SiG
Well-known member
Kmonty and Marcus: Thanks.
A link I wanted to post in this thread is to the RAMSAR summary for the Ribble and Alt Estuaries - it opens a .pdf file.
I did pop down tonight and for once I didn't take a trawl round the sand plant! I usually do. But I spent some time in Nels, and the rest on the new bench overlooking Polly's Pool (referred to a number of times by me as the scrape at the back of Marshside 2)
In the context of what I've seen the last few days I didn't see anything new tonight, and indeed saw no Garganey or Little Gull. The thunderstorm of earlier today brought enough rain for the main lagoons to have returned to how they were 10 days ago, far more sloppy gloup for avocets and blackwits to sift through, so they were well spread out again. There were more than 30 dunlin on Polly's Pool, and a lot of Grey Heron, 10+, teaching their young about the delight of crunchy avocet chicks, no doubt! Wigeon, Teal and Gadwall all in good numbers in front of Nels. And the single Turnstone, still there ... If anything, blackwit numbers were up ...
I tried in vain to get some decent shots of sedgies, or whitethroat. I saw a lot, but didn't get any photos worth mentioning.
Walking up to Crossens, the Police ICR portakabin is still blocking off the path along Crossens Sluice, crime scene tape too. I have heard it said that this was the week that brought Red Kite, Black Stork and Dead Manc to Marshside, and yet most of us missed all three. I wouldn't repeat that though, it would be in poor taste. Anyway, apparently he was from Oldham. Given the fact that I walk past the site where the body was found more often than most apart from those who go there daily to deposot dog poo I thought the bizzies might have asked me a few questions, but they ignored me both time I walked past them, more interested in their junk food. So I asked them how much longer they would be keeping the Sluice path closed, as I haven't seen or heard tell of the Barn Owl since they moved into its prime hunting ground. They said they'll be off tomorrow. I asked them if they could please be good enough to remove all the Police tape now strewn around the trees too. Then I legged it to catch the 10pm 49 bus, which fortunately was a couple of minutes late.
Following your replies earlier, Marcus, I was prompted to take a few landscape shots of the site for you! The first one's looking east from the Coastal Road out over Polly's Pool towards Marshside village, then south-west over the sandworks, then south over Sandgrounder's hide towards Southport. The last one's just a handheld shot of some avocet - they're everywhere you look down there these days!
A link I wanted to post in this thread is to the RAMSAR summary for the Ribble and Alt Estuaries - it opens a .pdf file.
I did pop down tonight and for once I didn't take a trawl round the sand plant! I usually do. But I spent some time in Nels, and the rest on the new bench overlooking Polly's Pool (referred to a number of times by me as the scrape at the back of Marshside 2)
In the context of what I've seen the last few days I didn't see anything new tonight, and indeed saw no Garganey or Little Gull. The thunderstorm of earlier today brought enough rain for the main lagoons to have returned to how they were 10 days ago, far more sloppy gloup for avocets and blackwits to sift through, so they were well spread out again. There were more than 30 dunlin on Polly's Pool, and a lot of Grey Heron, 10+, teaching their young about the delight of crunchy avocet chicks, no doubt! Wigeon, Teal and Gadwall all in good numbers in front of Nels. And the single Turnstone, still there ... If anything, blackwit numbers were up ...
I tried in vain to get some decent shots of sedgies, or whitethroat. I saw a lot, but didn't get any photos worth mentioning.
Walking up to Crossens, the Police ICR portakabin is still blocking off the path along Crossens Sluice, crime scene tape too. I have heard it said that this was the week that brought Red Kite, Black Stork and Dead Manc to Marshside, and yet most of us missed all three. I wouldn't repeat that though, it would be in poor taste. Anyway, apparently he was from Oldham. Given the fact that I walk past the site where the body was found more often than most apart from those who go there daily to deposot dog poo I thought the bizzies might have asked me a few questions, but they ignored me both time I walked past them, more interested in their junk food. So I asked them how much longer they would be keeping the Sluice path closed, as I haven't seen or heard tell of the Barn Owl since they moved into its prime hunting ground. They said they'll be off tomorrow. I asked them if they could please be good enough to remove all the Police tape now strewn around the trees too. Then I legged it to catch the 10pm 49 bus, which fortunately was a couple of minutes late.
Following your replies earlier, Marcus, I was prompted to take a few landscape shots of the site for you! The first one's looking east from the Coastal Road out over Polly's Pool towards Marshside village, then south-west over the sandworks, then south over Sandgrounder's hide towards Southport. The last one's just a handheld shot of some avocet - they're everywhere you look down there these days!
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