Friday 31 July 2009

Excellent early morning variety

POSTED THIS TOO EARLY FOR THE DATE TO CHANGE - THIS SHOULD BE FRIDAY 31ST! Anyone know how to alter dates?

Heysham Obs
Picking up the early morning tide seemed far more sensible than staring into the sun in late afternoon.........and there was a quite unexpected mish-mash of interesting odds and ends. More early morning pre-dog neap high tide watching would seem a good idea.


Red Nab/Ocean Edge/outfalls
Greylag - the most unexpected - 18 sat on the mudflats just off Ocean Edge
Little Egret - first of the autumn in OE saltmarsh creek, TWO mid-pm
Greenshank - adult OE saltmarsh creek
Med Gull - THREE juvs, 2 adults and a 2CY [& many of the BH gulls were out of range along Middleton sands]
Black-tailed Godwit - 51 feeding on the muddy bits between the rocks on Red Nab
Bar-tailed Godwit - adult with above
Knot - adult with above
Dunlin - one metal-ringed adult with above
Turnstone - 14 outer edge of Red Nab
Whimbrel - 4 Red Nab
Common Sandpiper - one Red Nab
Kingfisher - one Red Nab
Sandwich Tern - one feeding offshore

'Tame' juvenile Kestrel along the foreshore

North harbour wall 0840ish
The time period to check for the two Storm Petrel seen off JBP was thwarted by attending to an angler who had run out of fuel & had no mobile
Med Gull - two different adults from Red Nab area - one the Czech-ringed bird = 8 in total for this area today
Sanderling - adult summer flew out
Manx Shearwater - one 'ambling' across and out

Elsewhere
Two Storm Petrel watched for a reasonable period off JBP before making their way out of the Bay 0815ish [feeding on seaward end of Heysham outfalls overnight and flying in with the tide??]