Dan here.
Came down to the patch looking for an early wheatear or an advance party of sand martins, and failed on both counts, but an above-average couple of hours was had nonetheless, some of it in the sparkling company of Steve W.
Having finally lost its black cherry just last November, Aldcliffe and district produced a second black redstart today, with another female-type flitting around Stodday sewage works.
Typical weather conditions for finding BR today-- grey, misty and drizzly.
It pays to carry a camera at all times....until you see the results... the above shot is the best I could manage. (The bird is the grey smudge perching on the paler pixels).
Other passage migrants noted included a group of 7 goldcrests by the picnic area, and a further three dotted elsewhere. This is a respectable Spring tally for this species and is synchronous with good numbers recorded at Heysham.
Two green sandpipers were the margins of the Wildfowler's Pools today after a shaky start to the year for this near-emblematic Aldcliffe regular.
The touring redhead smew was again at Freeman's Pools, loosely associating with three goldeneyes, eight tufted ducks, six gadwalls and ten wigeon. The lone whooper swan is still present at the North end of Aldcliffe Marsh.
Larger gulls are quite a feature on the estuary in recent days, with dozens of pristine breeding plumage lesser-black backed and herring gulls making the place look nice.
Most of these will be off-passage, but I suspect this Mediterranean gull on the river just off the quay this morning is the one that winters in the vicinity of Ryelands Park.
DH.
Steve here, just to mention the Flood saw 19 Pied Wag and a handfull of Meadow Pipits.
No comments:
Post a Comment