Always tough to come back to the local patch after an exciting trip, especially in the middle of June, but I nipped down to Marshside for an hour or so this afternoon.
Plenty of young Starlings flocking now, with large numbers in the bushes on the bank up near Polly's.
They dropped onto the channels to bathe, a fact which an enterprising LBB picked up on, swooped and grabbed itself a Starling-sized snack, before taking it off to wash it in the shallows of the Sandplant lagoon.
Watched GBBs grabbing live prey often, but it's the first time I can remember seeing a Lesser pull off the same trick - perhaps it learnt from watching the bigger gulls?
The rest of the young Starlings seemed decidedly nonplussed.
Good flock of 40 odd Dunlin on the Sandplant lagoon island, with smaller numbers around Polly's, with the inevitable Lapwing, Blackwits and Redshank.
While the Marsh Orchids are starting to go over now, I found Bee Orchid in bud, and a few Common Blue butterflies were on the wing.
I didn't get a chance to check Nels Hide, but did call in and have a look from the Hesketh Road platform.
A good sized flock of Jackdaws, with inquisitive youngsters down there, alongside a small gull roost, including one young Herring Gull with a deformed upper mandible - strange looking thing, but it could come in handy when scavenging from old food cans.
Once I found myself digi-scoping Highland Coos (and doing it badly) I knew it was time to head for the hills.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Cuckoo in the dunes behind the Sands Lake Sunday evening. Nice