Another feeding Osprey......and we finally hit The Wall!

A fresh WNW wind. Sunny.

Heysham skear - low water 09:30 (MD)

I walked the tide in.

Osprey 1 female. The tide had already turned as I reached the western edge of the middle skear. All the gulls and Oystercatchers on the middle and outer skear suddenly lifted. For once the culprit was within visual range. This clip starts with some of the Oystercatcher above the Osprey. She flew into the wind, oblivious to the other birds, with her eyes fixed on the sea.

She was fishing for over 30 minutes, sometimes just a distant speck to the west, other times almost overhead. 

Unringed female Osprey

I didn't see her dive, but it's difficult keeping track of something like this when you are on the skear, particularly when the tide is coming in. You have to watch your step and keep an eye on the tide. Anyway, eventually I looked back and there was no sign of her, but all the gulls were up again. I presumed she had managed to catch something and landed with it, probably somewhere on the skear, but I failed to relocate her.

Little Egret 3

Shelduck 1

Eider 1 male

Great Crested Grebe 3

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Oystercatcher c300 - more on outer skear

Curlew 5

Whimbrel 2

Turnstone 5

Ringed Plover 1

Dunlin 4

Sanderling 13 - there was a flock of 12 flushed by the tide from the outer skear, these flew low to the north. A single bird was in association with the four Dunlin on the middle skear.

Sanderling with Dunlin

Detail of Dunlin

Detail of Sanderling

This is interesting, the Sanderling fails to catch a smallish shrimp, then when it disturbs a larger shrimp, the shrimp bounces around (they do this till they re-land in water or wet mud). In this case the bouncing appears to scare the Sanderling off - don't think it's cut out to be a shrimper! 

A quick check in the evening as the skear was becoming exposed again didn't locate any Sanderling

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Janet advises that the Cetti's Warbler has been singing in the bushes at the NW corner of the main pond for at least two weeks now.

This is the Wall from today's title. Kevin Eaves spotted this The Wall butterfly near the gate at the back of Red Nab. It was there both on his way out and on his return. So may hang around. This is the first confirmed record for several years.

The Wall male - not behaving badly for a change!

A few more Sanderling

The wind freshened throughout the day mainly from the west. Plenty of sunshine, but hazy at times.

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

I had a walk around lunchtime. Eight warbler species were soon located: Cetti's Warbler (5 including one singing from the bushes of in the NW corner of main pond, possibly a new territory if it remains), Sedge, Reed, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff.

Mute pair plus 9 cygnets

Mallard 4 males 2 females both with 8 quite mature chicks (both on main pond, Tim Butler pond not checked).

Both Mallard families. These are the largest chicks and will be the first seen this year.
She had nine originally, last year all nine were quickly taken by predators
 (a Great Black-Backed gull took the blame, probably deservedly)

Coot  3 adult no chicks seen

Moorhen 2 adult

Grey Heron 1

Pheasant 2 males calling

Butterflies (not so many today):

Common Blue,

Speckled Wood

Green-veined White

Orange Tip

Small Heath

Lots of Damselflies, including several pairs ovipositoring.

Dragonflies:

Broad-bodied Chasers 10+ this one looks like it has just emerged, a female I think (MD), you can see her abdomen contracting, they do this initially to pump liquid to spread their wings. That process has obviously been completed, so not really sure whats going on. I've left the annoying camera sound on as there is a Lesser Whitethroat singing in the background.

Four-spotted Chaser 8+

Four-spotted Chaser

Black-Tailed Skimmer 1 female at least

Female Black-Tailed Skimmer

Roe Deer 1 male

Heysham skear - low water 21:00 (MD)

The west wind was quite fresh by this time. I went down a couple of hours before low water, before the outer skear was exposed. Unfortunately, a wind surfer was also heading to the skear corner and he managed to stir everything up, still it was a good walk.

Shelduck 2

No Eider or Grebes seen

Red-breasted Merganser 6 - this clip gives a good impression of this evening's conditions.

Oystercatcher c500 (easier to estimate when they are all flying)

Curlew 2

Turnstone 8

Bar-Tailed Godwit 10 - they were on the waterline exactly where the windsurfer was heading. A wave of gulls in front of him

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Sanderling 3 - keep an eye on the bird that starts on the right as it catches a small shrimp.

