No migrants: release the teal!

Little Stint, Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks on Rimmer's Marsh, Marshside this morning.

Quiet morning so I released my pet Green-winged Teal at Marshside.

Wasn't a great morning for photography .......


Put in a few hours at Marshside this morning in the hope of a few migrants. Sandplant (dead), Junction Pool (likewise) and Rainford's didn't take long. Pausing at the Hesketh Road platform I found what I thought was a drake Green-winged Teal. Views were distant and a stroll to Wheatear Corner didn't help dispel any hybrid worries (at one time I thought I saw a hint of a "horizontal white stripe" on its left flank). See my usual "headless duck with braces" photo above. 
The golf course was pretty migrant-less apart from a few Chiffies, Willow Warbler and Blackcaps but the Jay in the copse is a bit of a Marshside mega (per John Bannon who found it).
The view from Nel's Hide was spectacular; packed with birds but unfortunately right into the sun by my mid-morning arrival. Little Stint, 415 Black-tailed Godwits, 175 Golden Plover, 125 Redshank and 40+ Ruff on Rimmer's Marsh. A few House Martins, Sand Martins and Swallows over the marsh with Peregrine spooking everything sporadically. The GWT was there but gave nothing away in the strong sunlight.