Brents defy the wind

The very strong overnight NW winds continued throughout the morning, easing over the afternoon. Again, a surprisingly dry day, with plenty of sunshine, but bitterly cold.

South shore

I did a couple of quick checks in the morning and again when the wind had eased somewhat in the afternoon. A marked shift in behaviour, in the morning all the shore birds were sheltering in the lee of something. Some feeding but most just waiting out the storm. By the afternoon, there was a frantic clamour to feed before the quickly approaching night.

Morning shift:

Shelduck c100 feeding just in front of the foreshore, unfortunately too close for their comfort when I walked along, as they took flight, the wind caught them and lifted them high.

Shelduck caught by the wind, fortunately they landed further
out and continued feeding in a "sheltered" shallow drain

Wigeon, just a few sheltering behind No.2 outflow

Rock Pipit 1 on foreshore

Mediterranean gulls 2 adult sheltering amongst the rocks on the seaward side of the beach near wooden jetty.

You really need some south in the wind to drive seabirds into the bay, even so, with such a strong overnight wind, there is always a chance of something unexpected. But I wasn't expecting this unexpected land bird (MD)

Kingfisher 1 briefly on Red Nab, before flying west along the sea wall, I suspect it then flew into the Power Station grounds.

Kingfisher - it flew off just after this shot

The afternoon look didn't find anything new apart from a lot more Wigeon. This short clip demonstrates how frantic the activity was around No.2 outflow. Most of these are Wigeon and Black-Headed gulls, but also a few waders.

As ever when there are plenty of birds around, the predators aren't far away. This young Peregrine was searching for opportunities.

North shore 

Howard checked the north shore, and despite my assertion yesterday, that Brent are reluctant to come over in high winds, he located 21, although at least some of them did not arrive until the wind had dropped. 

Pale-bellied Brent Goose 21. Initially 12 in the channel out from Heysham Village, later joined by 9 more. They all then made their way towards the rocks near the children's play area. They were still there at 16:00.

Three of the birds were ringed. Hopefully pictures and possibly some details for tomorrow's post.

Finally the first snow picture this winter, it looks nice, but I wouldn't want to be up there today, although I know that some, hardier souls, would.

Snow on the South Lakes hills

Time to hunker down!

The strong overnight west wind eased slightly and shifted to NW. it became strong again by evening and forecast to become very strong overnight. Surprisingly, it remained dry today, with quite a lot of sunshine.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a brief check of the two main ponds showed little change.

Mute 2 adult plus 9 cygnet 

Moorhen 5

Mallard 10

Teal 1

Gadwall 36 (34 on "no swimming" pond plus 2 on main pond.

These are some of the Gadwall, still having to upend to reach the weed.

South shore

A walk along the sea wall at low water, isn't the best time to visit, but it was the only time I had (MD).

Greenfinch 10 near Red Nab

Shelduck 121 feeding on mud out from Red Nab

Wigeon, just a few starting to gather near No.1 outflow, c40

Mediterranean Gull 1 adult on shore near No.2 outflow - this first clip is just to show the location plus the amount of gulls currently feeding on No.2 outflow (there were none feeding on No.1).

The drain it is in, is fed by the freshwater culvert from Red Nab, and although it will be brackish at this point, it is still better than bathing in sea water.

By the time I was heading back, it had switched to the unsheltered side for a blow dry!

Mediterranean gull, with Black-Headed gull in foreground 

North shore

Just a quick check of the Children's play area in the afternoon, failed to locate any Brent Geese, not a surprise, they tend to stay on the west side in harsh winds. Plenty of waders trying to avoid both the wind and the increasingly close walkers.

Oystercatcher c2,000

Knot c400

Redshank c100

Dunlin 20

Turnstone 20

Grey Plover 1

Ringed Plover 10

If you look closely at the Knot at the start of this clip, you can see  one with a yellow flag (you may need to watch in slow motion). I had thought there were two with white rings too, but probably just a trick of the low light.  No chance of me reading rings at this range in these conditions.

