A Brief Encounter

The forecast for today is it's going to be loverly sunny day, the bad news is it's a Sunday and it's going to be busy.

Todays plan is to head over to West Lancashire to first visit Formby for the Red Squirrels, then Crosby Beach to view the Antony Gromely sculptures and finish off at Lunt Nature Reserve for possible views of Short Eared Owls.

Arriving at Formby reserve as expected its mega busy, to make matters worse the entry process is slow, very slow. Parking up, my wife and I head for Squirrel Wood to view and get some images of the Red Squirrels, there's loads of dogs, loud people, so I grab a couple of shots, enjoy a nice walk and then depart for Crosby.

Crosby Beach is chokca with people, and to make matters even worse there's a sponsored dog walk along the beach, a little different to my last visit when I practically had the beach to my self. Never the less we enjoy a walk up the beach to the community centre taking some images along the way of the many sculptures which are now practically submerged in the almost high tide.

Lunt Nature Reserve being only about five miles from Crosby is always worth a visit especially late afternoon in winter for a possible sighting of Short Eared Owl, so that's where we are heading next. Arriving in the afternoon sunshine there's already a fare few people already present I guess all eager to get a mega shot of the SEO, my wife decides to stay in the car and read so this is likely to be a short ninety minute visit.

It's blue sky's and the sun is dominating the light angle so I head for the Kingfisher screen but the area is flooded and not good for hunting owls so I move a little further up from the pump house positiond on the banking and wait.

All of a sudden a owl appears to my right which I suspect came from over the banking off the fields, it make's a couple passes and I manage to rattle off twenty or so images before disappearing down the reserve only to reappear later on the far side, and that was it.

I guess I was lucky for the brief encounter.

Time to call time and head home.

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