Finally found a spare couple of hours to get down to my local Ribble patch this afternoon. With about an hour to spare before high tide I decided to check the Freckleton / Warton Marshes. A nice flock of 30+ Meadow Pipits, a White Wagtail and a pair of Wheatear kept me amused for a while, but no sign of any Water Pipits that have been frequenting the marshes "off patch" out at Warton Bank. Further year ticks came in the form of a couple of House Martins in with the Swallows and a Sedge Warbler singing from a reedy patch in the channels. A single Whimbrel out on the marsh with 20+ Curlews was nice as were the dozen or so Black-tailed Godwits. One Little Egret flew past before I reached the car.The weather was looking quite horrible when I arrived at Freckleton so I left the wellies in the car and decided to only walk as far as the Naze Pool, rather than all the way out to the point. This proved to be a good decision because a) it started to rain as I walked back to the car, and b) on the way back I spotted a distant Osprey! It was over the Preston Water Treatment Works and hovered over the Ribble briefly. Nice end to a very wintry spring afternoon.
