Marshside - 17 March 2012

A Saturday visit to Marshside with PK (she's nuts!) started with a clockwise circuit of Marshside 2 and Crossens Inner Marsh. Walking NE along Marine Drive our first sighting was nesting Mute Swans fairly close to the coastal road on the inner marsh. We saw a few Mallard, two Grey Heron, plenty of Wigeon, and turning onto the footpath at the top end, even more Wigeon.

The channels near to the water treatment works produced a dozen Black-tailed Godwits with Summer plumage beginning to show. Further along the channel was a Little Egret feeding in the water and PK spotted a Pied Wagtail feeding in a muddy bank. Before reaching Marshside Road, we received a severe ear-bashing from twenty Greylag all bellowing loudly, and watched a pair of Collared Dove checking out a garden conifer for a potential nest site.

Back at the Sandgrounders Hide for lunch, we saw Teal, Moorhen, Coot, Shelduck, Avocet, Redshank, Black-headed Gulls (more ear-bashing), Canada Geese, a couple of Oystercatchers and a few Lapwing. There was a Mediterranean Gull out there but we never found it. We finished off with a walk down to Nel's Hide where our reward was 150+ Black-tailed Godwit and a few pairs of Pintail feeding in front of us.

A good walk, lots of great birds, met some nice people and it didn't rain. PK even managed to stay awake on the drive home!

 Black-tailed Godwit developing its Summer colours

Little Egret feeding in the far channel

 Black-headed Gulls putting in an early performance for visitors at Sandgrounders Hide!

Classic view of a feeding Pintail from Nel's Hide