ALTHOUGH summer can be a fairly quiet time in the birdwatching calendar there is always something going on in the avian world to interest anyone with a passion for birds.
The breeding season has pretty much come to an end now and many birds will be leaving their chosen nesting sites and heading out into the wider world.
Swifts are already becoming notable by their absence around many of our urban areas with the majority of the adult birds having already left for Africa.
Amazingly, the recently fledged youngsters will have to make their own way to their sub-Saharan wintering grounds with no guidance whatsoever.
Swallows will hang around for a considerable time yet and as we head toward autumn they will form large, impressive pre-migration roosts. In recent years swallows have taken to gathering in maize fields as dusk falls and local ornithologists have been ringing birds at these sites in order to better understand their movements.
The reed beds at Leighton Moss also attract large numbers of roosting birds that in turn often attract predatory species. The swallows and martins are occasionally targeted by the rare hobby, a dashing falcon that also specialises in catching dragonflies on the wing.
Ospreys have been putting in a good showing too at Leighton Moss of late and as the season progresses yet more should pass through the RSPB reserve as they also head south for the winter.
The large reed-bed has provided the perfect place for marsh harriers to breed in recent years and Leighton Moss has seen several successful hatchings of this impressive bird of prey this summer.
Leighton Moss will also be the venue for a new summer fair this coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm, where visitors can be tempted by local produce, watch various demonstrations, enjoy lots of fun-filled activities for all the family and sample something from the sizzling barbeque.
A park and ride system will be in place throughout the day from Warton Stock car track and on Saturday there will be the chance to join a pleasant cycle ride from Lancaster to the summer fair, starting at 11am at the Millennium Bridge, Lancaster. This ride follows the National Cycle Routes 6 and 9 via Ryelands Park, quiet roads and the Lancaster Canal.
* For further details of this cycle ride check out
www.celebratingcycling.org. If you come by park and ride, public transport or bike, then fair admission is free.
