I recently had a couple of visits to Sunderland Point on the Lune Estuary. This is a remote and beautiful part of Lancashire and requires an amount of planning before any visit. It is a finger of land surrounded on one side by the estuary of the River Lune and on the other by part of Morecambe Bay. Access is very much dependant on the tides and on most high tides the only access road is impassable. Consequently it is an unspoilt and very peaceful area to visit.
It is an excellent area to visit with the camera as just as the tide is beginning to uncover the access road waders can be seen feeding very close to the road and can be photographed from the comfort of the car. At the end of the road parking is available on the shingle beach. I made a couple of very enjoyable visits recently and came away with a nice selection of images to remind me of this very special location.
Before visiting Sunderland Point I called in at Middleton Sands high tide wader roost. A tricky walk out onto the salt marsh got me within range of some of the flocks of waders and I managed some shots before making my way to Sunderland Point as the tide was ebbing fast. The road into Sunderland Point was very wet and muddy but I managed to get the hoped for shots of redshanks, curlews and egrets posing by the roadside. As the tide ebbed more of the mud was exposed numbers of redshanks, egrets and herons came into feed in the pools left by the tide. The local fisherfolk who live and work in this delightful spot were busy loading their catch of whitebait onto their trailer and quad bike. They told me later the catch was destined for Blackpool Zoo. The egrets particularly were very busy and up to a dozen birds were present.
Shown below are a selection of images from my visits to remind me of this wonderful part of the Lancashire coastline. I am looking forward to returning again soon,tides and weather permitting. Thanks for looking in and as I write this account the weather is clearing up after a day of heavy rain and prospects are good for warmer and settled weather for the weekend.
Brian Rafferty
I am based in Preston. Lancashire. This central location enables me to travel easily to a wide variety of habitats in the North of England. I tend these days not to travel very far as I find that there is plenty to see not very far from home. On my own doorstep are a wonderful variety of habitats - natural woodlands, open fells and hill country, unspoilt river valleys and I have easy access to the delights of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. As you will see from my bird images much time is spent at the wonderful coastal sites forming part of Morecambe Bay and the Ribble Estuary e.g. Marshside and Leighton Moss. In recent years Digital Photography has taken over from Video and as time has moved on I have acquired more and more equipment - as you do!!
Leave a Reply