By Way Of A Change.

It was hardly to be called pleasant, overcast and a cold breeze, but by way of a change of scenery, a wander along the promenade at Morecambe seemed a good idea. 

But in fact I started at Heysham in the hope of catching some geese before the tide drove them off somewhere south, probably to Red Nab. For a change I had timed it right, and 52 Brent Geese - 21 in the video - were driven quite close in before taking to flight. It was also quite pleasing to see 4 Grey Plover before they too escaped the incoming tide.

Brent Geese Heysham. Pete Woodruff.

I drove along the promenade at Morecambe and pulled in at Broadway where I found a Grey Seal with its head bobbing above the swell, also a pair of Great Back-backed Gull alongside it at one point.

A raft of 55 Eider were diving, making the count a little challenging, also 4 Red-breasted Merganser, and between Broadway and Teal Bay I counted 8 Great Crested Grebe.

Roosting On The Groyne At Teal Bay. Pete Woodruff.

At Teal Bay a gathering of waders included a Knot retaining traces of its summer plumage on its breast nearing the end of December! Also of note, 11 Bar-tailed Godwit and 22 Wigeon.

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I wish everyone, visitors or dedicated followers of B2B for which I am very grateful....

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS 🎅

Back Big Time!

The Cockersand Whooper Swan are back, better still they were accompanied by the 2 Bewick's Swan. 

Clarkson's Farm: 44 Whooper Swan

Tomlinson's Farm: 67 Whooper Swan, 2 Bewick's Swan

Abbey Farm: 75 Whooper Swan

Braides: 126 Whooper Swan

Cockersand 186, Cockerham 126....The grand total being 314.

Whooper Swans Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

The swans took up most of my time on Tuesday, but it was good to find up to 2,25o Black-tailed Godwit off Crook Farm. Also to note, 8 Stock Dove and 2 Buzzard, and I finally found my first winter thrushes when about a dozen Fieldfare were seen from a moving motor on Moss Lane....Better late than never!

There was a large selection of wildfowl on Conder Pool today, including a near 50/50 mix of 200 Greylag and Canada Geese, 62 Mallard, 3 Wigeon, 2 Goosander, 23 Mute Swan, and a Little Grebe. Bird of the day here for me was a female Stonechat.

Hen Harrier.

I had a chance and very fortunate encounter with someone at the viewing platform at Conder Pool. Through an interesting conversation which developed, I gleaned some info regarding the Bowland Hen Harriers. I make no mention of who this person was, nor any mention of details about the site location. I learned only what I was entitled to, and if I'm honest the meeting ended with my wishing I could have heard more, but details were guarded and sparse.

Hen Harrier Forest of Bowland. Simon Hawtin.

Bowland held good numbers of Hen Harrier in 2024, although there was a below average breeding success. But the site I heard about held three pairs of Hen Harrier, all of which had broods successfully raising 12 young to fledging.

Simon Hawtin held a license which offered him to get close enough for many brilliant images of this stunning bird. I'm grateful to Simon for the use of these images of the Hen Harrier in Bowland. 

The Disappearing Act.

By necessity this is a little repetitive as a update on the disappearing swans, and it begins with the 'repetitive bit'.

Since I last saw up to 200 Whooper Swan and 2 Bewick's Swan at Cockersand on 24 November which were destined to winter here, they mysteriously disappeared. Well not mysteriously really, as I'm convinced it was because a similar number of sheep - up to 200 - were driven into the same field, and the swans have never been seen since.

By coincidence, at the same time of the disappearing swans, at least 3,500 Pink-footed Geese also vacated a field a short distance away, and are also gone for good it seems. To be honest, this is not such a mystery as with the swans, the geese tend to roam around during the winter, so are now probably settled somewhere on the Fylde.

But good news came to me in the form of a message from AC to tell me of c.160 Whooper Swan he had seen in a field at Cockersand on 8 December, also on the same date, 30 Whooper Swan were at Braides, which sounded to me like the Cockersand herd made a short flight south to Cockerham.

Two days later on 10 December, more good news - excellent news actually - from AC, when he reports 2 Bewick's Swan at Braides with 123 Whooper Swan. But better still, was that 73 Whooper Swan were in a field on the north side of Abbey Farm. So the Cockersand Whooper Swans are back, albeit fragmented and now located at two sites....Wonderful stuff.

Friday 12 December.

I only had a couple of hours of freedom on Friday, but no matter, that was all I needed to get an update on the swan issue at Cockersand.

Whooper Swan Cockersand 12 December. Pete Woodruff.

Not quite as good as hoped for, just 44 Whooper Swan were in the field north side of Abbey Farm....So the Whooper saga goes on!

