A morning of high disturbance with ducks flying everywhere. Virtually no usable shore anywhere for waders due to water levels, swimmers and sailing club. One particular member of the sailing club seems determined to flush everything, constantly taking her canoe right into every nook and cranny and seemingly only happy when everything flies off. This is despite reassurances from the person in question and the sailing club that it will not happen again, it just doesn't seem to sink in. Oh well, despite the best efforts of people to disturb everything, I managed to see the following at this "National Nature Reserve" between 8:00 - 11:00;

Pochard 5 inc. 4 males

Wigeon 2 females / 1st winter off the remnants of the spit

Mandarin 1 female on what's left of Ramsdales scrape

Egyptian goose 1 adult at the sailing club

Teal 20 Ramsdales scrape

The birds I just reported as black-necked grebes are being put out on the birding apps as Slavonian, which I must admit I thought they might be when I first saw them. In the photos, the right hand bird especially seems to have the head shape.

Please excuse the quality of the photos. I was battling with pouring rain, mist and soaked optics.

Highlights from this morning:

Female/immature Pintail with Wigeon flock

4 Wigeon, including two males

Drake Mandarin circled the ruck before flying off back towards the canal basin. Judging by the amount of Mallards flying around at that point too it would seem they'd all been disturbed off there.

2 Great White Egrets

4 Little Egrets

53 Snipe circled the ruck at 08:25 before flying off NW. There were a few Snipe visible on the mini spit earlier but it is unknown if this flock was disturbed off the Ramsdales area or came in from elsewhere

24 (all adult) Great Black-backed Gulls, with 14 down on the water and the rest flying over NE

22 Meadow Pipits down on the ruck

748 Redwings over east in 24 flocks up to 09:30 (record shot of one of the flocks attached)

1 Linnet NE over the ruck at 08:12

Bittern flew out of Ramsdales reedbed and over the trees along the edge of the ruck at 13:35, before doubling back towards the same reedbed.

Info thanks to John Dixon

This morning's highlights:

2 Greylag Geese over east

Juvenile Garganey still on Ramsdales Scrape

Drake Pochard in Ramsdales

202 Tufted Ducks

2 Great White Egrets (one of which perched on the very top of the tallest tree by the lagoon on the eastern side of the ruck for some time)

2 Little Egrets

1 Chiffchaff on the ruck

5 Bullfinch in a flock feeding on western end of the ruck

This early morning:

11 Whooper Swans flew over east at 07:30 (very record shots attached!)

62 Pink-footed Geese east in 2 skeins from the Mersey flightpath, with 26 at 08:20 and 36 at 08:30

11 adult Great Black-backed Gulls on the spit

1098 Woodpigeons S/SE in 32 flocks from first light to 08:30

23 Skylarks, with two singles high north over the ruck quickly followed by a flock of 21 low north at 09:08

14+ Meadow Pipits down on the ruck

15 Redwings in four flocks, all dropped into trees on the top of the ruck and most of which were still present around 09:30

Cetti's Warbler alarm calling and showing well in shoreline bushes around The Point

9 Linnets in a single flock low south over the ruck at 08:20

This morning:

314 Tufted Ducks

1 Goosander flew through north 

2 Great White Egrets

1 Little Egret

36+ Snipe feeding on the spit, probably many more I couldn't see

6+ Chiffchaffs around Ramsdales Ruck

2 Redwings on the ruck

This evening:

Great White Egret fishing close to Sorrow Cow Farm, then flew across to the south shore of the ruck and then flew back across to the south shore of the flash, all within the space of 10 minutes!

Adult Yellow-legged Gull

First winter Caspian Gull (more photos and videos, taken at dusk, on the website)

36 Great Black-backed Gulls

1 Cetti's Warbler calling and briefly in song around the shore by Sorrow Cow Pond

1 Chiffchaff by Sorrow Cow Pond 

This morning:

Great White Egret on the south shore of the flash just east of Sorrow Cow Farm at first light

2 Kestrels hunting over the ruck, as was a Sparrowhawk

1543 Woodpigeons moved SE in 51 flocks up to just after 8am when they abruptly stopped again

11+ Meadow Pipits down around the ruck

45 Redwings over in 10 small flocks, mainly east but some birds west and a few dropping in around the ruck

26 Song Thrushes around the ruck, with four dropping in high out of the sky from the north and another two heading directly over south

This evening, a second winter Caspian Gull was in the roost, along with 41 Great Black-backed, 84 Herring, 107 Lesser Black-backed and almost 3000 Black-headed Gulls. A flock of 27 Pied Wagtails flew S/SE over Sorrow Cow Farm near dusk and a single Chiffchaff was around the pond there in a tit flock, along with a single Treecreeper.

