Heading North

This will be a two parter as this week I have obtained lots of images of waders on the Lancashire Coast. There were literally many thousands of waders pausing on the coast and feeding up prior to the long journeys ahead of them to their Arctic breeding grounds . The huge numbers of birds consisted mainly of sanderling..dunlin..and knot with a sprinkling of grey plover and bar tailed godwits.
For this first post from the coast I will concentrate on the sanderling which are now colouring up nicely in their breeding finery and provided many opportunities for close up portraits as they probed in the sand for food. I had gone to a stretch of the coastline south of Southport which is a favoured roosting site on big tides. There have been a series of big tides this week around lunchtime allowing me time to get into position and await the arrival of the birds.
I had a great time with the camera and at times the sanderling came almost within touching distance and were completely oblivious to my presence. I hope you enjoy the results of my efforts and next time I will post images of dunlin,ringed plover,grey plover,and a curlew sandpiper which was present at the nearby RSPB Nature Reserve at Marshside.