Drake Wigeon at Newton Marsh 9 January 2008.
Found myself with a bit of spare time this afternoon so popped down to the Ribble for a couple of hours.
The ornithological hotspot otherwise known as Preston Docks.First stop was Preston Docks. This site has produced a few goodies in the past but I doubt if anyone looks regularly nowadays as it's pretty hit and miss for birds. Anyway there were loads of gulls (mainly Black-headeds) but nothing unusual. Having spent all my time scanning the water I decided to glance skywards and was surprised to see a huge Raven making its way steadily north over the rooftops.
Next stop was Newton Marsh. The Entrance Pool was flooded and Wigeon were scattered everywhere with a few Teal and a handful of Shovelers.
The Entrance Pool at Newton Marsh.
Not much else here apart from a Little Egret in the distance so I drove round to Freckleton and checked the other side of the grazing marsh. Plenty of Shelduck heading to roost on the Naze Pool and the Little Egret flying around the fields and dropping in the ditches.
As I hadn't sen a Barn Owl on the estuary all winter I decided to give Clifton Marsh a try. Scored with one in a grassy field at about 3.45 PM (mobbed by a female Merlin!) and it was light enough to see a pair of Stonechats and 10 Stock Doves too. A nice end to a pleasant afternoon.
