This morning the 3 Avocet chicks hatched on the island in front of Sandgrounders' Hide took to the choppy water one after another in brilliant sunshine,the parents doing a good job of seeing off other water fowl that ventured near. Photographers must have some excellent shots-hope some end up here. Opportunities like this are rare considering the predators lurking-there was a Great Black-back not too far away. Is this…

This afternoon the first Avocet chick has hatched. Photographers and other visitors in the hide were lucky to see the first glimpses of the very cute newly hatched chick. The adult birds are still sitting on the nest with the chick and remaining three eggs which should be hatching soon. The chick could be seen briefly whilst the adult bird removed the hatched egg shell and at other times whilst the bird adjusted its sitting…

Although it makes for a miserable day out, the rain was much appreciated and the marsh looks all the better for it. And the birds didn't seem to mind too much either.

Avocet chicks have not hatched yet but any day now and the first nest should be hatching. Two Lapwing chicks however were showing on the marsh from Sandgrounders hide. 

There were also good views of Hares, three Dunlin, Redshank, Ruff, Oystercatche…

A total of six Avocet pairs are currently sitting on eggs.

Two male Garganey have been showing well at Junction pool. Swallow numbers have increased, yesterday they did well to battle against the strong winds across the reserve.

Two Avocet pairs that have nested in front of Sandgrounder's hide are now sitting on eggs. As of yesterday one pair had three eggs and the other pair had two.

A pair of Oystercatchers are also looking like they are going to nest in fron of the hide. Yesterday they were mating and the female keeps testing out suitable nest spots on the island.

Two Common sandpipers also spent much of the day in front of the hide…

This weekend temperatures are around 70 F with a slight cooling breeze from S-Easterly directions perfect for spotting migrants. Should be out looking for Osprey instead of doing this!!!

There are still up to 3000 Pink-feet around and Ruff leks haven't been reported yet but yesterday there was a good passage of Redpolls over-perhaps 50-75 in one hour.

The first reported first Sedge Warbler was heard yesterday…

Sandgrounders hide will be closed all day today (29 March) due to building and decorating work. Nels hide and the viewing screens are all open as usual.

Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Yesterday was a great day for watching Avocets at Sandgrounders hide. 28 were seen in the evening in front of the hide and on the right hand lagoon.

It was also a good day for spotting water voles. One was seen along the reed edge at Junction pool viewing screen and although not on the reserve the public footpath along Hesketh golf course provided fantastic views of 4 water voles.

A male Lesser Scaup has been seen at Marshside at different locations around the reserve on and off for the last few days. Today however, he is right in front of the hide on Rainfords lagoon giving visitors a great opportunity to spot him.

20 Avocets are also feeding and setting up territories in front of the hide.

Last Sunday myself and other staff and volunteers were busy getting the islands at Marshside ready for the Avocets and it seems they appreciate all

our hard work. We cleared three islands of plants and re-shelled with cockle shells. Thanks to Doug and his Canadian canoe getting to the islands was the easy part, removing docks with their long tap roots wasn't.

On Monday morning a pair of Avocets were displaying…

Yesterday 28 Avocets were busily feeding on Polly's Pool while volunteers and the warden made the islands at Sandgrounder's and Rainford's Lagoon into suitable Avocet nesting sites. If previous years are anything to go by this will be the best place in the UK to watch breeding Avocets close to.

Rimmer's Marsh was buzzing with life. There was a flock of 39 Avocets together outside Nel's Hide.  Also…

After survey by our ex-warden this morning he sent in the following report.

"Highlights were 11 avocets, 2 little egrets & 20+ gadwall & the usual throng of black-tailed godwits, golden plovers, curlew, redshank, wigeon, teal, shoveler & pintail. Lots of lapwings are displaying - particularly pleasing to see them along the ditches dug out last summer. Black-headed gulls are busily setting up territories on Rainfords…

4 have been out on Rimmer's Marsh today but they didn't have the stage to themselves. Oystercatchers are plotting nesting sites on Rainford's Island while on the reserve as a whole there are still thousands of Pink-feet coming and going with a couple of Barnacle Geese seen with them. 

Large numbers of Black-tailed Godwits, Wigeon and Golden Plover are still around too. Wonderful flights of Lapwing with occasional…

With 100's of gulls around, a favourite activity at the moment is 'spot the med.'  There have been many sightings of Mediterranean Gulls along the whole of the local coastline and lakes including as many as 6 from Sandgounder's Hide. Early signs of season change maybe, with one adult in winter plumage moulting to summer, and a second , also adult, with more advanced towards full breeding plumage.

