Black Terns hanging on, but mobile.

A fresh SW wind. It looked like rain all day, but it managed to hold off.

South shore

My only outing today was to exercise my daughter's dog late morning, we walked along the sea wall (MD).

Black Tern 3 juvenile - I actually only saw 1 on No.2 outflow. A little later Pete saw 3, later still there were only 2 when Alan Physick checked.

Mediterranean gulls 17 minimum - there were 5 on the beach between the outflows. 8 on the beach next to the wooden jetty and 4, including one 1st calendar year behind the ferry.

Two adult Mediterranean gulls on the beach between the two outflows.
One has a white darvic ring and is in the same location as the one read by Pete Crooks yesterday.
But this is a different bird, again one that has been read before 34ET

Two Bar-Tailed Godwit were resting on the same beach

Quite a striking Cormorant in the harbour

This Guillemot was also in the harbour, seen in the same spot later by Alan. It does appear to be at peace with the world.

Rock Pipit 1 near the lighthouse 

Not a single gull on No.1 outflow today, and only a handful on No.2. 

Looks like the feeding bonanza may be over, for the gulls at least.

The rain just about held off till lunchtime then it was persistent till evening. Quite a fresh SE wind.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Raven causing a commotion with the resident corvids - Janet

South shore

Report from Pete Crooks:

4 juvenile Black Tern – 3 favouring Heysham Stage 2 Outfall, the other commuting between HS2 and HS1 Outfalls and sometimes seeming to disappear – presumably wandering further offshore

12 Mediterranean Gull (8 adults, 3 2nd winter, 1 1st winter) spread across the beach between Red Nab and Heysham Harbour. One of the adults was a previously seen colour-ringed bird – White 3LX9.

25 Cormorant – roosting on the Wooden Pier

70 Pink-footed Geese – groups of 61 and 9 flew south offshore

3 Swallow – south over Heysham Harbour was the only evidence of passerine ‘vis mig’

I walked down as Pete was heading back (MD)

It was noticeable that there were only a few gulls feeding on the outflows, it looks like the feeding bonanza is over. The juvenile Black Terns seemed to be finding food though. These are the three on No.2 outflow.

Juvenile Black Terns

This is the very erratic bird on No.1 outflow. I thought this young Herring gull was chasing it presuming the tern had had a decent sized fish, but there is no sign of it carrying anything when I checked the individual frames. Perhaps it just wasn't welcome! 

I'd gone down to watch the beach next to the wooden jetty become exposed, but these neap tides go out so very slowly, even the gulls were becoming impatient. There were already nine Mediterranean and three Black-Headed gulls waiting on the sea for the mud to show.

Eventually 10 arrived on the mud. At this point very little was available and space was a premium. These two 2nd calendar year were bickering 

Unfortunately none of the gulls that ended up on the beach were ringed.

The tide was 20 minutes later leaving the shore than I expected. I'm not normally good at waiting, but the time wasn't wasted. This Bar-Tailed Godwit flew in and fed a while.

Goosander 1 flew out beyond the wooden jetty. Goosander are not normally common in the recording area and one or two sightings like this a year are typical. But this year there have also been numerous sightings on Middleton Nature Reserve. Towards the end of this clip it flies past a Mediterranean Gull feeding beyond No.1 outflow.

Distant Goosander

Rock Pipit 2 on the sea wall

Meadow Pipit 3 flew to SE

Wren 3 along the foreshore and I near the waterfall 

One of the three Wrens along the foreshore 

These Great Black-Backed gulls have found a dead fish. This species used to be called a Lesser-spotted Dogfish, they have now been reclassified as a Small-spotted Catshark (Oh the ignominy!)

Whatever you call them their skin is like leather. The adult has a go first then the youngster.

Pinks through in numbers and decent ringing session

Mainly dry with just a couple of light showers. The sun didn't really break through till lunchtime. Light variable breeze.

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Ringing and vis report from Jean

It was another Pink-footed Goose arrival day with many birds flying at height. A minimum of 1245 flew over Heysham Nature Reserve and others were seen over Middleton NR. No doubt others flew over the sea as they could be heard in that direction but not seen.

