RSPB Leighton Moss, Silverdale, Lancashire 6
I decided on the spur of the moment to pay a visit to Leighton Moss this morning and so got the 6.30 train from Blackpool to Silverdale, arriving just before 8am.
It was incredibly cold and there was a white frost everywhere which lasted well into the day. That aside, it was a beautifuly sunny, crisp and clear day, but best of all - hardly any wind!
I began my visit at the Allen and Eric Morcambe hides and on the walk down saw many Chaffinches, a Goldfinch, several Long-tailed tits, Carrion Crows, a couple of Ravens and Blackbirds. The water in front of the hides was partially frozen, but there was still plenty to see including Little Egret, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, many Pintail ducks (I counted over 20) Shelduck, Black-headed gulls, a few Canada geese, c70 Lapwings, c120 Wigeon, 3 Grey Heron and 1 Sparrowhawk.
Then I went to the public hide followed by Lillians and then Tim Jackson and collectively saw the usual Mallards, Shoveler ducks, c300 Coot, c80 Tufted duck, c40 Teal, 10 Greylag geese, 5 Mute Swans, 6 Pochard, 3 Gadwall, a solitary female Goldeneye and a hunting Peregrine that flew right over the hide giving good views.
The woodland walk-ways had more Chaffinch, Blue tit, Great tit, Robins, Blackbirds, and 6 female Pheasant. At the feeding station were more finches and tits, a male Bullfinch, a Greenfinch and great views of Nuthatch.
Here are a few pics - the landscape is the view from the train station at Arnside, waiting for my train home.
It was incredibly cold and there was a white frost everywhere which lasted well into the day. That aside, it was a beautifuly sunny, crisp and clear day, but best of all - hardly any wind!
I began my visit at the Allen and Eric Morcambe hides and on the walk down saw many Chaffinches, a Goldfinch, several Long-tailed tits, Carrion Crows, a couple of Ravens and Blackbirds. The water in front of the hides was partially frozen, but there was still plenty to see including Little Egret, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, many Pintail ducks (I counted over 20) Shelduck, Black-headed gulls, a few Canada geese, c70 Lapwings, c120 Wigeon, 3 Grey Heron and 1 Sparrowhawk.
Then I went to the public hide followed by Lillians and then Tim Jackson and collectively saw the usual Mallards, Shoveler ducks, c300 Coot, c80 Tufted duck, c40 Teal, 10 Greylag geese, 5 Mute Swans, 6 Pochard, 3 Gadwall, a solitary female Goldeneye and a hunting Peregrine that flew right over the hide giving good views.
The woodland walk-ways had more Chaffinch, Blue tit, Great tit, Robins, Blackbirds, and 6 female Pheasant. At the feeding station were more finches and tits, a male Bullfinch, a Greenfinch and great views of Nuthatch.
Here are a few pics - the landscape is the view from the train station at Arnside, waiting for my train home.
Total Comments 4
Comments
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Glad to read that you enjoyed a dry day at L.M Alan,I'm looking forward to our week up there in April when hopefully it'll be a bit warmer!
Pintails are always nice to see aren't they!
Nice pics,I love the Egret image!Posted 18-02-10 at 10:01 AM by Twitcheruth
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It sounds a great reserve and a very productive day for you, Alan.
Super pics you have taken too, I would imagine you were spoilt for choice with so many species seen! I am so glad the weather was kind and good to hear you didn't have any wind!
Posted 18-02-10 at 03:54 PM by Little Sparrow
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Sounds a good day Alan. I like Leighton Moss a lot it's a really good reserve any time of the year. Pity you never got a sneaky Bearded tit popping up along the causeway. But they were probably sheltering out of the freezing cold with their feet up.Posted 18-02-10 at 04:51 PM by JONNY74
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Thanks guy's, it was a really pleasant day, despite the cold. I was a bit dubious about going because of reports of the lakes being frozen, but it turned out that only about 20% were solid, so there was plenty to see.
I did hang around on the causeway for about ten minutes, but no sign of any beardies, and it was too cold to keep hanging around!
Just a warning to anyone else who uses public transport - the 1.50pm train from Silverdale, doesn't stop at Silverdale!!!!!! You have to get the train 1 stop to Arnside, and come back from there. I found out by chance when I overheard somebody else's conversation.Posted 18-02-10 at 06:13 PM by alanjns
