Gave the bushes and dunes around Cabin Hill a good hammering today under the delusion of finding a few unusual passage migrants, but with the wind freshening from the west, it was a forlorn hope.
Still I don't get down here as often as I used to, so revisiting the old site was justification enough for the walk.
The successful Stonechat family were zipping about the southern end of the grazing area, at least 6 birds at any one time, but only a few mipits were passing overhead.
Slightly more encouraging were the three Whinchats (an adult and two juvs) in the middle of the grazing area, lovely to see, but birds which had absolutely no intention of coming any closer to me, so I had to make do with this blurry record shot of one of the youngsters before I left them in peace.
Linnets and Goldfinches on the wires too, as were plenty of corvids - Jackdaws and particularly seedy looking Carrion Crows, which probably kept all the mega-rares that I couldn't find, deep in cover instead of perching up on the scrub.
With just three Whinchats to show for migrant hunting, I cracked and headed down to the shore for high tide, where a compact, but perfectly formed roost of waders was dozing away.
Using the high tideline debris as cover I got pretty close without freaking them out, and I'm pleased to say, left without flushing them too.
Very smug Dempsey.
Grey Plover, Barwits, Knot, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and a few Turnstone were all crowded together as the tide gently edged up the beach.
Offshore, the Crosby lightbuoy was decked in roosting Cormorants like the skeletal remains of last year's marine Christmas tree. 
Not much else moving offshore though, but then, there usually isn't here - Formby Point would have been better for seabirds today, and if the south westerly maintains, or even manages to get a bit stronger, the high tide could repay the effort tomorrow, or possibly on Wednesday.
The walk back through the ivy covered trees of the old Cabin Hill farm site was uneventful, apart from a female Sprawk hunting the scrub, a few Red Admirals and numerous Woodpigeons clattering out of the branches every few feet.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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A quarter of Lancashire gardens are home to hedgehogs and almost half have resident frogs, according to participants in the RSPBâÂÂs first summer wildlife survey.
The results of the Make Your Nature Count survey also revealed that one in four of participants reported seeing foxes in their gardens with 10% seeing them regularly.
More than 62,000 people took part in Make Your Nature Count. The new wildlife stock-take is the first time the RSPB has asked for information about wildlife other than birds visiting gardens in summer. Participants were also asked to record garden visitors such as squirrels, toads and badgers.
Richard Bashford, the RSPBâÂÂs Make Your Nature Count project manager, said: âÂÂWeâÂÂve been surprised at the diversity of wildlife BritainâÂÂs gardens support. Many people are seeing foxes and hedgehogs on a regular basis, species perhaps more associated with the wider countryside.
âÂÂFor 30 years, Big Garden Birdwatch has provided the RSPB with information of winter bird numbers, but this survey will start to build an even bigger picture of garden wildlife throughout the year.âÂÂ
The survey, which took place in June, has also revealed that gardens in Lancashire have on average 10 different species of birds present at that time of year. The blackbird is the most frequent visitor recorded in 94% of all Lancashire gardens, followed by the house sparrow in 75%.
Because of the time of year, the survey also asked people to look out for some of our breeding birds and summer migrants. 43% of people recorded baby blackbirds and 18% had young robins. Young song thrushes were recorded in 6% of Lancashire gardens. Song thrush numbers have declined nationally by 50% since the 1970âÂÂs but in recent years have started to make a bit of a recovery.
Of the summer migrants, swifts were seen in one in five of Lancashire gardens, a good sign they are breeding nearby. 9% saw house martins and 6% had swallows. The decline of summer visitors nationally is of great concern to the RSPB. Swift numbers have declined by almost a third since 1994. The cause of the decline is believed to be loss of nest sites through building improvement or demolition.
Visit the RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount for the UK-wide Make Your Nature Count results. For more information on gardening for wildlife, log onto www.rspb.org.uk/hfw