Other than Pinks the only other vis from 0700-1300 consisted of:

Chaffinch 7

Meadow Pipit 2

Jackdaw 4

Bullfinch 1

Jay 8

Raven - 2 appeared and were harrassed by the local Crows.

Ringing was pretty busy with 64 birds caught over 4.5 hours

Grey Wagtail 1 

Goldcrest 4

Robin 4 plus 1 retrap from October last year

Chiffchaff 3

Blackcap 1

Greenfinch 9

Goldfinch 9 plus a retrap from September last year

Coal Tit 3 plus a recent retrap

Great Tit 6  plus a retrap

Long-tailed Tit 1

Dunnock 3 plus a retrap

Long-tailed Tit 1

Blue Tit 5 new and 4 retraps (from July and August this year)

Wren 5

Report from Pete:

Black Terns 2 juvenile on the outfalls, only one left by late afternoon per Janice Sutton

Latish Lesser Whitethroat seen Heysham Nature Reserve 

Reed warbler trapped Middleton Nature Reserve - full report to follow 

Mediterranean Gull at least 9 around today including metal only ringed adult 

I just had one short walk on the shore between Red Nab and the saltmarsh mid afternoon (MD).

Even from there I could make out a Black Tern patrolling the seaward side of No.2 outflow. A slightly different angle this with the wooden jetty behind and the South Lakes behind that.

At this time there were very few gulls feeding on the outflows but there were over 1,000 resting on the mud. Mainly Black-Headed gulls. I only managed to find three Mediterranean gulls, all adult. Including one of the regular German ringed birds.

ANLT just about to take off. They were very flighty but it just seemed to be a consequence 
of so many stretching over a long distance. It just needs one to take flight and others react.

Juvenile Wood Pigeon on the saltmarsh 

Linnet 67 on the saltmarsh.

This is what the Linnet are currently feeding on, the Michaelmas-daisies have gone to seed.

The daisies cover much of the saltmarsh edges

The Pink-Footed Geese continued flying over high to the south all day, both  Mark Jones and Janet reported sightings plus several skeins have passed over my house. Three skeins while I was out totalled 176.

Pink-Footed geese high to the south

Also from Janet - Middleton Nature Reserve 

Chiffchaff 1 singing

The regular Grey Heron had been stood amongst the feeding swans.
The bread that attracts the swans, also attracts the fish.

The alternative strategy, is to wait patiently in a quiet spot

A change of menu

The wind started in the west then freshened as it moved to NW. Showers on and off all day, some heavy, but some sunshine in between.

South Shore

Morning report from Pete:

Black Tern - Three Juvenile still seaward end Heysham one outfall 

Common tern at least 1

Mediterranean Gull 11 or so flying about in the area

I checked on the rising tide in the afternoon (MD).

There were still 3 Black Terns, one on No.1 outflow and two on No.2 outflow.

This is the bird on No.1 outflow. A nice size comparison with the Black-Headed Gull
which is actually just beyond the Black Tern

Black Terns on No.2 outflow

They kept dropping down to the water but I couldn't see them pick anything up.

The only other tern was a 2nd calendar year Common. That was feeding closer in. It too dipped to the water and appeared to come up empty billed. But in fact it had quite a decent sized shrimp. Shrimps are naturally translucent.

Not easy to see, but this Common Tern has a shrimp. No Whitebait seen caught today.
Hopefully the shrimps will maintain the Black Tern's interest 

Guillemot still in the harbour 

Along the foreshore 

Goldfinch 11

Linnet 4 - plus 35 on the saltmarsh 

Rock Pipit 3

Wheatear 3

I walked out to the waterline to check the waders, just in time for a Peregrine Falcon to lift them all. Half went south the other half just in front of the saltmarsh, so I had to walk back!

Of the birds that returned to the saltmarsh:

Bar-Tailed Godwit 48

Grey Plover 58

And at least 2,000 each, Knot and Dunlin

They were still very flighty, these are just a few of them.

