Freckleton - Lancashire coastal walk

Planned on a double today. Plan A - My UK2007 list is looking a bit sparse, basically because I've not been ticking some of the really "easy" seabirds. I could score another 10+, if I got to the seaside for gannet, razorbill, terns, skuas, divers etc etc.

So....I'd read on the Fylde birdclub website (west Lancashire) that Starr gate in Blackpool is a good spot for seawatching. B*ll*cks! Nothing. Nada...well a couple of LBB and BH Gulls but nowt else.

Plan B was "the Naze", the Ribble estuary area and Newton marsh. Part of the Lancashire coastal walk, I've highlighted our walk in red.


Click pic to enlarge
















The glossy ibis is a rare uk tick that has stuck around since 2006, but did it appear for me today at Newton Marsh? Nope. A nice area (the red circle) for birding tho' and managed shots of this House martin collecting mud and this Blackwit.
































The walk also yeilded 2 lesser whitethroat, an incredibly secretive bird with a loud diagnosing song. The song did draw my attention at first, amongst blackcaps and common whitethroats, but I eventually got quite good views of this neat, compact little warbler.

Heres the RSPB page with the audio file of its song.

Also saw a couple of Brown hare whilst scanning the opposite fields and a large flock of Blackwits, shelduck and oystercatcher at the estuary proper.

The Lancashire coastal walk was badly maintained and made more difficult by land-owners moving the path around their property. It was barely accessible in some parts and quite badly littered. I wont be returning to the walk , but I will visit the flood pool for the Glossy ibis again.