"Early July - waders?" Good start - keep going ......... "Wader habo - Marshside with a quick look in at Martin Mere WWT maybe?". Pretty sound and always good to act on a birding hunch.
So on a nice sunny Sunday morning I get up at sparrow's fart and head out towards Southport. Yes? No. I get up go into the office and start faffing around again without doing anything constructive. Lap top on ........ Birdguides website ....... "Oh Glossy Ibis at Marshside. Off there later anyway".
Another hour writing some more drivel and "Spoonbill between Polly's Creek and Sandgrounders" pops up on the net.
So off I go to Marshside, park near Sandgrounders and there you have it - hazy white blob (still sunny) sitting in high grass with a load of Blackwits. Great! 'Scope out, zoom in = Little Egret. Bugger!
I don't normally spend much time in the hide at Sandgrounders because of the deafening sound of crunching crisps from seemingly hollow heads (not in a bad mood or anything, you understand) but thought it wise to check this morning.
"Too late!" was the welcoming chirpy little scouse tones from a young birder waving his camera screen at me with full frame preening Spoonbill.
"Gone!"
"Did you see it fly off?" I politely enquired.
"Yeh" .......... [waits for bit more detail]
"Did you see which way it went?"
"Yeh ................Dat way"
Hmmmph . Having established that the bird had disappeared in a southerly direction I had a quick look round (Avocet, Ruddy Duck .......help!) and then jumped in the car and drove to the most southerly point with a bit of water at Fairclough's Pool (where the Ibis had been seen earlier).
Fairclough's Pool, Marshside 13/7/08.
Shelduck 1
LBBG 2
Herring Gull 1
Bit of white junk resembling roosting Spoonbill watched for 10 minutes with 'scope - 1.
So I've decided that birding south of the Ribble is just not for me and I'm never going there again. Until the next good bird turns up of course.
Feeling less than impressed (Ibis wasn't even there) I gave MMWWT a miss and returned to Brockholes where I knew there was at least some water (Marshside is very dry).
Brockholes Quarry 13 July - much better than Spoonbill.Not much at the quarry in feathers but Black-tailed Skimmers and Broad-bodied Chasers were on the wing. Apologies to the lucky young birder in Sandgrounders - nice Spoonbill pics and just ignore grumpy cockney birders in totally inappropriate shirts for birding in the future.