Mainly Knot (this would make a good jigsaw!)

Knot and Dunlin

Pink-Footed Goose 97 south in 3 skeins

Swallow 1 north into the wind

Two Kestrels hovering over Heysham Head today - ref Janet

More good seabirds and Meadow Pipit passage

A fresh SSE wind to begin with, switching to SW by lunchtime. A heavy shower at 08:00 after that mainly dry with sunny periods.

Pete and Jean checked the south side this morning:

Black terns 4 - three juveniles left outfalls and flew out down the shipping channel then another darker bird of uncertain age at that range appeared and was still present when we left

Little Gull 1 adult on the outfalls

Arctic Tern 1 juvenile 

Common Tern c8

Mediterranean gull - 3 Juvenile and at least 8 other assorted age.  

Guillemot in harbour

Swallow at least 20 south 

Meadow Pipit over 500 south over sands and red nab 0900-1020

In the afternoon myself (MD) and Alan Physick checked the sea wall. There were at least 4 juvenile Black Terns feeding on both outflows. The light was still difficult, but with more birds around, spotting them was easier, but they fly so quickly and erratically they are hard to track. I couldn't manage a clip of more than a few seconds, so put a few together to give a sense of their movement.

Juvenile Black Terns

The afternoon light is difficult, especially when the sun is out behind the birds. I was fooled into thinking this Tern was also a Black Tern

But it turned out to be a juvenile Common Tern

It tried to rest on the sea with the Black-Headed gulls, but it wasn't welcomed!

On the way back down the wall Alan saw a Skua fly low in front of him before lifting all the gulls from Red Nab. It then flew out to sea and was lost in the sun. Seemed to be a dark morph Arctic Skua, but just possibly a juvenile of another skua species.

Rock Pipit 3

Wheatear 2

Heysham skear - low water 10:00 (MD)

The heavy shower had moved on from Heysham over an hour before I started, but the west side of the bay was clearly still getting wet.

Double rainbow, framing the skear

Pink-Footed goose 198 SE in 4 skeins, 171 in three skeins all arriving at 10:15

Eider 35

Red-breasted Merganser 8

Great Crested Grebe 1

Little Egret 17

As I was walking out on the skear there was a trickle of Meadow Pipits coming in and flying east. 11 in the first 15 minutes. Then they stopped, but by that time I was towards the south side of the skear. They resumed again in earnest when I got back to the north side. The flight line seemed to be SE till they hit the skear then due east taking them ashore near Rydal Rd. 72 in total including 2 groups of 17 and 18.

Janet took these shots from Heysham Head

Kestrel 

Herring Gull with what appears to be a Common Blenny 

Black Tern best of four tern species

The strong wind eased during the day, it started from the south but veered to the SW by mid morning. Heavy rain for most of the morning but a dry and sometimes sunny afternoon.

I had a walk along the sea wall in the morning (MD). Very little to see, largely as the tide was out and nothing much was feeding on the outflows (low water means the water at the intakes is shallow and less likely to hold large shoals of fish).

Mediterranean gulls 11 adult and 2nd calendar year feeding on the beach next to the wooden jetty (at least 12 around today as a 1st calendar year was seen in the afternoon).

Wheatear 2 

Rock Pipit 3

In the afternoon we had a three pronged strategy, with Jean scoping from the churchyard at Heysham Head, Pete scoping from Ocean Edge and me walking along the sea wall.

Report from Jean:

Gannet 3 adult - 2 out and 1 in distantly.

Manx Shearwater 1 out quite close in

Sandwich Tern 1 out

Little Gull 1 juvenile south

From Pete:

Mediterranean gull 1 1cy along the sea wall

Arctic Tern juvenile on the seaward side of No.1 outflow, then later it or another flew south with 

Common Tern 5, other Common Terns were still close in along the wall, there were at least 7 so 12 minimum number.

Black Tern 1 juvenile came in to No.2 outflow and stayed briefly. This was just before 14:00, an hour before high water.

