Welcome to the Bog

A visit to the caravan today to check things out, and whilst I was up there I visited RSPB Leighton Moss and Foulshaw Moss.

The main Leighton Moss reserve was busy - in addition to the usual customers there were two coach loads of students from Liverpool University doing environmental science. This must have been their birding module. It was good to hear some bitterns booming. Lots of signs of Spring, but some winter migrants are still here.

At the salt marsh - well, there wasn’t much marsh to see, in all directions everything seemed to be under water. An exceptionally high tide had swept across Morecambe Bay. The avocets were back, clinging to narrow strips of muddy dampness.

At Foulshaw Moss there was new signage, indicating the weird and wonderful things a Bog has to offer. I saw a couple of lizards, and some entwined adders just off the boardwalk. The big news though is that the ospreys are back. The male returned last Monday and the female on Saturday. And it looks as if there may be a new nest. A pair bonded last year and started nest building in a dead tree. The wildlife trust checked the tree over the winter and it seemed not at all stable, so a platform has been erected next to it, and a male has arrived. Hopefully a female will arrive soon, an exciting Spring if the reserve has two pairs to greet visitors.