It was a pleasant sight to see and hear the trumpeting 'yak-ak-ak' of four skeins of up to 3,000 Pink-footed Geese in flight out of the Lune Estuary south and over towards Pilling Marsh. This was a good number probably leaving the Colloway/Aldcliffe Marshes. 

Four Of Six Moorhen. Pete Woodruff.

It was good if unusual for me to see 6 Moorhen in procession through stubble. I'm not acquainted with seeing numbers of these rails, though I did find 22 Moorhen together around the frozen wildfowlers pool at Aldcliffe 11 years ago in December 2014.

One of our resident Blackbird was enjoying a feast of Cotoneaster berries yesterday, whilst our Robin looked on before quickly flying off.

Hit And Miss!

Actually very few hits, the rest all misses on my latest visit around the estuary, and some concerns to be going on with.

I suppose I would have to admit, the birds seen on Conder Pool were representative of what is to be expected on a moderate day in the first week of December, and it was necessary that I recorded every thing seen here today in order to create a bit of something to read on the report. 

If I'm honest, the most exciting thing to be seen was 14 Long-tailed Tit in a procession working through the hedgerow by the viewing screen. On Conder Pool, 3 Snipe, 3 Little Grebe, 8 Wigeon, 20 Mallard, 9 Black-headed Gull, and a lone drake Tufted Duck.

A couple of decent counts on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, up to 2,520 Black-tailed Godwit and at least 1,500 Golden Plover. At the south end of Jeremy Lane, 5 Whooper Swan were seen as a family of two adult and three 1st winter. These were the only swans I saw in a 4 hour trawl around the Lune Estuary....More on that subject later.

Now the concerns began to develop at Cockersand....At first it wasn't particularly worrying, but an example of the days misses were, no sign of the short stay Snow Bunting, no sign of the even shorter one day Black Redstart, and despite the distinct possibility of three pairs wintering at Cockersand this year, no Stonechat today.

But now things get really serious....Since 27 October, at least 200 Whooper Swan have been resident at Cockersand, lately they have been spread over fields south from Moss Lane down to Bank End, but today zilch. Not a single large white bird in the fields around the Cockersand area....Misery!

The one thing I did find was the reason why the herd of swans have 'disappeared', but to see why in the bigger picture you have to clik the pik.... 

The c.200 Whooper Swan have been replaced along the same length of fields by a similar number of c.200 sheep. 

Bearing in mind, at least 3,500 Pink-footed Geese were at Slack Lane 24 November, they have now also 'disappeared'. But the good news out of all this is, the Bewick's Swans had relocated to fields by Gardner's Farm yesterday 6 December....Alleluia!

In short, not a swan or goose to be seen on this weeks visit to Cockersand, in my book this is a disaster.

The Bewick's Swan.

It was my latest of many magical birding moments to find 2 Bewick's Swan at Cockersand 10 days ago on 20 November. 

I will always remember the comment by my mentor John Leedal the day we found them many years ago, when he said....'how privileged we are, to have such beautiful creatures fly thousands of miles from the Russian tundra, to visit us in Lancashire during the winter months'.

The Birds of Lancashire Clifford Oakes 1894 - 1965

I've been digging into the past about the Bewick's Swan, starting with some records from his book published in 1953. 

In the book, Clifford Oakes says the Bewick's Swan is a frequent winter visitor to Lancashire from November to April, they are seen in moderate numbers, but sometimes in herds of thirty and occasionally in larger numbers. He goes on to say, 'it is a more regular immigrant and more widespread than the Whooper Swan....F.S.Mitchell 1850 - 1929 writes of the Whooper Swan as being 'very rarely seen'....Oakes claims this is more likely to mean the winter range of the Whooper Swan has changed during the last half-century.

The most interesting account in Oakes book, was of an assembly totaling nearly 100 Bewick's Swan near Oldham in March 1940. He then records the species as being almost unknown at Leighton Moss, and goes on to say, it is an occasional visitor on the coast of Morecambe Bay and the Lune Estuary. There is a record of 9 Bewick's Swan seen as 2 adult and 7 juvenile at Bolton-le-Sands in November 1948, and closes his account of the Bewick's Swan with 'this is the most recent offshore occurrence'.

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2005.

Twenty years ago in January 2005, the wintering population of the Bewick's Swan in Britain stood at little more than 7,200. By then the swans had abandoned Martin Mere WWT, and most were feeding and roosting on and around the River Ribble. The only record in our local recording area in 2005, was of 4 Bewick's Swan on Aldcliffe Marsh late November.

