Thursday 12 January 2012

Succumbing seabirds and a white scuttler

Heysham Obs
Perhaps inevitably, some Kittiwakes are starting to perish, with about 5 dead ones plus a dead Guillemot in the SW corner of the harbour.  The other point of interest is perhaps best described as "the return of the elusive wintering Sanderling" as presumably the same bird has been occasionally seen this winter with the very small proportion of the Middleton Dunlin flock which sometimes roost on the Ocean Edge south beach

Ocean Edge/outfalls
Skylark - 2+
Sanderling - one - looks like adult winter
Bar-tailed Godwit - 14
Kittiwake - 5 on outfalls
Little Gulls - 2x2CY on outfalls

Harbour area
Glaucous Gull - seen flying about mid-pm then on wooden jetty
Guillemot - 9 + one dead
Shag - 8
Kittiwake - 19+5 dead

North harbour wall
Med Gull - 2CY and 2 adults
Rock Pipit - one
Twite - max of 8

Heysham NR late afternoon
Roe Deer - Four in NE corner!
Water Rail - one in NE reedbed
Bullfinch - 2