Mainly Snipe

Last week's weather had been very wet with days of persistent rain. At last towards the end of the week things began to improve and Martin and I decided on a trip to Leighton Moss. I had not visited " The Moss " for some time and was looking forward to a good day out. We later met up with Geoff and we toured the hides both on the main reserve and down on the coast. There was plenty of variety and in particular good numbers of waders were present at the Morecambe Hide.
For this post I have concentrated on the waders and particularly the snipe which were present in good numbers at the Eric Morecambe Hide. I had not seen snipe up close for a long time and this was an ideal opportunity to obtain some images for the portfolio. Also present were a few spotted redshank and again they presented great photographic opportunities as they fed close to the hide.Other waders included a good number of knot,a bird I had never seen before at Leighton Moss plus lots of redshank,lapwings and some black tailed godwits all feeding close to the hide. Martin,Geoff and myself were kept very busy with the cameras and we went away very pleased with the results.
We did have a look round the main part of the reserve hoping for a sighting of an otter but were unlucky as they had been seen prior to our arrival at the Lower Hide. A visit to the Griezdale Hide also proved fruitless in looking for red deer stags which could be heard roaring around the reserve as they warmed up for the rut. One bonus was a first sighting for Martin and Geoff of a couple of bearded tits as they visited the grit trays on the public causeway. All in all it had been a super day at Leighton Moss and I hope my readers enjoy the images above which are mainly of snipe with a couple of the spotted redshanks. More will hopefully follow when I visit again and maybe next time the red deer stags will be on show to delight the visitors.

Slavonian at Fairhaven

The marine lake at Lytham St Annes came up trumps again this week with another uncommon visitor to the lake. A slavonian grebe had dropped in to spend a few day's feeding up before departing for it's winter feeding grounds. This followed on from the grey phalarope, another uncommon visitor which had recently delighted many obsevers and photographers during it's stay.
The slavonian grebe was another very approachable bird and once again was providing many photographic opportunities for the local bird photographers. I went along on the third day of it's stay as conditions promised to be better following more very disturbed weather. I spent most of the day in the company of other photographers at Fairhaven and we all enjoyed excellent conditions as the blue skies and sunshine eventually arrived.
The grebe was feeding well and most of the time seemed to be catching shrimps in between spells of preening and patrolling along a favoured part of the lake close to the RSPB Discovery Centre.It was a very enjoyable afternoon's session and I think all of the photographers present went home very pleased with the results. I have shown above my efforts and have mostly shown images from when the sun appeared, which helped to bring out the colours and highlight the wonderful red eye of the slavonian grebe. A general view of Fairhaven Lake is shown and also an image of local photographer Martin ,checking his images in front of the RSPB Discovery Centre. Hope you enjoy looking at my efforts with the camera. The Lancashire coastline is currently enjoying a spell of excellent birds visiting the area and I look forward to the next one.

Pictures From The Coast

As mentioned in my last blog this week's very warm weather meant I spent a few days out with the camera. The super weather coincided with some big tides and the coast was my choice of destination to look for waders at high tide. I decided on a couple of visits to Marshside RSPB and adjoining coastline as I had previously enjoyed some excellent days there with plenty of variety in birds seen.
Both visits produced similar results as I firstly concentrated on finding and photographing waders as they roosted at high tide, followed by visits to Nel's hide at Marshside where the excellent afternoon light would be good to photograph the action in front of the hide. On my second visit I enjoyed the company of Brian Wilby, a friend who lives nearby, who I had not seen for sometime . Brian was keen to see the wader spectacular at high tide and I don't think he was disappointed and we enjoyed an interesting afternoon together. Also there were photographers, Dave Cookson, Steve Dolan and John Power and we all enjoyed the ideal conditions from Nel's hide.
I have selected a few images from many that were taken and hope the selection gives my readers an idea what a great variety of birds can be seen along the Lancashire coastline at this time of the year. The images from the roosts show some of the impressive numbers of knot present and an image I was pleased with of hundreds of oystercatchers dropping into the roost. Some nice close ups of feeding dunlin were obtained as the birds allowed a very close approach as they fed along the end of the old sand road out from Marshside. I was lucky to photograph three bar tailed godwits,one still in breeding plumage,as they paused briefly before departing for their roosting spot.The images from Nel's hide show black tailed godwits about to take off and a close up flight shot of one bird close to the hide. Finally a couple of wing stretching shots of lapwing and wigeon as they bathed and preened in the wonderful very warm and sunny weather. Hope you enjoy this selection and I look forward to more suitable weather next week when I can once more get out to capture tge action.

