The sea provides, and in return.....we return

A quite fresh west to SW wind. Some sunshine with the odd shower.

Report from Pete:

Heysham seawatch: 1100-1205hrs

Kittiwake 47

Little gull 1 adult in

Red-Throated Diver 1 out 

 

A check behind Ben my Chree 1200hrs

Kittiwake 14

Little gull 2 adult type

Mediterranean gull 1 adult

Also:

Mediterranean gull 1 2cy ocean edge on grass

Shag 1 immature wooden jetty high tide roost

I set off along the wall as Pete was leaving, just after high water (MD)

Reed Bunting 1 on saltmarsh 

Linnet 10 on saltmarsh 

Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab

Wigeon c100 out from saltmarsh and Red Nab

Kittiwake 8 - at least 6 adult plus 2 x 1st calendar year - along the sea wall and on No.1 outflow. This is one of the adult, clearly showing location 

Shag 1 - I saw this bird flying to the wooden jetty. Turned out it was the 2nd calendar year bird, returning to its regular place on the jetty. It shows its profile at the end of the clip. Possibly the same bird as seen at considerable distance by Pete earlier, but unlikely as Pete's bird was at the very end of the jetty and suggested juvenile.

As I was walking back Steve Brown was walking out. We hadn't planned to work in shifts like this, it was just how it happened. As ever, Steve took some great shots - it is worth opening these to appreciate the detail.

First winter Kittiwake 

Adult Kittiwake 

This is what today's cryptic clue of a title refers to. This adult Kittiwake was "resting" on the scrub near the lighthouse, in the lee of the secondary sea wall. I presumed it was just exhausted, but as I took this clip it became apparent that it was ensnared by something.

So I went to help. It was tangled in fishing line which was also entangled to some brambles. It took some untangling as it was very fine line and convolutedly entangled, particularly around one leg. This is not the sort of fishing line typically used by anglers who fish near the lighthouse. I wondered if the bird was already entangled elsewhere and just became ensnared here, although this sort of line does not float, so it will not have become entangled at sea. Either way I removed the couple of metres of line and safely disposed of it later. I walked to the inner harbour to return the bird.

Soon to be returned Kittiwake. It had remained reasonably calm throughout,
clearly resigned to its fate being in my hands

I placed it on the inner harbour wall and it immediately flew off, showing no sign of being any the worse for its ordeal. 

Twenty minutes later as I was returning along the sea wall, this bird was fast asleep on the wall near No.2 outflow.

Birds often look to be asleep, but invariably have half an eye open. But I knew this one was asleep as it awoke with a start as I passed a couple of metres away (I couldn't have passed any further away, without falling in!). It didn't fly off just stood and looked at me.

I suspected that it might be the bird that I had released earlier, particularly as it took a couple of steps, it was clearly favouring one leg. If so, it suggests that it needed sleep more than anything else in order to recover. Had it been ensnared all night? I managed to pass by without disturbing it further, but when I looked back a little later it was just taking to the air and was hanging elegantly on the updraft from the wall - good luck! (MD)

Nothing special, but some nice stuff around

 A blustery south wind.mainly overcast with some showers around lunchtime. 

Report from Steve Brown:

A walk from Heysham Village across the Barrows to check the Head and the Heliport wall roost.
Half moon bay
10 Turnstone, 5 Meadow Pipits, 2 Rock Pipits, and a pied Wagtail.

Rock Pipit with what looks like a small pupa

Pied Wagtail 

The Heliport roost was a mix of mainly Oystercatchers, Redshank and Turnstone, also present were  a small number of Knott, at least 7 Dunlin and 2 Snipe.

Some of the waders on the old Heliport wall

Then the rain came so I decided to return via Barrows Lane, where as a bonus bird I got a Grey Wagtail, by the play area.

Grey Wagtail 

Rock Pipit, on the rocks!

I just managed a short outing this morning MD)

South shore:

Rock Pipit 3, saltmarsh, Red Nab and sea wall

Shelduck 23

Wigeon 200+ on Red Nab. They feed on the gut weed close to the sea wall when there is little disturbance 

Common Gull 4 - 2 on each outflow

Adult Common Gull

2nd winter Common Gull

This young Great Black-Backed gull was reluctant to move
I had to skirt around it!

