Wader fest in Lancs

Wood Sandpiper, Leighton Moss

Peregrine, Warton Crag

Spotted Redshank, Leighton Moss

Little Egret, Leighton Moss

Black-tailed Godwit, Leighton Moss

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A cracking days birding with Jonathan in North Lancs produced 17 waders for Jonathan (15 for me) and a range of other good birds too including six species of raptor. One of my better birding sessions recently.

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We started out at the Morecambe/Allen complex at Leighton Moss. Having been discussing the sparcity of Sedge Warblers this year it was great to see at least 14 birds (probably more) along the track to the hides - several showing very well. A Lesser Whitethroat was singing in a bush between the two hides and showed briefly when he flew out. There were also plenty of tits, reed buntings and finches and a couple of Curlews flew over. It was also nice and sunny!

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At the Morecambe hide we found a couple of birders watching a Wood Sandpiper - it showed very well to the left of the hide before being flushed by some cows. It flew to the back of the pool where it promptly got its head down and went to sleep. Approx 30 mins later the bird woke up and flew back down to the left of the hide where it was soon flushed again by the cows. This time it flew off towards the back pools and out of sight! One of the issues with this hide is that good lighting for photography is only often available in the afternoons (weather permitting) when the hides are usually full. Well this is my excuse for the crap digiscoping!

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Also present were three Greenshanks and 2 Spotted Redshanks - Jonathan commented on how similar these two species are in shape and structure! On silhouette you would be hard pushed to differentiate them without the Greenshanks upcurved bill versus Spotshanks straight bill. Over 50 Redshanks on the pool with 22 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Dunlin. Seven Little Egrets and seven Little Gulls were also present. A Kestrel hovered over the marsh and a female Marsh Harrier gave good views in the same place a little later on. From mid morning the weather clouded over and we had a quick trip to Warton Crag. One adult Peregrine was present on the rock face but no sign of the other adult and 2 juvs though Jonathan had seen all four earlier in the week. Approx 240 Jackdaws were also there making lots of noise before flying off. A Sparrowhawk also circled through the quarry but attracted no interest from the Peregrine.

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A couple of Buzzards were viewed from the Public Hide but other than a Nuthatch, not much else so we then headed off towards Heysham, calling in at Teal Bay at the north end of Morecambe on route. Nothing much there either - 97 Curlews on the mud flat and a lone Little Egret. At Heysham the visibility was poor and the sea like a mill pond. A couple of Eiders provided a token interest though Jonathan picked up a fly by Whimbrel which I missed while on the phone to Karen and he also heard a Ringed Plover which I also missed due to being deaf!

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Next stop was Sunderland Point where it briefly started raining. The tide was coming in fast and 24 Eiders (mostly females) and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers floated up the river. A lone Bar-tailed Godwit was feeding on the far bank and 2 Knot were briefly on the near bank. One of the latter was a stunner in breeding plumage - easily the most aesthetically pleasing bird of the day. A wader flew relatively fast along the shoreline and looked good for Whimbrel but was not seen well enough for a positive ID.

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Finally on the way home we dropped into Brockholes Quarry. We soon spotted a Common Sandpiper, minutes later a Hobby flew over giving good, if brief, views. We then latched onto a Green Sandpiper at the back of the pool giving us the Sandpiper hat trick! Two Little Ringed Plovers then appeared, an adult and a juvenile. All in all a very satisfying day.

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The list of waders was:

1. Common Snipe
2. Ringed Plover
3. Little Ringed Plover
4. Black-tailed Godwit
5. Bar-tailed Godwit
6. Curlew
7. Whimbrel
8. Dunlin
9. Knot
10. Common Redshank
11. Greenshank
12. Spotted Redshank
13. Common Sandpiper
14. Wood Sandpiper
15. Green Sandpiper
16. Lapwing
17. Oystercatcher

Late evening and a walk around HGF with Billy. It started with a large white van crashing through the barrier on the M62 slip road and landing on the banking in the SE corner. Fortunately a coach was right behind and a group of people were soon on the scene calling for help. I thought a bomb had exploded! A large group of kids had set up tents and a gazebo at the north end, consequently more disturbance for the birds. Approx 480 Starlings were on the wires this evening - it was great to watch the flock swirling around Midhops farm. A male Corn Bunting called but was not seen, 4 Grey Partridges made their presence known and a Yellow Wagtail flew over the field nr the farm. On the pool were the drake Wigeon, 33 Coots, 12 Tufties, 5 Pochards and 3 Swans. The grebe count was 2 Little, 10 Great Crested and 1 Black-necked.