Wednesday 12 June 2024

Sanderlings still moving through

Another cool dry day with a lighter west wind.

These shots from Janet from the grassland walks to the west of the railway line that marks the eastern boundary of the recording area.
The Narrow-bordered five-spot Burnet are now emerging 

Large Skipper
Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

The Tufted Ducks were on the main pond


Male Gadwall

Moorhen

Grey Heron

Kestrel 

Young buck and a doe Roe Deer

The buck's spindly antlers with no forks show him to be a yearling
(One of last years fawns)

They quickly disappeared 


This Lesser Black-Backed gull "saw Janet off" as she passed Surefreight
on Middleton Rd. One of the 78 nesting pairs in the recording area (see post 10/06/24)

Heysham skear - low water 10:50 (Malcolm)
Eider 3
Red-breasted Merganser 3
Great Crested Grebe 1
Little Egret 8
Little Egret

Oystercatcher c800
Curlew 11
One of the distant Curlews, but this shot is really to show the extent of
gutweed on the middle skear now.

Knot 11
Knot

Sanderling 4 - two lots of two. This is the first pair, note the completely rufous face of the second bird.

Sanderling in full summer plumage

This is the second pair, neither quite so rufous.

This one catches three small shrimps in this clip. It swallows them so quickly you can hardly see it.

Sanderling with a shrimp

The tide brought them right up to me.


Swallow 1 north