Marshside

Sedge warbler 

It was a slightly sunnier day though that wind still had its edge. The knees and Achilles tendon were still protesting about yesterday's climbing about on steps so I thought I'd have a gentle toddle around Marshside and not aggravate them.

The train journey to Southport was nicely uneventful. I'm seeing a lot fewer woodpigeons along the railway tracks lately, partly because they're too busy to be loafing about on trackside furniture and mostly because there's already so much leaf cover. The fields of barley are well-grown, the pheasants are just disembodied heads above the green.

Marshside Road, looking over to Sandgrounders 

I got the 44 bus and walked down Marshside Road. There was a constant traffic of starlings and house sparrows overhead on shopping trips to the marsh for greedy mouths back at the nest. Some of the house martins were hawking low over the rooftops, others were bringing back gobbets of mud for nest-building.

Lapwing 

More of the Canada geese and greylags had goslings. Lapwings chased off any carrion crow, jackdaw or herring gull that passed by and tormented any that dared to land. Pairs of mallards and shovelers lurked in the drain at the edge of the marsh, a couple of little egrets fossicked about on the banks. Rimmer's Marsh near the roadside was a sea of woodpigeons, heads down busy feeding. Beyond them nesting black-headed gulls were dotted irregularly across the marsh, marking out what would be islands in a wetter Spring.

A couple of whitethroats sang in the remaining bits of hedgerow, a sedge warbler sang in the drain at the junction. The pair of stonechats made an appearance, struck poses on the fenceposts then disappeared into the rank vegetation at the side of the drain.

Black-tailed godwits 

About forty black-tailed godwits twittered and fed on Junction Pool with a couple of avocets and a few ruffs. Pairs of redshanks struck courtship poses with the white patches on their wings flashing like semaphore flags. A few mallards and gadwalls dabbled at the edges of the pool, a black swan sailed in from the sidelines and went to sleep in a corner.

Black-tailed godwits 

Black swan and black-tailed godwits 

Black-tailed godwits and avocets

I walked down to Nel's Hide to a backing track of singing skylarks, sedge warblers and whitethroats and calling black-headed gulls and herring gulls. I had no luck finding the Mediterranean gull again, going or coming back. Swallows and house martins twittered as they swooped over the the marsh and up and over the bund just over head height.

Ruff

Snipe

Nel's Hide was noisy with black-headed gulls and a sedge warbler parked in the bushes by the window. A couple of families of mallard ducklings dibbled across the pool in front of the hide. A snipe, a ruff and a dunlin in smart breeding plumage fed in the mud by the sides of islands. Shovelers dozed, gadwalls cruised about, pairs of Canada geese and greylags steamed round the pool or dozed on islands. Redshanks fidgeted, lapwings flew in for a quick wash and brush-up, half a dozen swifts swooped in for five minutes before swooping back out again. 

Shoveler

Sedge warbler 

Mallard ducklings

Carrion crow 
When this bad boy turned up the ducklings all ran to their mother, and who can blame them?

I wondered if the snow goose was still about. There's a fine line between finding something because you're looking for it and finding something because you're hoping it's there even though it isn't. Having had a long, hard stare at the white object amongst the distant Canada geese halfway across to Hesketh Road I concluded that it was an inanimate object of some kind. Ten minutes later I glanced over that way again and it had moved ten feet and had a neck. Five minutes later it was just a white lump again.

Junction Pool 

I walked back and headed for Sandgrounders. Blackcaps, robins and goldfinches sang from the sand plant as I walked by. The islands on the pool by Sandgrounders were packed with nesting black-headed gulls, the banks were littered with Canada geese.

Black-headed gulls 

It was fairly quiet at Sandgrounders besides the nesting black-headed gulls. A few avocets and a black-tailed godwit fed ankle-deep in the water. A little ringed plover skittered around on the mud. A pair of avocets at the back of the pool, at the mouth of the little creek, were being very aggressive, chasing off redshanks and starlings that happened to land nearby. The reason became apparent when two young chicks, perhaps a day or two old, waddled into sight.

Little ringed plover (left) and avocet 
In case you were wondering how little a little ringed plover is.

I headed back for the bus on Marshside Road. The snow goose was still distant but distinctly goose shaped when I looked over at Rimmer's. A kestrel flew by and hovered over the sand plant. The starlings and house sparrows were busier than ever feeding hungry mouths.

Burnet rose 

I'd hoped a gentle toddle might have done the knees a bit of good after yesterday. My hopes were dashed, it was a very uncomfortable journey home. I don't know whether to have a rest tomorrow or go for a long walk on the flat in the hopes I walk out the stiffness, I'll see how it feels tomorrow.