A tour of the reserves

Yesterday, we had a solar panel array fitted to our SE facing roof to harness the energy and feed it into the grid. I was wondering what we'd done as the rain poured down but today, a fine morning and a cloudy afternoon we've produced our first 14 KWh of energy!

So to completely trash my green credentials, I needed to visit several reserves around the county in order to drop off their supplies of the county Bird Report. After a brief stop at the deserted Rishton Reservoir and Cut Wood, I headed for my first port of call, Mere Sands Wood NR and then onto Martin Mere WWT. Having dropped off the reports with Jim to the sound of Pinkfeet overhead, I had a brief chat to Bernie in the In Focus shop before heading to Marshside RSPB. It was a lovely morning but tempting as it was to have a wander it was off to Seaforth NR and a chat with Steve White over a cuppa.

Still no birding time, I headed up the motorway for my final port of call, Leighton Moss. Finally with the job done, I decided that a trip to the Allen Pools was in order.

Splosh! A Grey Heron taking tiddlers.

I was greeted in the car park by a couple more 'seeoo'-ing Chiffchaffs - a juvenile call. Can't say I've noticed this odd call as much as I have this year. I'm normally quite clued up on calls but I guess that the previous autumns I've been working for much of them and not birding as much as I would have liked!

The disyllabic "hu-eet"  announced the presence of a Willow Warbler in the trees outside the Allen hide. I headed straight for the Eric Morecambe hide where several people were watching a juvenile Little Stint on the far bank. A heron fished the pool nearby.

Some of the flock of Black-tailed Godwits spooked by a helicopter

The large flock of Black-tailed Godwits was amassed on the Allen Pool along with lots of Redshanks, a single Spotted Redhank, several Greenshanks, two Dunlin and a Curlew Sandpiper. Lapwings, Starlings, Wigeon and a couple of Pintail made up the numbers whilst on the marsh, I picked out a Great White Egret close to the railway embankment. A nice way to finish off the day.