Saturday 18 June 2016

Leighton Moss...

Called in at Leighton Moss this morning, yet another RSPB reserve, in North Lancashire. It’s changed a bit since I was here last: a bigger visitor centre, more paths, more hides… and a viewing platform, accessible by steps, which offers a birds-eye view over the reedbeds. Highlights included a flock of about 70 black-tailed godwits, which flew around in a tight formation. How do the birds know where to land? Does one bird make the decision, and the other birds follow? I had a close-up view of the godwits from one of the hides; they were only a few metres away, feeding on the mudflats.

A pair of marsh harriers kept a lot of people entertained, in another hide, also an otter which swam across the open water, and a couple of red deer. I saw avocets in flight, and heard the brief, explosive song of what I thought was a cetti’s warbler (a warden confirmed that cetti’s warblers are now regular visitors)…

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