Winter Thrushes and Elusive Rails!

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 Winter Thrushes and Elusive Rails!

It was our first time visiting Leighton Moss and we were very excited as we had heard a lot of great things about it. ​In the parking lot, we saw a Fieldfare in a bush eating some berries, a stunning winter finch tick to start the day. We then went to the feeding station where we saw Great Tits, Eurasian Blue Tits, Common Chaffinches, European Robins, Common Pheasants and European Goldfinches but my favourite were the Marsh Tits, another lifer. We first went to the Grisedale Hide where somebody had said they had seen four Red Deer earlier on. It was around 12:40pm so it unlikely for us to see the Red Deer but was still possible. We saw Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Eurasian Teals, Northern Pintails and a Great White Egret out on the lake along with around 20 Common Snipe feeding along the edge. After a while, someone pointed out a Water Rail that was just behind all the Common Snipe. I saw it feeding but it wasn't the right lighting to see the plumage properly. Never the less, it was an exciting and elusive tick! We then went along the Causeway and in the Causeway and Lower Hide where we saw Common Gulls land on posts, Great Cormorants drying their feathers, Gadwalls and Mallards as they dabbled about, Mute Swans as they elegantly swam cross, Eurasian Wigeons as they accumulated in huge numbers and a Western Marsh Harrier as it soared through the sky, hunting the numerous waterfowl here. Overall, a good day and an awesome sight.



Location: RSPB Leighton Moss, Storrs Ln, Silverdale, Carnforth LA5 0SW, UK

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