Tuesday 19 August 2008

Unpredictable morning

Heysham Obs
A visit to OE foreshore and the north harbour wall in a theoretically promising WSWF3 on the latter stages of the incoming tide did not produce what was expected!

Ocean Edge/Red Nab/Stage 2 outfalls late stages of incoming tide & very brief pm visit to Red Nab
Sandwich Tern - 1 Red Nab
Little Gull - ad W outfall....... & the 2 x 2nd W were present during a very brief late afternoon visit
Whimbrel - one
Yellow Wagtail - juv on Ocean Edge football field with c35 Pied
Common Sandpiper - one Red Nab
Sanderling - moulting ad with other small waders on mudflats by Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Ringed Plover - 83 with Sanderling
Dunlin - 37 as above
No Meds at all - unprecedented at this stage of the tide at this time of year [incl. NHW]
Absolutely nothing offshore in 30 minutes of watching the mouth of the Bay (including behind incoming IOM ferry)

North harbour wall
Arctic Tern - juvenile blogging inshore
NO Meds (see above)!
No obvious sign of any Shag on wooden jetty
Absolutely nothing offshore in further 20 minutes

Moths
Single Dark Sword Grass & Silver Y plus the first Gold Spot of the year

Elsewhere
Ad Yellow-legged Gull reasonably close & very distant views of a 3CY gull which may on structure and mantle colour have been YLG, but which sported a "necklace" of winter plumage, which at long range appeared latticed like a Black Brant! (large - dwarfed the nearby AD LBB!)........ as seen from the Sunderland tidal road looking towards Glasson. The light however was dodgy - a lot of 'orange sky' silhouette. The personal zero Med day continued, despite loads of BHG on the Lune Estuary, but JC had one at Aldcliffe in the evening..