On a recent brief trip up north, Barrow and Liverpool I managed a few short forays out with the camera. The images in this post were taken at Askam pier, about a hundred yards from where my brother lives.

An hour or so on the Lancashire mosses provided an unexpected encounter with a number of hares. I went primarily for the Barn Owl, but it didn’t show. The first run down Engine Lane bought the first hare, it was one of seven separate sightings I was to have in the time I was there.

If I was feeling lucky with the Barn Owl recently, the attempt at a Bittern at Forest Farm has evened things out somewhat.

It feels as if I’m lucky when I visit the Lancashire mosses. Rarely do I fail to see the Barn Owl and more often than not it silently floats up to me before banking away down an adjacent drainage ditch. My brother, who photographed birds primarily in the era of film, has spent many hours watching without such fine sightings. He’s of a mind I keep one in the van and release it each time I visit!

Barn Owl - Early Morning

A trawl around the mosses can easily be extended by a visit  to the coast around Southport, which on this occasion gave rise to a pretty spectacular flock of Knot.