The third time was the charm in the Great Ring Ouzel Hunt of 2016, as after two fruitless searches on Saturday, I finally caught up with one of the birds that had been haunting the sheep enclosure on Ainsdale Dunes. A wary little thing, it saw me shortly after I saw it and relocated to a nearby shrub in short order.

It was nice to see some tiny ducklings at Sands Lake: a pale Mallard that looks to be related to the white duck that lived here for some years was attended by a fleet of about half a dozen.

Lifer number two of the day ought to have been the Great Grey Shrike that was present at Marshside. At the time I set out, the word according to Facebook was that the bird had flown to the trees just North of Nel’s Hide, so that’s where I went. In fact, the bird had gone in the other direction, hopping across Hesketh Road to provide decent views to the assembled birdwatchers who were armed with more reliable information.

Not worry, there were still plenty of birds to see at Marshside in beautiful sunshine. Also Small White (male and female) and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.