Ainsdale Beach and RSPB Marshside

Time for another visit to the lovely Ainsdale beach in search of the huge wader flocks that are often present before they disappear for the summer. And for once today I wasn't plagued by the dog walkers who traverse the tideline putting up everything in sight along the edge of the water.

I started with some lovely Sanderlings. The way these little birds run along the tideline like clockwork toys is very engaging.

This lone Dunlin was also feeding with the first group of Sanderlings.

As I walked further down the beach towards Southport I soon came across some Grey Plovers and Knot mixed in amongst the other birds.

Ringed Plovers can be very difficult to approach, but I didn't do too badly with this one.

At Sandgrounder's Hide in Marshside there were two pairs of Avocets on eggs. This is one of the best places to get close to these iconic birds, which the RSPB uses as their logo.

My last stop was to have another look for the Water Pipit on Crossen's Marsh and once again I failed miserably, so I had to make do with these Pink-footed Geese which were still around in numbers.