Great White Egret pays a visit

Cloudy all day, the rain starting in earnest after lunch. A light variable north breeze.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Alan Wilson spotted this Great White Egret on the main pond yesterday. They have been seen passing over the reserve many times in recent years, but this is the first record of one feeding here.

Great White Egret yesterday 

Migrant Hawker also by Alan

This morning's ringing report by Alan (Draper)

I only set two nets this morning in view of the forecast early rain - the rain didn't happen until around 11.30. However, six more Grey Wagtails were colour ringed making the total 26 so far this Autumn. A flock of 12 Meadow Pipits passed through but no hirundine movement was evident (one Swallow did pass through, but northwards).  Swallows were on the move elsewhere so Middleton was clearly not on a flightline.  A large flock of at least 60 Goldfinch were again roaming the reserve.  Late in the morning the whole flock dropped into bushes adjacent to one of the nets and I approached expecting a netful but only three were caught.

Robin  3

Grey Wagtail  6 (For details of the Grey Wagtail colour ringing scheme see sidebar)

Blackcap  7

Chiffchaff  2

Goldfinch  3

Sedge Warbler, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler & Chaffinch   1 of each.

I had a quick look at the two main ponds later in the morning (Malcolm)

Cetti's warbler 1 singing

Mute Swan pair plus a cygnet on the main pond. Lone adult on the "no swimming" pond. It (presumably she) was stood on the nest where the paired female hatched three cygnets earlier this year. There are at least three eggs on the nest. Not really sure what's going on, perhaps they were three eggs that didn't hatch, although I'm sure the nest was empty when the paired female left it. I'll watch this space!

Mute Swan stood on nest with at least three eggs.

Tufted Duck 13 (11 male). Two males were on the "no swimming" pond the rest were on the main pond. This is the largest group feeding

But when the female left all the males followed.

Mallard 10

Coot 17

Moorhen 3

Little Grebe 2

Tufted Duck, winter plumage Little Grebe and Coot

At 14:00, after the rain had started, Janet saw 30+ hirundines feeding high above the main pond. Unfortunately she had no optics with her and they were too high to identify.

Red Nab to saltmarsh mid morning (Malcolm)

Shelduck 8

Robin 3

Wheatear 8

Pied Wagtail 10

Linnet 2

Meadow Pipit 2

Male Wheatear

A particularly rufous female/immature Wheatear

Meadow Pipit

Two Meadow Pipit and two Wheatears

There was still the odd butterfly coming down the sea wall, this Red Admiral 
choosing to rest on one of the bollards at the beginning of the wall

There hasn't been many Small Tortoiseshell so far this year

Janet took these shots in the Nature Park yesterday 

Showing the abundance of Peacocks

Peacock and a Red Admiral 

Warblers and wagtails moving through

Bright and sunny till lunchtime, then the clouds gathered as if to rain. And it stayed like that for the rest of the day. A light NE breeze.

South shore

These shots from Janet's morning walk.

Two of three Wheatear on foreshore to Red Nab

In the Nature Park

Excellent in flight shots of a Blue Tit

Female Chaffinch 

Male Chaffinch

Chiffchaff 

I checked late morning hoping to see more insects coming in/off (Malcolm). Unfortunately my walk coincided with the only time in the day when the breeze shifted to NW briefly.

There was one Chiffchaff singing and at least two calling from the Nature Park.

A female Blackcap and a Willow Warbler were by the newt pond, unfortunately spooked by a passing walker before I could get a decent shot.

This Common Whitethroat was in the Elder bush near the waterfall 

No Mediterranean gulls seen 

It's strange seeing the beach by the wooden jetty deserted

Rock Pipit 2 near the wooden jetty, one was a first calendar year bird, possibly what Janet's bird yesterday was taking food to.

First calendar year Rock Pipit

Grey Heron, resting by No.1 outfall 

There were lots of Starlings about

A Peregrine Falcon tried catching a Starling from a group at the end of the wooden jetty. It was surprisingly clumsy at close quarters, presumably a youngster. It ended up flying off and the group remained intact and insitu.

