Saturday Sightings +
Very mild, light wind and a little rain. Recent waste potato deliveries on Top Mere have brought in lots of Pink-footed Geese. Keep an eye on these flocks as they are likely to contain rarer geese as we head into November. The October coordinated goose count in Lancashire produced 46260 Pink-footed Geese. Whooper Swan numbers have increased to over 550.
Wildfowl numbers are building, no specific counts but with over 3000 Teal we should turn up a Green-winged Teal in the near future. Shelduck, Wigeon, Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail all present with smaller numbers of Gadwall, Pochard and Tufted Duck.
The usual waders; 500+ Lapwing, 50+ Snipe, 20+ Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper and a probable Jack Snipe seen in flight from the Ron Barker Hide.
Merlin again, 3+ Marsh Harrier, 4+ Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk.
On the Reed Bed at least 4 Water Rail and a small Bearded Reedling flock were heard calling.
Nuthatch from the Janet Kear Hide again.
Other sightings; Kingfisher, 4 Little Egret, 2 Stonechat, Great-spotted Woodpecker.
The North West Birdwatching Festival is only two weeks way. Check out what is happening in the link below.