Fortunately, I was just getting back to No.2 outflow then (MD). Looking out to the sea from the wall it was very difficult to track, it was flying very quickly over a large range. Not only that, but the strong light was behind it and its upper wings were more or less the same colour as the sea. No chance of a clip, I resorted to following it with my eyes and pointing my camera in roughly the right direction. I was quite pleased when I managed some half decent shots. They are heavily cropped, but only because in the original pictures they were right on the edge or corner of the frame.

Juvenile Black Tern

Sandwich Tern 1 briefly, probably Jean's bird passing through, as David Kaye also saw one fly south past the north wall.

The other terns were easier to photograph, mainly as they tended to feed from a limited area allowing the luxury of positioning myself at an angle away from the light. Even so the action was frantic. This short clip begins on the Sandwich Tern but there are also at least 5 Common Terns (watch in slow motion).

This clip also begins with the Sandwich Tern, then switches to a Common. Also in the clip, the 1st calendar year and a 2nd calendar year Mediterranean gull.

The gulls and terns weren't the only seabirds taking advantage of the Whitebait bonanza. No idea if
this is the same Guillemot as yesterday, but I'm sure that some nice easy fishing was very welcome.

Pink-Footed Goose 36 south 13:20

Black Tern best of three tern species

A very strong and gusty SW wind. Some heavy showers made viewing difficult.

Report from Pete - Seen from Stone Jetty heading towards Heysham mid range.

Artic Tern 1 juvenile and just 1/4 mile behind

Black Tern 1 juvenile 

23 Mediterranean gull on red nab early doors with mass departure of 13 close together towards lune and the rest in dribs and drabs leaving only 2-3 when the tide started covering the rocks 

South shore (MD)

12:00 - 13:30

This first walk was almost the opposite to yesterday. It was reasonably dry as I walked out but the heavens opened as I reached No.1 outflow. The rain, coupled with the sea spray made visibility terrible!

Mediterranean gull 2 - a 2nd calendar year flew across the harbour mouth and an adult followed the ferry in. This is the 2cy, by this time I was out of the rain, sheltering behind the lighthouse.

Kittiwake 4 - 3 x 1st calendar year plus 1 x 2nd calendar year 

There were at least two terns on No.1 outflow, one adult Common and a juvenile, but the weather was so difficult it wasn't possible to tell if it was an Arctic or a Common. Not only was there rain and sea spray, the squall also had increased wind strength making keeping balance almost impossible. This clip is really just to show the conditions although there are glimpses of the adult Common Tern.

By the time I got back to Red Nab the rain had eased, but the wind still viscous! This adult Common Tern was having a bath. Sorry about the jerky camerawork, but it does reflect the day.

After its bath it had a preen then braced itself against the wind on the Red Nab rocks

Guillemot 1 - battling against the waves in front of the foreshore rocks

Eventually it managed to reach a safer distance from the rocks

Wheatear 2

Rock Pipit 3

It had been wild indeed, I hadn't seen another soul, only a fool would venture along the wall in those conditions.......so I went back again in the early evening 16:00 - 17:00. The rain wasn't so bad this time and visibility was much better, but it was still windy.

Arctic Tern 1 juvenile on No.1 outflow. Probably the one seen by Pete this morning heading in this direction, and almost certainly the same juvenile I'd seen here earlier.

Juvenile Arctic Tern

Common Tern 3 at least - 2 adult and a 2nd calendar year

2nd calendar year Common Tern

All the birds were regularly "catching" fish (picking them out of the water is a more realistic term). So there are still plenty of easy pickings on the outflows. This is the 2cy Common with a fish.

Pete says that the Black Terns used to routinely feed on the outflows and hang around a while. There is no reason why they shouldn't at the moment, perhaps tomorrow........

First calendar year Common Gull

Two species "return" to Red Nab

A strong and freshening SW wind. Heavy showers in the morning.

South Shore

I had a walk along the foreshore and sea wall mid morning, and mid shower (MD). Got a soaking on the way out and a blow-dry on the way back!

Mediterranean gulls 4 at least, there were two adults and a 1st calendar year feeding on the outflows and a 2nd calendar year on the beach by the wooden jetty.

