Leighton Moss

Teal and snipe

I thought a proper day out was in order so I got myself an old man's explorer ticket and set off for Leighton Moss. The weather was grey and windy and the sun kept threatening to show its face for a minute or two before ducking back behind the clouds.

It was a nice journey. Woodpigeons littered the treetops along Chat Moss and the stretch of line past the golf course at Twiss Green. As we slowed to the usual halt at the signals at Golborne Dale a yellowhammer flew up onto the fence and the train flushed a large flock of redwings and fieldfares from the trees at the turn into Golborne. As we waited for the OK into Preston at the signal by Lostock Hall I watched a wren fossicking about in the brambles by the line. When you're birdwatching from the train small brown jobs tend to stay unidentified so it's a treat to occasionally get to see them properly.

There wasn't a lot on the coastal pools as the train approached Silverdale, just a few shelducks, mallards and black-headed gulls. Half a dozen  greylags lurked in the field by New Lane as we went over the level crossing.

Chaffinch

The sound of the wind in the trees and ivy muted most of the bird calls at the station. This set the scene for the day: away from the feeding stations by The Hideout most of the small birds kept a low profile under cover. The feeders were busy, mostly with spadgers, long-tailed tits and chaffinches, though things went quiet for a minute or two as a sparrowhawk passed by at treetop height.

Shoveler and teal

Snipe and teal

The water was high on the pools. At Lilian's Hide the only loafing spots for the teal and shovelers and the handful of snipe were two tiny remnant islands by the hide and the raft the black-headed gulls have already started scoping out as a possible best site. There were plenty of mallards, coots and teal on the water with a few gadwall and tufted ducks. There were just singles of goldeneye, Canada goose and mute swan and no wigeon or pintails, which is unusual this time of year.

The path to the Tim Jackson and Griesdale hides

The reedbeds have had a bit of a belting by the storms, the reeds bent low and a few limbs off trees. Most of the small bird sounds were the creaks, groans and squeaks of branches bending in the wind, reminding me why they're called crack willows. A few blue tits, great tits and robins showed themselves by the path. A particularly ominous series of cracks and squeaks in the willows by the Tim Jackson Hide turned out to be a Cetti's warbler gearing itself up for a brief snatch of song.

The water seemed to be too high for the ducks' taste at Tim Jackson's. Twenty-odd teal lined up along the little bund with a few mallards and the only pair of wigeon of the day. A flock of greylags flew up from the marsh and wheeled about before landing somewhere in the reeds by New Lane.

By the Griesdale Hide

Apparently I'd just missed a great white egret at the Griesdale Hide. A marsh harrier was a bit of consolation, as was the water rail I bumped into on the path on my way out.

I took the path round to the causeway. A pair of courting coal tits made a lot of noise by the Sky Tower. The stretch by The Hideout was extremely busy with blue tits, six of them barrelling through the hawthorn bushes doing a very good impersonation of the randy mallards at Lilian's Hide. The boardwalk was very quiet, a few robins and wrens skulking low in the bushes.

Cormorants and great black-backs

The causeway pool was very high, barely enough room on the island for half a dozen cormorants and a pair of great black-backs, and all of them with their feet wet. There were a few gadwall and tufties amongst the rafts of coots in the bays by the reeds.

I thought this was going to be one of those visits where I don't get to see a marsh tit but one made a point of noisily seeing me on my way as I walked past the stream and on to the visitor centre. It's done it a few times now, I don't know how I've offended it.

Chaffinch

Collared dove

I'd come in early to leave early so's to avoid the late afternoon gap in Southbound trains. Which was OK as far as it went but for some reason Northern has scheduled its trains so that it's impossible to connect between its services at Lancaster, whether you're going North or South the train you want has just left as you pull into the station. I couldn't make a side trip to Morecambe work, I'd end up waiting fifty-five minutes for the Preston-bound train instead of fifty minutes if I didn't bother, so I didn't bother. The wind had too cold an edge for waiting that long at that time this time of year. I think I'll have to map out a day on the buses round Lancaster to take in Morecambe and Heysham then get the bus down to Preston rather than mess about.

I took a circuitous route home from Preston, maxing out my explorer ticket, which added the three goosanders I saw on Wayoh Reservoir to the tally and reminded me I need to have a nosy round Jumbles Country Park.

A windswept and interesting, and blissfully rain-free, day's birdwatching. There are worse things in this life.