Grey Phalarope best of the day

A fresh NW wind. Showers with sunny spells.

Seawatch from North Harbour wall (Pete Crooks and Shaun Coyle)

07:45-12:15: 

Gannet – 1 adult in

Shag – 1 juvenile out, close inshore at 0945 hrs – probably heading to roost on the wooden pier

Pink-footed Geese – 123 out (skeins of 73 and 50)

Pale-bellied Brent Goose – 1 out with 3 Shelduck at 0950 hrs

Shelduck – 90 out

Wigeon – 27 out

Pintail – 2 out

Eider – 6 (4 out, 2 on the sea)

Red-breasted Merganser – 2 out

Great Crested Grebe – 3 on the sea

Guillemot – (1 on sea, 1 out)

Grey Phalarope – 1 flew out relatively close inshore at 1025 hrs – a small black, white and grey wader with a distinctive ‘rocking’ or ‘jinking’ flight action, blackish wings, with obvious white wing-bar, messy grey and black mantle, dark mask and crown

Common Gull – c.60 out

South shore (Malcolm) 

A 15 minute check from the lighthouse 09:30 - 09:45 saw

Shelduck 38 out (likely included in the above count)

Pink-Footed goose 73 in one skein south (clearly one of the skeins seen by Pete and Shaun)

Shag 3 juveniles flew to the wooden jetty. Probably including the 1 seen from the north wall.

There was a juvenile Shag and a Cormorant just out from the harbour mouth, providing a nice comparison of the two species.

Wigeon 19 on and around Red Nab

Wigeon

Kingfisher 1 on Red Nab

Rock Pipit 3

Rock Pipit

Wheatear 2

Wheatear on Red Nab

Wheatear out from the foreshore 

Linnet c80 around the saltmarsh 

Middleton Nature Reserve (Malcolm)

Just a quick look at the two main ponds revealed Tufted Duck numbers still increasing 

Tufted Duck 54 (37 on the main pond and 17 on the "no swimming" pond)

Tufted Ducks were the only wildfowl seen on the "no swimming" pond the following all on the main pond.

Gadwall 16

Teal 8

Mallard 34

Little Grebe 2 

Coot 10

Moorhen 2

Mute Swan female with 7 well grown cygnets 

A nice variety of ducks on the main pond

Some of the Tufted Ducks on the "no swimming" pond

Tufted Duck