Osprey fishing in the rain

The wind shifted to NE. Very heavy overnight rain and it more or less continued throughout the day till evening.

Red Nab to saltmarsh (MD)

A quick morning check

Little Egret 6

Wheatear 2 near the slipway including 1 juvenile 

Rock Pipit 5 - 2 on foreshore, 1 Red Nab and 2 together on sea wall.

Heysham Head (JP)

Two Kestrel hovering 

Hovering Kestrel with a nice view of Black Combe behind

Heysham skear - low water 19:25 (MD)

I went down a couple of hours before low water. It was still raining, but not so hard when I started and it had stopped by about 18:00.

Osprey 1 - 17:15 it had caught a large flatfish and all the gulls and waders lifted, some giving chase. But, undeterred, it made a beeline east and flew off over Heysham Head.

Osprey with a flatfish

Little Egret 6 - the tide was ebbing quickly and they just wait and pick off small fish and shrimps as they move with the tide.

Eider 13 all female type except for 1 eclipsed male

Great Crested grebe 3 in summer plumage

Red-breasted Merganser 1 female type

Oystercatcher c200

Curlew c150

Whimbrel 1 at least

Redshank c60

Turnstone c100

Dunlin 11 (7, 3 and 1)

Arctic Skua tops the bill

A fresh west wind in the morning continued to ease through the day. Several showers.

Pete managed an hour's seawatch this morning from the back of heysham harbour looking out through the harbour mouth, no Storm petrel but:

Arctic Skua 1 dark morph

Gannet 1

Sandwich tern 2

South shore

Janet had a walk along the wall in the afternoon, unfortunately catching one of today's showers.

Little Egrets on Red Nab, there were at least 8 around today

Some of the almost constant passage of Curlew

This Guillemot was just below the sea wall near No.1 outflow

(It was still there when I passed a little later. It looked unwell, this is another species that I have found several washed up dead this year. Hopefully this one will not join them. (MD))

At the Nature Park entrance one of the regular visitors, who leaves food for the birds daily had just replenished stocks. Several species were taking advantage.

Chaffinch 

Dunnock

Magpie 

Wood Pigeon

And, of course........gulls!

Lesser Black-Backed and Herring gulls

My afternoon walk along the wall, was better timed, weather wise (MD). The rain was just easing off then it remained dry.

Wheatear 3 - 2 adult and 1 juvenile near the slipway 

Greenfinch 2 on the saltmarsh, they normally arrive when the pepper seeds are ripe.

Rock Pipit 2 on the foreshore 

Whimbrel 1 on the shore out from the foreshore 

Mediterranean gull 11 - 9 adult/3rd calendar year and 2 juvenile turned up on the beach near the wooden jetty, but again, I didn't see them catch anything today.

This Herring gull was in the Harbour, part of the NW England Gull project.
See link on side bar. It was ringed as a nestling at Bowland Lancashire July 2021.
It was seen in the harbour January 2022
and was at a landfill site near Accrington In February 2023
Not quite as cosmopolitan as the Meds, but still interesting, and informative.

Thwarted by the rain

The SW wind continues, but not quite so fresh. Overcast all day with spells of heavy rain. 

South shore (MD)

Two checks, one towards high water to check the gull roost, a second in the afternoon to watch the beach by the wooden jetty become exposed. Both coincided with heavy rain! The period in between remained dry.

Little Egret 5

Wheatear 1 juvenile, again near the saltmarsh slipway

Linnet 6

Rock Pipit 4 - 1 on Red Nab and 3 on foreshore 

Whimbrel 1 at least

Curlew and Oystercatcher plentiful 

Redshank c30

There was at least 200 gulls roosting on Red Nab, but the rain was driving into the only direction they could be viewed from. I managed to identify 5 Meds before giving it up as hopeless!

I got to the beach by the wooden jetty in plenty of time to watch it become exposed today, but again it was raining, and for whatever reason not many meds turned up today.

Mediterranean gulls 7 - there had been a juvenile on No.1 outflow and two landed on the beach, only 5 adults arrived to feed.

The gulls clearly understand the behaviour of Sandmason worms better than I do. The few that turned up today were struggling to catch any. This is a juvenile and two adults running around in fruitless circles.