Shag 1 x 2nd calendar year on the wooden jetty with Cormorants 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a quick look at the two main ponds

Mute Swan pair with only five mature young seen

Moorhen 4

Gadwall 6

Tufted Duck just the one male, not quite in full breeding plumage 

Male Tufted Duck

Not much over this rainbow!

A slightly fresher south - SW wind, some sunshine plus heavy showers

Report and pictures by Steve Brown:

I started at the nature park just before high tide.

5 Greenfinch. 2 Goldcrest, 1 Bullfinch calling( not seen), 12 Goldfinch, 4 Long~tailed tits

Greenfinch 

Red Nab to the Saltmarsh

tide was in by now, 150+Oystercatchers resting on red nab, 4 black-headed gulls on the water, on the salt marsh c100 wigeon, 5 Linnet, 2 Greenfinch, 1 Chaffinch, 2 Goldfinch 

North shoreline out from the children's play area on the ebbing tide.

Shag flying low towards Heysham Head, 10 Bar~tailed Godwit, c100 Knot as well as good numbers of Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatchers.

Curlew 

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Heysham skear (MD)

I checked what I could in the early fading light.

Eider 6

Red-breasted Merganser 5

Great Crested Grebe 3

Bar-Tailed Godwit 3 (probably some of Steve's birds)

Dunlin 20

Peregrine Falcon 2 hunting, probably why I didn't see any Knot

There were some very heavy showers

One was followed by the steepest rainbow I've ever seen.

This was the shore side

It ended just west of the exposed skear, so it must have been about a kilometre in circumference.

North side Barwit numbers increasing

A light, mainly north to NW wind. High cloud with plenty of sunny spells.

South shore - high water 09:50 (MD)

A check from Red Nab to saltmarsh just before high water

Red Nab was almost covered but there were still c100 Wigeon milling around. Most ended up heading towards Potts Corner.

Kingfisher 1 - once again, it flew out of the freshwater culvert and rested on the pond nearest to the wall. These tides will be refilling this pond with seawater and fish.

Nothing along the foreshore but the saltmarsh was busy with passerines again.

Linnet c25

Greenfinch 28 

Greenfinch 

Chaffinch at least one with the Greenfinch 

Reed Bunting 2 at least

Rock Pipit 3

Common Snipe 28

Some of the Common Snipe flushed by the tide from the saltmarsh 

Jack Snipe 1 - the tide wasn't high enough to completely cover the saltmarsh so this was a bonus.

Heysham skear low water 16:40 (MD)

Low water was too late to check but the tide was already quite a way out in the late afternoon (late afternoon! 14:30 - 15:30)

Shag 1 x 2nd calendar year resting on Conger rock 

Shag - its unique profile is recognisable at long range

Eider 12

Great Crested Grebe 3

Red-breasted Merganser 10 - there are five males following this female (Great Crested Grebe in the background)

Little Egret 3

Knot c250

Dunlin just 2

Bar-Tailed Godwit at least 57 - there were a few individuals along the tideline plus this group in the skear corner.

I can't recall seeing this many on the north shore before. I managed to skirt around them without disturbing them. When I looked back a little later they had moved to the tideline halfway between the skear and the green marker post. When I was leaving there was still a small group in the corner plus a few smaller groups along the tideline. Then this flock arrived, not much to see but the light is interesting.

You need to feed quickly when the opportunity arrives, particularly during these short days!

A cold and freshening east wind. Overcast all day with showers increasing in the afternoon 

Heysham Head (Steve Brown)

An hour after high tide this morning, it was cold, dark, windy and wet! 

There was a decent sized mixed flock of Knot, Redshank, Turnstone, Oystercatchers resting on the rocks, also 10 Curlew and a solitary Ringed Plover! 

Ringed Plover

Pete checked the noon ferry in:

Kittiwake 1 adult behind ferry

Shag 1 juvenile in the harbour

Heysham skear - low water 16:00 (MD)

It was still cold, darker and wetter!

Eider 3 female together

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Great Crested Grebe 2

No Knot seen today but there were c100 Dunlin feeding along the tideline. I couldn't see what they were feeding on, but presumably tiny crustaceans.

They were very flighty 

Bar-Tailed Godwit 7 were also feeding along the draining channels, but were soon spooked by the flighty Dunlin.

These Black-Headed plus a Herring gull with Redshank are almost certainly catching small shrimps. There are a couple of Dunlin on the fringe too, and I like the Oystercatcher sleeping through the clamour.

