White birds 4 (-1) : Brown birds 1

The Safari didn't see Saturn last night at moon-rise due to excessive light pollution but the moon was an impressively beautiful rose pink.

We forgot to set up the moth trap as well - not the best of nights all round.

This morning the Peregrine was swooping round the tower calling loudly, perhaps the other was around somewhere.

After a breakfast, not our traditional bacon excesses :-( we went to the nature reserve before heading off to the estuary for the high tide.

We were only at the reserve about half an hour or so. A 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull was seen to fly round but not land. A colour ringed Coot was just too far to ID as we didn't have the scope with us.

As we had a last look before leaving we saw the Iceland Gull drop in - bonus!!! Shame it was right across the mere in the scrape and not on the 'goalposts with the Black Headed Gulls.

Then it was off to the river. 19 Little Egrets were counted but we missed the Great White Egret by minutes dohhhhh. 92 Whooper Swans graced the marsh. Raptors included two Marsh Harriers, a Merlin, a very distant Kestrel, a Peregrine and a Sparrowhawk...not  bad...But no Water Pipit, not even any Meadow Pipits, no Jack Snipe and no Short eared Owl :-(

 L/4 is quite well known here but we'll still report it for completeness.
 After an afternoon at home we headed back to the nature reserve for dusk.

30 Tufted Ducks and 11 Goldeneyes were counted. While there was still some light two Little Grebes flew/scuttered from the far end.

A Cetti's Warbler sang to our left and another called to our right.

Then what we'd been waiting for happened - a Bittern (125) flew across the mere from the reeds just beyond the big bay on the left in the pic.

It landed in the reeds near the Fylde Bird Club hide. A little later it climbed up the reeds and swayed around. Another soon joined it up there. Then we we joined by another birder who spotted that there was another blob in the reeds a little higher and a tad further back. We chatted and scanned for other stuff and when we looked back all three blobs had gone..THREE Bitterns!!!

Our friend had seen the Little Owl on the barn but it wasn't visible from where we were now stood.

The edge of the reeds along the channel in front of us was 'alive' with Water Rails, at least three and more squealing from deeper in....still no Meadow Pipit for the year challenge though.

Where to next? Back to Patch 2 where reduced visibility would appear to be order of the day if the weather forecast is anything to go by.

In the meantime let us know which colour of bird stole the show in your outback.