Wet, but not a complete washout

Constant rain throughout the morning, driven by a freshening SE wind. By afternoon the rain was more showery and the wind shifted to SW

South shore (MD)

A morning walk along the sea wall on the rising tide.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 16 - a group of 3 arrived and left separately.

Pink-Footed goose 51 - one flock flying low through the driving rain to the SE. They had a small "duck" in tow. 

Wigeon 200+

Red-breasted Merganser 3 - a pair on Red Nab plus a male in the harbour.

Male Red-breasted Merganser in the harbour 

Kittiwake - a single adult was seen on both outflows and inside the harbour, but probably just one mobile bird.

Shag 1 immature in the harbour. This clip begins with it between two Cormorants.

The Cormorants headed back to the wooden jetty, but the Shag just milled around in the middle of the harbour. It made no attempt to feed, so presumably it was already full. It is likely that it and the Cormorants had been feeding at the waterfall.

Rock Pipit 2 - sea wall and lighthouse 

We are back to spring tides now and Howard managed to read three colour coded Knot on the Near Naze yesterday. These are two of them.

Unfortunately, before Howard could check all the Knot someone disturbed them, just to get some in flight shots!

I was saving this next clip for a rainy day, and today is as good as any. Again, it is one prepared by Howard earlier this month on the Near Naze. It shows how the flag is free to move on the Knot's leg with the wave action. In this case the bird was ringed in Ireland.

Awaited Brent ringing data now available

A dry and largely sunny day. The weakening west wind fizzled out to nothing.

Red Nab to Saltmarsh towards high water (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent Geese 12

Steve Dodd forwarded a link to the Irish colour ringing scheme - thanks Steve. It includes Brent Geese and has now been added to the links on the sidebar.

https://ibgrg.shinyapps.io/sightings/

Pete Crooks has used this to report the white ringed bird he saw 17/12/23. 

We now have a ringing date of 15/5/2018 at Grunnafjordur, Iceland and the latest record is the only subsequent sighting so far. 

This bird has been seen here on several occasions at least since January 2021, we will add other dates. 

Pink-Footed Geese 60 north at 10:20

Wigeon 180 ended up out from the saltmarsh 

Common Snipe 7 flushed from saltmarsh 

Grey Plover 1 sat by the edge of the saltmarsh, this clip is therapeutic (I love the sound of waves), but it also demonstrates how a bird's plumage can appear different when the background changes from bright to dark.

Grey Plover

Reed Bunting 1

Linnet 2

Imperial Rd (MD)

A lunchtime check

Pink-Footed goose 105 (78 & 27) north

Greylag goose 11 at least feeding in a field to the east of the road. Largely obscured by hedgerows.

Jackdaw 31 flew NE

There has been a lot of "slurry" spreading recently, presumably what was driving this large group of gulls (mainly Black-Headed and Herring) to swarm over the fields like locusts.

You can hear a Robin singing during the above clip. Here it is staking out its winter territory. Note the number of winter midges early in the clip.

Little Egret 5

Buzzard 1

Buzzard

Water Rail 1 squealing from the pond area on the SW side.

At least 1 Redwing and 10 Fieldfare were in the trees just next to the recycling centre gates.

Winter Thrushes in the trees just east of the recycling centre gates

There were also c50 Starlings feeding in the adjacent field and they kept flying to this tree too. Making counting the thrushes difficult.

One Redwing surrounded by Starlings

One of the Fieldfare

Fox 2 - one seen each side of the road. This one was being followed by a Magpie, but the Magpie legged it when the Fox started scratching. It clearly didn't want any fleas. Try and watch this without feeling itchy!

These weren't the only foxes showing well today, this from Pete Crooks:

A family walk across Heysham Barrows this lunchtime produced good views of a Fox on the rocks above the main path, which plenty of passing walkers were also able to enjoy. 

Knot Christmas

A largely overcast day with showers in the morning. The west wind continues 

South shore (MD. KE)

I had a walk along the sea wall on the morning flood tide, Kevin checked later on the ebb. No sign or reports of the Ibis or Shag today.

