It was a pristine early autumn morning, cool, with blue skies and a ground mist at dawn before becoming distinctly Mediterranean as the heat rose. It wasn’t just the weather which was reminiscent of the Med, either, as the low water level on No.3 bed has concentrated the fish stocks and masses of fish-eating were taking advantage of the easy pickings. Star bird was the Spoonbill, which, as well as sieving for crustaceans, was also watched wrestling with a medium sized fish which eventually got away. Alongside it were 5 Great Egrets, 1 Little Egret, 25 Grey Herons and upwards of 30 Cormorants, as well as at least one Kingfisher. Other notable sightings between Nos.3 and 4 beds were: 7 Green Sandpipers, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Hobbies, 3 Marsh Harriers, 5 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels and 26 Common Buzzards. The last surprise was a Clouded Yellow butterfly, a real Reserve scarcity, which flew in front of the NO.4 bed viewing platform. Photo of the Spoonbill Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen)

After the excitements of Thursday passage was back down to a trickle this morning. The only summer migrants passing southwards over No.4 bed were 4 Yellow Wagtails, 12 Swallows, 3 House Martins and 1 Sand Martin, while 33 Meadow Pipits and 2 Grey Wagtails were also noted. Other counts of interest included: 4 juvenile Black-necked Grebes, 2 Garganey, 3 Little Egrets, 1 Green Sandpiper, 11 Black-tailed Godwits and scores of Common Snipe. With the day warming we switched our attentions to dragonflies and butterflies, which won’t be with us for much longer this year. Totals for the former were: 1 Emerald Damselfly, 7 Southern Hawkers, 2 Brown Hawkers, 17 Migrant Hawkers and 33 Common Darters. As ever this year, butterflies were much scarcer, with just 6 Red Admirals, 1 Comma and 7 Speckled Woods around the bed. Photo of the Emerald Damselfly Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen, Helen Wynn and Brian Baird)

A heavily overcast sky and a light northerly breeze this morning produced the best day’s passage so far this autumn. We were also pleased to host three first-time visitors to the Reserve and Sue, Barbara and Vivien seemed to enjoy the morning every bit as much as Dan and I did. The highlights were a juvenile Cuckoo, our latest ever, flushed from near the Loop of No.4 bed and an Osprey, which came in from the east circled the bed and then drifted off over the Mersey. Two hobbies were attracted to the steady stream of aerial feeders moving south, with totals of 7 Swifts, 21 Sand Martins, 125 Swallows and 150 House Martins noted. The low water levels on Beds 3 and 4 are proving attractive to both waders and egrets, with counts of 2 Great White Egrets, 3 Little Egrets, 3 Greenshanks, 2 Green Sandpipers, 8 Black-tailed Godwits and 70 Common Snipe. Late staying resident breeders included 5 juvenile Black-necked Grebes and 2 Garganey, with the former showing signs of pre-migratory restlessness , indicating that they’ll soon be gone. Photo of the Osprey Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen)