9 March 2024 - Sizergh, Leighton Moss

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Hawfinches, Lesser Scaup, Marsh Tit, Ring-necked Duck

A great day out with the Littleborough Birding guys, starting at Sizergh Castle, where there'd been up to a dozen Hawfinches. There was a viewing area on the verandah of the visitor centre, and the birds were coming down to the trees and paths around the car park opposite. We had great views of them feeding for long periods, probably the best and longest views I've ever had.

We then went up to Ulverston looking for a Richard's Pipit that had been around a few days. We waited in the correct location for about an hour or so, but the wind was biting and very cold, and eventually we gave up (only to find out it had been seen not long after we left!), and headed to Leighton Moss.

We walked down to the Lower Hide where the pair of Lesser Scaup had been present. On the way we saw a nice Marsh Tit, Treecreeper and Scarlet Elf-cup fungus. We had reasonable views, but they were quite mobile and swam off a little further away. A male Sparrowhawk flew across and landed for a short while in a tree to our right. I spent some time photographing Teal and Shoveler etc, and then we headed to Lilian's hide, where a female Ring-necked Duck had been showing. Unfortunately when we got there it wasn't to be seen, and some reports suggested it had been seen from the Causeway and Lower hides, so we decided to head back in that direction.

En route we had good views of several Marsh Harriers, and cracking views of another Marsh Tit that landed near us on the path and performed beautifully. From the Causeway hide, Simon spotted the Ring-necked Duck distantly but no-one else got onto it, so we carried on to the Lower Hide. We spent most of the rest of our time there, and saw the Ring-necked Duck, though it never came very close. However the pair of Lesser Scaup gradually swam closer and closer to the hide until they were pretty much the closest ducks, so we were able to get some rather nice photos.

Hawfinch , 1/60 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 320 (view full size image)