I sat in Island Mere Hide at dusk night. Nothing unusual about that, perhaps, given that we've had a Starling murmuration for several weeks, but it was special nonetheless.
I love Island Mere. It's the perfect place to sit quietly and wait for wildlife to come to you. There may be periods with little wildlife visible, but these will be quickly forgotten when any one of an amazing array of wildlife deigns to show itself. Sometimes the view may be brief, but still exciting. With luck, patience, or both, it will be an unforgettable experience.
Last night came close to the latter, regardless of any wildlife seen, simply for the incredible sunset. After another cold day (made worse by a broken boiler in the Visitor Centre), it was a joy to sit and watch as the sky turned a wonderful orange, with barely a ripple disturbing the surface of the mere. It was simply magical.
Beautiful as the sunset was, the such experiences are always even better if you can spot some wildlife too, and last night I was definitely in luck. I was there to enjoy another view of the spectacular Starling murmuration, and it should have been a perfect evening to watch them. Unfortunately, the Starlings obviously thought differently, with just 500 birds turning up for the performance! Try as they might, 500 couldn't quite match the 35 000 that I had been expecting.
One lonely Starling around the North Bushes
Despite the Starling no show, there were plenty of other birds coming in to roost last night, including 40 Pied Wagtails, a dozen Fieldfares and about 20 Magpies, while several Curlews and flocks of gulls headed over to roost elsewhere. At least six Marsh Harriers patrolled the reedbed, hoping for a final meal before dark, and the ringtail Hen Harrier again put in an appearance. No doubt that was looking for the Starlings too!
Hen Harrier by David Naylor
As I walked back towards the office, there was still more see. First a Woodcock emerged from the woods to fly down onto Whin Hill, then a pair of Tawny Owls called loudly near the car park entrance. What a wonderful end to the day.
In fact, it wasn't too bad earlier in the day, either. The juvenile Long-tailed Duck remains on East Scrape, as do at least five Goldeneyes and hundreds of our regular duck species: Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler and Shelduck. Up to six Bewick's Swans have been on the Scrape (I saw two yesterday) alongside several Mute Swans, while two Whooper Swans were also on Island Mere to complete the set!
Juvenile Long-tailed Duck
The flood waters have largely gone along the dunes after last weekend's surge tide, but the debris left behind is obviously full of seeds as various small birds have been probing there for food: Meadow Pipits, Stonechats, Pied Wagtails, Robins and Blue Tits were all there when I looked on Wednesday, but the Snow Bunting hasn't been seen since Tuesday.
Pied Wagtail
Of course, I haven't been lucky enough to see of this week's highlights, but there have certainly been a few. Pick of these are possibly the Firecrests that have been spotted a few times in North Bushes, regular sightings of Otters and Kingfishers at Island Mere and Bittern Hide, Great Egret over the reedbed, Common and Velvet Scoters offshore, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders and up to 30 Bearded Tits along the North Wall.
Kingfisher by David Naylor