The first birding group outing of November was to RSPB Leighton Moss. As, ever, at this time of year, we were hoping for sightings of Bearded Tits and some of our group got good views of them from the grit trays. Unfortunately it did not cross anyones mind to call the others of the group who were a few metres away in the Public Hide !
This rather let me down and spoiled my day. At the public hide there was a Marsh Harrier in the tree way in the back where a single tree stump rises from the reeds and willows. On the water there were prodigous numbers of Coot but not much else.
Around the environs we got the usual small birds including a Marsh Tit. A Raven flew over adn there were occasional other Marsh Harriers around the site. There were a very few Goldeneye at Lillian’s Hide and some nice Pintail at Grisedale.
At the sea hides there were the usual large numbers of Black-tailed Godwit, a few Snipe and a couple of Greenshank. A Kestrel was mobbed by some Jackdaws.
We dropped in at Wharton Crags on our way back home but we were not sure if any Peregrines would still be there out of the breeding season. Another birder pulled up in the parking lot and he said that they did stay on the crags all year and he quickly pointed one out (we hadn’t seen it – we were probably looking too high up on the crags – it was about half way down near some small trees trying to grow out of the face of the crags) but it soon took off over our heads giving us splendid views before it flew off in the direction of RSPB Leighton Moss – perhaps for a late afternoon snack.
Bird Sightings RSPB Leighton Moss Environs 5th November 2019
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Mute Swan | 8 |
| Gadwall | 20 |
| Mallard | 10 |
| Common Coot | 60 |
| Eurasian Marsh Harrier | 1 |
| Eurasian Kestrel | 1 |
| Common Raven | 1 |
| Marsh Tit | 1 |
| Cetti's Warbler | 1 |
| Eurasian Nuthatch | 1 |
| European Robin | 10 |
| Dunnock | 2 |
| Common Chaffinch | 4 |
| European Goldfinch | 30 |
Bird Sightings RSPB Leighton Moss Lillian’s Hide 5th 2019
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Tufted Duck | 1 |
| Northern Shoveler | 100 |
| Mute Swan | 6 |
| Gadwall | 100 |
| Eurasian Wigeon | 3 |
| Eurasian Marsh Harrier | 1 |
| Common Goldeneye | 2 |
| Black-headed Gull | 6 |
Bird Sightings RSPB Leighton Moss Grisedale Hide 5th November 2019
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Northern Shoveler | 20 |
| Eurasian Wigeon | 20 |
| Northern Pintail | 4 |
| Common Teal | 60 |
| Eurasian Marsh Harrier | 1 |
Bird Sightings RSPB Leighton Moss Eric Morecambe Hide 5th November 2019
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Greylag Goose | 30 |
| Canada Goose | 20 |
| Common Shelduck | 6 |
| Northern Shoveler | 2 |
| Common Teal | 20 |
| Northern Lapwing | 50 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 100 |
| Common Snipe | 2 |
| Common Greenshank | 2 |
| Common Redshank | 50 |
| Little Egret | 2 |
| Eurasian Kestrel | 1 |
| Eurasian Jackdaw | 8 |
| Carrion Crow | 4 |
| Common Starling | 40 |
Bird Sightings Wharton Crags 5th November 2019
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Common Buzzard | 1 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 1 |