The waders came in two by two. Hurrah, hurrah!

At last, some good waders on Rishton Reservoir this morning. I was just about to step out of the door when I got the message that Steve Grimshaw had got a few waders at Rishton Reservoir this morning and five minutes later I was enjoying the sight and sound of a couple of Greenshanks on the far bank. I could hear them calling as I came out of Cut Wood. There were fishermen on the Reservoir but they had all stayed at the dam end and so left the lovely expanse on mud and sand undisturbed. This was in stark contrast to Wednesday when there were just 141 Canada Geese on the field and very little else due to disturbance - I guess the local LRP's were keeping a low profile.
Anyway, not only were there these two fantastic birds but a couple of juvenile Little Ringed Plovers (probably the local birds), two Ringed Plovers and two Dunlin were also feeding actively on the far shoreline. A single Common Sandpiper spoilt the run of doubles and then seven Lapwing came in just before the Greenshank departed east as another heavy shower came in from the northwest.

There were several Lesser Black Back and Black-headed Gulls and a couple of Mute Swans on the reservoir where the levels are still declining even after all this rain! There were also three adult and one fully fledged juvenile Great Crested Grebes. There were still a few Sand Martins over the water but at least 20 House Martins made them the most common hirundine.

Yesterday, Bernie and I watched the tide slowly flood Hesketh Out Marsh and here we had a couple of Greenshank, eleven Avocets, at least 100 each of Ringed Plover and Dunlin as well as a Turnstone. At least three Marsh Harriers were around with one passing through and two adult females seen regularly throughout our two hours there. A couple of Yellow Wagtails were a nice addition. So contrast that against what appears to be meagre offerings today - I'm easily pleased!

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