Once again the rain was easing as I was returning from the sea wall, so I decided to call in at Middleton Nature Reserve on the way home.

Mute Swan pair plus 8 cygnets, all together on the main pond.

The Mute family

Mallard 18

Gadwall 4 - 1 on the "no swimming" pond and 3 on the main pond

Shoveler 2 on the main pond. The background racket is a combination of the cygnets begging for food, a helicopter and my noisy camera.

Tufted Duck 1 - the odd looking female was back 

(see post 25/07)

Coot 4 adult 2 young

Moorhen 2

Nice inshore Gannet views

The fresh SW to W wind continued overnight and through the morning, easing slightly after lunch. Just a few light showers.

Pete managed a morning check:

Arctic tern 1 adult out 

114 turnstone heliport seawall

South shore (MD)

A laboured morning walk down the wall towards high water and another sprightlier one in the afternoon towards low water (cold seems to be improving!)

Little Egret 4

Wheatear 2 adult

Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab

Whimbrel 2 at least

Gannet 1 adult flew past the harbour mouth then continued south (09:20)

Gannet being chased off by a Herring Gull, providing a nice comparison of size.

It was good to see a live Gannet, there have been more than normal washed up dead this year (four, I often don't see any and rarely more than one)

Cormorant 26 on the wooden jetty

Cormorants on the wooden jetty as the Gannet flies over

Mediterranean gull 25 minimum. In the morning there was just one adult on Red Nab and one juvenile on No.1 outflow. But in the afternoon there were 24 adult/3rd calendar year on the beach near the wooden jetty. They were all catching Sandmason worms, even those in the middle of the beach, although some had already stopped eating and were just resting.

Adult Mediterranean gull surrounded by the tops of the tubes of Sandmason  worms.

Butterflies in the Nature Park included:

Red Admiral 

Large White

Comma

Gatekeeper 

Small White

Speckled Wood 

Common Blue

The early bird..........catches the cold!

A fresh and gusty SW wind. Overnight rain but only a few lightish showers during the day.

Just my stuff so far (MD) and not much of it. I woke early this morning feeing rough, I thought an early morning walk might freshen me up......it didn't. I came home full of a cold.

Just a short check from Red Nab to saltmarsh a couple of hours before high water.

Mediterranean gull 1 - just the metal ringed adult. This bird was the first to arrive this year.

Rock Pipit 3 - 1 on Red Nab and 2 along foreshore 

Goldfinch 2 - Red Nab

Linnet 10 - on saltmarsh 

Wheatear 3 - 2 juvenile and a female.

One of the juvenile Wheatears

It was feeding along the tideline at the saltmarsh with a group of Linnet, when I spooked them the Linnet did as they always do, rest on the top of the surrounding vegetation until I pass by. The Wheatear joined them.

This is the other juvenile, you can see it has a hint of rufous on its breast. It clearly isn't happy to see the adult join it.

Little Egret 17 - 2 on Red nab 15 on and around the saltmarsh 

Little Egret

Curlew c300 (250 on shore + 50 on Red Nab

Whimbrel 2 at least

Oystercatcher c150 (50 on shore + 100 on Red Nab)

Redshank 20

There were no small waders on the shore, but a flock of 5 Dunlin flew south.

Hopefully, the continuing wind will have blown something different in by the morning

One Knot........does not a summer end.

A light, mainly SW wind. Plenty of sunshine.

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Ringing and vis report from Jean:

Fewer birds caught today at Heysham NR, just 11 in 3 hours, but 2 of them were Willow Warblers, also 

1 Dunnock, 

2 Goldfinch, 

5 Greenfinch 

1 retrapped Blue Tit from Monday. 

One of the Goldfinches and one of the Greenfinches were starting to moult their flight feathers. 

Overhead on their way back to Africa were 40 Swifts, 15 Swallows and 6 House Martins.

South Shore (MD)

Just a very brief check if the foreshore mid morning.

Wheatear 1

Linnet 2 

Goldfinch 2

Swallow 2 individuals south

Nature Park (KE)

Brown Hawker ovipositing in the nature park pond this afternoon. 