Afternoon Twitch

It has been a busy week for getting out and about with the camera. The weather this week has been very warm and summery with temperatures way above the average for this time of the year.I began the week with an afternoon twitch to Arnside to see a buff breasted sandpiper that had turned up out on the salt marsh. This was a bird I had always admired and the opportunity to see one had to be taken. I checked the Internet Monday lunchtime to find the bird was still there so I set off for Arnside just over the border into Cumbria. There were serious delays on the M6 motorway going north but I managed to find a way around the jams and joined the motorway at Galgate. Eventually I arrived at the spot just outside Arnside and a quick look out across the saltmarsh confirmed the bird was being watched by a small group of birdwatchers.
The bird was well out on the marsh and was favouring a sandy area with small tufts of grass on which to feed. Jim Clift a Preston birdwatcher was there and he had been stuck on the M6 for two hours. The bird was soon found and although it never came near I did manage some images of this very rare visitor to these shores. This Autumn a good number of these birds have turned up with a couple of dozen together at one spot in Southern Ireland. These birds have more than likely been swept across the Atlantic in Hurricane Katia which brushed our shores with very strong winds and brought numbers of North American birds to our shores.
The images shown above are not brilliant but do serve as record shots of a bird I had long wanted to see. As I am writing this blog on Thursday the bird is still there in the company of another trans Atlantic vagrant , a pectoral sandpiper. I may have another visit if these birds stay which seems unlikely given the excellent flying conditions at the moment. Other trips this week have been to the high tide wader roosts on the coast and I hope to upload some nice images of the numerous waders I saw. Meantime thanks for looking.

Shanks and Egrets

This week Mike and I visited Leighton Moss RSPB at Silverdale. It had been a long time since my last visit and I was looking forward to a good day out. The forecast was for more rain and the signs were not good as we drove up the M6 and could see the weather deteriorating as it made it's way in from out at sea. The rain did arrive as we approached Leighton Moss but it was light and patchy so we made our way to some of the nearby hides. It was very windy and the coots and pochard were riding out the oncoming weather on a very choppy lake. From the public hide it was also very exposed and there was not a lot of action. We made our way back to the cafe for a pot of tea and cake and on the way we were lucky to see a brief visit to the grit trays by two bearded tits. On arrival at the shop and cafe the heavens opened and a deluge of rain fell over Leighton Moss. The signs were not good and we were prepared to return home. However on setting off the skies began to clear and better conditions were on the way from the coast.
We therefore decided to stay and visit the Allen and Morecambe hides down at the marsh. It was to be a good decision and we were to enjoy some excellent views of the waders present. On arrival at the Eric Morecambe hide we saw a nice group of redshanks,greenshanks and spotted redshanks all busily feeding close to the hide. The greenshanks and spotted redshanks were wading belly deep and up ending like mallards to obtain food from the bottom of the lake. It was fascinating to watch and I obtained some nice images of this group feeding. Soon the light improved and we enjoyed some super views particularly of the greenshanks showing off thier nicely marked plumage. Egrets too were present and again presented some nice photographic opportunuities as did a lone black tailed godwit resplendent in almost full breeding plumage. It had been a nice ending to what had not been the best of days weatherwise and what was a welcome return to Leighton Moss. Images from the day are shown above of the greenshanks,spotted redshanks and egrets and one of the godwit lit up by the evening sun. Thanks for looking at the blog and I look forward to next week's big tides when I will once again be wader watching on the Lancashire coast.

One Of The Best

The Juvenile Grey Phalarope that turned up earlier this week at Lytham St Annes has to be one of the best birds that it has been my privilege to photograph. So I make no excuse for showing a few more of the hundreds of images that I took of this delightful wader. It has now sadly moved on to winter further south. I understand that the grey phalarope winters in the Atlantic Ocean off the African Coast.
It is difficult to believe that this tiny bird can survive life on the ocean waves throughout the winter months returning to it's breeding grounds in the High Arctic during the Spring and Summer. During it's brief stay in Lancashire it gave much pleasure to the many bird watchers and photographers who came to see it.I hope it survives the elements in the Atlantic Ocean and makes it back to it's Arctic breeding grounds next Spring. I hope you enjoy the images above as much as I did in taking them and thanks for looking.