An hour out to check the "half-high tide" on Tuesday evening was about as ropey as I expected - with high tide beneath 8 metres the sea was never going to trouble the beach at Ainsdale that much, and despite the fact that clouds were starting to fill in from the west, the heat haze offshore was still really bad at 5.20pm.
Best I could manage was up to 10 Gannets fishing a few hundred metres out, with one or two Sandwich Terns and circling gulls.
The beach wasn't much better, so I went off looking for orchids in the dunes.
A few spikes of Bee Orchid blooming away now - one little colony had eight flowering plants, and there were one or two other spikes elsewhere.
Gazillions of Marsh Helleborine in bud in the slacks, and in one sheltered corner, four Pyramidal Orchids coming into flower.
A few Willow Warblers and Whitethroats singing, with one of the former doing a weird subsong.
The Mute Swan has a maturing cygnet out on the Sands Lake, which was largely the preserve of Mallards heading into eclipse plumage and loafing Herring Gulls.
Perhaps I should have gone to look at the Spoonbill through the fence at Seaforth after all.
But judging by the lack of comment traffic on the blog, I guess it's pretty quiet everywhere (unless the trip to Fair Isle for the Citril Finch tickled your fancy)..
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Singing (or calling) Quail on the new RSPB place up at Hesketh Bank on Sunday.
I did a WeBS which necessitated walking (with bloody difficulty 'cos of long
grass and nettles) around the perimeter.
Excellent flowers John I managed what I think is a Marsh Orchid at Leighton Moss up at Warton Quarry and I'm pretty sure there is a peregrine chick.
Adult Rose Coloured Starling at Inskip near Preston for its second day.
Nuthatch(es) feeding sunflower seed hearts to young in my Churchtown garden this am.
Not sure whether two parents and one chick or two chicks and a parent.
Anyway the little herberts do now breed in Southport for certain.
John Bannon might wish to note this as in one of his tetrads.
"Mine's a pint of Tetleys John, thanks".
Ron
Thanks Ron for the breeding Nuthatch record in SD31U. Have now started my second visits and have had some interesting breeding records.
Mostly in the 10km square which makes up SD41, which covers most of the mosses and includes MMWWT, Mere Sands Wood, Hoscar Moss, Sollom Moss, Croston Moss and Mawdsley Moss - now all intensively farmed, but with some wild corners.
Breeding records of LEO, possibly Hobby, Stonechat, lowland Curlew, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Common Terns plus Kingfisher, Sand Martin, Spotted Fly, Quail and Lesser Whitethroat - probably the most noteworthy.
Also reasonable numbers of declining farmland birds such as Yellowhammers, Corn and Reed Buntings, Linnet and Tree Sparrow-plus four sites for Yellow Wags.
Buzzards everywhere, but very hard to find any Grey Partridge - maybe that's the reason.
Banded Demoiselle on the Douglas at Croston.
Going out does find you more than now't.
PS: The splendid, 372 pages, profusely illustrated, hardback book, "In the Footsteps of Eric Hardy" will be going off to the printers very soon.
Compiled by David Bryant of the MNA, this labour of love is a fitting tribute to 'Eric the Hard' and will be on sale soon.
Pre-publication offer imminent !
Dear old Eric, (Mr. Hardy when I was a lad) .
A few of us can still remember hearing those immortal words "Childwall 2819" followed by the sound of four (old) pennies dropping into the coin box as ones trembling fingers pressed button B.
Ron
Or was it button A?
Ron