Brent routine back to, well, routine again. Plus a Goosander visit

A light SW drifting to SE wind. A mainly dry day with sunny spells.

Just my stuff so far (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 47 - 45 were feeding on the rocks out from the play area on the north side. Two lots were seen flying into Red Nab from the north side, 29 and 14. Later 39 and 8 flew south from Red Nab.

South shore

Brent geese as above

Wigeon 220

Shag 2 on the wooden jetty

Rock Pipit 1

Middleton Nature Reserve 

A quick lunchtime check, to see if I could find yesterday's Kingfisher, no luck there but a nice surprise.

Goosander 1 male - they have historically been very rare here, but records have been increasing recently, probably relating to the developing fish stocks in the two main ponds.

Male Goosander

This clip gives a nice view from all angles.

A passing evening check saw that it was still on the pond.

There were other ducks on the pond, but they were resting behind the tree cover so hard to see but at least

Gadwall 4

Mallard 2

Little Grebe 1 calling from the main pond

Other stuff on the main pond was as yesterday 

Pink-Footed goose 29 north

Just out of the recording area - the Glossy Ibis was still in the horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall early evening. I wasn't going to bother with a picture as my shots can't improve on some of the excellent pictures posted recently. But it seems to be loosing a feather, so took this clip to better demonstrate (sorry about the chainsaw noise, but it does show that it is quite tolerant of disturbance)

A bit of a Brent puzzle

Quite a fresh and definitely chilly SW wind. Dry with sunshine for much of the day.

Pale-belled Brent geese 31 at least

There were 31 feeding amongst the rocks out from the play area from Knowlys Rd early in the tide.

There were none on Red Nab when Shaun walked along the south wall also early in the tide and none were seen flying from the north side, but when I (Malcolm) walked out a little later there were 15 that seemed to be flying towards Potts Corner from Red Nab, leaving just 1 feeding on the rocks. Then 8 flew back and joined the single bird on Red Nab. This is them coming in.

It's not clear where the birds feeding on the north side went to, but an afternoon check saw 24 feeding out from the play area again.

South shore

There ended up being a group of us, me, Janet, Shaun, Gareth, Lesley and Carol. Shame there wasn't more to see.

Wigeon 200+

Shag 1 on the wooden jetty

Kittiwake 2 adult past the harbour entrance

Peregrine Falcon 1

At the saltmarsh 

Common Snipe 6

Rock Pipit 2

Reed Bunting 5

Sparrowhawk 1 flew through the Nature Park

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

I checked all four main ponds today.

Main Pond

Mute pair plus 7 immature 

Mallard 16

Coot 5

Moorhen 4

No swimming pond - the water is again 1.5m above normal, it has been seesawing all winter.

Gadwall  16

Mallard 4

Teal 2

Moorhen 2

Little Grebe 1

Little Grebe with a little fish

It caught three fish in as many minutes, the last one nearly got away.

Kingfisher 1 - just a glimpse as it zipped across the pond unfortunately to a corner that was obscured by trees. With this many fish about it may hang around.

Tim Butler pond - this is the first opportunity I've had to check this pond this winter. It is increasing difficult to get a clear view of the pond, but it is slightly easier in winter when there is little foliage.

Mute Swan 2 together, one appears to be young as its bill is not yet bright orange.

Tim Butler Mute Swans

Gadwall 5

Teal 8 at least although they were easier to hear than see. I like the way the males bob up and down like a toy duck when they are calling.

Tufted Duck 2 male

Tufted Duck

Coot 1

Fence Pond - extensive work has been done here to reclaim the open water, unfortunately woefully underpopulated today.

Mallard 3

Just out of the recording area, the Glossy Ibis was feeding in the horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall. These great shots by Howard Stockdale.

A bit less variety

A SE to S wind. Overcast all day and steady rain after lunch.

South shore (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 35 flew to Red Nab directly from the west side of the bay.

Pink-Footed goose 61 flew north - first I've seen or heard since the cold spell.

Shelduck 5 south

Shelduck 

Red-breasted Merganser 2 south

Wigeon c250

Shag 1 (the darkest bird) on the wooden jetty

Shag with a Cormorant and Great Black-Backed gulls

Redshank 130 in one group seeking a high water roost

They eventually settled on the wooden jetty with a few Cormorants 

Turnstone these five were turning stones by the saltmarsh yesterday, you can see them pause briefly, as someone calls out in the distance.

Rock Pipits 3 - one near lighthouse and two along the sea wall, saltmarsh not checked today.

