Taken through the window glass to avoid disturbing the bird, a Red Wattlebird spent a good quarter of an hour bathing and preening, hope it thinks it was worth it….

This small man-made wetland in Sale was once a tip, but is now a haven for waterbirds. For some time it has been holding a very large number of White and Straw-necked Ibis, but on a recent visit they had thinned out, having flown out to feed in farming country. Their place had been taken to a certain extent by Cattle Egrets, roosting in the trees on the island as well as paddling in the shallow water. The bills of quite a few are still showing a little remaining breeding colour.

Normally having a yellow bill, according to Morcombe ten percent fledge with a grey bill.

A number of Lapwings were having a conference, the stilt was not interested.

And an Ibis was thinking about its next move from a lofty vantage point.