A day at the moss.

Well much better than a day at the shops in Preston/Blackpool....or anywhere else.

Curlew Sandpiper. Colin Bushell.

A few Curlew Sandpipers around now including some seen in a couple of areas I've slowly been getting acquainted with over the past 150 years, but this one CB found on the Solway yesterday. And....

Yellow-legged Gull. Permit Granted.

Here's another of those pics of the YLG you should take a close look at if you really want to claim the sighting of a bird probably going to spend the next few months in the Glasson area of the Lune Estuary.

It was good enough for me that KT agreed to pay a visit to one of the RSPB flagship reserves at Leighton Moss today. Parking the car we wandered along the road to go through what used to be called 'the blue gate' and on to the path towards the Lower Hide where we heard a Great-spotted Woodpecker and got a glimpse of a Bullfinch in flight. At the hide we were rewarded with good views of a lingering juvenile Marsh Harrier, to be honest there aren't all that many places/opportunities to observe one of these beautiful creatures like you can at LM. I noted a good number of uncounted Gadwall, 2 Great-crested Grebe, an easy three figure number of predominantly House Martins hawking with a few Sand Martins. The main interest here for me was the sight of a juvenile Little Grebe but I have it on good authority not at its natal site. 

At the Public Hide I reckoned 15 Greenshank on the island as we entered the hide, but a few had flown before I settled down to count them leaving ten in view, the two adult Greater Black-backed Gulls are still here I note. At Lillians Hide - not my most favourite of locations - little to note but it was interesting to see just one female Pochard and 2 Wigeon, with a 'good number' of Sand Martins.

Red Deer. Pete Woodruff.

At the Grisedale Hide at least I managed a couple of my half decent shots with two Red Deer sat quietly like a pair of bookends until suddenly for no apparent reason they stood to face each other and were soon....

Red Deer. Pete Woodruff.

....stood motionless with antlers interlocked for a few minutes before returning to their previous resting places like bookends once again....intriguing stuff. Four Little Egret and at least 24 Teal were noted with 2 Buzzard soaring over the woods.

Putting a smile into birding.

A message on the pager service this morning told of a Wryneck at Beachy Head, Sussex, in SHOOTERS BOTTOM....Ouch!!