First Gannets

A dry day with sunny spells. A fresh SW wind continued to freshen throughout the afternoon and evening and shifted more to SSW.

Pete checked the sea on the incoming tide this morning.

Gannet 3 adults, then nothing else in the hour towards high water - conditions should be better tomorrow.

Heysham skear - low water 16:40 (Malcolm)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 23

Eider 14

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Wigeon 16 north

Wigeon gaining height as they head north

Oystercatcher 1,500

Curlew 6

Redshank 400

Bar-Tailed Godwit 97 minimum

Some of the Godwits landing on the skear after arriving from the south

Bar-Tailed Godwits with Knot

Knot 1,000. Mercifully, there were no Peregrine attacks this afternoon, presumably the Peregrines had already fed. Many of the Knot were also more interested in preening than feeding, when they settle like this amongst the rocks, checking for flags is impossible. This clip includes Oystercatchers, Bar-Tailed Godwit and Knot preening, with a few Redshanks walking around.

They didn't preen all the time though and nine flagged birds were read. Six are new for Heysham this winter. Clearly, some movement involved.

Turnstone 250

Some of the Turnstone 

Raptors clear the skear!

A dry day with afternoon sunshine. A SW wind

Saltmarsh to Red Nab (Janet)

Carrion crowing!

Lesser Black-backed gull, it had clearly been digging in the grass

Meadow Pipit

Little Egret

Shelduck

Some of the 25+ Pale-bellied Brent geese leaving Red Nab

Heysham skear - low water 15:50 (Malcolm)

I went down just after lunch as the skear was becoming exposed. I was hoping to be spending a couple of hours checking any Knot for flags. Unfortunately within 30 minutes the skear was almost devoid of waders!

Knot 1,500 were resting amongst the inner skear rocks when everything went up for as far as I could see. Not just waders but gulls and geese too. This is the sort of reception normally reserved for the likes of an Osprey, but I couldn't see what spooked them. About 800 Knot returned but then the Peregrine attacks began. Three in 10 minutes resulting in just 400 Knot remaining. I was lucky enough to be able to check these for flags, but unlucky enough not to find any! A fourth Peregrine attack saw those leave too. No Knot remained on the skear.

Oystercatcher 1,000 to begin with but the Peregrine continued to attack them, and most left the skear.

Redshank 400 did remain feeding around the skear edges.

Turnstone 250 these too remained around the edges.

The Turnstone had forgone their stone turning for a bit of shrimping,
or at least foraging for invertebrates in the receding shallows

This clip is the Turnstone  feeding, and ends with the birds taking flight as a Peregrine attacked the Oystercatchers.

Peregrine Falcon - just right of centre

Curlew 8

Bar-Tailed Godwit 15 until they too left with a group of spooked Oystercatchers.

Some of the godwits moulting to summer plumage

Bar-Tailed Godwit and Oystercatchers 

And that was it! The normally vibrant Skear was deserted. Nothing along the north
edge or in the middle. Just some valiant Turnstone and Redshank remained on the 
Southern edge. I don't know how many Peregrines were involved, possibly no more 
than two, but suspect that at least one was testing itself against the Oystercatchers.

Eider 14

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Pale-bellied Brent goose 62 arrived from the west 

Incoming Brent geese

They too got caught up in the Peregrine induced panic

But they returned to feed and remained around the north side of the skear

I returned this evening on the flood tide. By this time there were just 3 Pale-bellied Brent geese, a pair plus this individual.

Pale-bellied Brent goose

But there was also a Dark-bellied Brent goose

Dark-bellied Brent goose

It flew off to the north

As I was leaving this evening another 55 Pale-bellied brent flew in from the north.

Also this evening 

Shelduck 2 south

Little Egret 6 feeding

It was a beautiful evening, but the approaching weather front doesn't bode
well for tomorrow 

The west wind continues to attract the Knot

A dry largely sunny day with a fresher west wind.

These shots by Janet yesterday from the south wall roundhead. There was no sign of the Rock Pipit.

Herring gull with a mussel

Turnstone checking out the crevices in a Honeycomb worm clump

and in the Nature Park

Chiffchaff 

Peacock

Middleton Nature Reserve (today) Janet

This Coot had had enough of being chased!

Robin with a damaged leg near the feeders

Pellet - looks to be an Owl's

Heysham skear - low water 14:50 (Malcolm)

I went down late morning as the skear was being uncovered and a pleasant evening stoll as it was being covered again.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 54. Initially this morning there were just 2, then joined by a further 16 then this flock of 36 arrived from the north.

