I just paused on the coast road to look across the vastness of the estuary in the hope of either the short-eared owl seen last week or one of the marsh harriers (a male is around as well as a few juveniles). Quite sensibly, raptors were not bothering to fly in what was turning into quite a gale. What I did see was quite as marvellous – a flock of 110 swallows tightly bunched and swooping low over the sea aster. They seemed to be feeding but passed onwards out towards the sand dunes looking more and more like a shoal of fish as they went, with the gusting wind as their water.Yesterday I surveyed the Marshside ditches and felt guilty as I flushed the 1600 pink-footed geese that were feeding by the housing estate. I feel even worse today as they have not returned! The numbers have built-up quickly this week from just 50 or so last week and I am sure that they will be back. Some of the godwits and snipe seem to have moved on though. There were over 2000 godwits and many 100’s, (perhaps as many as 1000), snipe on the reserve at the start of the month but snipe are back to more normal levels now. Where are they all now?A couple of spoonbills at Banks Marsh have not visited Marshside but one of them was here a couple of weeks ago so I think I can post the photo by volunteer Alan Farrell here. Other sightings this week: an osprey on the 11th (John Dempsey), water rail and kingfisher at Marshside, greenshanks and spotted redshank at Hesketh Out Marsh, brown hawker, common darter and migrant hawker dragonflies, red admiral, speckled wood and small tortoiseshells (heading for sheds now I think!).The constant soaking has made it a wonderful year for brackish water crowfoot, one of Marshside’s special plants (you can also see spiked water milfoil in the picture).