A family of cattle egrets at Martin Mere

I had a great mid-summer visit to Martin Mere today, first of all in birding mode and then later switching to grandad mode when the granddaughter arrived 😊. 

Cattle egrets have been more or less resident at the mere for a few months now, but excitingly this morning saw the arrival of a family party of two adults and two juveniles, with presumably one of the resident birds nearby as well. Unlike the adults, the juveniles have black bills and were constantly harassing the the adults, presumably for food. I don't know where these birds have bred, but I'm not sure that it's Martin Mere, more likely a local heronry, perhaps at Southport. I remember years ago, long before the arrival of little egrets, cattle egrets were predicted to breed in the UK, but whilst the latter has exploded in numbers, cattle egrets have plodded along and only in recent years seem to have become established.

A fabulous sight! They'd been on the mere early morning, but when I got there they were nowhere to be seen. Eventually though I spotted them flying around miles away behind Woodend marsh, but eventually I watched them fly back to the mere.

Also today, a green sandpiper on Woodend Marsh and a female marsh harrier from Ron Barker hide, where they have bred this year, I believe for the first time.

These summer plumage islandica race black-tailed godwits were amongst the nicest I've seen for a long time.