Dark-bellied Brent stops off

The light NE wind continues. Dry all day with some sunshine, but feeling cool in the wind.

Heysham skear - low water 09:20 (MD)

Eider 39

Shoveler 2 male 

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Great Crested Grebe 12 - this one has a small flattie (looks like a Plaice). But it must be too wide to swallow. The grebe reminds me of a magician doing a card trick. It seems to swallow the fish, then it magically reappears in its bill!

Little Egret 3

Whimbrel 20 - these are some coming in to land on the skear. You can't really see much but it's a nice panoramic of the skear. The brown lumpy bits are Honeycomb worm beds and reefs.

Curlew 2

Oystercatcher c1500

Redshank c40

Turnstone 80+

Bar-Tailed Godwit 6. They don't often feed on the skear itself, they rest here till the incoming tide softens the waterline mud (see yesterday's post).

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Swallow - a steady stream of single birds along the sea wall but none seen out on the shore.

Sand Martin 3 together over the skear

South shore 

Janet had a walk along the sea wall on the rising tide.

Kittiwake 1 x 2nd calendar year (later 3 seen by Jean and Pete)

Grey Seal 1

I checked at high water (MD)

Wheatear 5 (these shots were actually taken over the weekend by Mark Jones)

Wheatear on Red Nab

Linnet 12

Shag 1 immature on the wooden jetty

Rock Pipit 2 (sea wall and lighthouse)

Little Egret 3 on Red Nab

Dark-Bellied Brent goose 1. Also on Red Nab. Initially in the freshwater runoff. Even in the water it was very obviously a dark-bellied.

Dark-bellied Brent goose in the freshwater runoff on Red Nab

It then rested on the rocks

It seems to have plenty of fat reserves for its journey to their breeding grounds

Even so, when I returned, it was feeding at the edge of Red Nab. In the absence of other ducks and geese, the gutweed has gone from being a bowling green to a lush meadow.

There was obviously a serious fire near Blackpool. It turned out to be an empty Hotel on Blackpool seafront. The seafront in this clip is actually Fleetwood with Blackpool behind. You can see the extent of the smoke in comparison to Blackpool Tower. Hopefully, and as far as I know, no one was hurt.