Captain's Log 

Lillian Hide

Sitting in the Lillian Hide I could just see a Marsh Harrier perched on a post in the middle of the reed beds. It looked rather forlorn in the mist and rain. The day was so soggy that even the Crows couldn't be bothered to chase it away. In the lake, a Great Crested Grebe caught a fish and carried it away for its brunch. After a while I could see waves of rain driving over the reedbeds. Maybe the next time I come here I'll make sure it is a nice sunny day. The Marsh Harrier didn't look like it was going to shift and so I got up to make my way over to the Causeway. There was then a kafuffle from the other birders in the hide...the Marsh Harrier had taken off! I sat back down and opened the window, but the bird had disappeared into the mist and reeds. A photographer who was sat next to me showed his photo of the ascending Harrier to his wife. She cooed in appreciation. I wouldn't have mind a look at his photo myself but I do have my pride.

Causeway

I climbed to the top of the Sky Tower. It is surprisingly high and offers a great view over the reserve. It is exposed to the elements though and so I didn't stay long up there. On the wooden walkway to the Causeway I came across a small squirrel. It looked very bedraggled in the rain. The bushy tail didn't look bushy anymore. It preceded me along the walking platform and seemed reluctant to jump off into the wet, marshy scrub. It was busy in the Causeway hide but the high reeds in front of the windows prevented a clear view of the birds. There were plenty of Mute Swans close to the hide. I didn't stay long and continued along the trail to the Lower hide. When I'd visited this hide in December, I'd had good views of a Marsh Harrier and a fellow birder had told me that Otters were a common sight.

Lower Hide

I spent about an hour in the Lower hide and didn't see any Marsh Harriers or Otters. There were quite a few Swifts hoovering up the insects above the lake. The highlight of the visit was a Cormorant catching and eating an Eel. After diving, it caught the Eel and some weeds in its beak. The Eel's defence mechanism seemed to involve wrapping itself around the Cormorant's beak. The bird shook its head to unwrap it and eventually flung the Eel and weed up into the air and caught the Eel minus the weed. A clever trick! The Eel still put up a fight by wrapping itself around the beak again, but it was a lost cause. The Cormorant threw the Eel up in the air again, caught it and started the process of swallowing it. A large bulge started appearing in its throat as it gulped it down. My final view of the demise of the Eel was mercifully obstructed by some reeds.

RSPB Leighton Moss certainly delivered again. I may not have seen an Osprey or Otter, and didn't get a great view of a Marsh Harrier, but there was plenty of wildlife on offer and made 4 hours seem like 4 minutes.

Grisedale Hide

I popped into the Tim Jackson hide but the windows were facing straight into the wind and rain, and so it wasn't long before I moved on to the Grisedale Hide. Fortunately this was side on to the wind and had a good view on to a lake. A Great Egret was fishing nearby and there was plenty of wildfowl about. It wasn't long before a Marsh Harrier flew along the nearby reeds. This was definitely a better spot to see them. There appeared to be quite a number of them too, although because they continued to drop into the reedbeds, I wasn't sure I was double counting them. The light still wasn't the best and most of my photos of them came out a bit grainy. Every time the Harriers flew over the lake, mass panic would ensue and the wild fowl would take flight. There was a purpose built Osprey platform directly opposite the Grisedale Hide, together with a livestream cam. Obviously, given the time of year, there were no Osprey's resident now. Time was getting on and so I decided to make a move.

Bearded Tits!

Back at the Bearded Tit's grit tables my attention was drawn to some fluttering in the reeds and then a female and male Bearded Tit appeared on one of the tables. They are remarkable looking birds. The male has the black beard, although it looks more like a moustache to me. They are actually quite rare. There are only an estimated 700 pairs in the UK and about 30 pairs at Leighton Moss. I felt quite privileged to see them. They are misnamed in that they are not from the 'Tit' family and are more related to Skylarks. They have two or three broods of 5 or 6 chicks over summer. At that sort of breeding rate, you'd think the place would be overrun with them, but obviously a lot of them don't make it. They have a peculiar behaviour in that around October, flocks of them decide to move. Nobody really knows where they go. They are not built for long flights and so they won't go huge distances. After having their fill of grit, my pair flew back to their reedbed. Leighton Moss has a couple of hides nearer to Morecambe Bay and I decided to check them out. Before that though, I was going to have a fried egg bap and a coffee in the RSPB cafe.

