This weekend all the good birding was in town. I started on a bright sunny morning at Marshside, where everything was pretty but nothing unusual. A fox was probably the most unusual sighting, with a Merlin on the saltmarsh and some very active Little Grebes the best birds.

Running errands in the afternoon, however, I had the opportunity to pop into the hospital grounds, where I finally sighted the resident Mandarin Duck. So that was a tick.

On Sunday we set off to see if we could find the Waxwings in Preston. En route, the word came in of a group of the same in Southport, so we screeched to a halt and turned the car around. Although we were at the location not terribly long after the initial report, it seemed the birds had already departed, so back to plan A.

On arriving at the UCLAN campus in Preston, a decent squad of starling-sized silouettes was immediately visible at the top of the highest tree. Pow! There were thirty-something birds in all, with small parties detaching and rejoining the group, and they stuck around for a good 30 minutes or so, feeding on the floor or in lower branches and providing wonderful views. No wonder people are so excited by these birds: they’re beautiful, exotic and slightly silly all at once.

After the waxwings took their leave, we retired to the pub for lunch, but on our way back they were out again so we stopped once more for another look.

Next on the schedule was a trip up to St Walburge’s Church - an architectural marvel that is worth a trip on its own, but we were primarily concerned with a Black Redstart that had been in residence of late. We didn’t have to wait long before it came into view, flitting about the roof windows and other masonry features. It didn’t provide extended views, but enough to see that it’s a real cutie. A grey wagtail was another welcome sight, with the steeple’s resident Peregrines not present.