Lancashire, Day 1 and 2

After a relaxed start on Sunday 1st March, We set off for Galgate where our son Thomas lives to stay in a cottage with my brother, Peter and his wife Linda.  Once on the M62 we immediately saw the result of the flooding from the last three storms when we passed Snaith and the Cowicks; the land is still flooded and the houses standing in water.  Yet more signs of the climate emergency.  We travelled to Lancashire through the Dales and were interested to see snow on Pendle Hill.  It didn't seem long before we were pulling up at Lakeland Cottages and settling in for a pleasant evening with Thomas coming to join us as he did every evening of our stay.

The plan for Monday was to spend the day at Leighton Moss RSPB reserve, hopefully culminating at dusk with a starling murmuration.  Our first stop was at the two Morecambe Bay hides.

The weather was bright and breezy and we managed to see 14 species from here, the plum ones being a superb greenshank and a distant spotted redshank, although we didn't manage any photographs of these two.

To view large, please click on an image.

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Redshank

Shelduck

Shelduck

Redshank

Redshank

Dunlin

Redshank

After a while we drove on to the main reserve where we enjoyed a hot drink and toasted teacake before heading out on the reserve.  I was pleased that, unlike at Alkborough Flats a few weeks ago, I had heeded the advice to take wellies as the footpaths around the reserve were totally flooded.  One warden said that he had never seen that in all the time that he had worked there.  Our first port of call was Lilian's Hide close to the centre.  This was a fruitful stop as a small group of snipe showed well.  I am always pleased to get snipe shots as I think of them as a 'birdwatcher's bird'; they rarely show themselves to casual observation and are often only seen when exploding from underneath the feet of a walker who has nearly stood on the bird.  There were teal and gadwall here as well, and often, in the distance, marsh harriers hunting.

Robin

Robin

Teal

Gadwall

Snipe

Snipe

From here it was a paddle round to the next two hides.  From here we had good, although still rather distant, views of a hunting marsh harrier and a robinn showed well just outside the hide.

Teal

Coot

Marsh Harrier

Marsh Harrier

Robin

Whilst in these hides another photographer told us that a water rail was showing well on the way back to the reception.  After another long paddle we quickly located the spot and waited quietly enjoying the dunnock, chaffinches and nuthatch to busied themselves with food left by visitors.  It wasn't long before we heard the tell-tale pig-like squeel of a water rail which hopped up to explore the dead tree where the food had been put out.

Dunnock

Water Rail

Water Rail

Water Rail

Blue tit

The reserve

The reserve

The reserve

The reserve

Although we did wade round to the other side of the reserve it was soon time to return to the 'Sky Tower' to wait for the starling murmuration.  There were a few other people waiting and it wasn't long before the show started.  I had never seen a large murmuration of starlings and what an experience it was.  There must have been thousands, tens of thousands of birds flying and wheeling over the reedbeds in close formation and forming fantastic patterns in the air.  What an amazing, magical spectacle.  I even had time to take a video clip.  Four very happy birders returned to the cottage for the evening meal.