Quite a productive short seawatch

Early morning showers were over by 08:00, after that dry but mainly overcast. A light west wind.

Seawatch report - Pete

Sea Heysham 1010-1110:  all heading out, perhaps entered bay during earlier murk: 

1 light morph Arctic Skua

1 adult kittiwake

1 subadult Gannet

2 Manx Shearwater

3 Common Scoter

4 Razorbill/guillemot 

flock of c35 Sanderling plus c20 Dunlin

South shore (Malcolm)

30 Knot out 10:00

Still lots of Lesser Black-backed, Herring, Common and Black-Headed gulls around the outflows, but fewer feeding today.

Gulls along No.2 outflow railing

Middleton Nature Reserve (Malcolm)

I just went to see if the Mute's nest was still above water. I had nothing to fear, despite the heavy rain the water level remained the same, presumably most of the rain soaked into the soil.

High, dry and virtually impregnable 

Gadwall 1

Mallard 6

Coot 2

Little grebe 1

Swallow 2

Reed Bunting 2

Singing warblers: 

Cetti's warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow warbler, Common Whitethroat, Sedge warbler, Reed warbler.

There are two Reed warblers in this reed bed along the western bank of the main pond. Meanwhile, a Sedge warbler is singing from the scrub behind it and a Chiffchaff behind me.

This Goldfinch was having a nice duet with a Blackbird.

North shore (Malcolm)

The exposing rocks of the inner skear, were almost deserted when I arrived this evening, just 150 Oystercatcher and 4 Knot. Eventually Oystercatcher numbers reached 450, but 4 Knot was all there were.

This Knot was having a drink and a bath, the water here will be quite brackish with all the groundwater draining out.

Sanderling 2 - interestingly, as the Sanderling approached, the four Knot flew up and joined them. They circled a couple of times before landing to the south. For the only time today the sun had come out and made seeing awkward.

Sanderling (left and right), four Knot and Oystercatchers

The Sanderling quickly moved on, but the Knot remained.

Little Egret 10

Eider 14

These Eider are not today's, but the pair that regularly feed out from the heliport
at high water - taken by Kevin Singleton yesterday 

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Great Crested Grebe 1