Great White
Calm and warm with a light south easterly, rain later in the day. Two days in a row and another new species for the year list in the shape of the formerly rare Great White Egret. We didn't record one in 2015 and although birds are hanging around on the Ribble Estuary they rarely rove around the area. The reserve year list is on 154 (species of bird).
On the wader front 3 Little Stint, 2 Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, 2 Dunlin, 10+ Ruff, 400+ Lapwing and 50+ Snipe.
Similar counts of wildfowl to yesterday. Nice to see a couple of Pintail on the Mere this morning. Two Water Rail on Vinson's Marsh.
On the migration front 3+ Wheatear beyond Long Hedge (new map coming soon...) and small numbers of wagtail, Meadow Pipit and Skylark on the move today.
The usual raptors with 5 Marsh Harrier, 6 Common Buzzard, 2 Kestrel and 2 Sparrowhawk.
It should be possible to see at least 50 species of bird in a day without too much effort, although a telescope is very useful from most of the hides.
If you are visiting the reserve, pop in to the In Focus shop where we have a full list of birds, and should be able to point you in the right direction to get the most out of your visit.