Sanderling 

Unfortunately, another close pass of the windsurfer lifted everything. This clip is them flying off, it is really just to show how tiny they are compared to the Oystercatcher they end up settling in front of.

They quickly returned to the skear to continue feeding. I left them to it.

Janet took this clip of what looks to be a pair of bees mating. I'm not good on bees, but think these are Carder bees. I thought bees only mated in autumn when the fertile males emerge to mate with the new queens.

Both bees flew off after the "encounter".  (if anyone knows more please advise, my e-mail is on the sidebar, thanks Malcolm)

Did the Rock Pipit chicks survive?

The continuing pattern of light overnight east breeze shifting to the west and freshening in the morning. Another warm sunny day 

Heysham skear - low water 08:20 (MD)

The continuing pattern of seeing very little, also continues!

Eider - just a single male

Great Crested Grebe 5 - slightly unusually just one pair and three individual birds

Red-breasted Mergansers 4  - 2 pairs together

Little Egret 3

Grey Heron 1

Still several hundred Herring Gulls.

Oystercatcher c400

Curlew 1

Turnstone 3

Dunlin 3

Dunlin with two Turnstone

There were several bumblebees heading north and one white butterfly, think it was a Small White. There isn't really anything to see in this clip, but it is a slow news day, and it is quite therapeutic (well at least I think so)

South shore - high water 13:50 (MD)

I really just had a walk along the wall to see if I could work out what had happened at the Rock Pipit lighthouse nest area. There were no birds above the nest hole. But there were two adults feeding in the scrub near the lighthouse. There were no youngsters in earshot (you can hear them begging when they see food arriving), but I saw the the adults fly into the Power Station grounds and over the harbour wall, unfortunately, I wasn't able to see if they were carrying food. But, perhaps more tellingly, one flew back to the scrub from the very end of the wooden jetty. Possibly they had a youngster there and possibly others in other locations. This isn't like previous post fledging feeding here, but it is definitely a new male this year and possibly a new female too. Either way I'm not as pessimistic as I was yesterday.

The Red Nab bird was constantly calling and regularly parachuting. The west wind was quite fresh by this time, this is the Red Nab bird sheltering from the wind and singing, you can just about make it out above the wind noise.

Eider pair out

Kittiwake 1 x 2nd calendar year on their pipe

These young Lesser and Great Black-Backed Gulls were lined up nicely on Red Nab
The size difference is attenuated as the smaller gull is also further away.

Peacock on the saltmarsh, there were also Large and Green-Veined Whites

There are several resident Common Blue in the scrub near lighthouse, but only males seen

For comparison, Janet took these mobile phone shots of Holly Blues at the end of Moneyclose Lane.

Male Holy Blue

The Hawthorns all are heavy with blossom this year. The scent is quite heady!

One of many Hawthorns in the Nature Park heavy with blossom

Not even all the regulars!

A light early morning SE breeze swung to NW mid morning and freshened slightly. Sunshine all day.

South shore (MD)

A mid morning stroll along the sea wall was very pleasant, but even less than of recent to see!

Rock Pipits 2 minimum. A male was parachuting near the saltmarsh slipway, then continued along the foreshore, perhaps it is the Red Nab bird. The lighthouse breeding status seems to have changed. Only one bird, presumably the male, seen above the nest site and he seemed very agitated. 

There was no sign of any birds with food, so one of three possible scenarios:

1. The female is still feeding chicks in the nest, but was away much longer than typical.

2. They had tried to lure the young from the nest and lost the chicks (it is a very challenging first flight!).

3. They had managed to successfully lure at least one chick from the nest and it/they was away feeding with the female. But in previous years early feeding was near the nesting area.

Further visits will hopefully sort it out.

The Carrion Crow nest on the wooden jetty also seemed deserted.

It always seemed a risky strategy nesting where so many gulls
 (including Great Black-Backs) roost.

Linnet 10

Kittiwake 2 at least. There were two on their pipe in the harbour and possibly one of those also patrolling the outflows.

