Thursday

Heysham skeer - low water
Shag - it seems very attuned to feeding opportunities here, even on today's highish low water of 2.9m. It waited on top of conger rock till the tide started to flood. Then started feeding around the rock.

This is conger rock - on these neap tides it is not fully exposed at low water. There should be the tip of it showing tomorrow too. Might be worth checking c10:45.

Goldeneye 1 male also feeding near conger rock, but on the ebbing tide.

If you had have been watching me (MD) from the promenade, I would have disappeared as I was surrounded by this flock of, mainly, Knot trying to escape a Peregrine. Ultimately, one failed.

New Year's Day

Heysham skeer - low water
Shag 1 - turned up on north side of skeer 09:00, still around at 09:45. Seen from skeer and scoped from Knowsley Rd.
Goldeneye 1 male in partial eclipse drifted in on flooding tide and fed around conger rock.
Eider 4
Wigeon 2
Great-Crested Grebe 10
Red Breasted Merganser 2

Mudflats to SE of Ocean Edge - close inshore near where Pontins used to be.
Dunlin c700
Ringed Plover 19
Sanderling 1

From elusive to predictable

Shag - the short days seem to be forcing it into a predictable pattern, at least during spring tides. Its preferred feeding location seems to be the low water channels on Heysham skeer, but these are seldom exposed during daylight at this time of year. They were this morning, and by 08:30 it was resting on a small island west of the largest rock in SE of skeer, presumably digesting breakfast (MD)

Not much of a picture, but shows location.

The tide may just be low enough again in the morning. If so, the Shag should be feeding or resting between about 08:30 and 09:00. If the tide is not low enough it will probably feed near Heysham Head and/or the north wall around high water.

Carrion crow, there were 34 waiting for the tide to ebb far enough to reach the skeer islands to feed. They then fed in ones and twos, on the exposed sections of honeycomb worms beds, before leaving, again in ones and twos in all directions east. The new honeycomb worm beds must be providing some new opportunity to feed. Two to four birds feeding here is typical.

Great -Crested Grebe - at least 8

29th & 30th - spring has sprung

30th
Middleton Nature Reserve 
Mute 7 adult 7 juv
Coot 1
Moorhen c12
Gadwall 22
Teal 6
Tufted 2
Wigeon 1
Mallard 5
Woodcock 1
Redwing 14
Goldcrest 2

29th
Small Tortoiseshell 1 near HNR office

Rock pipit 4 on south harbour wall roundhead

27th and 28th

28th
Middleton Nature Reserve 
Gadwall 31
Wigeon 1
Tufted 1 male
Shoveler 2 male
Teal 15
Mallard 8
Coot 1
Water Rail 2

Great White Egret - Two sightings (10:55 and 11:15) same flight line from Red Nab direction to ESE.

Redwing - just one seen


27th
Rock pipit - at one point (c10:00) there were 5 on sloping sea wall near No.2 outflow. Two feeding groups of 3 and 2.

Ferry and Shag routine

Ben my Chree
2 x adult Med Gulls, one prob Czech bird, the other flew in then out

Shag - off the Head at high tide, entered harbour at 1200hrs and fished alongside inner north wall

Rock Pipit - 2 north wall end

Christmas Day treat

Heysham Head rocks - high water (MD)
Shag
10:38. It landed on water, just out from the rocks on the south end (Throbshaw Point). It came from the north, but it could have just come from north end of the Head. It started feeding immediately.

10:50. It flew off south last seen on water out from the heliport. I didn't see it catch anything, presumably why it left. But, it is worth chevking on similar height tide tomorrow - high water tomorrow 11:08.

24th DEcember
Ad Med and 5 ad Kitt behind ben/dredger in harbour mouth

Kittiwakes ferried in

20-22 Kittiwake behind IOM ferry approaching Heysham Port but yet again no Meds.
The Czech ringed veteran has been seemingly absent for the last month

Skeer and low tide channels - scoped from Knowlys road
Shag 1 - fairly close to the largest rock on skeer.
GCG 10 scattered around

MNR
No change in duck numbers, but Coot seems to have gone, but Little grebe still around

Shag obliged.... weather didn't!

Shag 1 feeding in first channel area (see yesterday's post) at 14:00, after which the heavens opened and visibility not good enough. Tomorrow's tide is a suitable height, but weather not promising. After that, diminishing low water heright will force it elsewhere, possibly to main chnnel (MD).

Great-Crested grebe 4
Red-Brested Merganser 2
Eider 2


Fieldfare flock of 20 on Imperial Road

Shag located feeding

Heysham skeer - low water
Shag - The cormorant were all resting on sandbars. Only one bird was feeding in the first channel area, saw it dive a couple of times and it's leaping dive Indicated shag. When tide stopped ebbing, it stopped feeding and rested on water, still in first channel area. Most views were just its head bobbing over waves, but I eventually managed a couple of record shots. (MD)

(The original pictures are slightly sharper than when posted, and are diagnostic)

Feeding here on last of ebb on these mid range tides must be on pin whiting, if so, these will be here at same time for similar height tides. This suggests that there may be a repeat performance tomorrow, 14:000 onwards. The first channel is about 250m west of the largest triangular rock on the skeer (conger rock). This will be on the skeer's SW water edge approaching low water tomorrow.

Great- Crested grebe 6
No RBM or Eider

Middleton Nature Reservep
No ducks on the main pond, but 40 on the "no swimming" pond:
Gadwall 27
Tufted 2 (male)
Shoveler 1 (male)
Teal 10

West side of road to re-cycling centre - this is the eastern boundary of the recording area.

Great White Egret 1 - in field in the afternoon.