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ELOC ARCTIC SHOREBIRD PUSH

Little and large. Little Stint and Common Ringed Plover with the unwanted and biggest lump of biomass, Canada Goose.

ALSTON WETLAND'S SECOND EVER LITTLE STINT WAS YESTERDAY'S HIGHLIGHT. Until now the reserve had hosted the same number of Killdeers as Little Stints! Stocks Reservoir was also great in the morning and evening with four Ruddy Turnstones on the island there as well as now five lovely Black Terns hawking near the buoys at the mouth of the Hodder inlet. The turnstones flew off high to the northeast at 2015 and I left soon afterwards, only arriving at Alston after 2100 where the stint was happily still on view until at lest 2125 amongst 7 whimbrels and a few curlews. It was still present next morning and also at Alston there were at least 4 Common Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin. A Kingfisher here was also new for the year and the Common Cuckoos were much in evidence, calling loudly again. A couple of pairs of Red-breasted Mergansers and at least 16 Common Redshank were also of note but alas there was no sign of the reported Baird's Sandpiper of the previous evening. A couple of Sedge Warblers were singing at Alston No. 1 reservoir this morning, keeping my smallest year list vaguely in touch with the rest of the ELOC little year listers.

ELOC year list 131. Ruddy Turnstone 132. Common Kingfisher 133. Little Stint 134. Sedge Warbler

Dunlin on the shore of Alston no.1

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DOTTIE TIME AT LAST ON PENDLE

Eurasian Dotterel, Pendle Hill.

THE CONTINUING EASTERLIES BROUGHT MORE MIGRANTS TO EAST LANCS THIS WEEKEND. The highlights were a lovely Dotterel near the trig point on Pendle Hill (found by John Metcalf) and a Black Tern at Stocks Reservoir (found with James Bray) with further interesting additions to the ELOC little year in the form of a Grasshopper Warbler watched reeling near Barley and a Tree Pipit singing at Moor Piece (thanks to Pete Morris for this one). A hike onto the fells resulted in two singing Whinchats, which were also new for the year. Finally a Garden Warbler was singing near the new hide at Stocks and the Little Gull, which was first seen on Thursday is still present. A great moth outing on Saturday with Alexander and Pete, Jack and Josh Morris produced some Emperor Moths, all males except for one lovely female found by Jack. Well done!

ELOC year list. 125. Eurasian Dotterel 126. Grasshopper Warbler 127. Tree Pipit 128. Whinchat 129. Black Tern 130. Garden Warbler

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MAY EASTERLIES!

Bar-tailed Godwit, whimbrel, curlew and oystercatcher at Alston Wetland at ISO51200.

MAY EASTERLIES BRING ARCTIC-BREEDING SHOREBIRDS TO EAST LANCS and the highlights this week for me were Bar-tailed Godwit and Wood Sandpiper, both at Alston Wetland. A lovely Little Gull graced Stocks Reservoirs, hawking insects between the buoys at the entrance to the Hodder Inlet and a Green Woodpecker call there briefly as well. Stepping out of the airport cab I headed off immediately to Alston for the Wood Sandpiper, which is fast becoming an annual migrant there. A Common Whitethroat was singing in the hedge in the SE corner of the site and the first swifts were back in the village. On Friday evening another futile search of Pendle Hill failed to turn up the dotterels of earlier that day. Late on Saturday evening a Lesser Whitethroat was calling and seen in the hedge along Pinfold Lane near the central screen. 

ELOC year list: 119. Wood Sandpiper 120. Common Whitethroat 121. Common Swift 122. Bar-tailed Godwit 123. Little Gull 124. Green Woopecker

Wood Sandpiper, Alston Wetland.

Little Gull (second calendar year), Stocks Reservoir.

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SODDING NORTHERLIES!

Minimalist Goosanders on the Ribble from Ribchester Bridge.

A COMBINATION OF NORTHERLY WINDS AND BAD LUCK combined to scupper most of my birding efforts over the last few days. I spent hours on Pendle trying to track down the dotterels from Thursday and Friday and learned today that Thursday's trip was flushed by an inconsiderate dog walker who let his mutt off its lead and it promptly flushed the dotties and they left the hill. The lack of respect shown by the majority of dog walkers on Pendle is shocking. Most (not just a few) dogs are off the lead when there are signs all over the place to keep them on the lead and the number of dog shit bags that are slung all along the path is a disgrace. I'd love to know who these people are. There were still six Ring Ouzels present on the landslide slope on Thursday as well as a few wheatears but nothing else of note.

I even managed to screw up a distant Green Sandpiper at Alston Wetland today dismissing it as a Common Sandpiper (my scope is still in Portugal being fixed). Ah well. There was a handful of acceptable additions to the little year list. A House Martin flew over the house on 22 April. Sitting in the garden instead of a three hour hike on Pendle in a freezing northerly wind would probably have been more productive! A cuckoo was singing from Bottom's Beck at Stocks today (thanks Margaret!) and a Merlin was in residence at one of their usual sites on the Fells (thanks Richard!). I didn't fancy looking at a Black Redstart through an elderly lady's kitchen window and I also failed to find a Common Whitethroat (a couple of which have been reported in East Lancs today). Thank goodness for a spectacular day trip to the Natural History Museum in London yesterday with the little one and his grandparents. Now that was really something!

ELOC year list: 116. House Martin 117. Common Cuckoo 118. Merlin

The new Stegosaurus skeleton at the NHM, the majority of which is real rather than a reproduction - spectacular!

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