A quick afternoon trip to Marshside to see what was going on.

I was immediately greeted by a Snipe flushed from near Marshside Road. On investigation, there was a middling-sized brown raptor haunting around the fenceposts on the corner of Sutton’s Marsh. It wasn’t until I got home and looked at some photos that I could see that the bird was clearly a Sparrowhawk, except Sparrowhawks are grey, not brown! Turns out every field guide I have portrays female Sparrowhawks as much greyer than they actually are. I’ve definitely learned something, although not whether this bird was an adult female or a juvenile.

What else? A Kestrel also over Marshside Road, and Ross’s Goose on Junction Pool today.

Down at Nel’s, the usual collection of ducks, with good numbers of Pintail. I’d hoped to see more Blackwits than the three that flew by, however.

The duck count was incremented by some sleepy Pochard on Rainford’s lagoon and a pair of Gadwall in front of Sandgrounder’s.

The next day a similar spectacle was present in front of Nel’s, with many more godwits, and one Ruff and several Redshank among them. Also present, a small flock of Golden Plover, several Curlew, some finches that were too far away to see but that were probably Linnet, and a hare. No raptors today, just some big mean gulls hunting the Teal.