After celebrating Mrs D's birthday yesterday, it was time for a bit of fresh air, so I spent an hour or two down at Marshside today as the weather turned real hot and the outer estuary transformed into a vista of unbirdable jelly.
Still a few Wheatears about, plus Mipits, Linnets etc, and Reed Warblers outnumbering Percy Sledges all the way down Marshside One, with birds singing at the Junction Pool, by Nels etc.
Two Reed Warblers earlier in the week in the small reed stand at the northern end of the Sands Lake at Ainsdale was unusual, but they just chuntered for an hour or so and moved on.
Four Spotted Chaser and Common Blue Damselfly out there too.
A Common Sandpiper was sleeked out in the heat at the Junction Pool today, otherwise Nels had a few Ruff and Dunlin amongst the Blackwits and young Avocet attempting to avoid becoming a Kestrel snack.
Very little in the way of movement as you would expect as May lurches towards June, but at least the Common Blue butterflies were putting on a good show on the bank south of the Sandgrounders hide - when they weren't indulging in jiggery-pokery, the basking insects looked like little bits of the blue sky fallen to earth.
Superb.
A long forgotten new year's resolution to get into ladybirds was remembered this week as I watched this smashing little 22-spot at Birkdale - not rare, but enough to get me reaching for the book to start genning up on the group again.
Eyes to the skies everyone, eyes to the skies...
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Two Red Kites drifting over Formby by-pass this afternoon towards the mosses.
1 Lesser Whitethroat singing at Pickerings Pasture near Widnes on Monday afternoon around 14:30
Little Owl on Southport New Road just past Gravel Lane. Was right beside road on road sign and then flew to nearby barn.
The two Temminck's Stint from the Ronnie Barker hide at Martin Mere this morning; scope needed. Also Wood Sandpiper from the United Utilities hide.