RSPB Leighton Moss

Six of us gathered on a lovely, sunny autumnal day. Knowing that bearded tits had been regularly seen over the last couple of weeks, we made our way first to the causeway. Alas, despite waiting patiently we didn’t see any! We carried on into the hide, where we saw plenty of shoveler, gadwall & coots. We also had cracking views of both male and female marsh harrier as they flew over the hide. We then made our way back to the Lillian hide where we saw more waterfowl. Most of us had our lunch there, as we sat surveying the peaceful scene. From there we went to the Grizedale hide, stopping on the way at another clearing for bearded tits – but again, none were seen. Just after we entered the hide a female marsh harrier flew over, flushing out about 10 common snipe which flew round twice before settling down into the greenery out of sight. From the Tim Jackson hide we had good views of 5 red deer lying down in the grass enjoying the sunshine and both great white egret and little egret almost side by side. We then drove down to the estuary hides and saw many waders, though the sun in the west sometimes made viewing difficult.
We had a flock of about 30 common snipe, some in the open quite close to the hide, greenshank, and one green sandpiper, amongst many others. A most enjoyable day – despite the lack of bearded tits!
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Species: Marsh Harrier, Shoveler, Gadwall, Coot, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Black-headed
Gull, Teal, Mallard, Buzzard, Grey Heron, Lesser Black-back, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Robin,
Pheasant, Common Snipe, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Avocet, Lapwing, Starling, Green Sandpiper,
Redshank, Red Breasted Merganser, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Greenshank
Red Deer