Last of the sunshine for a while?

A dry day, probably the last for a while! The fresh south wind was biting.

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 

A check this morning 09:00 - 10:30

Pink-Footed goose a lone bird flew south

Pink-Footed goose

Pale-bellied Brent goose at least 12. As I was walking out the Peregrines were causing havoc with the waders which in turn lifted the Brent geese, 12 ended up around the edges of the skear.

Three Brent geese

Four Brent geese headed off to the north

Eider 6

Four Eider arriving from the north

Red-breasted Merganser 5 together on the sea. The sea was quite choppy and they seldom all showed at once, so I took this short clip.

Shag 2 - one was only seen in flight, but the one seen resting on a rock was more mature than the juveniles that have been around.

Shag

Two of several Cormorants 

Little Egret 2

Oystercatcher 1,000 (the tide hadn't gone out far before I had to leave, likely more arrived later)

Curlew 6

Black-Tailed Godwit 3

Redshank 50 (more along waterline further south)

Knot 2,000 returned when the Peregrines left. A few flagged birds seen

Turnstone 40

Dunlin 15

Black-Tailed Godwit and Knot

I returned this afternoon as the tide was covering the skear again. 1,000 Knot were resting, but a Peregrine attacked cleared them all before I could check them.

Pale-bellied Brent geese flying from the north. Plus a Curlew 

The forecast isn't looking good for the week ahead.

Better!

Dry after early morning showers. A very light SE breeze

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Coot up to their antics again

Moorhen

Gadwall pair

Tufted Duck and Mallard - all the above on the main pond

Cormorant leaving the main pond

Long-Tailed Tits

Goldfinch 

Blackbird with a Hawthorn berry

There were five Redwing in the central marsh area

Water Rail 1 calling from the area near the yellow barrier by the golf course 

Heysham Skear (Malcolm) 10:45 - 12:30

Pale-bellied Brent goose 57 - some tried feeding on the skear a couple of times, presumably flushed from the play area rocks, but when the tide was making this group flew to the skear corner to freshen up in the brackish water here.

Eider 2

Red-breasted Merganser 1

Great Crested Grebe 6

Great Crested Grebes

Little Egret 1

No Shag seen but 5 Cormorants 

Oystercatcher 2,000

Curlew 30

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Redshank 350, interestingly they were all along the south side, not the north side where the water drains past. Suggesting that that side is still shrimp free.

Knot 2,000 

Turnstone 50

Dunlin 40

Bar-Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Dunlin

Redshank and Dunlin in flight

Some of the Knot were flagged, but very difficult seeing them. These
Knot are on one of the flatter areas, even so the only one with its legs
clearly on show is the orange flagged bird next to the Oystercatcher 

It wasn't just the Knot proving a problem. This Oystercatcher with an
orange and yellow ring, will have a coded ring on its other leg. But it
refused to show its other leg. It was stood like this each time I checked,
until one time I checked and it was nowhere to be seen! Definitely an
Icelandic ringed bird, probably the one seen earlier this winter

Creeping back to post storm "normality"?

A mainly dry day with just the odd shower. A light SE wind.

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 09:30 - 10:30

Still very little, but slightly more than yesterday 

Pale-bellied Brent goose 22 feeding amongst the rocks quite a way out from the play area, more were closer to the shore.

Pink-Footed Goose 14 west

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Red-breasted Merganser

No Shag seen but there were two Cormorants today.

There was a handful of Herring gulls, but no Black-Headed gulls. Also no Little Egret and only two Redshank. It seems like the supply of tiny shrimps has vanished. The shrimps can't have gone, possibly the recent storm has altered the direction of drains further north. There were some Black-Headed gulls feeding in a drain closer to the Stone Jetty.

Gulls feeding closer to the Stone jetty. It seems as though there is a spit
of mud preventing it draining past the skear. If so it will likely stay like 
that till the next spring tides or possibly longer

Oystercatcher 2,000

Curlew 30

Knot 13 in one small group

Turnstone 40

Grey Plover 1

Ringed plover 28

The above two both high up the shore

Grey Plover

Ringed Plover

South shore

Janet checked early afternoon 

There was hardly any small birds about in the nature park except for a couple of Goldcrest in different areas from each other.

Goldcrests 

Moorhens also in the Nature Park

Rock Pipit exploring the fresh water run off at Red Nab.

That's gutweed growing on the rocks. It doesn't look very appetising at
the moment, but it is very buoyant and lifts off the rocks when the water
covers it. It is what both the Brent geese and Wigeon come to feed on

I checked later in the afternoon (Malcolm)

Pale-bellied Brent goose at least 44 came in to Red Nab

They came in on a much more typical low flight path today.
That's No.2 outfall superstructure that they flew over yesterday 

Wigeon 120

Shelduck 12

This Carrion Crow was cleaning out what looks to be a fish head

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Tufted Ducks

The Gadwall were finding plenty of pondweed to feed on

Imperial Rd (Malcolm)

Just one check today, the water table has significantly reduced from its peak, possibly why there was at least one Water Rail squealing.

Teal 2

Teal

Grey Heron 1

Stonechat - just the female seen feeding on the distant Reedmace, the male was probably somewhere close by

Female Stonechat 

Kestrel 2 - were trying to have a rest, but the Magpies weren't happy!

Both Kestrels in this shot