Crossens…

These sightings are 2010 highlights from regular birders and cover the whole of the Ribble Estuary Nature Reserves. Many are from Marshside. 

First from our ex-warden -

Bittern, Great White Egret, White Stork, Crane, Spoonbills, Long-billed Dowitcher, Pectoral Sandpiper, Green-winged Teal, top goose action, 90+ Bewick's Swans, 12 Short-eared Owls, 4 Hen Harriers, 7 Merlins, Honey Buzzard, Rough-legged Buzzard, Richard…

The saltmarsh was a busy place yesterday. A Barnacle Goose was with the Pink-feet.

Raptors included 2 Peregrines, 3 Merlins, a Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, and a juvenile Marsh Harrier. 

Other sightings included a Stonechat, 70 Linnets, 90 House Sparrows, 6 Ruff & Goldcrest. 

Species in 4 figure flocks included - Pink-feet, Teal, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, and Golden Plover.  

There were smaller numbers of Curlew, Redshank…

A Pink-foot counter was out early this morning. Between  6.40-11.15am. about 15,500 were present on the reserve and at Crossens. 

The reward for this effort was a Rough-legged Buzzard seen at 10am. heading off towards Banks. Also a Common Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, 2 Peregrines, 3 Merlins, 2 Kestrels and 3 Sparrow-hawks.  21 Ruff, 1650 Black-tailed Godwits, 18 Whooper Swans, 1060 Shelducks (on the foreshore), 41 Redwings…

This is yesterday's near verbatim report from one of our birders.

My first 3 Redwings of the winter over Crossens Inner Marsh this morning with a Siskin and a flock of 50 Jackdaws. Watched the Pink-feet leaving the estuary and heading inland; a few (including blue neck collar 2SB) landed on the outer marsh. 700+ Golden Plover, 300+ Black-tailed Godwits, Sparrowhawk and Merlin over the marsh with 5 Goldcrests and…

Early this morning there were about 17,500 Pink-feet out on the Ribble. 1400 Shelduck were on Marshside sands and at the old sandworks; 2 Wheatear, 7 Robins, 360 Skylarks, 120 Meadow Pipits, 4 Reed Buntings, a Chaffinch, Sparrowhawk & Kestrel. The long-staying Black Tern was still hawking over Sutton's marsh on the RSPB reserve and  a Yellowhammer, rare in this area, was seen near the sewage works.

From about…

The Hirundines haven't!  300 Swallows and 80 House Martins were spotted from Sandgrounder's hide yesterday along with 780 Pink-footed Geese, 95 Golden Plover, 22 Curlew and a juvenile Hobby so while the continuous downpour kept people away not so birds.  There was no mention of the Pectoral Sandpiper from Nel's Hide though.

As our ex-warden put it  - "Pink-feet here, pink-feet there, pink-feet everywhere".

For all locals, an exciting signature of autumn, particularly for those of us for whom one of our first childhood memories were their calls. 

In the area, numbers build up from a few in early September and can reach over 20,000. Already, numbers at Marshide are in the 600's. I am fortunate to live under the daily flightpath…

I've just returned from a few days away feeling pleased with myself having watched 6 Buzzards soaring above the Lake District Fells and 1 being mobbed by 25 Swifts, but that was nothing compared to reports from the Marshside area this week. As many as 18 Buzzards have been seen at one time and smaller numbers were frequently seen on the reserve along with other raptors such as Merlin, Marsh Harriers, Peregrines including…

After drought affective the water levels to such an extent that Nel's Hide at Rimmer's Marsh was closed for a few weeks, the warden's rain dance has worked! We have had some hefty downpours this last fortnight and he reports water levels rising faster than expected and more and more birds using the marsh. Nel's Hide will be opening today and daily from approximately 9am - 5pm for the foreseeable future. However if we…

This morning there were 460 Goldfinches feeding on thistles and 590 Starlings probing around, suggest large numbers of juvenile birds flocking and a juvenile Peregrine over could be trying his luck.

210 House Martins, 35 Swallows & a Swift were swooping for insects.

The warden reports that Lapwing breeding numbers were lower than in previous years at 62 pairs, nest and chick productivity was low. He suggests  

Yesterday  there were up to 390 Black-tailed Godwits, and 175 Lapwings on the reserve with a further 860 Lapwings on the salt-marsh. Juveniles around included Shelduck and Shoveler. 370 Greylags are helping keep the sward on the marsh in good condition! A single Common Sandpiper, 7 Curlews, 3 Oystercatchers and a Hare were the only other things of note.

At 8 a.m. today 800 Black-tailed Godwits were scattered across…