The only real notable movements this morning were that of Pink-footed Geese heading north over Morecambe Bay; in total I had 404 in four skeins. I was a bit surprised because the visibility wasn't all that good, but maybe from their altitude it was better and the southwesterly wind would allow them to cover more ground and expend less energy.
On the shore there were few waders and the only half reasonable count was that of 275 Oystercatchers. Two Grey Plovers were nice as I never tire of seeing these beautiful waders. My photo below doesn't do them justice at all. I like them even in winter plumage, but in full summer plumage I think they are even better than 'Goldies'.
All the sea would give up was 97 Eiders, 18 Cormorants, 8 Common Scoters and 5 Red-breasted Mergansers.
I then headed to the Marine Lakes to feed the Turnstones in preparation for a potential ringing session tomorrow, weather permitting. The following pictures depict the process of feeding the 'Terry's'.
When you start putting some food out a few appear over the bank
They come a little closer
Then a few Starlings or a Black-headed Gull take an interest
They start running down the slope to the food
Something spooks them and they run away
Eventually the Turnstones start to feed!
3 comments:
Great stuff. Perhaps you can rename them Trainedstones. Do you shoot a net over them or do they lie on their backs with their legs in the air?
Hi Seumus
Pinkfeet moving over on this side too !
Hello PCF, Trainedstones; I like that! Yes, we use a whoosh net which is a net fired/propelled by bungee elastics. Cheers, Seumus
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