The status in 2005 in our recording area was that of a scarce winter visitor, the only records were of one at Glasson on several dates in Jan/Feb, and two at Pilling Lane Ends in February. Autumn records consisted of no more than 6 birds at two sites.

2015.

Ten years ago in 2015, the status in our recording area took a slight but welcome upturn from scarce to that of an uncommon winter visitor. Throughout January, up to 19 Bewick's Swan were in and around Jeremy Lane. The first to return in the autumn was a single bird at PLE at the end of October, and no more than 4 birds at two sites.

Summary.

One of the most interesting claims in the book by Oakes....'it is a more regular immigrant and more widespread than the Whooper Swan, whilst F.S.Mitchell writes in his book....'the Whooper Swan is very rarely seen'. Another notable record in 2015, was that of 19 Bewick's Swan around Jeremy Lane throughout January, this peaked to 22 by mid-February.

The Bewick's Swan status in Lancashire and nationally, is that of an uncommon and declining winter visitor. Up to 1/3 of the worlds population winter in the UK, and is a bird included with another 70 bird species on the BTO Birds Of Conservation Concern Red List, and apart from reading about Oakes 'herds of thirty Bewick's Swans' in Lancashire, there appears to have been little change in their status, and certainly not since the start of the 21st century, since when it has declined and continues to do so.

My Records Read....The fact that 2 Bewick's Swans have been and are still resident at Cockersand since Thursday 20 November is beyond wonderful.

Thanks to Paul Ellis for the header image of the Bewick's Swans at Thurnham in 2024.     

B For Bonus.

A bit of life on Conder Pool was represented by something of a rarity in the form of a drake Pintail having a snooze by one of the islands. My other notes were, a female Stonechat in the long grasses east end, 5 Little Grebe, 3 Snipe, 21 Greylag and 12 Canada Geese. A Buzzard flew low over the pool and out of view east over the canal.

At Cockersand, at least 250 Whooper Swan were spread over four fields on this visit, certainly an underestimate with some out of view and distant. From the Caravan Park, 10 Snipe exploded off the marsh, including eight in sync, a Kestrel took off from a barn at Bank House Farm and was immediately attacked in the air by Carrion Crows.

Bewick's Swan. Tom Parkinson.

Up to 3,500 Pink-footed Geese were in the field at the junction of Moss/Slack Lane, also 2 Bewick's Swan same field close by...Thanks to TP who took this excellent image to illustrate our smallest and most elegant of swans. A bird that gives us the privilege of a winter visit from its Arctic tundra breeding ground, and remains in the same field 7 days after it arrived at Cockersand on 20 November.  

A female Stonechat was at Lighthouse Cottage again, and on Plover Scar, a decent count of 15 Grey Plover, 92 Oystercatcher, with low end double figures of Knot, Dunlin, Golden Plover and Turnstone. As I stood checking the scar, behind me in the field north side of Abbey Farm, 440 Black-tailed Godwit.

B for Bonus.

A bit of a surprise as I came away from Plover Scar walking towards the car park, a Barnacle Goose was on the estuary. This was almost certainly the same individual seen on Jeremy Lane with Greylags last Sunday 23 November. As far as I could see, it was fully feathered, no obvious injuries, no rings, and appeared to be quite healthy. 

Barnacle Goose Conder Pool 12 March 2025. Pete Woodruff.

As in this image, the ringed Barnacle Goose with a Greylag Goose is labeled feral, whilst a Barnacle Goose with Pink-footed Geese get the thumbs up. But you can never tell with Barnacle Geese, there are many feral bird species in the country these days, with Lincolnshire alone having an estimated 2,000 individuals. 

Not Much To Write Home About....

 ....but one record on Thursday lit up Cockersand. 

I actually skipped a visit to Conder Pool, three men in high vis overalls were having a discussion on the viewing platform, with a flailing machine parked up in the layby waiting to be fired up, so I jogged on to Cockersand.

In a field south end of Jeremy Lane I counted 62 Whooper Swan and up to 150 Golden Plover. The resident herd at Cockersand are still in fields south towards Bank End, and remain as a count of c.200 Whooper Swan as far as I can see.

Starting the circuit at Lighthouse Cottage where, on a beautiful if icy cold day, I found a male and female Stonechat. The best Plover Scar could muster at low tide, was c.250 Oystercatcher and a 50/50 mix of up to 100 Knot and Dunlin, with 10 Eider off here.

A Buzzard was inland flying purposefully north with its a slow wingbeat and intermittent glides. In the field south side of Abbey Farm, at least 325 Golden Plover. Having checked the shingle area for 15 minutes to find it bunting'less, a Rock Pipit dropped in and immediately took off again, and I was entertained by 12 Turnstone turning the stones as they do.