Rock,Pipits along the sea wall

North shore (JP)

These Knot were roosting below Heysham Head, and includes one with a yellow flag. Much too distant to be within reading range.

Knot

Just outside the recording area, the Glossy Ibis was in the horse paddock at Middleton Parish Hall this morning. Not seen at 15:45, but it was miserable and it may have already left for its roost.

A bit of variety

The strong overnight SW wind had eased by morning and continued to ease all day. Dry with occasional sunny spells.

South Shore

Pete watched the lunchtime ferry come in.

Mediterranean Gull 1 adult came in front of the ferry and was lost as it continued beyond the north wall.

Little Gull 1 adult was quite a way offshore therefore likely coincidental rather than a ferry follower.

Kittiwake 6-7 adults

I checked towards high water in the morning (MD). Once again there were no gulls of interest on the outflows.

Pale-Bellied Brent goose 36 on Red Nab

Wigeon 200+

Shelduck 18

Shag 1 in the harbour

Shag resting on the supports for one of the platforms in the harbour

It flew out of the harbour and landed on the wooden jetty

Lapwing 65 on saltmarsh 

No Reed Buntings

Rock Pipit 5 including 2 on saltmarsh 

Janet's shot of one of today's Rock Pipit

Turnstone 

Male Chaffinch in the Nature Park

North Shore (HS)

Knot c6,000 roosting on the old heliport, unfortunately mainly resting in the grass with legs obscured. Still Howard managed to locate six ringed birds and three were readable.

A few of today's Knot

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

I went down in the evening to see what effect the storm had on the Jackdaw, Wood Pigeon and Stock Dove roosts. The short answer, at least for the short term, is that they are no more. Just......

Jackdaw 12

Wood Pigeon 3

Stock dove 0

On the two main ponds:

Mute Swan pair plus 7 immature 

Mallard 28

Gadwall 5

Coot 5

Moorhen 6

Cetti's warbler 1 calling near the "no swimming" pond

Just out of the recording area - Middleton Parish Hall. The Glossy Ibis is still feeding in the horse paddock behind the Hall. Today's excellent shots (despite the less than ideal lighting) from Chris Penrice.

A bit of a washout!

It rained all day, it rained very hard all day! The strong wind started from SE before moving to west by the afternoon, and becoming even stronger.

Just my stuff so far, and precious little of that (MD)

South shore 

A morning check along the sea wall, but only as far as No.2 outflow. The wind at that time, was in the wrong direction to blow in any sea birds and only Black-Headed Gulls and a couple of Common gulls on the outflow. 

Pale-bellied Brent geese 30 feeding on Red Nab. Literally feeding on top of Red Nab, the gutweed is so sparse now the geese had to clamber over the rocks to search any out. At least it gave an opportunity to see if any were ringed, but none seen.

Shelduck 7

Wigeon 100+

Imperial Rd

Buzzard 1 sat on the fence posts by the field on the west side watching a group of thrushes feed. These included:

Mistle Thrush 2

Blackbird 1

Redwing 7

Roe Deer 2 female

This female Roe deer is actually from yesterday, the torrential rain during today's 
visit wasn't conducive to photography 

Just out of the recording area - Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis 1

Green Sandpiper 1

Hopefully should be more productive tomorrow.

Wind blows in some gulls of interest

 Very strong overnight SW winds only eased slightly. Some showers and the odd sunny spell.

South shore

No Brent again on Red Nab, but 16 Pale-bellied Brent flew north presumably directly from Potts Corner.

Pale-bellied Brent geese cutting across the strong wind

Shelduck 17

Wigeon 100

Kevin managed to stand still long enough to get this nice shot of 
a Grey Plover, sheltering on the rocks by No.1 outflow

Mediterranean gull 1 adult seen briefly by Pete and Jean on the seaward end of No.1 outfall.

Little Gull 3 probably 4. Pete and Jean saw a 3rd calendar year at the seaward end of No.1 outflow. Plus two adults slowly flying out as seen from back of the harbour. 

This adult was on the sea wall end of No.2 outflow when I checked earlier in the tide (MD)

 Little gull, the low bright sun making its underwings look quite pale at times

Peregrine Falcon 1 - in these strong offshore winds the Peregrines often just hang on the wind as it is deflected upwards from the sea wall.

Peregrine Falcon

This shot of Janet's shows what the Peregrine are looking for
 Redshank, resting on the sea wall

Cormorant from a slightly different angle

Nature Park

Janet was sharing her peanut chips again

Coal Tit

Dunnock, as Janet says a lovely little bird and often overlooked

Great Tit giving a nice display of its wing feathers.

