A cold, windy day started with a trip to Banks to see the assembled Whooper and Bewick’s swans, nicely displayed close to the road.

On to a bitter and windswept Hesketh Out Marsh and as a reward for tolerating the conditions I’m awarding myself two birds that I was only sure of when Colin Bushell posted his day’s sightings on Facebook: a pair of Spotted Redshank (wading up to their bellies) and a lone Grey Plover (I thought they always went around mob-handed). Both of these are unusual for this time of year, apparently.

Also on the marsh were plenty of Curlew, Little Egret and Cormorant, and assorted wildfowl that I didn’t really look at. Colin spotted a (rare for this site) Tufty, but I only saw what you’d expect. A single Common Redshank displayed nicely, and some Skylarks dotted the fringe of the marsh.

The hedgerows were full of Tree Sparrows and Linnet, and near to the car park we spied a Stock Dove, which since I never really look at pigeons was my lifer for the day, because we dipped on Little Owls on the way home.

(It says Bewick’s too, but I know I’ve seen plenty of them back in the 1980s).