Camera shy Chough

Plenty of people about today but no Chough seen today until it appeared along the horse paddock fence at about 1530hrs (thanks June)

Stonechat - the mobile female wandering up and down the low cliffs at half moon bay
Meadow Pipit - 2 in same place
Med Gull - unfamiliar ad with yellow-tipped bill by half moon bay café
Knot - 1200 heliport seawall

Otherwise not a lot - didn't cover the afternoon low tide

Rapidly downhill

The coverage started well with a nice bowl of Jade's soup in HMB café accompanied by views of the Chough in the field just to the north.  Subsequently:

Seawatch - zilch apart from a/the 1CY Shag alongside the north wall.  Too rough to check seaduck

IOM ferry - followed in by common big seagulls

Outfalls - zilch

Middleton model boat pond - zilch

Chough hidy hole

The reason why birders this last couple of days have not been able to find the Chough by concentrating on the horse paddocks and the headland.  It has been feeding below the under'cliff' just to the south of the tall steps leading down to Half Moon Bay and accessible from the Half Moon Bay café end.  Thanks Malcolm for sorting this out (pics taken today).   Obviously please don't 'park the bus' on its feeding area if its not there when you arrive

Stonechat - one female same general area

Chough swops sides again

Chough
On Half Moon Bay foreshore and then up in the sheep field above H M Bay this am

Med Gull
Adult north wall (Czech bird)

Nothing obvious offshore with Eiders

Monday

Offshore
Eider - lots!
RB Merganser - 5
Great crested Grebe - 3

North wall
Med Gull - TWO adults patrolling

Heysham Head
Stonechat - 2
Chough - only seen around paddocks at 1130 otherwise several people couldn't find it

Middleton
Frozen
Teal - 35
Water Rail - 2
Common Snipe - 2
Cettis singing western marsh
Goldcrest - 1

Eider hit a new high but not a lot with them today

Chough
Along the footpath fence at SW corner of horse paddock at least just before 10am

North wall
Nothing doing on sandworks circuit (16 Linnet)
Eider - 1710
Common Scoter - 1 poss 2 female
Great-crested Grebe - 2

Outfalls area
Grey Seal - 1

Nice selection on a quick trawl round

Nowt seen yesterday, with the reason being the tide was half way in and the Chough wasn't in easy to watch locations

Chough
Along the fence in the horse paddock about 1000hrs

North wall offshore
Eider - 1675
Scaup - ad m, 1CYm, 2 f
Goldeneye - 2f
Red-breasted Merganser - 6
Great-crested Grebe - 3
distant unidentified black things x 5 were probably Common Scoter

Red Nab
Med Gull - large bird - not the Czech ad

Office feeders
Brambling - at least one

Mammals
Grey Seal - one offshore
Weasel - one shot across the nice smooth surface on Moneyclose Lane

Chough back with the horses

Horse paddock knowlys road
Chough - about 1130 at least

Fishers Roof
Med Gull - one ad, prob Czech bird

Middleton NR
Jack Snipe - 1
Tufted duck - 1 male
Single Water Rail and Cetti's Warbler (central marsh)
Gate 38 area
Woodcock - one flushed from scrub by south quay!  First record for SD35Z
Song Thrush - as above

Coastal or near coastal
Chough - seen by dogwalker at horse paddock c0900, then flew towards church.  Seen distantly along the cliffs on south side of head about 0930
Shag - 1CY quite mobile (assuming just one!) around harbour mouth/wooden jetty/north wall

Middleton NR (thanks Malcolm)
Mute 2 pairs, 1 single adult & 1 1cy
Moorhen 9
Gadwall 1
Teal 18
Mallard 12
Water Rail 2
Common Snipe 2
Jack Snipe 1
Pheasant 2
Pinkfoot 112 east

Cetti's Warbler - two bursts of song from western scrape. A few contact calls from east of Fence pond
Moths
Quite a few were disturbed retrieving the hibernacula set up in the Forest School as these had been 'moved' by an unknown miscreant, including the only one identified, this Agonopterix arenella

A bit of culture on Heysham Head

Some nice diverse entertainment on Heysham Head today:  Thanks to Malcolm and Pete Cook for todays sightings.

This is not a foretaste of the post-Brexit return to the Stone Age, but some land art known as 'rock balancing'.  Looks pretty impressive with the singletons looking like they have been photo-shopped - but they managed to stay put even in a brisk wind

Next up was a juvenile Shag close inshore along the rocks

Next up a female Stonechat:

Finally the Chough was out of the stronger wind today spending more time around the horse paddocks on the north side, at least when it was reported during the mid-late morning.  NNEW this afternoon.