A bright sunny day and a lull in the hard weather made it a good opportunity to see how the birds were faring at the site. High water levels, the great majority of which was still frozen, meant that wildfowl were very scarce, presumably having made a move to the Ribble estuary not too far away. What was quickly apparent though was the frenzied feeding activity amongst at least three species of the Thrush family.
Towards the north end of the reserve, several clumps of hawthorn were still laden with ripe berries and it was these that provided the main attraction. Several Song Thrushes came within camera range and fed greedily on them. The arrow-shaped spots on the breast and the brown underwing when in flight showed up well in the strong sunlight.
Blackbirds were also present in good numbers and seemed equally hungry.
....but Fieldfares were more wary and nervous and reluctant to come close although, no doubt, just as hungry as the others.
Redwings and Mistle Thrushes are often found here but none were seen during today's short visit.
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