Today was forecast to be dryish with a little bit of sunshine, before  becoming wet and grey for the rest of the week, so I got up early and headed out to the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss, Silverdale to make the most of it. I started off at the hides away from the reserve  over looking Morecambe bay. These hides overlook a couple of saltwater pools fed by the sea at high tide, and are a great spot to see waders and sea birds as well as the odd visitor from the reed beds of the main reserve.

Spoonbills have been seen here a lot recently, and I was lucky enough to catch them here last year; sadly they were absent today although it was still a very worthwhile visit. Today there was lots of Bar tailed Godwits, both feeding and flying as well as Dunlin and Redshank. Oyster catchers were plentiful, and there were a mixture of Little and Great White Egrets feeding all over the ponds, joined by Lapwings and Avocets.  A Grey Heron visited and joined them for a short while before heading off towards the main RSPB reserve and for a little while a Marsh Harrier flew in but was quickly escorted away by a couple of Herring gulls!

Along the walk to the hides here you pass through a small wooded and reeded section, which today was alive with Reed Buntings, Dunnocks, Great Tits, Blue tits and Chaffinch. The Goldfinches were chasing each other and Chiffchaffs in good voice hidden away out of sight. Its always a good place to visit as you never know really what will be there,  normally the gulls outnumber everything else but since my last visit when there were numerous dead ones and Avian flu warning notices, today there was only a handful, I'm hoping this isnt because of the bird flu. I stayed here for an hour or so, and as the light and weather looked like it wouldnt last very long I got in the car and headed to the main reserve.

RSPB Leighton Moss with its numerous hides, shop, cafe and viewing tower has been a favourite place of mine since I first visited with my Dad in the early 80's, it' always worth a visit and never fails to provide something to watch. Today was no exception, and from my view point at the Grisedale hide I was lucky to spot a family of Marsh Harriers, three juviniles and two adults. The young were waiting in the low trees just above the reed beds while the adults were soaring high above and after a short while I was lucky enough to hear the adults calling, the young lifted off and in a series of swift swoops were fed by the adults droping prey midair or passing it directly from tallen to tallen in flight. I didnt get a good look at the prey as they were some distance away but it seemed to be a mixture of mouse or vole with the odd small bird mixed in. At one point the male adult swooped in directly in front of the hide and tried to catch a Moorhen, but didnt get a grip and the Moorhen got away easily.

Also from this hide were Grey Heron, Cormorants, Shoveler duck, Moorhen, Coot and Great Black Backed Gull. It wasnt long however before the skies darkened and so I left just before the rain came.