Unfortunately, they were all flushed by a blissfully unaware walker just after this clip

Another old visitor pops by again (perhaps)

Cold WNW winds, overnight frost and a mainly sunny day (albeit a short one!)

First, these shots from Howard, when the Peregrine chased the Knot from the Heliport on Monday. These, and Janet's below are best viewed by opening the images.

Peregrine Falcon......

......and the prey - Knot

Janet took these shots during her walk around Heysham Nature Reserve this morning

Female Kestrel 

Jay

Goldfinch feeding on seeds from Alder cones

Moorhen 

You can expect to see all the above species, and more, during a walk around the well maintained footpaths. A very pleasant walk on a day like today.

Heysham skear - low water 08:45 (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent Goose 4 (2+2) none ringed.

Pink-Footed Goose 58 very high to south at 09:15

Eider c60

Common Scoter 1 juvenile feeding near conger rock

Great Crested Grebe 4

Red-breasted Merganser 1 male

Knot c150

Dunlin c60

South Shore

Not a lot today

Shelduck and Wigeon in similar numbers to recent visits.

Lapwing 33

Reed Bunting 1 on saltmarsh 

This is today's "old visitor". A Black-Headed Gull with a toe growing out of its left knee was on the upstands in the harbour 18/09/20. This is the picture I took then.

I called it Toe Knee (Tony for short)

This is it, or a very close relative, today, again on the upstands in the harbour.

The toe growing from the left knee does look identical to the previous picture,
but I suppose all Black-Headed gulls toes will look pretty much identical.

But there is a difference, seen from behind there is another growth on the right knee, which appears to be a truncated or possibly broken off toe. So this has either happened since last September or it is a different bird.

 Tony Two?

Purple Sandpiper and good news from Canada!

A fresh west wind, overcast all day with plenty of showers.

Heysham skear - low water 08:00 (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 6 in the SE corner - this is the good news from Canada. On 12th November There were four adults including just one with red and blue rings. The two regular red/blue ringed birds from Axel Heiberg Island in the Canadian Arctic were ringed as a breeding pair in 2014, and I have never seen one more than 2m from its mate. Today, there were six adult birds including both the ringed birds. I don't suppose we'll ever know if the solitary red/blue ringed bird was a different individual or if somehow the two had become separated in transit, then reunited. Either way it's nice to have them back! Although this is the second year when they haven't had juveniles with them.

This is today's six, they were drinking from the groundwater run off as well as picking up the bits of sea lettuce. You can make out one of the ringed birds in the middle.

The light wasn't good, and it had started drizzling, I needed to get a little closer to check the letters on the rings. If you move slowly and keep quiet Brent will let you approach quite closely, but if you encroach into their comfort zone they sound warning "honks". It's a nice warm sound, not like the normal harsh goose honk. The other birds stop to see what the danger is, but if you remain still, they return to feeding. And so it was today, at the beginning of this clip you can hear four soft honks from of a couple of the Brent as I came "close enough". After a fifth honk, two ringed birds stopped feeding, unfortunately, one behind an Oystercatcher.

But, no matter, I was close enough, and managed to confirm both birds. This is a still from the above clip it shows the male bird VDRB (VD are the letters and RB the ring colours)

Canadian ringed Pale-bellied Brent goose

There wasn't a lot else around and the rain was getting harder.

Eider 13

Knot c500

Dunlin 15

Later Pete and Jean checked some key areas, and located some key birds! - report from Pete:

All 6 Pale-bellied Brent out from Knowlys Rd at 11:35

Mediterranean gull 1 adult behind the lunchtime ferry

Shag 1 juvenile exited Heysham Harbour late morning then headed north

Purple Sandpiper - 1 on Sunny Slopes groyne 13:30 - technically, this is a "seen from" the recording area, even so Pete managed this phone/scope shot.

