Marshside

I spent most of my day at Marshside, Southport where there were plenty of highlights with perhaps the most unexpected being three spoonbills which flew over, an adult and two juveniles. They headed north and don't appear to have been picked up elsewhere, though they will probably be seen again somewhere on the Ribble in the next day of two.

The long staying 1st winter male smew which was on the marine lake for ages over the winter has recently relocated to Marshside and today was on the saltmarsh pool just north of the sand washing plant. Great to see it in the company of pink-footed geese! On the other side of the road around Polly's pool there was a water pipit and at least 60 avocets.

There were geese all over the saltmarsh but the best place to view is the wildfowlers pull in at the northern end of Marine Drive. From here today I counted approximately 15 Russian white-fronts, two Greenland white-fronts, 55 barnacles and a few thousand pink-footed geese. A ringtail hen harrier quartered the distant marsh and came a little closer on one occasion. Two sand martins flew over.