Not much variety today!

A light westish wind, with sunshine in the morning, but heavy showers in the afternoon

South shore

Just a quick morning check from saltmarsh to Red Nab, found the "cupboard" pretty much bare! (MD)

No passerines on/around saltmarsh, one day I'll see what purges them.

Greenfinch 3 and Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab

No Shelduck but c150 Wigeon on Red Nab.

North Shore

Steve Brown checked Heysham Head whilst on dog walking duties and didn't fare much better, but at least he managed a couple of nice shots.

c25 Redshank, and 5 curlew on the shore,  1 Rock pipit, 2 Goldfinch and 5 Linnet over

Red-breasted Merganser 1 male

Male Red-breasted Merganser

Pete manage to find an immature Shag feeding near the skear

I checked the skear (MD)

Great Crested Grebe 3

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Eider 4 all individuals - 2 male + 2 female. This male was watching the world go by, and saw just about as much as I did!

Apart from the Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank and Turnstone there were:

Knot c250

Dunlin 5

Bar-Tailed Godwit 12

A decent variety

Very light SSE breeze.sunshine pretty much all day 

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Jean had

Water Rail 1

Woodcock 1

Brambling 1 over

Heysham Head

Red-Throated diver 1 on dropping tide (Pete)

South Shore

I just checked saltmarsh to Red Nab (MD)

Linnet 40

Greenfinch 3

Goldfinch 5

Reed Bunting 4

Rock Pipit 2

All the above on or around the saltmarsh 

Shelduck 140 out from foreshore 

Wigeon 185 on beach between Red Nab and No.2 outflow till flushed by a dog

Kingfisher 1 flew out from the freshwater culvert on Red Nab

Nature Park

Chiffchaff 1 calling 

Bullfinch 2 calling

Kevin Eaves checked along the sea wall

Grey Plover 1 briefly near wooden jetty

Red Admiral 1

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Steve Brown provided this detailed report and some very nice shots:

I had a decent walk today, starting from Heysham NR along the dog path to The caravan pk to the Saltmarsh back to Red Nab and back along the dog path 11:30 -1530

Dog paths:
Bullfinch 2, Greenfinch 3, Goldfinch 20+, Chiffchaff 1, Jay 1, Goldcrest 2 , Redwing 2, Sparrowhawk, Long-tailed Tit 5, Coal tit 2, Raven, numerous other woodland birds including Robin, Blackbirds, Dunock, Blue tit, Great tit, Magpies, Carrion Crow.

Ocean Edge, Salt Marsh and Red Nab
Rock Pipit 2, Snipe 7, Curlew 9, Shellduck 120+, Redshank c20, Black-headed gulls 12, Little Egret 3

Male Bullfinch 

Jay

Coal Tit

Heysham skear - low water 14:15 (MD)

Red-breasted Merganser 5

Great Crested Grebe 3

Eider 1

Little Egret 11

Pale-bellied Brent goose 4 - these behaved like visiting birds have in previous years. They were in the SE corner of the skear picking up the odd bits of sea lettuce around. Sometimes feeding while on the water, but when they emerged to feed it was clear that none were ringed. 

You can see a few patches of sea lettuce on the mud

There is a lot more gut weed closer to shore, including in the middle distance rocks out from the children's play area. Hopefully we will see them there soon, when high water occurs later in the day.

Shag 1 - the 2nd calendar year bird was resting on conger rock before starting to fish as the tide turned.

As well as the Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank and Turnstone there were

Knot c200 just resting not feeding

Dunlin 5

Bar-Tailed Godwit 16 - this one catches a small worm or, more likely, the tail tip from a large worm (they easily detach to stop the worm being dragged out by its tail). It then nicely displays its bared tail.

Finally, Kevin Eaves took this clip along the south wall. Like all predator prey sagas, the predators are reliant on the prey, the more prey available the more predators can survive. We have recently established that the in the right conditions the sea wall is the focus of a significant insect flight path. The spiders have known this for some while, and there are a lot of them!

"A mini safari played out on the sea wall this morning. The stalking and pouncing of this Zebra spider, was big cat like, but I didn't get my phone out in time to catch the action". (Not one for arachnophobes!)

Torrential drizzle! But it may have helped, at least on the north side.

A gusty NW wind, it remained dry till lunchtime, then some heavy showers in the afternoon.