Pale-Bellied Brent goose 18 left Red Nab towards high water, 16 had returned on the ebb, of which 11 flew towards the north side. These are two adult and three youngsters.

Wigeon c200

These are a few of the Wigeon, plus the Brent towards high water.

Kittiwake 1 adult, patrolling the sea wall towards high water still feeding on No.2 outflow later.

Kittiwake 

The only birds on the platform in the harbour this morning were these four Cormorants.
Looking like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, or at least the four horses.

Imperial Rd (MD)

Again just really checking if the Ibis was around, no sign but all the regulars were on show.

Buzzard 1

Raven 1 calling from the top of the pylon nearest the roundabout 

Raven

Roe Deer 2 - looked to be the male and female youngsters filmed 19/12. Unfortunately, they saw me today, and I only managed a couple of shots of the male.

Male Roe Deer

Today's title is a bit spurious. Howard provides some lovely shots and clips over the year and I have kept some back, anticipating that they would embellish the post over the Christmas period, when other coverage is minimal. This clip from earlier this month is some of the Knot below the Heliport wall on the rising tide.

Glossy Ibis for Christmas..........so much better than turkey!

Overcast all day with several showers. The west wind had eased somewhat.

South Shore (MD)

I had planned to go along the sea wall at first light, but after yesterday's exertions I didn't really feel up to it. Fortunately, I went anyway and was very pleased that I did!

Glossy Ibis 1 - it was still quite dark when I reached the harbour, it was resting on one of the platforms near the waterfall and having a preen. The gulls were quite happy to share the roost with it, but they were getting restless and moving on, leaving it alone on the platform.

Glossy Ibis, the first record for the recording area

It decided to move on, and as soon at it took to the air the large gulls were unhappy. Initially they chased it to the east, but it returned a few minutes later. It looked to be heading for the Heliport then the sand works, but the gulls wouldn't let it settle again, and eventually "chased" it to the south.  Although the gulls weren't happy the Ibis pretty much ignored them as it was so much quicker than the gulls. It is more accurate to say the gulls followed it to the south.

Here it is zipping around the harbour before passing overhead and heading south.

A very distinctive profile when seen side on

Yesterday I had a brief, distant glimpse of a gull chasing off a dark "heron like" bird high over the Power Station to the east. I did wonder then if it could have been a Glossy Ibis. Today's record suggests that it almost certainly was. The significance being that it is hanging around. 

And it was still around this afternoon. Seen by Pete and Jean flying over Middleton Nature Reserve. So hopefully it will be around to be found again tomorrow.

Shag 1 - amazingly the Ibis wasn't the only bird of interest on the platform in the harbour. This shag was also resting there first thing. This is the first Shag record since July.

Immature Shag

Rock Pipits 2 (Red Nab and Waterfall)

Imperial Rd (MD)

An early afternoon check really just to see if the Ibis was feeding in the fields to the east. Not even a Little Egret today!

Buzzard 1

Perimeter fence de-railed.

A very heavy early morning shower, after that mainly dry with occasional light showers. The west wind continues but not quite as fresh.

South shore (MD)

A more interesting late morning walk along the sea wall than yesterday.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 22 flew south along the shipping lane

Goose sp 11 -  probably Pinkfoot, were even further out heading south

Wigeon 250+ they were more happy to settle on open water today. These are some of them coming in to land by No 2 outflow.

Kittiwake at least 1 adult and 2 first calendar year behind the lunchtime ferry, although they didn't follow it into the harbour.

The Manxman approaches the harbour more quickly than the Ben my Chree did

Great Crested Grebe 1 in the harbour. It normally favours the area near the waterfall, but today it was in the middle of the harbour. Possibly taking advantage of the silt disturbed by the dredger. The dredger is the smaller red and white boat at the end of this clip.

Nature Park:

Finches 100+ around the small anemometer. Mainly Goldfinch but also several Chaffinch and at least 2 Bullfinch.

Water Rail 1 - this is what today's title refers to. Unfortunately, it had somehow become ensnared on the barbed wire on top of the Power Station perimeter fence.