Just out of the recording area - Middleton Parish Hall. 

The Glossy Ibis is still feeding on and around the Horse Paddock. Also around today, Grey wagtail 1, Pied Wagtail 2, Redwing 6. Always worth a visit.

Wet and windy......with more to come

A strong south wind freshened all day ending very strong. The rain started just after 09:00 then continued all day.

South shore (MD)

I had a walk along the sea wall as it was getting "light", but in reality there wasn't anything you could call daybreak, it just got slightly less grey. No sign of the Glossy Ibis, but if it did roost on the wooden jetty it could have already left, all the Cormorants were already feeding.

No Brent Geese were on Red Nab, despite the tide still surrounding it.

Wigeon 200

Shelduck 21

Shag 1 - the most mature looking bird was in the harbour.

Sub adult Shag

By this time the rain had started and I could only use my small pocket camera, but the Shag was close to the platforms and providing good views.

This is the Shag with a Cormorant for comparison 

Shag and Cormorant 

Grey Seal 1 at least feeding in No.2 outflow. It just occasionally popped its head up for a breath, but the large gulls had spotted it and were waiting along the rails for it to catch their breakfast. The seal doesn't show in this clip, but the gulls can clearly see its dark shape below the water and kept adjusting their position to be ready when the time came. I'd already been rained on enough for one day so left them to it.

Rock Pipit 6-7, two near the lighthouse, one along the sea wall and three, possibly four on the saltmarsh 

Reed Bunting 5 at the saltmarsh 

Just out of the recording area Middleton Parish Hall (MD).

On the way home I checked the horse paddock behind the Hall to see if the Ibis had returned. It had.

Ibis roosting in recording area, for now at least.

A fresh SE wind. Reasonably dry after a wet start, but with a few ill timed showers.

Imperial Rd (MD)

Buzzard 1

Kestrel 1 male

2 each, Carrion Crow, Magpie and Jay

Redwing 19

Goldfinch 12

Greenfinch 1

Teal 1

Common Snipe 1 

Water Rail 1 squealing 

South Shore (MD)

Glossy Ibis 1 - it had been seen a few times at the horse paddock at Middleton today, so I thought I would check if it was using the platform in the harbour for a roost again (this is where it was first seen on Christmas eve). So I went down late afternoon, it was almost dark and I was heading back along the sea wall when the gulls started alarm calling. 

16:30 - The Ibis was flying high above them to the west. Unfortunately it had just started to rain, not much but enough to pack my camera away. I doubt I would have got a decent shot anyway. It was heading towards the wooden jetty so I walked back but it was too dark to pick anything out. I checked the platforms in the harbour, but it wasn't there. Presumably it had landed somewhere on the jetty, but wether it will continue to do so during the up coming storms remains to be seen.

Pale-bellied Brent Geese 51 were seen briefly by Jean and Pete at Half Moon Bay, a little later, they flew into Red Nab. Very early in the tide for them here, but it turned out that they only came for a drink and a bath in the freshwater run off. It's funny how they travel as one then bicker and spit up in to small social/family groups 

Although some did split up, about 10 minutes after arriving 36 headed back to the north side.

Shelduck 10

Wigeon 250 

Some of the Wigeon coming in

Cormorant c70 - these are some resting on the shore.

Shag 1 probably 2 immature on the wooden jetty.

This is what the wooden jetty looked like when I arrived, quite dark, but you can make out the cormorants
 The smaller birds are Starlings, they were coming in all the time.
This is only 16:10. Another 20 minutes before the Ibis arrives!

This is just one of several lots of Starlings coming in, on calmer evenings they all murmurate together, but this evening the separate groups landed quite quickly.

Red-breasted Merganser 1 female feeding in the harbour mouth.

Grey seal 3 - 2 were feeding close in at No.2 outflow plus this one that had already caught a fish. This clip is the seaward end of No.2 outflow, but the seal had caught the fish closer to shore, I saw it making its way down the outflow (before the gulls spotted it)

Not a great deal today

Just a light (-0.5°C) overnight frost, but much of the frozen water remains frozen. A mainly dry day with sunny spells. A fresh west wind.

Heysham skear - low water 12:00 (MD)

The west wind might have brought in the warmer weather, but it still felt bitterly cold! We are back to neap tides and only the inner and middle skear exposed. Very little seen on the sea, just a few Cormorants and

Eider 6

There seemed to be more waders, but largely as the outer skear wasn't available to them today.

Oystercatcher 2000

Curlew 50 (although the north of the inner skear where they tend to congregate wasn't checked).

