Thursday 6 October 2011

Mersey winds arrive too early

Heysham Obs
As suspected, the best winds for us were during the night and the day dawned with winds which were just too far round to the north-west at WWNW (despite assertions on all forecasts that it was "west").  Seawatching therefore a waste of time unless you are into Shelduck passage.  However, its supposed to go more west or even WSW prior to the afternoon frontal system...........but there is no tide.  After the front, firmly in the north-west

Outfalls/Red Nab
Little Gull - adult
Med Gull -Ad
a Dunlin was grovelling around the edge of a puddle on Ocean Edge grassland trying to look rare at a distance

Harbour mouth area late morning/IOM ferry
Med Gull - 1 x ad (large bird, not the one on Red Nab earlier), 3 x 1CY
Little Gull - 1CY far offshore
possible Leach's petrel glimpsed twice far offshore (or black wing-shaped flotsam)
Kittiwake - ad-type and 2 x 1CY behind IOM ferry
Pink-footed Goose - c36+6 SW over the sea, c42 SW over the harbour
Cormorant - 63 on wooden jetty (Shag have been very scarce this autumn so far & none recently)
'Comic' Tern - thought to be an adult Arctic seen offshore about 0945hrs

Butterflies
2 x Red Admiral & 1 x Speckled Wood seen in sheltered bits of HN reserve

Mammals
Grey Squirrel along Moneyclose Lane

One of an excellent sequence taken by Janet on Middleton NR