Southport

Little egret (left) and great white egret.
That's a barnacle goose behind them. I didn't spot it at the time.

After yet another poor night's sleep I dragged myself over to Southport for a wander round Crossens and Marshside. It was cool and raining when I set off at lunchtime, it was bright and sunny with a cool breeze by the time I got into Southport and I was distinctly overdressed for the walk. I'd just missed the 44 bus to Marshside so I got the bus to Crossens and started walking down Marine Drive from there, having slung my raincoat over my arm and jammed the waistcoat into my shoulder bag under the camera.

Crossens Inner Marsh

Crossens Outer Marsh was quiet save for swifts and the distant herd of cattle. Crossens Inner Marsh wasn't a lot livelier, both were almost bone dry so there wasn't much doing for wildfowl or gulls. The lapwings have had a few youngsters, most nearly full grown but there were a couple of families of quite young birds. The Canada geese grazed over by the bund with a handful of greylags. There were a few avocets feeding in the remaining pools and half a dozen black-tailed godwits flew in to fuss and preen in the grass.

Lapwing, Crossens Inner Marsh

There was more action along the path than on the marsh. The local greenfinches and goldfinches have obviously had a good breeding year, though there were only a couple of pairs of linnets. Meadow pipits and skylarks rose up and sang while sedge warblers and whitethroats sang from the cover of hawthorns and roses. A couple of little egrets flew over between the marshes and a great white egret flew out and over towards Banks.

Greenfinches, Marine Drive by Crossens Inner Marsh

Marshside was wetter and busier. Tufted ducks, mallards and a few shovelers loafed and dabbled in the drains and pools. Both mallards and tufties had very young ducklings with them. There were a few more greylags with the Canada geese but not as many as I'd expect normally. 

Black-tailed godwit, Marshside

Black-tailed godwits, lapwings and avocets fed in and around the shallow pools, with plenty more flying in and out. There were enough black-headed gulls to make a racket but not so many to make you think the breeding season was still in full swing. The dozens of young gulls in their gravy-stained plumage suggested it hadn't been a bad season. Nearly all the small black shapes in the tall grass turned out to be starlings. Overhead the swifts were joined by a hundred or so house martins.

Black-tailed godwits, black-headed gulls and Canada geese, Marshside

I got to Sandgrounders and had a scan across the large pool by the path. Plenty more tufties, Canada geese, godwits and black-headed gulls on the pool with more geese on the bank, together with a little egret and another great white egret. It was good to see the egrets together just to get a sense of the huge size difference. Strangely, the little egret was easier to keep in sight: once the GWE had finished preening it went hunting in the ditches, disappearing from view entirely except for odd moments when it raised its head like a periscope for a look round. Much to my shame, I only noticed there was a pair of barnacle geese with the Canada geese when I was looking at my photos of the egrets at home.

Juvenile little ringed plover, Marshside

Looking out from the hide the first thing that struck me, besides another group of godwits, was a juvenile little ringed plover walking along a muddy bank. I soon found another and both their parents. A few redshanks fed alongside the godwits and yet more black shapes in the sedges turned out to be starlings. Except the one that was a male ruff in almost entirely black plumage.

Ruff, Marshside

I was about to leave the hide when a common sandpiper flew in and waggled its way along the bank of the spit. A couple of grey herons visible from the path brought the heron tally to three and I carefully scanned the cattle feeding at the back of the field in an unsuccessful bid to bring it up to four. I still find it a bit mad that it's now possible to feel disappointed not to have cattle egret on the year list by July. (And it's not that long ago that great white egret was a lifer for me.)

Spot the great white egret

Juvenile (left) and adult avocets, Marshside

I had a look at the Junction Pool. The young avocets were well grown, though still slightly fluffy. They were with some young shelduck ducklings, between them the shelducks and adult avocets made sure no other ducks came close. Another ruff, this one in non-breeding plumage (unless it's one of those ones that stay in non-breeding plumage and nips in amongst the ladies while the flash boys are posing about in their leks) was feeding with a small bunch of black-tailed godwits.

House martins filled the air as I walked up Marshside Road to the bus stop and a couple of curlews called from the school football field. It had been a very productive walk, though between my impedimenta and the weather it felt like more hard would than it should have been. Perhaps I'm just getting old.

Viper's bugloss, Marshside