After rubbish target duck views part two - this time due to distance from the Waterloo cottage old railway bridge (not fog), checked the Ashton hall Egret roost after obtaining permission

Either the count in the fog the other day was a 50% underestimate or some of them were roosting elsewhere that evening. I suspect that any which sneaked in on the north side of the lake were just simply missed in the fog

This evening there were 41 which is very similar to the last comprehensive count in late autumn which saw either 37 or 40, probably the latter

A majority (c25) flew in from Lune estuary downstream, c15 flew in from Lune Estuary upstream and a singleton from inland - arriving high from the NE.

Not directly important but there were two Little Egrets from the Eric Morecambe hide this lunchtime on a brief passing visit. There were another two seen from the track as it joined the main road by the narrow bridge on the south side of Leighton Moss on what I call the 'Goose Fields'

Out of interest, if the Golf Course is harbouring up to 40 birds and there has been a similar figure at L Moss, has anyone done a count at the same time? I know it's the obvious stupid question but that would surely be an impressive total within the district. Given enough notice I'd be willing to sit out on the cycle track at dusk if someone else was at L Moss.

I think the two roosts are completely self-contained as regards any possibilities of nightly changes from one to the other. There is a big gap in regular Little Egret distribution from Potts Corner to Teal Bay on the coast and similarly in the parallel hinterland. Therefore at this time of year I dont think the counts have to be simultaneous

However, regular counts would be very useful, especially in autumn/midwinter. However, from the cycle track, it is impossible to see a proportion of the birds which land in the Scots(?) Pines on the north side of the lake unless you are there early & actually watch them fly in. Therefore you have about 1.5 hours of standing around to get a comprehensive count.

21 Little Egrets in the Island Mere roost at 8.30 this morning, all sunning themselves in the 'Osprey' tree, before flying off at 8.45; 13 West, 7 North and 1 North East.