Purple Sandpiper centre, flanked by Redshank and Dunlin 

After Pete sent me this shot, I went down for a look (MD). It was more or less in the same place at 14:45, but the beach was becoming exposed and the waders had started to drift off. The Purple Sandpiper was one of the last to leave at 15:00. Even then it only went further out along the groyne. 

All in all, quite a satisfying day.

Great White Egret duo

Calm and sunny initially after another cold night. Then a slight southerly air movement brought in the clouds. The breeze freshened slightly and moved to west.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

A quick check of the main ponds confirmed there are still 38 Gadwall, although no sign of the Wigeon today.

Red Nab and saltmarsh area (MD)

Wigeon c120 on Red Nab

Shelduck 143 most out from the saltmarsh 

Rock Pipit 1 on foreshore 

The plan was to check the mud out from the saltmarsh for waders on the incoming tide, unfortunately, someone else also had plans for this area. Someone exercising a horse quickly cleared most of the birds.

Curlew 48

Lapwing 20

Knot c100

Grey Plover 12

Redshank 20

Oystercatcher c30

Dunlin 8

Ringed Plover 41

Both the above were feeding together and appeared to be finding plenty to eat.

I checked the area where they were feeding after the horse had flushed them. I couldn't see anything to eat, certainly nothing moving. I can only think they were finding tiny molluscs, although the way they were feeding it did look like they were "catching" their food. Presumably the molluscs quickly retreat under the mud and my heavy tread gave them ample warning to get out of sight.

Greenfinch just one near Red Nab, none around the saltmarsh. It looks as though the mustard bonanza is over, although all the plants still have some pods.

Great White Egret 2 together 13:30. I was surrounded by trees near the small anemometer when they flew directly over me to the west. I didn't see them coming so had very little time to get my camera out, so only managed this hasty low magnification shot of one of them.

By the time I'd got to a clearing, they were quite a distance away and had turned north towards Heysham Nature Reserve. Again I only managed a soft focus shot of one of them, but it does show their impressive wing span.

One of two Great White Egret 

Pale-bellied Brent Goose 3 11:30 - seen from promenade below Heysham Village - seen by a visiting birder, Phil Byle via Pete

Out of recording area - just north of the Stone Jetty.

Purple Sandpiper 2 at Bare pool, where Seaborn Road meets the promenade - ref Jeff Butcher

Gadwall numbers continue to increase

Overnight frost left thin ice on the shallowest pools. The very light breeze varied from NE to NW with some calm periods in between. Sun for most of the day.

Heliport area

Unfortunately, a very active Peregrine Falcon flushed the Knot from the sea wall. Today's tide was the last in this set of spring tides. The next set starts in 10 days and are higher, so hopefully further opportunities for the ringed Knot to be read.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

I had a short walk around (MD)

Mute Swan 2 adult plus 9 cygnets 

Moorhen 11

Mallard 14

Gadwall 38 - I think this is the highest count this year and equals the peak for 2020. 32 on the "no swimming" pond plus 6 on the main pond.

Wigeon 2 - this pair were feeding with the three pair of Gadwall on the main pond. This clip has the Wigeon pair on the left with a pair of Gadwall on the right. The drakes are easy, the bills on the ducks are the best separator.

Little grebe 2 on "no swimming" pond

Thrushes - a few more feeding on Hawthorn berries today.

Song Thrush 2

Blackbird 37

Redwing 28

Redwing 

Grey Wagtail 1 - finding small insects 

As ever when there are lots of birds, the bird predators turn up (as per Peregrine on Heliport this morning). 

Here a more modest Sparrowhawk 

Juvenile Sparrowhawk 

Red Nab

Just a quick check on the way home. No sign of the Brent goose today, but the tide had only just reached the outer rocks.