One of at least two 1st summer Kittiwakes

Curlew 21 flew south past the roundhead 

Little Egret 2 on Red Nab

Grey Heron 1 on Red Nab

Grey Heron

577 Herring gull ex heysham skear, roosting by battery car park - ref Pete

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Janet managed some decent shots with her mobile phone today:

Burnet Companion moth

Small Heath butterfly

This moth was inside my house last week (MD). I thought it had come in on my clothes, as I had just finished trimming my hedge. Kevin identified it as  Bee Moth.

Bee Moth

Kevin also explained that they have an interesting lifecycle. The females lay their eggs in bee or wasp nests, the larvae are known to feed on the host eggs, larvae, and pupae left unprotected by the bumble bees and wasps. Bee moth larvae will also feed on pollen, honey, and any waste that they find in the nest.

I then remembered that we had a bumblebee nest in one of the house vents last summer, sure enough, over the next few days another 6 were found in the house.....

Two more! They are variable and the males (left) more boldly coloured 

.......until I located and sealed a disused wire track that led from the vent into the house. I expect the interior lighting made this track a beacon for them after dark.

All the moths were moved outside, good for the moths, but not so good for any bumblebees or wasps nesting nearby. 

Yesterday was more exciting!

It was almost breathless early on, what little breeze the was came from the east. Later in the morning the breeze shifted to the west and freshened slightly. Warm and sunny.

Heysham Skear - low water 07:05 (MD)

I walked the rising tide in, it was a very pleasant morning but very little happening. 

The sea was flat and blue and the sky was clear and blue, one of those days when you can't tell where the sea stops and the sky begins.

Oystercatcher and Great Crested Grebe in the foreground.
In the distance the SeaTruck is half way above the horizon
(or just emerging from the sea, depending on your view of the earths geometry!)

Great Crested Grebe 6 - this par was displaying nicely

I was going to take a clip of them displaying but was distracted when the Herring Gull caught a crab.

Red-breasted Merganser 4 (2 pairs) - these also seemed in a romantic mood.

Little Egret 3

Grey Heron 1

Heron and Great Crested Grebes

Oystercatcher c300

Curlew 66 (I only counted 20 feeding, but 66 left the skear to the south when flushed by the tide)

Whimbrel 1 heard only

Turnstone 19

Ringed Plover 20 - these were feeding higher up the skear than I usually see them, and when flushed by the tide flew high to the east.

Ringed Plover heading east

Kittiwake 2 x 2nd calendar year on pipe in harbour reported.

Janet had a cameraless stroll around:

Small Heath on Middleton Nature Reserve (first record this year)

Brimstone on Moneyclose Lane

We've had more exciting days!

Some overnight rain, but a dry sunny day. A freshening west - NW wind.

Saltmarsh to Red Nab (MD)

Just a quick check on the rising tide, unfortunately I couldn't stay to watch Red Nab be covered.

Wheatear 2 - these late birds tend to be "northern" birds. They are larger (some fly as far as Iceland and Greenland to breed), and they always seem more confiding. This one seemed as interested in me as I was in her, or perhaps, she could hear my noisy camera!

Rock Pipit 1 displaying male on Red Nab

Little Egret 2

Shelduck 1

Curlew 63 (10 on Red Nab, 53 feeding on mud in front of the rising tide)

Bar-Tailed Godwit 3

Turnstone 3

Swallow 1 north

This Seakale has been growing amongst the foreshore rubble for at least three years,
but this year it has bloomed particularly well.

Green Veined White on the saltmarsh 

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Just two shots of Broad-bodied Chasers before her camera broke down again! It's not been a good year for cameras.

Heysham Skear - low water 18:50 (MD)

Not a lot!

Eider 6 (1 female)

Great Crested Grebe 4

Little Egret 4

Curlew 3

Moulting Curlew

Whimbrel 1

Whimbrel 

Turnstone 25

Oystercatcher c250

We tend to take the Oystercatcher for granted, but they are a handsome bird

Another flycatcher and Little Gull........(eventually)

A light predominantly SW wind, plenty of sun but only hazy at times.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report by Alan:

Ringing this morning at Middleton (or lack of). After a southerly breeze overnight and cloudy sky the wind veered a little west of south by around 06.00 and was almost westerly by 09.00.

