I am surprised I never posted this trip especially with it being both mine and Craggy's first trip to see the new Sky Tower at Leighton Moss.    It definitely gives a new perspective of the reserve and a much needed one!  One of the problems with Leighton Moss is that it can feel a bit enclosed with the tall reed bed but now you get a fantastic view over and an idea of how much reed bed there actually is.  Otters were the star species and everything else was just what you would expect to see.

The next stop was to Haweswater Moss and Gait Barrows National Nature Reserve.  They tended to be overshadowed by Leighton Moss but both have their specialities.  Haweswater Moss was a small lake with a reedbed whilst Gait Barrows was a mosaic of Yew woodland, limestone pavement, grassland and other mixed deciduous forest.  The highlight of the trip was seeing a very large number of thrushes - in excess of over 1000  - 90% + Redwing, maybe 5% Fieldfare and a smaller number of Blackbirds.  They were coming to feast on the Yew crop - the fist time I had ever seen them.