South shore

I just checked saltmarsh to Red Nab late morning (MD)

Linnet 70 on saltmarsh 

Shelduck 210 out from foreshore 

Rock Pipit 1 on foreshore rocks

Nature Park

Chiffchaff 1 calling

Goldcrest 1

Mark Jones had a walk along the wall at the same time, and took these nice shots.

Curlew 

Little Egret 

One of two Peregrine 

Pete checked the noon ferry:

Surprisingly nothing of note behind the ferry

Shag 1 immature, likely the juvenile, seen flying across the harbour mouth

Heysham skear - low water 13:00 (MD)

There had been a light shower over lunch and my weather app had forecast "drizzle". So I set off in the sunshine in just my showerproof gear - mistake! I had reached the tideline just beyond the inner skear, and had only seen

Knot c250

Red-Breasted Merganser 2

The skies were black to the west and when the rain started it was a downpour. I stashed my gear and sat the shower out on a rock. When the driving rain had eased and I could again look out to sea, there were:

Common Scoter 3 female/immature 

Common Scoter

Two of them showed their pale bellies, identifying them as immature 

I saw all three diving, but two were diving much more frequently than the third.

After a few minutes reprieve, the heavens opened again, so I did my gnome impression on a different rock. As it was easing I decided it was time to head for home, then I spotted a couple of geese flying in.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 2 - this is them coming in

Pale-bellied Brent geese

Both the Brent and the Scoters were still on the water as I left, but I'd had enough fun for one day. My showerproof coat had held out but it was sodden and heavy. Still, I suspect I would have seen a lot less without the heavy showers.

Two Kingfishers

A lightish north wind with rain all day, often very heavy!

South shore (MD)

I just managed a walk along the wall this afternoon, full waterproofs and optics stashed.

Ringed Plover 17 were resting on Ocean Edge grass before moving on to the mud in front of foreshore 

Some of the Ringed Plover

Shelduck also 17 out from the foreshore 

Kingfisher 2 on Red Nab. One was on a rock in the large central pool, then flew off towards the pools near the SW corner, a second bird flew from where it was heading and continued towards No.2 outflow, it returned later. Unfortunately, I only got a decent look at the first bird.

Rock Pipit 4+ one on Red Nab, two together along sea wall and at least one single bird along the sea wall.

The resident Wren was in the scrub near the lighthouse. I didn't try to get a picture today, but I took this clip a couple of days ago in the bright sunshine (seems like a long time ago now!).

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a quick check on the way home. The only change was there are now three male Tufted

I got home at 3:45, already getting dark(er). The rain finally decided to stop. Even so there was no evening clamour of returning Pinkfoot. Weather not looking great for tomorrow either, but hopefully not as much rain.

Two Shags on show again

A light SE wind. Dry all day with plenty of sunny spells.

Heysham skear - low water 10:10 (MD)

Little Egret 11 - Kevin Singleton took these shots out from Whinnysty Lane

Red-breasred Merganser 5

Eider 1 male

No Great Crested Grebe seen

Whooper Swans 7 - distant and high heading south.

Dunlin 35

Knot c400 - two flocks c150 each plus several small groups (presumably the same birds seen leaving later by Pete)

Jackdaw 2 flying around noisily. There are always Carrion Crows here (4 today), but Jackdaws are a bit unusual.

Pete checked from the Shore:

Shag 1 x 2cy feeding out from Heysham Head 

Knot 450 then headed south

All the seaduck etc further up inc 5 Juv common scoter, well out of our area on north side of the Stone Jetty

Pink-Footed Goose - Janet took this shot of some of the late morning movement north over Middleton.

Once again there were many hundreds returning south just before 17:00

South shore mid afternoon (MD)

Shelduck 144

Wigeon 160

Rock Pipit 4

Meadow Pipit 1

Kingfisher 1 

The tide was rising and there was quite a bit of activity between the two outflows 

Eider 2 feeding

Great Crested Grebe 1 - not often seen here. It was feeding and preening. This clip is just a post feeding preen.

Shag 1 juvenile - it was feeding just out from the wall and was keeping pace with me as I walked along. It almost felt like taking a pet for a walk (swim).

1st calendar year Shag 

It kept diving, but I didn't see it catch anything. There are fish here, but this is not an area that any previous Shag has routinely fed, so presumably it isn't normally ideal for them, and probably wasn't today.