Also seen:

Gatekeeper

Common Blue

Small Tortoiseshell

Comma

Peacock

Brimstone

Common Darter 

Male Common Darter

Heysham skear. Low water 14:30 (MD)

Red-breasted Merganser 2 female type

Great Crested Grebe 1

Little Egret 6

I didn't cross the innermost skear where again many waders were feeding. The numbers recorded here are the number seen near the skear edge plus those flying to the innermost skear and any birds visible there from the waterline, so almost certainly under recorded.

Oystercatcher 150

Curlew 100 

Redshank 88

Turnstone 69

Turnstone 

Dunlin 1 

Knot 1 still, largely, in summer plumage.

Knot and Oystercatcher 

This Large Yellow Underwing moth was in my greenhouse 

No need to ask how it got its name

Snipe 7 in one flock flew SW over my garden at 19:00.

Attacked by a Sandwich!

 The light wind started SE before switching to the west. Overnight rain eased off by 08:00.

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

Just a quick check of the two main ponds, just as the rain was easing.

Mute pair plus 7 cygnet 

Coot 4 adult 2 young

Moorhen 2

Mallard 25

No sign of the odd Tufted Duck.

Goosander 1 juvenile. It gives a nice plumage display in this clip.

Heysham Nature Reserve (JP)

Looks to be a young Roe Deer, you can still make out the dappling on its flanks.

Kestrel 

Burnet Companion moth

Silver Y moth - there have been loads this year

Don't know.....but looks interesting. Please advise if you know

South Shore (MD)

A walk along the foreshore and sea wall in the morning an a check of the shore out from the saltmarsh in the evening.

Little Egret 5

Eider 2 female south

Wheatear 5 including 2 juvenile 

This one looks barely old enough to be out on its own!

Two juvenile and an adult in this clip, but Pete advises that they will be independent migrants.

Pied Wagtail 5

Rock Pipit 1 near the waterfall 

There were no gulls at all on the beach near the wooden jetty, despite Oystercatcher, Curlew and Redshank seeming to be catching Sandmason worms easily enough.

Whimbrel 3 at least (2 seen in morning, 3 seen/heard in evening)

Whimbrel 

Turnstone 4 

The following are this evening's records

Curlew 310 in one group, resting on the shore out from the saltmarsh, plus several others along the waterline. The only other waders were Oystercatcher and Redshank, plus a couple of Lapwing on the saltmarsh.

Swift 2 

Swallow 5

Mediterranean Gull 8 - 4 adult and 4 first summer

Sandwich Tern 2 adult and a juvenile came in off from the west and settled with the gulls. 

Today's title isn't some long lost Lou Reed song, I really was attacked by a Sandwich Tern! This clip begins with the juvenile Sandwich Tern centre with an adult to its left. The other adult was further to the left, but it took umbrage at me filming its family and flew over to mob me.

I didn't feel threatened, just unwelcome! At least it allowed me some close up shots.

Adult Sandwich Tern

I left them to it, but soon after they flew off south.

Southern Hawker - 1 male patrolling the path in the Nature Park, just before you reach the Power Station perimeter fence. Unfortunately it wouldn't settle and I couldn't manage a decent shot

Eight wader species on the skear.....not bad for summer

The light wind started in the east then gradually swung through the south before ending from the east. Dry and largely sunny till late afternoon when the rain started.

First some stuff from Janet.

These excellent Swift shots from Heysham Nature Reserve are worth opening to see the plumage detail, that you never see as they zip past.

Swift

Also on Heysham Nature Reserve was a Brown Hawker.

These shots from the Nature Park 

Male Common Darter

Brimstone 

Comma

Heysham Skear - low water 12:20 (MD)

Nothing seen on the sea.

Little Egret 6

Not much of a walk this, at least distance wise, were are on neap tides now and very little of the skear is exposed. Still it was good to see an increasing variety of waders.

Oystercatcher c200

Curlew c150

Whimbrel 3 together flying north 

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Redshank 25

Turnstone 35 in one group which moved off south

Ringed Plover 3

Dunlin 21 in one feeding group.

Dunlin

South shore (MD)

Just a check of the foreshore and Red Nab towards high water. Unfortunately by this time it was tipping down!

Rock Pipit 2 on foreshore 

Wheatear 1 on foreshore 

Washed out Wheatear

Mediterranean gull - just one adult remained with the Black-Headed Gulls on Red Nab

Again, there were no small waders along the rising tideline.