There were some insect coming in/off.

Small White 3

Large White 1

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Red Admiral 2

Common Darter 1

Unlike yesterday's darters today's was a female

Middleton Nature Reserve

Ringing report by John:

A better morning with nine Grey Wagtails caught and colour ringed.

No obvious overhead movement observed during the session.

The full catch comprised of:

Grey Wagtail          x 9

Chiffchaff              x 8

Blackcap               x 5

Goldfinch              x 4

Singles of:

Reed Bunting

Cetti's Warbler

Reed Warbler

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Report and pictures from Peter and Rosemary Silvester

Cetti's Warbler 1 singing

Male Broad-bodied Chaser

Detail of a Cranefly you seldom get to see

Brimstone 

5 Meds but not easy, plus insect movement

A hot sunny day with a pleasant NE wind.

First a couple of nice shots from Kevin Singleton yesterday.

Dunlin on Red Nab

Lapwing near Half-Moon Bay Cafe

South shore

Pete managed 5 Mediterranean gulls on a lunchtime visit - 2cy red nab, 2x 1cy behind ferry along with 2cy and ad - soon flew out again 

East in the wind and hot and sunny can mean good insect passage in off the sea, but it is best when they are concentrated when the tide is out. Unfortunately low water today was 08:30. Too early for any insect to have traveled far. Still there was some movement mid morning. (Malcolm).

Red Admiral 1

Large White 1

Small White 6

White sp 3

Not my best ever insect shot, but this is what you see.
There is a white butterfly coming in/off just above the skyline on the left.

Common Darter 4 (all males)

Male Common Darter resting on the sea wall

Migrant Hawker 2

Kevin Eaves checked just after lunch.

Red Admiral 8 in/off

Migrant Hawker 1 along the sea wall and this one in the Nature Park

Migrant Hawker

I went back this evening as the ebbing tide was again leaving the sea wall (Malcolm). But the bulk of the insect passage was high up. The gulls, including large gulls were all feeding high.

Gulls feeding high above the sea wall. Kevin advises that they were also 
feeding high over is house, including a fine adult Mediterranean gull.

Still there was some movement on the wall.

Red Admiral 2

Silver Y 1 seen coming in/off

Darter sp 1

Common Bluetail 1 

Common Bluetail on the sea wall

There were several Common Field Grasshoppers along the sea wall, they can fly, but presumably this is only local movement.

Common Field Grasshopper 

Plenty of butterflies in the Nature Park

These shots by Janet

Red Admiral 3

Red Admiral 

Peacock 4

Large White 3

Small White 2

Small White

Janet also saw several Brimstone on Heysham Nature Reserve.

There were some birds as well

Shelduck 33 this morning and arriving all the time. 24 out from the foreshore were joined by 4, 2 and 3 as I walked past.

No gulls were on the beach by the wooden jetty, but a couple of Bar-Tailed Godwit had a go at the sandmason worms.

Bar-Tailed Godwit

This Lesser Black-Backed and a Herring gull were on the shore together,
then drifted into the bay on the rising tide together.

Meadow Pipit 3 in/off this morning.

Rock Pipit 2 on Red Nab this morning - Janet saw this one on Red Nab this afternoon. 

It flew off along the sea wall with this grub. presumably feeding a
young one somewhere 

Another of Janet's shots - a Little Egret doing the old walking on water routine.

Kingfisher 1 at least - Janet saw one fly across the dipping pond at Heysham Nature Reserve. I saw one zip across Red Nab this morning. I couldn't find it when I walked out this evening, but this is where it was on the return.

This freshwater runoff through the culvert along Red Nab is the runoff
from the dipping pond at Heysham Nature Reserve, although there is no
way a Kingfisher could follow it underground.

Female Kingfisher 

This fresh looking Green Carpet was flitting around the Nature Park this evening

Chiffchaff 1 singing (first heard singing for a while).

Lesser Whitethroat 1 seen