Dunnock Cockersand. Pete Woodruff.

The confiding Dunnock showed well again at the same location for my third consecutive visit.

By the time I got back to Slack Lane and the Lighthouse Cottage in my sights on the return from the circuit, up to 2,500 Pink-footed Geese were in the same field as Wednesdays 12 November 188 P.F.G.

In the field to the south of the Pink-footed Geese, there was the wonderful sight of 2 Bewick's Swan accompanied by 2 Whooper Swan. The video isn't world class, but it's an excellent record, and the size difference between the Whooper Swan on the right is obvious.

Bewick's Swan.

The status of the Bewick's Swan in Lancashire mirrors that of the national one, being an uncommon and declining winter visitor, teetering on the brink of becoming a rarity. In fact information gained to date, says there are little more than 30 Bewick's Swan anywhere in the country. According to my record of these two seen on Thursday 20 November, appear to be an average first arrival record in Lancashire on that date. 

Records in Lancashire in 2024 can only be described as at best sparse, with just 8 birds recorded up to mid-March. My records of Bewick's Swan for 2024....

6 Cockersand 12 Jan

3 Cockersand 17 Jan

2 Cockersand 12 Dec

But I made an interesting discovery when I found in my notes, a claim that AC had told me in a conversation, that 11 Bewick's Swan were in fields at Jeremy and Moss Lane on Saturday 13 January 2024. Even more interesting was the fact that this record included three 1st winter birds.

And the winner is....The Bewick's Swan! 

Buntings At Cockersand....And More!

The Buntings.

A Snow Bunting was found at Cockersand on 25 October, and having paid four visits Cockersand, I failed to find the bird....

But on Wednesday 12 November I was delighted to be watching the 2 Snow Buntings in my video, giving excellent views from the concrete section of the coastal footpath feeding along the tidewrack.

Snow Bunting. Mario Chin.

Both Snow Bunting sightings at Cockersand are credited to Rosie Briggs and Mario Chin in a joint effort, and I am grateful to Rosie for pointing me in the right direction to see these two birds, and to Mario for his image. I am also grateful to Howard Stockdale for his image in my header. 

The Geese.

When I arrived at the Lighthouse Cottage, in the field behind Crook Cottage I counted 58 geese, by which time two skeins of 130 were overhead from the south, they circled and came down to join those already in the field, to make a total of 188 Pink-footed Geese, by far the best count in our immediate area this winter.

The Swans.

As I walked along the headland, I could see the swan herd which remain in the fields stretching out to Bank End, as far as I could see they still number up to 200 Whooper Swan.

The Bat.

The best experience of the day came when I saw what I initially thought was a Snipe flying over Abbey Farm towards me. But those thoughts were short lived, when I soon realised it wasn't the flight or behaviour of a Snipe, but that of a bat.

Noctule Bat. Dennis Atherton.

I watched in amazement for a full 15 minutes to see this creature making several dives as it caught the flying insects to eat on the wing, it was a Noctule Bat. The head and body measurement is 60 - 82mm, with a wingspan of 320 - 400mm, and is one of the largest of UK Bats....I made six attempts at catching it on video but failed miserably.

The Godwits.

Black-tailed Godwit. Howard Stockdale.

Howard was in touch and sent me his image of Black-tailed Godwit over Cockersand on Thursday. I would guess this is a large part of my 3,500 which flew purposefully south over Plover Scar on Monday.

The Cuckoo.

Lots of visitors to B2B will remember Wilfred the Cuckoo who was satellite tagged last year in June 2024 at Worlingham Marshes Suffolk. I featured Wilfred in two posts last year, and posted this piece from a BTO update earlier this year in March 2025 when he was on his return to the UK....

There had been no signal from Wilfred's transmitter since 20 March when he was in south-east Guinea, but good news eventually came through in the past few days, that he had made remarkable progress and was in fact now in Spain. Currently just north of Guadalupe, having covered at least 2,174 miles since leaving Guinea, and in excess of 4,350 miles since he departed his wintering grounds in Angola.

Today Sunday 16 November, I'm saddened to read the following from BTO....

Sadly it looks like we may have heard the last from Wilfred the Suffolk Cuckoo, his last transmission was received on 20 September when he was in southern Niger. Having been tagged in 2024, he has provided us with data for a complete migration route to his wintering grounds and back, as well as his southbound journey as far as Niger. 

I am personally gutted and saddened to hear the news about the demise of this remarkable bird....LONG LIVE WILFRED.

Brief Encounters.

