Leighton Moss

Great crested grebe, juvenile and adult, and eel

The weather forecast promised everything except possibly snow so I decided on a trip to Leighton Moss so that, if necessary, I could dive for cover into a hide. It turned out to be mostly a bright sunny day.

I had a quick scan of the pools by the coastal hides as the train slowed down for Silverdale. The black-headed gulls were outnumbered by black-tailed godwits. Five spoonbills were asleep out on the pool by the Eric Morecambe Hide, they're getting to be quite regular.

Leighton Moss was fairly quiet, both of birds and people (I had less patience for the people). Aside from a couple of woodpigeons the skies were empty nearly all the time, a distinct change from earlier in the Summer.

At the Tim Jackson Hide there were a few coots and mallards and half a dozen black-tailed godwits fed by the reeds on the far side of the pool. The star turn was a lone red deer feeding in the reeds by the trees.

Red deer

There had been a couple of chiffchaffs in the trees near the sky tower. Walking through the reedbeds to the Griesdale Hide there were half a dozen juvenile willow warblers skittishly flitting about in the willows. The only other warbler of the day was a reed warbler flying across the reeds from the Griesdale Hide. (There wasn't much else to see from there.)

At Griesdale Hide

I walked back to Lilian's Hide. Half a dozen adult black-headed gulls lingered on the raft with a few mallards. A couple of dozen gadwall appeared to be in rehearsals for the breeding season with lots of chasing round and head bobbing

The gadwall were getting frisky

I walked over to the Causeway Hide, not seeing very much birdlife along the way though there were both common and ruddy darters sunning themselves on the boardwalk.

The first thing that struck me at the Causeway Hide was a couple of hundred coots loafing around in rafts on the pool. A young great crested grebe was very noisy, and yet more so when it spotted its parent with an eel. I suspect it took the youngster longer to manage to eat the eel than it took the parent to catch it.

Juvenile great crested grebe begging for an eel

Full begging posture by the juvenile

The reward is given

Making a bit of a meal of the meal

A few minutes later the eel is almost eaten

The great black-backs that have taken to nesting on the island have raised a huge brute of a youngster.

Juvenile great black-back having a bath

A flock of a couple of hundred sand martins flew in and restored a sense of high Summer to the proceedings. The wind picked up and the clouds rolled in and the martins were joined by a few swifts.

I wandered back towards the visitor centre. High up, over towards Warton Crag, a couple of buzzards soared briefly over the woods before disappearing over the tops. They were the only raptors I saw all day. A jay sat in the blackthorns by the brook, not much fussed by my being so close but taking umbrage when one of a family having a picnic shouted: "Ooh look, a jay!" Still, they got to see it.

Jay

I hadn't seen any of my target birds for the day (marsh tit, marsh harrier and Cetti's warbler) so far. As I arrived at the visitor centre the bird feeders were busy with greenfinches, great tits and chaffinches. I was watching them for a minute or two when a marsh tit decided to take exception to my being there. After a lot of angry churring from the undergrowth it came and sat in the bush next to me at head height, the better to eyeball me. Once I'd been suitably intimidated it flew off and got itself some sunflower seeds.

On the way home it clouded over completely and looked quite dark when the train slowed down completely at the junction and right-angle turn at Golborne Dale. A flock of eighty or ninety swifts hawked low over the barley fields by the track while we waited for the Newton le Willows train to pass.