Wigeon c150

Shelduck 127 - most on mud out from the foreshore 

Grey Heron 1

Little Egret 3

Greenfinch, just a couple flitting about

Finally, just a couple of images to show how much the light, particularly low winter sun, and location affect the appearance of a bird. This clip is the Grey Heron resting on the peninsula of the main pond at Middleton. The ripples of light reflecting across its back give it a very serene appearance.

In contrast, the Grey Heron resting on Red Nab rocks had its back to the light, and looks, for all the world, to be straight out of a Dracula movie! 

Grey Heron on Red Nab, looking very black!
Oh..... is that a 1971 type Grab Hopper Dredger in the background

Solitary Brent knows the ropes

 A very cool NW wind, sunshine all day.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 2 - Contrary to today's title, Pete Crooks saw two out from Knowlys early morning when the tide was still low. But this was the only multiple sighting of the day.

10:30 - 1.5 hours before high water this individual was just out from Red Nab. This is the first record on Red Nab this winter and I can't recall seeing a single Brent here before. But it seemed to know what it was doing, there is gut weed available on the outer rocks of Red Nab, but it is cropped close by the Wigeon. This bird was biding its time.

11:40 - it was still on Red Nab, but now close to the sea wall feeding on the slightly longer gut weed, now floating in the rising tide. I don't know how long it remained on Red Nab, possibly throughout high water. 

15:10 What I took to be the same solitary bird was floating on the water on the south side of the skear, directly above the rocky area with some gut weed patches. By 15:15 it was reaching down and feeding on the gut weed.

15:30 The rocky area was now exposed, this is the Brent amongst the Oystercatchers

It was still feeding here when I left at sunset (16:00!). I suspect that this was not one of the two seen earlier by Pete, but it obviously knows the area from an earlier visit, strange that it was alone. I wouldn't be surprised if it were on Red Nab again tomorrow lunchtime (MD)

Other stuff:

South Shore

Wigeon c100

Shelduck 44

Knot c600 Red Nab

Common Snipe 15 flushed from saltmarsh, just after the tide reached it.

Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab

Song Thrush 1 on saltmarsh 

Greenfinch 15 on saltmarsh 

Guillemot 1 in harbour near waterfall 

Guillemot 

Guillemot doing its Penguin impression

As I walked down from the lighthouse, the Guillemot was feeding, but by the time I'd reached the waterfall area it was just preening.

Heysham "skear"

It was such a lovely afternoon that I couldn't resist a walk on the shore, the inverted commas reflect that darkness fell before the skear was really exposed (MD).

Apart from the Brent there were:

Eider c90

Oystercatcher c2,500

Knot c2,000

Turnstone c40

Curlew c30

The low bright light was adding a warm colour to the birds, these clips are no different to ones I've shown before, apart from the unusual light.

Eider flying in from the north of the bay, the distant hills are not really covered in snow!

Eider taking to the water, the females looking a very warm brown in the nearly setting sun.

Finally, Howard managed to read several more Knot on the Heliport wall, despite some disturbance from dog walkers. He also managed this shot, please open it to fully appreciate (it reminds me of the shot of Vinnie Jones and Gazza, although the Knot is getting off lightly!)

an aggressive Oystercatcher on the wall today with Knot on the receiving end.

Just a quick check, but a reasonable variety

SW wind drifting more westerly by the afternoon. Mainly overcast with some light showers.

Just my morning high water check of Red Nab and Saltmarsh area and Howard's check of the Heliport so far (MD)

Chiffchaff 1 near small anemometer 

Wigeon c120 initially on Red Nab then to saltmarsh and Potts corner 

Shelduck 35 out from saltmarsh 

Pale-bellied Brent 4 flew from west towards the estuary 

Little Egret 4

Grey Heron 1

Rock Pipit at least 2 - one on foreshore and one one both sides of saltmarsh 

Greenfinch 36 around saltmarsh 

Reed Bunting 2 saltmarsh 

Common Snipe 39

Jack Snipe 3 confirmed, likely there were more.

