It wasn't a complete washout

Rain all morning, particularly heavy late morning, it eased after lunch but didn't really stop till 15:30. Some sunshine late evening. A fresh SW wind drifting to NW by the evening.

First a splash of colour. These shots from Rosemary and Peter Silvester, taken on Middleton Nature Reserve yesterday.

Male Common Darter and a confident looking fly

Male Emperor

Female Emperor

South shore today (Malcolm)

The sea wall wasn't closed off today, so I risked a walk early afternoon, I should have left it later in hindsight. There was a heavy shower on the way out, then just enough rain to make looking out into the wind difficult.

Mediterranean gulls 23. 3 adults followed the ferry out. This is one of them.

Adult Med in the harbour mouth

1 first calendar year bird flew south past the roundhead.

First calendar year Mediterranean gull

Same bird, but this shot gives a better impression of the conditions 

There were 19 meds feeding on the beach by the wooden jetty some close to the sea wall.

Four Meds close to the sea wall, the one just right of centre is green ringed
ANLT. Ringed in Germany in 2012. It has claimed this same small patch of
beach as its own, since I first saw it feeding here in 2018.

The next two Meds out also included a ringed bird, this one a relative 
newcomer, ringed in Holland in 2019, it has been visiting here since 2022

Unfortunately, the birds further out meant looking directly into the wind driven rain, so checking for rings wasn't possible.

Kittiwake 1 first calendar year on No.2 outflow

We have received the histories of the two Norwegian ringed Black-Headed gulls. Both ringed in Oslow. One in 2021 and the only other sightings of it were in Limerick, Ireland in September and October 2022. The other one was ringed in 2020 and was seen at Knott End in 2022 and Wyre estuary in 2023, with trips back to Oslo in between. It is still around, Pete Crooks spotted it at Sunderland Point yesterday.

Quite an impressive looking Curlew

Little Egret 4

Linnet 4 - 2 near the lighthouse and 2 on the foreshore 

One wet Linnet

Wheatear 1 on foreshore 

Pied Wagtail 6 on Ocean Edge grass and foreshore 

Pied Wagtail 

Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab

Rock Pipit - the notches (nails) in the pale fringes of its median
coverts means that it is a first calendar year bird