Pale-bellied Brent goose eating gutweed

This evening, again there were initially only two, but as I was leaving 30+ arrived from the north.

Eider 28

Eider

Oystercatcher 1,500

Curlew 12

Redshank 400

Knot 1,000 were arriving as I started this morning. Two feeding groups totalling 400 this evening seemed to be different birds as the few flags seen were not seen this morning.

Most of the Knot were shrimping 

As the tide moved them off the skear this evening, many headed for a drain fed by freshwater runoff for a spruce up.

I didn't see any Peregrine disturbance today, but as the Knot numbers grow, they are bound to be attracted.

Turnstone 45

The wind finally turns!

After two weeks of mainly east winds, today there was a gentle west wind. Dry with plenty of sunshine.

Heysham skear - low water 13:30 (Malcolm)

I did a quick check early in the ebbing tide, just in time to see 49 Pale-bellied Brent geese arrive from the north.

Some of the Brent coming in to land.

The recent warm weather has resulted in the gutweed growing quite lush
again in a few places, including on the larger rocks.

The geese quickly split into small groups, mainly pairs, and each found their own patch to feed on. Many choosing the larger rocks.

I didn't have much time this morning so I left and returned at low water.

These are the rocks that the Brent were feeding on/above earlier.
You can see that each is an oasis of green in an a desert of barren stones.

At least 45 of the Brent were still around the north side of the skear, but now more interested in preening rather than feeding.

Eider 14

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Oystercatcher 1,000

Curlew 8

Redshank 450

Knot 350 (just one previously seen flagged)

Turnstone 45

All the waders, with the exception of Turnstone were after shrimps.

This shot shows that even today's very light west breeze can colour the
water in the shallows. Note the line beyond the feeding waders where the
Water colour changes from blue to brownish. The small shrimps need this
to bring them within range of the waders. The shrimps feed on the detritus 
mixed in the muddied water, plus the colour provides some cover for them.

Curlew, Knot and Redshank, the smaller waders at least, shirmping.

Middleton Nature Reserve (Malcolm)

I checked the fence pond today as well as the two main ponds. The only addition to yesterday's wildfowl was an additional pair of teal. Two Moorhen and a Little grebe.

The only warblers heard were Chiffchaff 3, Cetti's 2.

This Long-Tailed Tit has a bill full of feathers to feather its nest.

Invertebrate day

Overnight rain finally cleared by mid morning, but it remained overcast for most of the day. A light NE breeze.

South shore

I had a walk from the saltmarsh to Red Nab before the rain had completely cleared (Malcolm). There wasn't much to see!

Shelduck 6

Wheatear 1 male

No sign of any Rock Pipits

Chiffchaff 2 singing in the Nature Park

Kevin and Alison checked this afternoon.

Now four Wheatears along foreshore. 3 males and a female.

Male Wheatear

Lots of beetles resting along the sea wall.

Aphodius fimetarius

Seven-spot Lady Bird

Rove Beetle - Philonthus sp.

Aphodius sp. 

Oulema sp - cereal leaf beetle

And not just beetles

Chrisylis - looks like it could be either small/green veined white

Dotted Border moth. Not rare, but nice to see. 

Middleton Nature Reserve (Malcolm)

Just a passing check of the two main ponds.

Mute Swan pair

Mallard 4

Gadwall 12

Teal pair

Herring gulls taking a bath plus Teal pair

Coot 10

Cetti's warbler 1 singing

Chiffchaff 2 singing

Heysham skear - low water 11:40 (Malcolm)

I had a look on the rising tide after lunch.

Pale-bellied Brent Geese 4 (2 + 2)

Pale-bellied Brent Geese

Eider 10

Red-breasted Merganser 4

Oystercatcher 1,500

Curlew 10

Curlew

Redshank 200

Knot 8

Turnstone 30

Dunlin 8

Ringed Plover 6

A Dunlin with two Ringed Plover

It's "green jelly blob" time of year again. The difference this year is that they are high definition jelly blobs. These blobs are typically 15mm diameter, and are the egg sacs of ragworms.

Unfortunately, high definition jelly, just looks like jelly.
Although if you look closely you can make out some black specks

In the next three shots, the jelly blobs are in shallow pools

The light offshore winds so far this spring has been good for the ragworms
that produce these egg sacs. Many of the sacs are still secured where the worm
left them. Most of the ones that break free end up in the strand line. Although,
presumably a few will drift to other suitable locations. 

This sac has ruptured, if you open this shot and zoom in you can see the tiny
eggs with dark embryos. They look like microscopic frog spawn. Presumably
the eggs will now be prone to predation, but surely some will mature.