Day Out at RSPB Leighton Moss

RSPB Leighton Moss - 5.9.18

This morning I'm heading up the M6 to RSPB Leighton Moss Reserve, a mixture of managed reed fringed wet lands amongst the countryside just west of the small village of Yealand Redmayne and further west an area of salt marsh on the edge of Morecambe Bay.

Leighton Moss has changed massively in the thirty years since my first visit, in the early days where once you would visit a caravan to access the reserve, now has some impressive facilities including disability facilities, shop, cafeteria, toilets, carpark and a range of modern hides.

One of my favourite locations is the salt marsh, not as "managed" as the rest of the reserve it mainly attracts geese, waders with the occasionatal visiting bird of prey such as Peregrine and Sparrowhawk looking to grab an unsuspecting wader, but anyone visiting the salt marsh hides is advised to arrive early as the sun angle swings around after about 11.0 am making it difficult for photography and bird identification in good light.

Arriving later than intended my first stop is the Allen Hide, quick scan I pick up a few hundred Redshank, maybe five Greenshank, three Godwits, Little Egret and a solitary Dunlin, then with it's flappy flight a Sparrowhawk sends panic amongst the waders all disappearing to other parts of the marsh, time to move on before the sun swings round.

At the Eric Morecambe hide there are already few already birders already enjoying their current stressless occupation not having to work. The best location in this hide for light is always the right side, Redshank probably about a hundred are resting and I try to pick out an unusual shot but opportunities are few, then there's panic again, this time a female Peregrine tries unsuccessfully to grab a wader scattering all this time on to the main reserve.

Now early afternoon in some great weather I'm going to give the popular Causeway hide a visit, stopping on the way at the Bearded Tit feeding trays I not the reserve have been busy building a new viewing platform. The Causeway hide is chocka..not even one seat, eventually it's my turn.

Two Great Egrets are flying towards me with a Grey Heron in hot pursuit intending in seeing off the egrets, it's all action for ten minuets with the egrets determined to land and the heron equally determined to ensure there's no completion on it's patch, I grab  some images but as usual the camera struggles to lock on preferring the background as a subject....dose anyone have some good flight settings for Canon?

It's now late afternoon and although I didn't get the wader images I was after I've have enjoyed my day, it seem's a lot of other people have also I never seen the reserve so busy, and it's a week day !

Redshank

Black Tailed Godwit

Little Egret doing some maintenance.

Great Egret

Great Egret..."incoming"

Greenshank in flight, this image would have been a lot better if the water had been as calm as it was earlier in the morning, I'm also a little late on the shot.