The Safari picked up CR and pointed the car northwards to Leighton Moss. We had two prime targets on fairly easy and the other as tricky as! Once on the reserve we soon found a small flock of Goldcrests, one the CR would have liked to have got a good pic of but they were,' for showing themselves at all. Our tricky quarry wasn't with them either - we were on the hunt for one (or more) of the huge nationwide influx of Yellow Browed Warblers.
Our second quarry, the 'easy' one was easy - as ew approached the Grisedale grit trays we were beckoned to come quickly - - so we did! Wow, never seen so many Bearded Tits on the trays well over a dozen of them and our new Californian friends said that was only half the number there had been a little earlier. they were jumping around all over the shop. Absolutely brilliant, we didn't know which way to look! #167 for our Challenge.
Walking back to the Tim Jackson Hide a Chiffchaff couldn't be turned into a Yellow Browed Warbler. Nothing happening at all at TJH so we made our way back to Lillian's Hide where there were more Gadwall.
On to the Causeway Hide were the most interest was provided by a Migrant Hawker dragonfly that wouldn't hover for long enough nor settle anywhere in view so no pics of him for you. Out on the water there were the usual Coots, Gadwall and Mute Swans and a couple of Little Grebes. Sometime in the morning an Otter had put in an appearance but didn't showe for us, can't believe we've still not seen one this year.
Butties beckoned and pies called out to us so it was back to the car park to get our bags of calories taking them to the Grisedale Hide to eat.There were no Bearded Tits to be seen or heard at the grit trays but at the hide The Great White Egret was still there.
And so were the Gadwall.
A distant female Marsh Harrier kept a couple of Carrion Crows entertained from time to time but still there were no deer for us.
The Great White Egret flew off in the direction of the Tim Jackson Hide so we thought we may as well follow it.
Hang on, wait a minute - this one's got yellow legs, so not the same one as was at the Grisedale Hide.
Then someone said there was a Red Deer showing, a hind was grazing on the edge of the reed bed.
Minding her own business until she heard the rattle of camera shutters
Before long a stag appeared as if out of nowhere, we didn't see the reeds shaking as he moved through them - you'd think with those antlers he'd be carving a swathe through the reedbed.
A handsome beast with a very nasty looking scalping wound no doubt from a rival. A young family entereed the hide and the little girl, only a toddler was very excited to see the lifesize models of the deers on the back wall - "Look Daddy there's deers..." she exclaimed.
Well when the real ones just outside were pointed out to her she nearly exploded with joy and over-excitement. She wasn't the only one, several over 40s 'toddlers did exactly the same, maybe a little less noisily but not a lot!!! 
The hind slunk into the undergrowth to chew a bit of cud tucked out of the way
Then more excitement for the little one (and the rest of us), another hind this one with a calf appeared from our right and made their way slowly across the bund right in front of us to join the others.
At this point the stag re-emerged from the reedbed. We've never seen one sporting fine and dandy headgear before.
And did a bit of scenting before approaching the hinds
Which got his 'Flehman Response' going
It was hard to tear ourselves away but there was still a saltmarsh to checkout. The light looking out from the Allen Hide was very galary so we didn't hang around but did get a snap of the first Little Egret of the day.
From the Eric Morecambe Hide looking south the light wasn't much better. We had hoped for a Curlew Sandpiper as a couple had been seen the previous day but the only small wader about was a lonely Dunlin.
A small group of Black Tailed Godwits flew in to join the much larger numbers of Redshanks.
In the distance a Great Black Backed Gull marmalised a large Green Shore Crab.
There were more Snipe than we've seen for a long time including a grounded wisp of 18 to our right, these were the only two that were anything like photogenic.
Moving tro the opposite side of the hide to view the Allen Pool CR pointed out a very tatty Avocet.
With a suporting cast of a very tidy Greenshank.
The Avocet started to move around in an ungaily fashion
but looked a lot more presentable once under way - nice reflection too
Behind it was a lump of Bog Wood, of a venerable age possibly several thousand years old, topped by a Snipe. Bog Wood is often called Bog Oak but can be any one of a number of tree species.
Then the Greenshank came a lot closer
Stunning waders; we really like them. It began to 'swish' feed like an Avocet or Spoonbill with its bill slightly ajar.
We can't recall ever seeing one doing that before.
And so ended a rather special safari.
A couple of nights later we weren't enjoying a certain football match, all hopes of the new manager being any different to the last were dashed in the first 15 minutes and then moreso when the Greeks took the lead. Wifey had been out and came back minutes before the final whistle just in time to cause us to miss the equalising goal, just in the nick of time - Saved by the Bell(ingham) again. A draw then...
Our phone had been pinging aurora alerts all through the match so with a few minures of overtime to play we turned the telly off and went to the darkness of the lower prom and WOWWWWW. At first we couldn't see any colour only vague shapes that didn't look like the passing clouds however through the phone there was definitely a nice green hue that sort of wafted about rather than moving like the clouds. The three stars, actually four, are the 'tail' of the Plough.
Next time we get alerts and there's little or no cloud we'll take the proper camera and not just the phone on Night Mode.
Where to next? A safari a little more distant is next up
In the meantime let us know who's wearing the poshest hat in your outback.
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