And so it was that today while searching for geese around the Solway marshes, this lovely male Hen Harrier flew by ...
There were thousands of Pinkfeet which today were frequenting the saltmarsh areas rather than the peripheral farmland locations where they were a couple of weeks ago ...
... these two posed nicely on Whitrigg Marsh ... how variable that bill pattern is ...
... more were on the side of the Wampool at Anthorn along with Barnacle Geese ...
... constantly on the move and easily flushed by aircraft ...
... this flock of Barnacle Geese included one of the small number of leucistic birds which are been regular in recent years ...
... flocks of Whooper Swans have been more site-faithful with this group near Easton lingering still ...
... and at Walby forty-seven have been present ...
... the low fields at Walby have survived attempts to drain them and Ruff have been present intermittently through the winter ...
... this male fed along with fifty Lapwings and some Black-headed Gulls ...
... a scarce winter visitor in Cumbria and close to their northern wintering limit for western Britain, numbers of up to ten at Walby make this an important site...
... the scapulars blowing up in the wind in typical Ruff fashion ...
Curlew numbers on the Solway are still significant and with our breeding birds now back on territory these are perhaps Continental migrants ...
... some very smart adult male Goldeneye were at Port Carlisle ...
... and a single first-winter transitioning into adult male bird was in the harbour ...
... a rather distant flock of about thirty Kittiwakes well out over the channel off Port Carlisle represents part of a seasonal movement of birds back to their breeding colonies following their wintering at sea off Europe ...
... while at home Bramblings are still using the feeders ...
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