Blue blue skies and warm sunshine - I couldn't resist a walk through the dunes north of the Sands Lake earlier this evening.
And it wasn't bad - loads of Grass of Parnassus still flowering, a Brown Hawker and single Common Blue butterfly and a few Meadow Pipits and Swallow parties going over.
A male and young Stonechat were chacking away on any suitable perching post, shame I couldn't get a decent shot.
They never seem to sit still long enough.
Dunnocks, Linnets and Greenfinches in the scrub, as were two Whitethroats.
A single male Wheatear overlooked proceedings from the top of a stunted Sycamore.
Old school logic would say it was a Greenland because it perched up. Hmm...
Out on the beach a Greenshank was calling along with the Curlew, Oystercatchers and gulls, and there were at least 50 Tufted Ducks dozing on Sands Lake.
The calm before the storm - but more of that later.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Formby Channel this afternoon. The tern roost is now much reduced, and held 148 Sandwich and 59 Commons, also 33 Cormorants roosting there at high tide. Nevertheless it still attracted 2 Arctic Skuas which put in several appearances chasing the terns in the usual way. Competition between the skuas and the usual dogs as to who could cause the most mayhem!! (Wish the skuas would eat the bloody dogs).
1315 Pinkfeet flighted inland over my home at Churchtown between 1715 and 1825 this evening, going down towards Halsall to feed under the moon (presumably). Prior to this several hundred more had gone in between 1630 and 1715 when I was out visiting family and couldn't look at them properly. One Barnacle was with them, standing out clearly in the bright evening sunlight.
The Little Egret numbers at Connah's Quay seem to grow by the day. Some snaps:
http://www.drumimages.co.uk/birds/egretlittle.html