Both the above flushed as the tide covered the saltmarsh 

Heliport area:

Howard managed to read some more of the ringed Knot in the brief sunshine at high water. This one was ringed in Iceland

Knot on the Heliport wall at high water
It is very important that these Knot are not disturbed here as they
roost on spring tides, as disturbance not only prevents them being from
being read that day, but it may deter the flock from returning another day.

Plenty of berries to go round

A fresh west wind, dry all day with plenty of sunshine 

Half Moon Bay to Heysham Head - high water 11:00

Howard managed to read two ringed Knot from the Heliport wall, unfortunately two others has damaged/dirty flags and couldn't be read. 

I particularly like this dynamic shot, by Howard.
You'll need to open the image to appreciate the detail (MD)

A walk along the shore line located three Rock Pipit. 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Brimstone butterfly 1, seen by Janet in the morning. Quite a distant shot, but fortunately of a very distinctive species.

Late Brimstone butterfly 

I had a good walk around in the afternoon, but failed to see any butterflies or dragonflies (MD)

Mute 2 adult 9 cygnet 

Moorhen 4

Mallard 12

Gadwall 32

Tufted duck 1 male

Teal 2 (on Tim Butler pond)

Little grebe 2 (one on both main ponds)

Water Rail 1 calling from Tim Butler pond

Green Woodpecker 1 - unfortunately flew into the low sun and I lost it

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 female

There were surprisingly few winter thrushes around considering the amount of Hawthorn berries still available. The following are my best estimates in excess of resident birds:

Blackbird 15

Song Thrush 4

Redwing 13

All were gorging on Hawthorn berries:

Blackbird 

Redwing 

Also Chaffinch, although I wasn't clear exactly what they were eating. This still from the clip below, suggests they were eating partially withered Hawthorn berries.

Male Chaffinch with what looks like a withered Hawthorn berry

Even a Long Tailed Tit was having a go, obviously not feeding on the berries, but seeming to be finding plenty to eat amongst them.

Wood Pigeon 20 north plus 7 west at 14:30 - presumably local movement 

Roe Deer 1 female

Lots of Snipe, including Jack

WSW to west wind, mainly overcast all day with occasional showers, mainly in morning.

Howard had a look at the Heliport Wall. Fortunately, today there were c2,000 Knot with the Oystercatchers. Unfortunately, today's tide was not high/rough enough to push them to the top of the wall where the ringed ones can be seen and hopefully read.

Knot tucked in with the Oystercatchers on the sloping Heliport wall.

South Shore (MD)

Wigeon c150 on Red Nab, later c80 went to the saltmarsh and the rest towards Potts Corner.

Greenfinch 2 on Red Nab plus 34 around the saltmarsh 

Rock Pipit 4. One on Red Nab, two together on sea wall followed by a third when they flew into the Power Station

Guillemot 1 in harbour near the waterfall 

Guillemot 

It wasn't feeding, but looked in good health, so I presume it had just finished feeding, as it did have a vigorous bath.

Today's tide was 9m, not quite high enough to cover the saltmarsh completely. But high enough to flush the Common snipe which invariably feed near the middle and outer edges of the marsh.

Common Snipe 38

Jack Snipe 2 - these were a bonus as they tend to move out to the inner edges of the marsh, as the spring tides develop. These two were flushed from the middle of the marsh, but landed back on the marsh nearer the inner edge.

Tomorrow's tide looks promising, unfortunately I'm elsewhere.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a quick check of the two main ponds found the wildfowl to be as yesterday, including the male Tufted duck. I was pleased about that, as I'd saved this clip from yesterday (I wasn't sure if I'd have time for a walk this morning). Tufted duck, looking bored with the Gadwall:

Heysham skear - low water 16:50

Just a very brief check in the fading light at 15:30

No Brent geese

Red-breasted Merganser 6, at least, feeding together 

No Great Crested Grebe seen, but almost certainly present 

Eider c50 close in

Common Scoter 1 juvenile, also close in

Knot c1,500