Redshank 100

Knot 400

Dunlin 20

Turnstone 50

Ringed Plover 24

Grey Plover 2

This shot shows just how well camouflaged Grey Plovers are in this terrain 

This shot showing the distinctive black "arm pit" of a Grey Plover is actually from yesterday 

Imperial Rd (MD)

Still,a number of waders feeding in the field to the east of the road:

Oystercatcher 2

Curlew 15

Lapwing 29

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

Just an evening check of the two main ponds.

Jackdaw 100+ milling around pre roost

The "no swimming" pond was completely frozen and bereft of wildfowl

There was quite a decent sized area of open water on the Main pond.

Mute Swan pair + 7 immature 

Mallard 25

Gadwall 2 male

Coot 5

Moorhen 2

This immature mute appeared to have been driven onto the ice.

It took it ages to make its way back to a secluded area of open water.

It seemed very pleased to be back in the water, but as soon as it was back the mute that I suspected of chasing it off in the first place made a bee line for it. Things didn't look good!

But it was just to say, "welcome back". I do like a happy ending!

Just out of the recording area, Glossy Ibis reported behind Middleton Parish Hall 13:45 but not seen when checked at 14:30 or 16:15. 

Ibis still around and plenty of mammals

It got down to -5.7°C overnight but shot up to 3.5°C by 14:00! Sunshine all day with a light breeze that ended up from the west, promising "warmer" weather to come.

North Shore (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 55 out from the play area. Similar numbers on Red Nab in the evening.

Heysham Head wooded area

There were lots of Thrushes feeding amongst the leaf litter, but as soon as I arrived three large manic dogs cleared the area. These are minimum numbers

Blackbird 9

Song Thrush 1

Redwing 6

Redwing catching the morning sun, but still with its feathers 
fluffed out to protect against the cold.

The Song Thrush was the only one to return to the ground, despite the noise of a chainsaw in the background.

These three Foxes were in the horse paddocks by Knowsly Rd. It appears to be a female with at least one male with amorous intentions. I'm not sure if being sprayed with urine is a good or a bad sign!

Imperial Rd (MD)

Buzzard

The field where the Ibis and Curlew had been feeding was white with frost and presumably frozen. It was being patrolled by a fox again, but it clearly had a problem with at least one of its legs and would be unlikely to post a threat to any healthy bird. Still, it marked out its territory and continued on its way.

Heysham Nature Reserve (MD)

Just a short afternoon check.

Jay 1

Roe Deer 1

Fox 1 - another with a bad leg, but this time a front leg. It is the time of year when foxes mate, so presumably their obvious presence today is all about attracting a mate or repelling unwanted competition or suitors. This male also marks out his territory.

South shore (MD)

Just the saltmarsh to Red Nab checked:

This is  a Peregrine Falcon chasing a gull at Ocean Edge entrance. Sometimes the young ones practice their skills by spooking the gulls, but this seemed more determined. Only managed to get the last couple of seconds as I had to unpack my camera, but it had been hounding the gull for at least 30 seconds (makes a change from fox videos).

Saltmarsh 

Jack Snipe 2 individuals accidentally flushed as I walked around the saltmarsh edge. I wouldn't normally expect them to be there, the tide was nowhere near and the saltmarsh itself wasn't frozen. Both birds relocated on the marsh.

Rock Pipit 2

Reed Bunting 7 probably 8

Dunnock 3

Robin 2 + 3 on foreshore 

Wren just 1 today. 

Grey Seal 1 male just out from the foreshore. There can't be more than 1m of depth here at this point.

Just out of the recording area

Middleton Parish Hall - Pete advised that the Glossy Ibis had been reported there for the first time since Monday. I was out and about so I checked it out (Malcolm). Sure enough it was in the field next to the horse paddock and looking well and healthy. It had a preen then a doze (albeit with one eye open), despite a  Cockerel constantly crowing. I suspect it thought it was a rival.

By this time (14:30) the sun had thawed the frost off the grass and presumably the ground was again soft enough for it to catch worms, it certainly didn't look to be starving.

Heysham Moss Nature Reserve

Janet checked late morning

Treecreeper 2 at least, feeding high in the trees where the sun had warmed them up a little.

Treecreeper 

Long-Tailed Tit

Wren

Grey Squirrel 

Roe Deer 7 at least (I can't recall a higher single location count than this (MD))

At first there was a group of three, then further on in the opposite direction to where they ran I spotted four more.

Four Roe rumps

Roe deer doe

Roebuck, you can see his velvet covered antlers forming

Doe and buck