Leighton Moss

Dunnock, Silverdale Station

A warm day started early with a very high pollen count and the school field was awash with gulls. The rooks are back, one of the signs and portents of Solstice passing, we'll be getting the common gulls soon. I decided that as I'd spent all Spring whinging about dreich weather I wasn't going to moan about coo what a scorcher. I got myself an old man's explorer ticket and headed for Cumbria, the plan was to sit on an air-conditioned train during the midday heat and visit Leighton Moss on the way back when there'd be a few shadows about for respite. The plan was.

There had been the usual quota of corvids, gulls and pigeons on the way up. Little egrets and mallards pottered about the pools by the Eric Morecambe Hide and the Allen pool was wall-to-wall waders and black-headed gulls. Luckily the train was slowing down for Silverdale Station so I noticed that some of the godwits were flapping plain, not black-and-white-banded wings and were bar-tailed godwits. The crowd of smaller waders were unidentifiable from the train. We passed the swifts and swallows of Arnside and the dry salt marshes of Grange-over-Sands. The slightly damper salt marshes of the Leven provided forage for little egrets as well as crows, jackdaws and woodpigeons. Crossing the Leven a raft of fifty-odd eiders bobbed about on the high tide with a herd of a dozen mute swans.

We were running on time which would give more than ten minutes to cross over to the platform for the Carlisle train. Luckily, it was as we left Ulverston that I thought I'd check to see how far up the coast I should go to be sure of an uncomplicated journey back. The Carlisle train had been cancelled since I last checked on it at Lancaster. I got off at Dalton-in-Furness and had seven minutes to wait for the Lancaster train, I'd have been kicking my heels for an hour at Barrow otherwise, debating whether to head North or South as the trains leave within ten minutes of each other and probably playing safe and catching the Manchester Airport train if it wasn't cancelled.

Dalton-in-Furness Station 

Dalton's a pretty station and we were serenaded by blackcaps, blackbirds, chiffchaffs, wrens and collared doves. It's late in the season but there was still a lot of activity in the rookery and the jackdaw colony. It was also rather cooler than expected, the wind having an edge to it.

I got the train back to Silverdale. Crossing back over the Leven the raft of a hundred or more eiders inland of the viaduct seemed to be mostly well-grown ducklings. Cark Station provided one of the two butterflies of the day, a large white fluttering by the platform. It's been a shocking June for butterflies.

Eldeflowers, Leighton Moss

I spent a couple of hours at Leighton Moss. Chiffchaffs and blackcaps sang at Silverdale Station. There were more at Leighton Moss, the blackcaps sticking to the trees by the visitor centre. A Cetti's warbler sang by the visitor centre, I lost count of them along the reedside paths. Willow warblers sang in the trees in the reedbeds.

The feeders by the hideout were busy with chaffinches, great tits, blue tits and bullfinches. A marsh tit barged its way through the crowd a few times to get sunflower seeds to take away and eat in the bushes.

From Lilian's Hide 

Lilian's Hide was noisy with black-headed gulls even though there weren't many about. It looked like the youngsters had moved on. There were plenty of young coots and a few mallards, tufted ducks and a couple of pochards. A pair of great crested grebes over the other side had just the one, small, humbug riding on its mother's back. There were lots of dragonflies zipping about. Of the ones I could identify there were dozens of four-spotted chasers and a handful of emperors.

The path to the reedbeds

Walking through the reedbeds I bumped into a willow warbler that included a few odd "chiff-chaff" phrases into the warm-up for its song. These were quite different to the chiffchaffs singing a few yards behind me, less regular and with a more rounded voice. I managed to record it and uploaded it to Xeno-Canto. Reed warblers and reed buntings sang, appropriately, in the reeds and a sedge warbler sang in the reeds, too, so let that be a warning to you.

Lapwings
Juvenile (left) and adult

Teal, mute swan and cygnets

It was nursery time at the Tim Jackson Hide: mute swans had young cygnets, coots and lapwings had well-grown youngsters, the oystercatcher was still sitting on its nest as its partner dozed by the cygnets with a couple of teal. The usual posse of shovelers were nowhere to be seen, which I hope means they had something to be busy with in the cover of the reeds. A female marsh harrier flew by and disappeared over the trees and out towards the salt marsh. The dragonflies here were all broad-bodied chasers.

Mallard ducklings

Walking round to the Griesdale Hide a party of mallard ducklings dabbled noisily amongst the drowned willows. Common blue damselflies basked on the paths and I spent a while failing to take a photo of an emperor dragonfly patrolling the tops of the reeds. The second and last large white fluttered through the wild currants as I passed by.

Red deer

Griesdale Hide was quiet. A red deer grazed on the opposite bank. The great black-backs have raised two chicks, both are about half-grown. Realistically the only threat to them now, except the weather or starvation, would be other great black-backs.

Great black-back and chicks
The paraphernalia is the video link back to the visitor centre

The clouds had rolled in, which made it feel even cooler, and with them came a swarm of swifts over the reedbeds. Another female marsh harrier flew by, heading for the causeway.

I checked the train times, saw the cancellations, decided to play safe and get the next train to Manchester from Silverdale. I arrived back at Oxford Road with just quarter of an hour to wait for my train home. Which was cancelled.

Leighton Moss