Plenty of Snipe

After a bit of a misty start, the sun broke through quite early, and despite the gloomy forecast it was a bright sunny day, till a huge fog bank rolled in off the sea at 15:00.

Red Nab to saltmarsh (Malcolm)

Roe Deer 2 -  I had to stop on Moneyclose Lane until 2 juveniles managed to climb through the fence back into Heysham Nature Reserve 

I went to watch the tide partially cover the saltmarsh so I was a bit late arriving at Red Nab.

5 Pale-bellied Brent geese were just leaving towards Potts corner

Wigeon 120+

Rock Pipit 1 on the foreshore - first one seen here for some time.

Rock Pipit

Linnet 16 and Reed Bunting 3 around the saltmarsh 

This is high water today, at 9.4m it only half covered the saltmarsh. Even so
it flushed a lot of snipe. Tomorrow's 9.7m will cover more. Unfortunately tonight's
tide is higher and most of the birds will be flushed and many won't return immediately.

Common Snipe 56 

Some of the Snipe lifting off the saltmarsh, they all eventually 
headed east towards Middleton Nature Reserve 

Common Snipe

Jack Snipe 1 probably 2 

This Jack Snipe flew and landed back on the saltmarsh, later another
flew from a different location towards Middleton Nature Reserve 

Heysham Skear (Malcolm)

I checked early in the ebbing tide. When I walked out it warm and sunny, but that was about to change!

Pale-bellied Brent goose 10 in the SE corner of the skear

Brent geese making their way to the skear corner

Eider 4

Creat Crested grebe 9 at least

Grey Heron 2

Little Egret 15

The tide was ebbing quickly, concentrating shrimps and small fish in the drainage channels. The Herons, Egrets and gulls were similarly concentrated trying to catch them.

Waders similar to of late, but only c1,000 Knot seen. One new flagged bird was read.

There is always a significant Carrion Crow presence out here, and they
are not just scavenging. This one is prizing off a small mussel

And eating it whole. Possibly leaning this from the gulls feeding on the 
seed mussels earlier in the summer

It had been a very pleasant walk, my coat was off and wrapped around my waist, but it was growing cold and dark very quickly, the forecast fog was late and clearly in a rush to catch up!

Heysham Head disappearing 

Not a sunset this afternoon, just the sun being..... "blotted out from the sky".