I set three nets on the west side from 05.00. By 08.45, after six net rounds I had caught nothing but a single retrapped Robin. It was surprising that not even a few local birds were caught here. John set three on the east side and the result was little better, although a single one of the potential target species was trapped - Spotted Flycatcher.

Total captures resulting from around 18 net/hours:

Lesser Whitethroat 2 retraps

Reed Warbler 1 + 1 retrap

Reed Bunting 1 retrap

Spotted Flycatcher 1

Willow Warbler 1 retrap

Common Whitethroat 1

Robin 1 retrap

Later, Mark Jones heard 2 Reed Warbles singing at the main pond.

Heysham Skear (MD)

Two short visits today, on the rising morning tide and early in the ebbing tide. Both would be ideal for seeing any Sanderling present, but none seen today.

Kittiwake 105. 07:15 - Probably drifted in with the rising tide as they appeared out of nowhere, they milled around before heading inland.

Some of the mainly adult Kittiwake 

However on examining my shots, a smaller gull was with them and with oddly dark looking wings. Probably affected by the low early morning light, it's identity wasn't obvious. After much discussion and analysis it was Chris Batty who finally managed to confirm that it was a 2nd Summer Little Gull. - thanks Chris.

Not an obvious 2nd summer Little Gull with Kittiwakes 

For the eagled eyed amongst you the Little Gull is centre top at the beginning of this clip (watch in slow motion)

Little Egret 4 - this one was catching small flatfish on the rising tide.

Eider not counted but still c20 males

Great Crested Grebe 2

A bit more wader variety in the afternoon

Oysters c250

Whimbrel 1

Curlew 20

Curlew flying in from the east

Turnstone 31, most now largely in summer plumage, these are a few of them.

Just out of the recording area - Heysham Moss Nature Reserve 

Janet had a walk around.

Swift

Male Reed Bunting 

Common Heath moth

Off passage Sanderlings

A light NW wind to begin with, fresher and more to the west after lunch. Mainly sunny.

Red Nab

I didn't have much time today so just a very brief, but enjoyable, check an hour before high water (MD)

Whimbrel 1

Bar-Tailed Godwit 95

They were making a right racket, out doing the Oystercatcher! Fortunately I had my quiet camera with me. These are less than half of them.

They left in three groups, east at first then north over the caravan site. This is the largest group leaving.

Pictures from Janet:

Holly Blue on Middleton Nature Reserve. Just a mobile phone shot
but it clearly shows the different underwing pattern to a Common Blue

Chiffchaff on Heysham Nature Reserve 

One of two Rock Pipits near the lighthouse 

Rock Pipit nearer the waterfall 

One female plus six male Eider flying past the roundhead 

One of two Kittiwake on their pipe in the harbour

Heysham skear - low water 17:30 (MD)

Eider 25+

Great Crested Grebe 4

Curlew 2

Whimbrel 5

Sanderling 12 (flocks of 9 and 3) - unfortunately I was late in getting out and the outer skear was already exposed. The Sanderling were flying out to it, too distant for a shot. I'll try again tomorrow!

This picture tells two stories:

First you can see that the last tide has deposited some fresh mud, partly covering some and completely coving other seed mussels. The seed mussels will rise above the mud again, a process called layering. This can eventually lead to mussel beds sat over a metre or more of mud. Which leaves them vulnerable to storms.

The second more immediate story can be seen by the tracks leading to the Whelk Shell, it appears to have rolled down the slope, suggesting that this is a hermit crab, not a whelk in the shell. The second set of tracks are a gulls, that obviously fancied its chances, but not for long as there are only a few tracks. 

I didn't need to pick it up to see if it was a Hermit Crab, but I did anyway!

Quite a small hermit crab for a shell this size. It's good for two more shedding in this shell. At the moment, its small size allows it to move deep inside the shell for safety. But it also makes it cumbersome to move, probably why it became exposed. In two more sheddings they are at their largest stage, they can then block the opening with their large armoured claw.

Even though the gull obviously didn't stay for long it seems to have pecked off a piece of shell, it probably did this elsewhere then carried the crab here before giving up.

Grey Seal 1