A day of two halves, fine and sunny in the morning, chucking it down for most of the afternoon. A south, moving to west wind.
Early morning checks (from 0625) by Pete and Jean:
Pete
Shag 1 adult still heysham harbour mouth area
13 sandwich tern
6 Red-Throated Diver
24 common scoter (3 lots)
1 porpoise
14 swallow
nothing in final 45 mins other than swallows
Sedge Warbler singing Middleton Nature Reserve
Jean
Whimbrel heard from North Harbour Wall at 10am and a Sparrowhawk flew north at a great height.
Fence pond, Middleton NR
Mallard pair with 5 ducklings
Lesser Whitethroat singing on east side of track
Heysham NR
Lesser Whitethroat singing in tank farm.
Vis
1 Redpoll
4 Linnets.
South shore
I "peaked" far too early today (Malcolm)
I'd just got out of my car at the entrance to the Nature Perk (09:00). The clamour of the gulls in Ocean Edge caravan park alerted me that something was panicking them. I just managed to get my camera out in time.
Osprey 1 heading west
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| Osprey with a blue ring on its right leg |
And that was it! I hadn't intended to go along the wall, but I did to see if it had stopped to fish. It hadn't.
I walked along the wall into the harbour to the waterfall, and back again. Then along the foreshore and around the saltmarsh and hadn't seen another noteworthy bird! No Rock Pipits or Swallows, then just as I left the saltmarsh.....
Wheatear 1
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| Redshank, they always keep an eye on you |
I saved this clip from the other day. It's a Cormorant making short work of a small eel on No.2 outflow. It's still very early for eels to be leaving the rivers, but there is no doubt that it is (was) an eel.
Heysham skear
The afternoon rain had eased, so I thought I'd have a look on the skear (Malcolm).
The zip on my "waterproof" coat broke just as the heaviest rain of the afternoon began.
No Brent, no Whimbrel, no Godwits! No good - time for an early bath!
Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall
Glossy Ibis there at 0830
Two Cattle Egrets heading high NW over Conder this am watched flying over Overton towards recording area, possibly Imperial Rd.