Water Rail 3m high and the fence surrounded by brambles.
At this point I wasn't certain if it was alive or dead

This short clip shows it to be alive and struggling (I stopped filming as soon as I knew it needed help). You may find it harrowing, but don't worry it has a happy ending, for the Rail at least!

I needed to find something to lean against the fence for me to climb on to allow the Rail to be in reach. I eventually found a fence plank that had been dislodged. Even so, I could only just reach the bird with one hand while I pulled the wire down with the other. It was well entangled, but no sign of any blood, I eventually managed to free it with only the loss of a few under feathers.

A weary, but largely unharmed Water Rail
It would never have managed to free itself

Fortunately, the ideal release site was close by. The Nature Park pond is protected with dog proof fencing. I released it there, it didn't try to fly but scurried for shelter by the water, had a drink then a preen and found somewhere to settle down.

Looks so much better than dangling on a wire!

All the above was on the way out at 10:40. It was still resting at the water's edge when I returned at 12:15.

Although I would never have found it if I hadn't have known where to look

The blue circle shows where it had been, you can just make out the few remaining under feathers.
The arrow points to the plank I scrambled up. Not the best exercise for someone just recovering from
 sciatica, but if it sets me back, so be it. I couldn't have left the Rail as it was - Malcolm 

Imperial Rd (MD)

Just a quick afternoon stop off in passing.

Buzzard 1 

Little Egret 6

Great clouds! But today's rain was just having a laugh.

Quite a fresh west wind. Overcast all day with showers, some very heavy.

South shore (MD)

I had a walk along the sea wall, timed to watch the lunchtime ferry arrive. I timed it perfectly, and so dod the rain. Fine all the way out and the way back, but the heavens opened just as the ferry rounded the wooden jetty. No chance of looking out to sea, but I don't think there was anything of interest, certainly nothing other than Herring, Lesser Black-Backed and Black Headed gulls followed it into the harbour.

There were several cormorants feeding in the harbour, these are two flying out. You can see the wind catching them as they reach the harbour mouth.

This is one of this year's youngsters having its wings blow dried.

First calendar year Cormorant 

Wigeon c150

Wigeon about to settle out of sight in the lee of No.2 outflow

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

There were a couple of light showers in the afternoon, it was raining when I called in at the main pond, so I didn't bother leaving my car.

Mute Swan pair plus 7 immature 

Coot 6

Moorhen 3

Mallard 14

Tufted Duck 2 male.

There isn't a need to leave your car to check the main pond, but I had to get out to check the "no swimming" pond. As soon as got there the heavens opened again and in the 50m walk back to my car I was completely sodden!

Gadwall 27

Moorhen 1

Grey Heron 1

This is the star of today's post, indeed it would be the star of most posts.

Nacreous clouds

Kevin Eaves took these beautiful shots yesterday "evening" (15:30).

Kevin also provided this explanation of the phenomena, courtesy of Chat GPT:

Nacreous clouds, also known as polar stratospheric clouds, are a rare and breathtaking meteorological phenomenon that occur in the winter polar regions. These ethereal clouds are known for their vibrant and iridescent colors, often resembling mother-of-pearl or nacre. Unlike regular clouds that form in the troposphere, nacreous clouds form in the stratosphere at altitudes of around 15 to 25 kilometers. They are composed of tiny ice crystals that create dazzling displays of colors when sunlight passes through them at specific angles. Nacreous clouds are not only a magnificent sight to behold, but they also play a role in the depletion of the ozone layer, as chemical reactions occurring within them contribute to the breakdown of ozone molecules.

Take solace in the solstice

Another overcast day with showers. The fresh west wind continued, but ended up NW.

Well, today was the shortest day. Technically the winter solstice is 03:30 in the morning, but "daylight" tomorrow is a full minute longer than it was today. On the slightly more sobering side, tomorrow is officially the first day of winter!

South Shore (MD)

Another morning walk along the sea wall, but a bit earlier in the ebb, at least there were still a few Wigeon around c150

As with most of this morning's birds, the priority was finding somewhere to shelter from the wind.

These are mainly Herring Gulls sheltering on No.2 outflow rocks

This group of Black-Headed gulls were also looking for somewhere to rest. Surprisingly, they decided on the beach, where they could barely stand!

