Hest Bank

Juvenile turtle dove

I got myself an Old Man's Explorer ticket and headed North, dithering between walks round Leighton Moss and Barrow. I noticed that the juvenile turtle dove that's been at Hest Bank had been reported again this morning. I've not seen a turtle dove this side of the millennium so I got off at Carnforth and got the 55 bus to Hest Bank.

I got off at Hest Bank Lane and walked the hundred yards or so down to the coast. A couple of mute swans grazed on the Lancaster Canal as I crossed the bridge.

It was a lovely day, mild and cloudy but with a blustery wind. Once I crossed the level crossing and joined the coastal path the wind picked up and was the prevailing feature of the visit.

Redshanks and lapwings

The tide was ebbing and the beach was full of waders and gulls. Most of the waders were taking shelter behind tussocks of grass, even the curlews. The wind was rocking my binoculars so much it was difficult to tell the redshanks from the lapwings, they were wobbly grey blurs in my field of view. The only waders out in the open were oystercatchers and they were busily feeding in the mud.

I walked down the car park and started keeping an eye out for birdlike shapes in the trees and bushes. A couple of magpies fed in the grass by one of the houses and a meadow pipit rose from the seaweed debris by the path.

Little egret

I carried on walking, enjoying the views across Morecambe Bay. Lesser black-backs and herring gulls flew by in the wind while dozens of black-headed gulls loafed on the beach. I tried a bit of seawatching but all that wasn't wave was wobble. A little egret hid out of the wind as best could, its plumes all windswept and interesting.

Morecambe Bay from Hest Bank

There was no sign of a turtle dove. I worried that it had been blown away or eaten by a dog but more likely it had more sense than me and was keeping to cover. And there was always the possibility that if it had been around I'd been too glass-eyed to see it.

I walked back and had a sit down the better to scan the beach, using the arm of the bench to steady my bins. More lapwings, redshanks and curlews under cover, more black-headed gulls and oystercatchers in the open. A couple of pied wagtails skittered by and a linnet tweeted overhead.

Curlew and lapwings

I decided to go back along the coastal path for another go at finding the turtle dove. I kept a keen eye on the trees and hedges and the grass verges by the road.

Which is how I nearly trod on the poor thing.

Turtle dove

Turtle dove

The dove was feeding in the grass on the car park path. It was obviously a juvenile bird moulting into first Winter plumage, all bronzes and warm brownish greys and with just the tiniest hint of black and white stripes emerging amongst its neck feathers. It was also obviously exhausted and hungry, too busy feeding to be much fussed by passersby. I'd packed a packet of oatmeal bars for my lunch so I shared a few crumbs its way.

I backed well away and watched it for a few minutes, trying not to worry it any. There were plenty of people — and their dogs — passing by but the dove didn't take a bit of notice. Perhaps it was inexperience as much as exhaustion. Anyway, it didn't need me hanging about so I wished it well and wandered off.

I could have walked back up Hest Bank Lane and waited five minutes for the 55 bus to Carnforth. Instead I decided to have a well-deserved cup of tea and get the number 5 from round the corner on Marine Drive. There are worse things on a sunny Autumn's day than sitting by the seaside watching the wind blowing your teapot across a picnic table.

I had a travel voucher as compensation for a cancelled train so I went home from Carnforth via Leeds and Halifax.

Hest Bank coastal walk