Garganey still present on Ramsdales Scrape this afternoon, also Great White Egret, Little Egret and 27 Great Black-backed Gulls in the pre-roost.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

This morning:

188 Tufted Ducks

1 female/immature Goldeneye

1 Great White Egret, flew from the ‘nature reserve’ area And dropped in to the western end

1 Common Sandpiper on the sailing club shore

14 Great Black-backed Gulls (one juvenile and the rest adults) on the water and moving through N/NE

9+ Meadow Pipits down on the ruck

23 Song Thrushes around the ruck

2 Chiffchaffs on the ruck

24 Goldfinch feeding in the ruck

1 Yellowhammer flew high west over the ruck at 08:22

Yesterday evening:

Adult Mediterranean Gull roosted

5 Wigeon

Great White Egret flew off towards Bickershaw at dusk

Water Rail on the sailing club shore

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

Adult Yellow-legged Gull and 26 Great Black-backed Gulls roosted on Tuesday evening (24th).

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

A very enjoyable visit this morning, 7:30-10:30;

Stonechat 1 first-winter on the ruck. My first at the flash since 29/11/1981!

Great white egret 2-3. Two in view at the same time on the south side and at the western end reedbed. A few minutes later probably a third bird flew in high from the north and landed on the side of the ruck. By that time I couldn't see the other two.

Little egret 2

Common sandpiper 1 at the sailing club

Swallow 2

Great black-backed gull 1 adult

Pink-footed geese 10 heading east

Shoveler 28 including 18 at the western end.

Chiffchaff 2 on the ruck.

Skylark 1 on the ruck.

Highlights this morning included:

1 Wigeon flew in from the west

214 Tufted Ducks

2 Little Egrets

1 Redshank flew in from the west and then lost to view behind trees so no idea if it landed at all

1 Common Sandpiper

1 adult Great Black-backed Gull

1 Swallow very low west over the ruck

Only a handful of Meadow Pipits south 

24 Song Thrushes around Ramsdales Ruck was a large increase in numbers and the first real sign of their migration here, which included five birds (a two and a three) dropping high out of the sky from the north and into cover on the top of the ruck

13 Chiffchaffs around the ruck

8 Jays around the ruck alone 

Common sandpiper still at the sailing club early afternoon and a single little egret on the side of the ruck.

Briefest of looks today at 7am,

Great white egret 1 western end

Little egret 1

Blackcap 1 male Sorrowcow pond

This morning's highlights included:

204 Pink-footed Geese in two skeins, with 132 flying in from the SE at 07:25 then splitting into two with a skeins of 76 then heading east and another of 56 heading NW towards the Ribble; another skeins of 72 also flew in from the SE heading directly N/NW towards the Ribble also, an unusual flight path from here.

1 Little Egret

1 adult Mediterranean Gull

1 juvenile Great Black-backed Gull

3 Kingfishers around Ramsdales

197 Swallows flew SE in 12 flocks up to 08:30 when passage all but stopped

3 seperate Grey Wagtails high south over the ruck

84 Meadow Pipits south over the ruck in singles or very small flocks

1 Blackcap in with a tit flock around The Point

1 Raven NW early morning

3 Rooks SE together

5 Linnets flew over the ruck together from the N/NW landing in shoreline trees but presumably flew off south as they could not be relocated later

A much quieter day today, with the highlight being 4 wigeon on the flash and a couple of little egrets. For the first time in nearly two weeks I didn't see the great white egret or the common sandpiper.

Sightings from this morning included:

132 Pink-footed Geese over, with 22 east at 07:45 (coming from the Ribble direction) and 110 west at 08:47 heading towards the Ribble 

c15 Wigeon in a flock early morning, may have been down on the water but as I just caught them flying off west (with a few Teal mixed in) I only had seconds before they disappeared behind trees so it was a rough count

1 Common Sandpiper still on the sailing club shore

1 Redshank

7 Swallows SE

2 Skylarks still on the ruck

9 single Grey Wagtails south over the ruck up to 9am

146 Meadow Pipits south over the ruck in small flocks and ones and twos up to 09:15, though birds were still moving south after this

17 Chiffchaffs on and around the ruck

2 Willow Tits together on the ruck in amongst a large Long-tailed Tit flock

17 Greenfinches south over the ruck with a largest flock of 16!

7 Chaffinches south over the ruck in ones and twos

7 Bullfinch down around the ruck

Great White Egret present at the western end at 5:45pm and then presumably the same bird but perhaps a second was from there Tom Edmondson hide at 7pm.

An adult Mediterranean Gull also roosted.

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

A three egret day already at the flash, with cattle egret just having flown over south east. Great white on the side of the ruck and at least 3 little egrets still present. Common sandpiper and drake mandarin at the sailing club.