Ghostly little egrets and art deco mergansers

River Kent, Cumbria Sand flats bring on the birds, the curlews in their looping patrols, the squabbling black-headed gulls, the lapwings gossiping as they oar past

The final meanderings of the River Kent cut jigsaw pieces out of the low-lying farmland at the northern perimeter of Morecambe Bay. The fields were created centuries ago from deposits of peat, silt and sand, and by ditching. Turfed flood banking extends from beyond Foulshaw Moss in the west and as far as the outfall of the river Bela to the east.

On a recent walk sleek grey cloud defined the early morning views - the great limestone prow of Whitbarrow, Levens church steeple, the last of the Forestry Commission shelterbelt trees by Foulshaw Moss, a handful of farm buildings. The footpath along the two-metre high bank allowed an elevated view of the river and fields but alerted feeding birds to our presence.