Golden Afternoon

After a damp morning the forecast promised a better afternoon. I therefore decided on a trip to the Pilling area to see what was about. I drove via Eagland Hill  but it was quiet with none of the expected geese. I reached Fluke Hall and the better weather was arriving with some nice interludes of Autumn sunshine, just the weather for a nice walk along the sea wall towards Knott End. There was a lot of noise from feeding  flocks of pink footed geese on some of the inland fields but they were not visible from the sea wall. As I approached Cocker's Dyke  I could see a flock of golden plover roosting on the sands along with some sanderling and dunlin. A careful approach allowed me to get within camera range and I settled down to enjoy the afternoon's entertainment.
The golden plovers really did show off their golden plumage in the afternoon sun as they dozed on the sand. A party of sanderling were busy as only sanderlings can be as they scurried around feeding on the wet sand. There were also one or two godwits and small parties of oystercatchers and shelduck flew by. Eventually the golden plovers took flight towards Knott End and I called it a day and headed for home. It had only been a brief but very enjoyable visit to the coast and I hope to visit again later in the week , weather permitting. The images show the golden plovers roosting on the sand and in flight and a flock of sanderling in one of their lovely formation flights. I have also shown shelducks as they flew across the sands at Pilling.