Leighton Moss RSPB : 26th April 2016

Leighton Moss RSPB : 26th April 2016

The last birding group day of the month (and our last until we are back from holiday in Norfork etc.) was to Leighton Moss. The day started badly with three different traffic jams that meant that our joutrney there took two hours. When we got there, it was surprisingly quiet at all the hides and there were only a couple of things to liven up our day.

The first was a chance to go up the new tower that has been built overlooking the reed bed in front of Lillian’s hide and this gives wonderful views across the site. If one stood there long enough, no douby you would get fantastic views of Marsh Harriers and possibly Bearded Tita and Sedge and Reed Warblers flying across the top of the reeds. This presumably affords a good opportunity to locate nest sites and I am sure that the reserve staff are doing just that.

However, for us, we couldn’t stay long as there were large parties of people trundling up the towers; there seemed to be three discrete parties of peopla, each about sixteen strong. Now we know how irritating it is for people when we walk into a hide en mass. Anyway it was very interesting while it lasted and we did get views of a Marsh Harrier.

Some of the group had gone to Lillian’s hide but hadn’t seen anything we didn’t see from the tower. We walked round to the hides to the right as you have the cafe at your back and there we did get a nice year tick; in fact this is the only place we have seen Marsh Tit apart from one in Thetford. There were other small birds there but that was the top bird.

Walking on we got good aural ticks of Reed and Sedge Warblers and, as usual, noone agrees on which is which unless they show themselves. Still it was nice to see them back. At the hides there was a smattering of ducks and a Marsh Harrier showed a little for some people.

We were a bit disappointed in general so we headed back for lunch and then on to the sea hides. These were also disappointing apart from a vast flock of Black-tailed GOdwits and a nice little group of Dunlin starting to get into breeding plumage. There were a few Avocets and a pair of Pintail and a pair of Wigeon but then it poured down and a gale got up – as it can so easily do at the Eric Morecambe hide. The whole hide rattles and wheezes in the wind and it vreates a very bleak atmosphere.

After a while the rain stopped and we took our chance to break free of the hide before the rain resumed. Our journey home was a lot better, thank goodness, but in all honesty, apart from the Marsh Tit, we were disapppointed.

Bird Sightings : RSPB Leighton Moss