Newton Marsh, Lancashire 25th November 2008.
Plenty of birds on the North Ribble Marshes at the moment. Tuesday 25th was a glorious early winter's day; clear sky with sunshine and a "crisp" feel to the air. Newton Marsh was on top form and the fields were literally littered with birds. I wish I'd had more time to make accurate counts but time was tight. The waders were most impressive: 94+ Black-tailed Godwits, 300+ Curlew, 50+ Redshank, 600+ Lapwing and about 20 Golden Plovers were well spread over the fields. Two Little Egrets were flying around, dropping into hidden pools every now and then - still a good record on the north side of the Ribble away from the shore. It was good to see a Merlin on its regular concrete perch once more.
As usual there were plenty of ducks on the entrance pool, mostly Wigeon (500+) with small numbers of Teal, Shoveler, a couple of pairs of Mallards and a single Shelduck.
Today (26th) was a bit of a different story. Dull weather and very few birds on Newton Marsh had me ruing my missed opportunities thanks to lack of time the previous day. Single Little Egret and 60 Black-tailed Godwits were still noteworthy but my intention today was for a look over the saltmarsh from Warton Bank. Our old friend the Glossy Ibis is back and it didn't take long to find it along with at least 5 Little Egrets and another Merlin. Still no wild swans though and no sign of any harriers this morning.
I drove across the Fylde to Knott End at lunchtime but failed to see the Little Bunting due to lack of time again (it turned up about half hour after I left). Hopefully it'll hang around for a day or two. I checked the Preston "Waxwing Triangle" as I passed in the car, but failed to see any the last two days. They are still about though, but mobile.
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