Bradshaw Lane @ Stakepool, Conder Lake & Leighton Moss - 17th May 09

We managed to get in three sites today with more lifers for the pair of us plus Howard, a birding friend in tow.
First stop was Bradshaw Lane, Stakepool a place we'd been told about by Mike. The place itself is a farm track where a local farmer puts out some seed and can be viewed from a lay-by at the end of the track without getting out of your car.
2 lifers for Reece with more than one of each Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer on view with the latter singing its distinctive ‘a little bit of bread and no cheese’ call.
Also feeding were 4 Tree Sparrow, 2 Dunnock, 2 Robin, 1 Greenfinch and 8+ Chaffinch. In the local fields were 5+ Lapwing, 2 Oystercatcher (1 on its nest) and 6 Shellduck as well as Swift and Swallow gracing the air.

Next a brief visit to Condor Lake, and as soon as we pulled up Reece spotted 2 Black-Tailed Godwit feeding on the banks of the creek. Further investigation and a few photographs later and we added 3 Redshank, 1 Ringed Plover and several Shellduck. On the lake were 3 more Redshank, Tufted Duck and Mute Swan.
Turning back onto the main road we spotted a further 25 Black-Tailed Godwit feeding so pulling up, Reece grabbed as many photo’s as he could. Finally onto Leighton Moss, we’ve been here a few times now but always missed out on the Allen and Eric Morecambe Hides. This time we headed straight there, wanting to see the Little Gull we had been told had been spotted there the previous day.
Searching out between the many nesting Black Headed Gulls we spotted 2 Little Gull feeding on the distant islands. Also from the Allen hide we sighted 4 Avocet, 4 Gadwall, 5 Shoveler, 5 Shellduck, Oystercatcher and a single Pochard with plenty of Swift overhead.
Onto the Eric Morecambe hide were we saw better views of one of the Little Gulls, 6 Pochard, 2 Avocet, 5 Shellduck, 2 Greater Black Backed Gull (Mating), 5 Shoveler, 2 Curlew and a Buzzard.
As we left we heard a Lesser Whitethroat but as much as we tried we couldn’t add it to our life lists. That’s the thing about summer all the leaves grow back and obstruct the view of the returning migrants!