A good variety

An overnight frost followed by a largely sunny day. A light variable breeze.

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Mallard drake

Gadwall pair

Grey Heron 

Goldfinch 

Wren

Barn Owl 1 patrolling near the (euphemistically named) "glass bank" along the road near Tim Butler pond. Not seen by Janet, but reported to her by a walker.

South shore (Janet)

Jack Snipe 1 lifted from the saltmarsh, but landed again along its edge.

Jack Snipe

Pale-bellied Brent goose 27

Pale-bellied Brent geese

Curlew on the saltmarsh 

Wigeon on the saltmarsh 

Some of the regular Oystercatcher that feed on Ocean Edge grass

On Red Nab

Cormorants 

Redshank

Turnstone

Rock Pipit, first record for a while

North shore (Malcolm)

Two checks, the first in the morning as the skear was being covered by the tide.

Pink-Footed goose 43 south

Pale-bellied Brent goose 22 south (these would have formed part of the 27 seen later by Janet)

Little Egret 1 - first for a while here

The waders were spooking each other as the quickly incoming spring
tide pushed them up the shore

Oystercatcher 2,000

Knot 1,300 

Redshank 150

Turnstone 60

Curlew 80

Curlew and Oystercatcher, this shot taken from the promenade 

Several of this morning's Knot were flagged, but it was very difficult getting close enough to read them without spooking the already flighty waders. Still at least one new bird for this winter was read. A second look in the quickly fading evening light, as the skear became exposed again, saw 400 Knot and again including at least one new one for this winter.

Also this evening

Eider 140

Waders, Eider and gulls

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Just out of the recording area (Malcolm) - Sunny slopes near the groyne (the northern limit for terrestrial birds is as seen from Knowlys Rd, this would be just out of sight).

Stonechat 1 female type 09:45 - feeding just above the small wall that separates the promenade from the sunny slopes.

A bit of winter colour

A fine sunny day with a light west breeze.

South shore (Malcolm)

I checked the waterline to the south of Ocean Edge this morning on the rising tide. There were almost no waders and a scan further south couldn't see any either.

Grey Plover 1 briefly on waterline, then south

Knot 65 south in three small flocks

Dunlin 1 south

Curlew 13 south in ones and twos

Curlew

Oystercatcher 15 feeding along the waterline plus several small groups north to Red Nab.

Pink-Footed goose 55 in a very high flock flying south.

Closer to the saltmarsh 

Lapwing 17

Redshank 23

Linnet 18 feeding on Samphire seeds.

Reed Bunting 1

Reed Bunting 

Dunnock also on the saltmarsh fringe

Red Nab

Pale-bellied Brent goose 27 before flying off to the south.

Some of the Brent geese getting ready to leave

Shelduck 10

Shelduck

Wigeon 165

Curlew and Oystercatcher 

The light for most of January made the world look monochrome. Today the bright sun made the colourful birds even more striking.

Female Kingfisher on her favoured rock by the freshwater culvert on Red Nab
Unfortunately, her short legs making it impossible to tell if this is the one ringed
earlier this winter on Middleton Nature Reserve

In the Nature Park 

Female Bullfinch.

Male Chaffinch

Goldfinch 

Jean managed a few checks today:

Some sightings from Middleton NR this afternoon:

Main pond

Mute Swan - the usual pair plus the immature

Gadwall 15 pairs 

Mallard 5 pairs plus a spare drake

Tufted Duck 1 male

Coot 1

Moorhen 2

Black-headed Gull 77

Herring Gull 3

Long-tailed Tit 3 on the feeder

The Mute Swans did a good job of seeing off some off-lead dogs that had raced
to the pond after being released from a car. The dogs came to a screeching halt
as they got to the three swans with their wings fluffed out and did an abrupt
about turn back to their owner!

Ringing area

Gadwall 1 pair on the fence pond

Mallard 1 male on the fence pond

Teal 5 (M&F on the fence pond, 3 in the dyke)

Snipe 3 in the central marsh

Moorhen 1 on the west

No Cetti's heard

Blackbird 2

Greenfinch 1

Magpie 1

Robin 1

Wren 1

Heysham NR

A Mistle Thrush was singing in the sunshine (I thought they heralded rain but not this one).

Some garden news

There were 16 Wood Pigeon in the conifers behind Janet's house on Meldon Rd
She doesn't normally see Wood Pigeons here, she has been away for
2 weeks, they may have arrived anytime in that period.

This is my garden (Malcolm). I've known for some while that there was
fox activity in my garden after dark. But this is 11:45!

A bit more going on

Early showers then a mainly dry day with some sunny spells. A north wind shifted to the west in the afternoon.

Red Nab (Malcolm)

Just a quick look at high water.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 18

Shelduck 2

Wigeon 150

Waders included: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank and Turnstone.

One each, Brent goose, Shelduck and Oystercatcher, plus two Wigeon

Wigeon and Oystercatcher 

Cormorant and Oystercatcher 

Heysham skear (Malcolm)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 11 (almost certainly some of this morning's birds)

Brent geese flying north along the western edge of the skear
in the fading evening light

Eider 125

Red-breasted Merganser 1 male

Great Crested Grebe 3

Great Crested Grebes

Oystercatcher 2,000

The Oystercatcher with the leucitic head was around today.
It's probably always around, but I don't always see it.

Curlew 25

Bar-Tailed Godwit 5

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Redshank 200

Dunlin 35

Turnstone 25

Ringed Plover 8

Knot 1,250 - there were a few small feeding groups inshore and more around the skear edges. I estimated 350 total then flocks of 400 and 500 appeared and settled along the western edge of the skear.

A fresh west wind like this evening's muddies the shallow margins, allowing small shrimps to feed close in, and in turn many of the Knot were feeding on the shrimps.

Although the shrimps are still small, they are getting larger. This Knot has one.

The bulk of the Knot were along the western edge and the light was fading quickly, a few coded birds were seen, but probably no new ones for this winter.

An interesting Eider ring recovery

A cold fresh SE wind. Showers in the morning, less frequent in the afternoon with the odd sunny (short) spell.

North shore this afternoon on the ebbing tide (Malcolm)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 3 

Three Brent geese flying to the north

20 minutes later, presumably the same 3 flew back

Eider 37 including several 2nd calendar year males.

Four of the Eider coming in

Adult and 2nd calendar year Eider - only obvious for the males

A metal detectorist (Matthew Smith) located an unburied metal ring high up the shore at Heysham yesterday. This has been identified as belonging to a male Eider. Already at least 2 years old when it was ringed at Foulney Island, Cumbria, 20-Jul-2019. 

It was ringed by Ian Hartley and it was Ian who provided this detail - Many thanks to both Ian and Matthew.

Red-breasted Merganser 7

Oystercatcher 2,500 (A higher estimate today, but probably no more birds than usual and there were probably more. I only estimate what I can see at any one time, today more were concentrated in the small area of shore exposed).

Curlew 30

Redshank 100

Knot 100

Turnstone 25

Ringed Plover 8

Oystercatcher, Knot and a Ringed Plover

The Knot were mainly hunkered down, but two were seen to be flagged, both have been seen previously on the skear this winter.

Part of a UK scheme. Ringed on Ainsdale beach Merseyside 08/05/24