This is the 2cy with a Bar-Tailed Godwit. The rain had just stopped at this point, but the light was still awful!

This is the 1cy on No.2 outflow

Kingfisher 1 flew out from the culvert in the sea wall at Red Nab and flew east. This is typical of the bird(s) that over wintered last year, but it is a bit early. It will be interesting to see if it hangs around.

Grey Seal 1 near No.1 outflow

Ringed Plover 6 and Dunlin 2 resting on the grass at Ocean Edge during the shower

Rock Pipits 3

Linnet 25 (saltmarsh)

Goldfinch 12 (foreshore and Red Nab)

Wheatear 20+ they were becoming active as I walked back, and when Janet checked later most had moved on.

Pictures from Janet:

One of the few remaining Wheatears

Adult Mediterranean Gull

Ringed Plover and Turnstone 

Oystercatcher, 1 leucistic bird with a white head (looks like a Puffin!)

Little Egret

Cormorant, also having a blow-dry

First Wigeon to return this autumn 

In the doldrums!

A very light east breeze accompanied by even lighter rain in the first half of the morning. Then just overcast.

Heysham Skear - low water 08:00 (MD)

East winds have the least affect on the sea on this side of the bay. Such a light one had no discernible affect and the sea was flat calm.

Great Crested Grebe 13

Red-breasted Merganser 6 - all female/immature 

Eider 21 - mainly female/immature 

Some of the Eider

Four of the mergansers 

Red-breasted Merganser

Pink-Footed goose 85 south in two skeins, both at 09:25

Little Egret 10

Not so many waders today but the outer skear was exposed and many would be feeding there.

Oystercatcher 200

Curlew 100

Redshank 50

Turnstone 100

Knot 300

The tide was so flat it was creeping in around these Knot. One picks up a small mussel, but I think it discards it again. They didn't decide to fly till prompted by passing Oystercatchers.

Back to spring tides now and they come in very quickly, concentrating the shrimps and small fish and causing a brief feeding frenzy. This is a flavour of the activity, although the egret seem to have finished feeding.

Carrion Crow, there is always a presence on the skear, about 10 today. But more interesting were a high group of 9 that flew in over the skear and continued east.

Nothing different today

A cold NE light wind. Dry with plenty of sunshine.

South shore

Pete managed a quick check early on

Mediterranean gull 11 in a quick sweep. No rings seen.

34 ringed plover, 5 Dunlin inshore off OE saltmarsh

Janet had a walk along the wall

Red Admiral 2 in off the sea at Red Nab.

Loads of gulls feeding on both outflows again.

Goldfinch 20+ on Red Nab.

This Robin on Red Nab was not in the least bothered that I was quite near.

A nice sequence of a Little Egret fishing.

Then fighting over fishing rights!

Young Herring Gull having a foam bath

Rabbit, hopping it!

Comma in the Nature Park. Also Red Admiral and Common Darters

I walked the shore between the saltmarsh and Potts for a couple of hours but couldn't relocate yesterday's white rumped wader (MD). The closest I got was this mixed group of waders resting in a drain close to where yesterday's bird flew from. The Larger Grey Plover were easily seen but a number of the smaller waders remained hidden.

Unfortunately, before I could get a closer look another small group of Grey Plover, Knot and Dunlin flew to join them, but just managed to spook them all into leaving!

Flying birds, left to right. Grey Plover, Knot and Dunlin

I say, unfortunately, but there was nothing lost, I managed a quick check of the birds as they flew off, the only white rumps were the Grey Plover 20. The others were just Knot and Dunlin.

Grey Plover with Blackpool Tower in the distance 

There were three other inshore feeding groups of Ringed Plover within the recording area. 66 birds in total, but nothing more than Dunlin with them.

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Lapwing 16 on the saltmarsh 

Shelduck 124

Some of the Shelduck 

Swallow 1 north into the wind

Along the foreshore 

Wheatear 11 + 2 along the sea wall - ref David Kaye

Again some of the Wheatear were the larger birds

Meadow Pipit 2 grounded

Rock Pipit 2

Robin 1