Another dreary day

Very low cloud all day sometimes manifesting itself as fine rain. A very light variable breeze.

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Report by Jean

Ringing was low key today rather like the misty weather. However another Grey Wagtail was caught and colour-ringed. A bit of excitement was provided by the capture of a male Sparrowhawk (pictured) with its scary piercing orange eyes and sharp claws that had been chasing a Goldfinch. 

Male Sparrowhawk

Ringing list:
Robin 3
Great Tit 3 plus a retrap
Grey Wagtail 1
Goldfinch 6 plus a retrap
Blue Tit 4 plus a retrap
Chiffchaff 3
Long-tailed Tit 6
Dunnock 1
Goldcrest 1 plus one from elsewhere
Sparrowhawk 1

The Long-tailed Tit flock was very large, maybe 18 birds plus Chiffchaffs trailing along with them.

Overhead vis consisted of 190 Pink-footed Geese heading south. Just one Swallow was seen.

South shore - Malcolm 09:00 - 09:45

Just from saltmarsh to Red Nab and back through the Nature Park, there was drizzle throughout

Pink Footed goose - 2 skeins south heard only as they were above the low cloud.

Linnet at least 180 feeding on the saltmarsh 

Linnet

Robins 3

Rock Pipits 3

Grey Wagtail 1

Blackbird 8 moving through the trees together in the Nature Park 

Blackbirds

Heysham skear  - Malcolm 15:00 - 16:30

At least it was fine, and the sun actually shone, albeit for less than a minute!

Grey Heron 1

Little Egret 14

Heron and Little Egret

Pink-Footed goose 4 skeins south, heard only

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Eider 1 - this blob on a rock turned out to be an Eider

Gull 70 - mainly Herring gulls

There were more waders around today. These are best estimates.

Oystercatcher 1500

Curlew 30

Redshank 80

Knot 17 (11, 4 and 2)

Turnstone 45

Dunlin 2

Ringed Plover 6

One of the Curlew was colour coded. Ringed as a nesting adult this year at

Bransdale Moor North Yorkshire. It was also seen on Red Nab in July

The Knot were finding seed mussels to eat. The one that ends up central in this clip eats two.

Dunlin and Knot. The Dunlin on the left is a juvenile 

Their bills are surprisingly flexible 

Janet had a walk over the Barrows

Just one wet Small Copper today. But it did pick itself up and fly off

Cuttlebone (the internal skeleton of a Cuttlefish) under the Barrows

Just out of the recording area Glossy ibis flying west over Heaton marsh It appeared to drop into the fields west of the Bay Gateway / Moss Road roundabout. This evening. One to watch out for!