Not all the gulls were hunkered down, there were a few Herring Gulls patrolling out from the 
harbour mouth. Hoping the rough sea would provide a feeding opportunity.

Grey Seal 1 - looks to be a male, in the middle of No.2 outflow.

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

Just a passing check of the two main ponds

Main Pond:

Mute Swan pair plus 7 immature 

Gadwall 4

Coot 4

No Swimming pond:

Gadwall 14

Mallard 16

Tufted Duck 2 male

Grey Heron 1

Moorhen 2

Three drakes - Gadwall, Tufted and Mallard

These are the Gadwall and Mallard, with a guest appearance by the Heron.

Not much........but it wasn't much of a day!

Low cloud all day producing rain for most of the day. A fresh west wind.

It was one of those days were it never really got light, and being one of the shortest daylight days of the year didn't help!

South shore (MD)

Just a late morning walk along the south sea wall was all I could manage today, and there was little to see as the tide was out.

A few waders feeding on the beach next to the wooden jetty.

Curlew 3

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Oystercatcher 11

Redshank 5

Nature Park:

Bullfinch 2 (male and female)

Mixed tit flock containing at least:

Long-Tailed Tit 6

Blue Tit 4

Great Tit 2

Goldcrest 1

Continuing yesterday's theme of local mammals, this Grey Squirrel was taking advantage of the seeds left by visitors for the birds.

Howard Stockdale managed to read more colour coded Knot over the set of spring tides that have just come to an end. Most on Near Naze or the Heliport roost. These are some examples of the colour coding methods used.

Mainly mammals

A dry and mainly sunny day after a shower at first light. The west wind continued to freshen throughout the day.

This male Kestrel was hovering over the horse paddocks at Knowlys Rd, at times level with Janet, allowing these excellent shots.

Male Kestrel

Pale-bellied Brent geese 17 - a check from Whinnysty Lane at low water saw them in the SE corner of the skear. I've not managed to get down there for a while, but it is likely that the only available weed there at the moment is broken weed along the waterline.

A check from Knowlys Rd a couple of hours later saw none, and none were on Red Nab in a quick afternoon check. They may have turned up later.

Imperial Rd (MD)

I always find it interesting just how much wildlife can be seen here in a small area of land surrounded by a bypass, a large substation and a recycling plant.

This clip is actually on the east side of the road. The fox headed for a rift in the field. I presume it was after a drink. Note how clean its bib is here.

When it emerges, it is liking its lips and its bib looks wet.

Roe Deer 3 a female with two youngsters a male and a female. These were on the west side of the road. This is the adult female, she crosses from the wetland where they had been feeding and ended up right beside the bypass. Note how she, and her youngsters later move quickly over the open ground.

She was followed by the young deer. At this time of year, the females have a white tuft on their rumps that looks like a tail.

This is the young female feeding, next to the bypass.

Also right next to the bypass, a flock of 8 Long-Tailed tits

More Brent.......less gutweed!

 Another overcast day with long periods of light rain. A light SW wind

South shore (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent geese 57 - there were clearly a lot on Red Nab, but they were spread out in family groups, making them difficult to count accurately, the most I managed while they were still feeding was 47.

The once lush gutweed here is now getting thin on the rocks, as both the Brent and the Wigeon feed on it.

No ringed birds were seen today. As the tide covered most of the rocks, they took to the water......

........before taking to the air and allowing a full count.

Wigeon c250

The Oystercatchers were earthworm catchers on the Ocean Edge grass.

At the saltmarsh:

Jack Snipe 1 flushed from the marsh edge, and landed on another section of marsh

Lapwing 76

Turnstone 3

This Curlew was calling regularly. I took a clip, but it was impossible to hear the call
over the wind noise, so I took a still instead

Not seen this dredger before the Iguazú.  It is a water injection dredger,
Basically it fluidises the mud which should then drift off with any current.

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

Just the briefest of checks.

Mute Swan the eighth immature bird has rejoined the other seven plus the adult pair.

Coot 5

Moorhen 2

Tufted Duck 2 male (on "no swimming" pond)

Gadwall 14 (on "no swimming" pond)

Grey Heron 1