Cumbria

Been following a number of blogs from Cumbrian birders of late and this has encouraged me to visit the area West of Carlisle for a look.

Despite its close proximity to Carlisle, I was impressed how quiet it was and how easy it was to drive without being harrased by cars up your arse so to speak.

The only downside was the fog, but it cleared by the afternoon. In truth I did not see a great deal but it was nice to be in an area that I was not familiar with and to explore.

The target was to find some of the Goose flocks and scruitinise them for some of the 'goodies' that have been present recently. The fog did not help, but the very large flock of Barnacle Geese, including 3 leucistic birds, at Cardunnock was a highlight .... being so close to the road and very approachable. Unfortunately, my attempts at digiscoping from a window mount were utter crap and I have deleted all the photos !

The Great White Egret showed distantly on Campfield Marsh. I saw 65+ Pink Feet, several European Golden Plover and a Sparrowhawk. A flock of Fieldfare just West of Carlisle was a year tick. Mac D's on the way home was good !

Maybe should have gone to Caerlaverock !