Allen Hide And Eric Morecambe Hide

The Allen Hide and Eric Morecambe Hide is a short drive away from the main RSPB Leighton Moss carpark. There was no sign to its carpark from the main road and I wasn't really sure whether I was driving down a farm track. The track itself is quite an adventure in that it is potholed and you have to go under a railway bridge that is 2 metres high. The road level dips as you go under the bridge and so it actually feels a lot lower. I wondered if a Range Rover would get under there. The carpark was just after the bridge and I set off on the trail to the hides. A curlew flew by me issuing its mournful call and a couple of Goldfinches perched in a nearby tree. This looked quite promising, I thought. The Allen Hide looked out on to a bleak landscape, There was a lake immediately in front of the hide and some grassy marginal land, before Morecambe Bay itself. A few sheep grazed on the grassy knolls. Despite hanging around for 10 minutes, I saw no birds apart from a few geese flying overhead. I decided to have a wander around to the Eric Morecambe hide. The hide had a silhouette figure of the comedian next to the door. The hide wasn't that far away from the Allen Hide and so I didn't hold out much hope for seeing much. Sure enough, after 5 minutes, and no birds, I decided my time at Leighton Moss had concluded.

I was glad I got to see all of the hides at Leighton Moss. I've not been to any other site where you get such a good view of Marsh Harriers. I'm sorry I didn't see any Otters, but it was a real treat to see the Bearded Tits. I'll definitely return.

Lower Hide

The ice path continued around to the Lower Hide. The ice must have  been two or three inches thick in places. There were plenty of smaller birds and squirrels in the surrounding trees. The place must be buzzing with activity in Spring and Summer. On the last stretch of path before the hide, I saw a Starling wing. Some unlucky bird didn't make Christmas. There was a man and a woman in the hide. This hide had a great view over the lake too and the birds were a lot closer. In fact some Coots were feeding directly in front of the hide. The lake was frozen, but there was a reasonably large hole in it where a lot of the birds had congregated. It started raining again. I thought that it must be a miserable experience for the birds in this weather. Occasionally a Coot would walk across the ice and end up slipping and sliding. Some lost control altogether and ended up taking flight on to safer grounds. There was great excitement when I saw a female Marsh Harrier making its way from one end of the lake, and back again. I was busy taking shots of it and noticed that my fellow hide residents weren't; the Harrier was obviously a common site for the reserve. Eventually the woman got up, said cheerio, and left the hide. 

Bearded Zoologist

I started chatting to my remaining neighbour and it turned out to be a very interesting one indeed. He looked about 60, had an impressive ZZ Top beard, and was from Milnthorpe, making Leighton Moss practically his back garden. He worked as a zoologist/ecologist providing consultancy for environmental decisions such as windfarms and land management for estates. The RSPCA would call him in when they needed advice on exotic animal issues. He had many tales to tell about some of his escapades, like making a Cayman 'safe' and dealing with a scorpion that had been found in some imported produce from Africa. Some snakes were out of his comfort zone mentioning Mambas and Taipan in his avoid list. Back to our current locality he said that he'd seen otters from this hide. Around about midday he said he had to get back home and I was sad to see him leave. 

Visitor's Centre

I made my way back along the Causeway. I met three people coming the other way. None of them had spikes and were gingerly making their way along the edge of the path. I walked to the RSPB Visitors Centre and met three of the staff shuffling their way over a sheet of ice, to some stairs up into the building. They told me that they'd closed the reserve off because of the conditions. I felt a bit agrieved about this news since the paths weren't a probem once you'd got some studs or spikes on. Having seen the other people trying to make their way on the path along the Causeway I could understand their decision though. I followed them up the stairs and this led in to a cafe. Well, since the opportunity presented itself, I ordered myself some coffee and a bun. Over an Americano I decided that I'd return on Monday when the weather forecasters promised milder weather. There was still the other half of the reserve still to see.