Avocets and a lonely buoy.

A dry and largely sunny day. A light NW breeze after an even lighter early NE breeze.

Seawatch - Pete, Jean and Mark Prestwood

Report by Jean:

Seen from the North Harbour Wall and going into the Bay unless stated 06:20-10:50

Canada Goose 1

Shelduck 1

Common Scoter 3

Great Crested Grebe 2

Bar-tailed Godwit 85

Kittiwake 17

Sandwich Tern 48 out, 41 in 

Arctic Tern 51

Guillemot 6 out 28 floating in

Razorbill 1

Swallow 27

Linnet 2 north and 2 present

Redpoll 8

Goldfinch 2

Rock Pipit present

Carrion Crow 2 present and 3 others seen but chased off by the residents.

3 Porpoise close in.

The southern yellow buoy was dragged under by the strong tidal current. The pilot boat came out to look for it, gave up and went back to the harbour. Close to high tide it resurfaced - the buoy returned! At first it looked like a shark’s fin then the rest of it emerged from the deep.

A lonely north buoy with the southern buoy under water

From Knowlys Rd - Pete

Avocet 4  distant flying north along the low tide channel.

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Sparrowhawk 

Common Whitethroat 

First Silver Y of the year

Female Orange Tip

This female Orange Tip appears to be laying an egg.

Teneral Damselfly

Heysham Skear - low water 18:25 (Malcolm)

My only outing today, it's a busy week. The skear is a very large area at low water on these spring tides, and many of the waders would have been on the outer skear. I probably saw more birds yesterday when the skear was only postage stamp sized!

Little Egret 6

Eider 92

Great Crested Grebe 1

Oystercatcher 500

Knot 60

Turnstone - just one heard

Whimbrel at least 16. I am very disappointed with this clip of 3 flying over. They were calling constantly and I was sure I would get a decent recording, as it is you can barely hear them at all.

Dunlin 92 in three feeding groups. Not sure what they are finding here, they don't seem to be catching shrimps. Possibly tiny molluscs.

Dunlin

Ringed Plover 1

Male Ringed Plover