Godwit Gathering

Last week I visited Leighton Moss with Mike. I hadn't been to Leighton for a long time.Mike on a recent visit had great views of waders from the Eric Morecambe hide and I was keen to visit. As we arrived the heavens opened and we managed to get into the hide just before the very heavy rain arrived.We were very surprised to find the pools deserted of bird life apart from a single black tailed godwit ,two redshanks and a dunlin.The birds were near the hide and I managed some nice close ups,shown above. The black tailed godwit particularly looked stunning as it was still in partial breeding plumage. The heavy rain eventually moved on and so did we.

We moved to the main part of the reserve and spent the remainder of our time in Lilian's Hide and on top of the new skytower.The skytower has been opened recently and gives splendid views over the reserve.The main flock of black tailed godwits numbering around seven hundred birds was present in the right hand corner of Lilian's pool.It was again quiet birdwise with fleeting views of a water rail,distant views of spotted redshanks and a few swans. The godwit flock eventually all took to the air and gave me the flight shots I had been hoping for.We had a trip up the tower and enjoyed the views in the lovely afternoon sunshine before heading back to the car for the journey home. I have shown above my best efforts from the visit and I will be returning to Leighton Moss when hopefully more birds will be on view.Thanks for looking in and I will be back soon with more from my travels.