the four 'sportswear'-clad weed-toking identi-kid youths emerging from a gap in Freeman's Wood's defences at the weekend. Their .22 rifle complete with sights had me secretly thinking that that fence around the wood isn't altogether a bad thing...

Jon

Lack of Little Larids

Earlier in the week Jenny and I had to go to Morecambe, so we took advantage of our short visit and had a stroll along the promenade and down the Stone Jetty.
The tide was incoming but it was pretty calm, unlike the following couple of days when gusty winds would have made the whole venture far more interesting. The only things close offshore were a handful of great-crested grebes (actually the first I've seen since being back in the UK).
I checked through the turnstones roosting on the shore near the Bubbles groyne but sadly there was no purple sandpiper huddled among them. There was quite a nice gathering of waders though, including several dunlin, 6 ringed plover and a knot. On the groyne itself, masses of oystercatchers mingled with a few curlew and redshank as well as the ubiquitous black-headed gulls.

Snoozing smew at Freeman's Pools.

Meanwhile back at Aldcliffe it's been business as usual for the past few days. The redhead smew continues to lead some local listers a merry dance by 'hiding' from time to time, but it can be reliably found at Freeman's Pools as some time or other most days.
Yesterday (Friday) it was actually hauled out on the island, snoozing among the dabblers.
Although I've seen lots of smew over the years I'm pretty sure that this is the first one that I have seen out of water! It was pretty distant, and you can see from the cruddy pic here how easy it could be to overlook this bird. In this position it really resembles a mini female goosander (common merganser to my Canadian and American chums).
Elsewhere the lone linnet continues to hang out with the tideline goldfinch flock but the twite appear to have moved on.
Despite the high winds midweek, I haven't found any little gulls among the throng of black-heads. Heysham has had a few of course (see the Heysham Obs blog for details) and Aldcliffe often picks up the odd one or two in these conditions.
The other bird I've been hoping to find on the patch but has so far eluded me is stonechat. Pete Crooks had one near Freeman's Pools a short while ago, but I have yet to come across one of these classic early migrants. I have checked the traditional sites and all along the tideline but the little sods are playing hard to get. Oh well, I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Jon