It's been a bit of a hectic week here with lots of activity all around the reserve. Following an item on BBC Northwest Tonight on Thursday, we have been inundated with enquiries about the starling murmurations! It's great to see so many people coming to discover Leighton Moss for the first time and along with the welcome sunshine, it's resulted in a busy few days. As always, however, the reserve has plenty of space to accommodate everyone and we've seen lots of happy and fulfilled visitors enjoying some top quality nature therapy!
Highlights have included the arrival of our first garganeys, with at least two pairs being found on Saturday (19) while the sound of booming bitterns continues to entertain. Out on the saltmarsh the avocet numbers have risen to around 60 birds while the black-tailed godwit flock has reached at least 1400! The pink-footed goose flock on the saltmarsh continues to host a white-fronted goose and a single barnacle goose - both worth scanning through the flock to find!
A smart near-adult Mediterranean gull has also been seen on the Allen Pool, and what is presumably the same bird also stopping off at Lilian's.
With the woodlands and gardens filled with the sound of singing chiffchaffs and plenty of sand martins and the odd swallow moving through, it really is feeling very much like spring. And with some great weather forecast, it should only get better in the coming days!