Due to work commitments, the female Long-tailed Duck had done the right thing and hung around at Burton RSPB. This was a patch tick for me, so I made my way down there this morning. I soon got on the bird on arrival, and it showed well but was constantly diving, but I did manage a few photographs.
Other birds of note on the reserve were Spotted redshank, Bearded tit and my first Sand martins of the year. I then moved on to Parkgate where a male Marsh harrier showed well, and a distant Short-eared owl hunted over the marsh.
The Pink-footed geese have now gathered in good numbers at Parkgate, feeding close to the road; apparently up to 10,000 are present on the estuary.
Moving on from Parkgate, I called in at Puddington, where I got cracking views of two Cattle egrets.