Conder Pool did nothing to spur on my enthusiasm again on Monday, with 3 Little Grebe, 28 Teal, 22 Mallard, and a Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Within easy viewing range on the Lune Estuary at Glasson, barely moderate numbers of 600 Lapwing, 225 Golden Plover, and 90 Curlew, with more moderation of Dunlin and Redshank seen. At least 400 Wigeon, 3 Goosander, and a Great-crested Grebe on the river.

Along Jeremy Lane, swans in a field at the south end, were seen as 7 Whooper Swan and 3 Mute Swan. The Cockersand c.200 Whooper Swan herd were seen again in the fields south of Moss Lane stretching to Bank End.

Cockersand produced some interesting encounters today, not least of which was my finally nailing the Snow Bunting present here since 25 October.

The Snow Bunting is a ridiculously confiding bird, but can be difficult to spot when it is camouflaged whilst feeding amongst the tidewrack, but this one presented no such problem.

This Snow Bunting I saw on Plover Scar 5 January 2024, is a perfect example of just how cryptic the Snow Bunting can be at a distance.

Setting off on the circuit I soon came across the Dunnock, it was in the same hedgerow, and probably the same bird seen on 30 October.

This bird was just as confiding as the bunting, and gave me the opportunity to appreciate it as an attractive bird, with some nice plumage detail and colours, not as dowdy as sometimes portrayed.

As I walked along Slack Lane, 2 Snipe were high west overhead, and up to 12 Long-tailed Tit were working their way through the Willows.

Long-tailed Tit. Pete Woodruff.

One of the tits thought it was an autumn migrant Swallow on the wires!

There was a gathering of waders on Plover Scar, the best of which was a decent count of 14 Grey Plover, with 55 Turnstone and 350 Oystercatcher. A female Shoveler offshore was unusual, and certainly not a regular occurrence here, also 5 Eider. Another unusual and novel sighting was that of 5 Brown Hare driven off Plover Scar by the incoming tide, they were in a follow-my-leader line, up onto the sea wall, and away into the fields.

As I was leaving Plover Scar, in the space of a few minutes, 42 Pink-footed Geese, followed by up to 250 Golden Plover, and a spectacular encounter was of 3,500 Black-tailed Godwit were all purposefully in a fly-by >south. 

The Bogey Bird!

The Snow Bunting seems to be a declining species, and isn't known to be recorded in any more than single figure numbers in Lancashire these days, though it's status is that of a fairly common winter visitor to summits and coasts. A single female spent the entire month of January in 2024 at Cockersand, and I caught up with it on the fifth of the month. But it's a different story for me this year.....

Snow Bunting Fylde Coast. Martin Jump.

Thursday was my sixth consecutive estuary wander in a row since 8 October, three of them being made since the Snow Bunting was found at Cockersand on 25 October. Despite it having been seen a few times by other birders - the latest one being yesterday Saturday 8 November - I still haven't had any success in finding this little critter....My bogey bird, well this years bogey anyway!

Conder Pool.

Some birds - but not that many to be honest - seen on my latest safari this week, another disappointing 17 birds to note on Conder Pool, 8 Little Grebe, 8 Canada Geese, and a lone Snipe hunkered down in the long grass. Up to 275 Teal and 2 Pink-footed Geese were in the creeks.

I did call back here early evening on my way to Lancaster, and just managed to see up to 32 Tufted Duck before making a hasty retreat as 24 birders complete with tour guide, were descending towards the viewing platform.

Cockersand.

The currently resident c.200 Whooper Swan herd had relocated to fields to the south of Moss lane and were strung out as far as Bank End Farm. 

With the exception of 120 Curlew by Abbey farm, the current high tides haven't driven the waders to take to the fields at Cockersand yet, and as I checked out the fraction of Plover Scar left above water, 9 Turnstone dropped in on a small patch as the tide ebbed.

A Rock Pipit and Skylark were the only other birds of note for the little black book, and I was leaving Cockersand disappointed not to have found a single Stonechat anywhere today, despite having seen 3 pairs here recently.

I decided to video the Grey Heron which had taken the place of the Merlin seen in the same field on 30 October. Until I reviewed the video full screen on the computer, I found I had also recorded a Stonechat which can be seen towards the end of the video as the Magpie takes off.

Dicranopalpus ramosus. Pete Woodruff.

The white-washed wall at Lighthouse Cottage has turned up a little interest recently with this Harvestman and it's amazing long legs, and the Wolf Spider seen this week.

Wolf Spider. Pete Woodruff.

The Header.

Note....Looking horizontally, the Grey Heron, the Magpie, and the Stonechat can be seen at the top right corner of the header image.