Baikal Teal, with Eurasian Wigeon, on Crossens Marsh at the mouth of the Ribble Estuary
THE BAIKAL TEAL AT CROSSENS OUTER MARSH IS CAUSING A LOT OF EXCITEMENT at the moment and thanks to the previous British records there will not be much debate about its origin. It is associating with the thousands of Eurasian Wigeon in the Marshside area at the moment and looks 'wild' enough for now. We said 'as long as it does not stay until June and start begging for bread!'. It has an odd face pattern with a white vertical stripe on the face but this is apparently within the known range for this bird. Also here were: Great Egret (one miles away on Banks Marsh); Little Egrets that no-one raises their binos to; small numbers of Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits; hundreds of golden plovers and lapwings and a peregrine that spread panic amongst the flocks as it zoomed across Marshside. The Long-tailed Duck had returned to the Junction Pool as the heavens opened and the rest of the afternoon was washed away by rain. I hardly ever mention football scores but Cabaye's goal that sunk Manchester United this afternoon and gave Newcastle United their first win at Old Trafford for 41 years was very special indeed!
Long-tailed Duck usually turns up in late autumn in Lancashire
Storm clouds over Southport