Fancy A Day Out At Leighton Moss ?

RSPB Leighton Moss - 16.3.20

Do you fancy a day at Leighton Moss my wife asked ? well yes...and it didn't take long to load the car up and we're off up the M6 Motorway to North Lancashire. Leighton Moss is one of my favourite locations, but like all birding locations they have their optimum times to visit, thats not to say you won't see some interesting birds at any time of year, but maybe today to see any returning summer migrants.

Marsh Harrier - male

After paying our dues in the visitors center it's a quick check of the "what's about" board showing the main action appears to be down at the Grisdale Hide so thats where we head. A scan out over the reed bed I pick up not one but five Marsh Harries but as per the norm when you want an image they stay way off in the distances. Now having recently returned from a trip to Spain recently in the company of someone using a Sony A92 + 200-600mm zoo I was so impressed by the speed and lightness of that combination compared to my great big 500mm f4 I'm using, well a chap sat next to me had that exact same Sony setup, not only that, he also had A7R + 100-400mm as a backup...yikes...get over it !

Over the next couple of hours having the hide mainly to ourselves with both the male and the female Marsh Harrier make reasonably close passes, the female landing several times in the same location a little way off in front of the hide suggesting a possible breeding site.

Marsh Harrier - female

Greylag Goose

Quite a few greylag still remain on the reserve and also on the fields leading down to the Eric Morecambe Hide which at the time was completely flooded

Teal

Next we head down to the Causeway Hide and like the Eric Morecambe Hide was completely flooded the water levels so high that most of the wildfowl way off in the distance on the great expanse of water, I did manage some images of the Teal starting off it's new year.

What I did see of note was my first sighting of the returning summer migrants, a group of about twenty Sand Martins "hawking" over the water towards the lower hide area, no pics I'm afraid as it was too distant.