24th January 2011 – sunny spells W3
Wildfowl and Waders
Totals from the fog hampered monthly WeBS count included: 8350 Oystercatcher, 2766 Dunlin, 1170 Redshank, 759 Wigeon, 740 Curlew, 697 Lapwing, 740 Curlew, 493 Shelduck, 392 Turnstone, 378 Teal, 345 Golden Plover, 267 Sanderling, 267 Eider, 238 Grey Plover, 199 Knot, 125 Cormorant, 95 Mallard, 52 Bar-tailed Godwit, 48 Red-breasted Merganser, 35 Pintail, 39 Goldeneye, 23 Purple Sandpiper, 9 Greenshank and 7 Little Egret.
Ringing
Further details have just been received on the colour-ringed Little Egrets that toured the island during the autumn of 2010. The majority had been ringed as nestlings earlier in the year at a colony near Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales with DXWY also seen on the Esk Estuary, Cumbria prior to its arrival on Walney Island. Perhaps of more interest was BBWY that had been ringed at Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales during 2009 that had been previously reported at Runcorn, Cheshire and Leighton Moss, Lancashire earlier in 2010 and a bird that had been ringed as a nestling at a confidential site in Lincolnshire during 2010.
