A weary sort of day

It didn't freeze overnight but the temperature didn't get above 3°C all day. Overcast (gloomy) all day, but it remained dry. A very light NE breeze began to freshen slightly by evening.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 10:00 - 11:30

The light offshore breeze didn't install confidence, and I wasn't surprised when there was little to see, and what there was, was mainly distant.

Eider 1 male

Red-breasted Merganser 5

Great Crested Grebe 6

Knot, just one feeding group of 200

Other waders similar to recent 

There was a faintly unpleasant smell out on the skear. For some reason "burnt Christmas" came to mind. I couldn't place it at first, then I realised that the offshore breeze was wafting the scent of traffic and a thousand lunches being cooked, out over the skear. You don't really smell these things too much when ashore, but it wasn't the smells of the sea and shore that I am familiar (and happy) with out here.

South shore - Malcolm 13:00 - 13:45

I couldn't see any Brent geese on the north side earlier, so I went to watch Red Nab as the tide reached it.

Pale-Bellied Brent geese 35 - originally 23 arrived, then later at least 2 more smaller groups arrived. When they moved further south it was in flocks of 26 and 9.

The first wave of Brent geese arriving at Red Nab

Brent Geese, Wigeon and Oystercatcher 

This is another batch of Brent arriving later

Shelduck and Wigeon

Wigeon eating the gutweed attached to the rocks. This is also what the 
Brent geese feed on here

One of three Little Egret

Cormorants, the one on the right still in juvenile plumage

Shelduck 3

Wigeon 120

Kingfisher 1 flitting across the outer reaches of Red Nab

At the saltmarsh:

Rock Pipit 1

Reed Bunting 4

Linnet 17

Linnet

Stonechats back on territory

The rain ended in the early hours. It remained above freezing but felt cold in the fresh NW wind.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 08:30 - 10:00

Not a lot again.

Eider 2

Red-breasted Merganser 2 

Male Red-breasted Merganser

Great Crested grebe 1

There was no disturbance by Peregrines while I was out, but the waders were a bit thin on the ground.

Just one Grey Plover

At least 15 Ringed Plover

Redshank 70

Turnstone 40

Oystercatcher 1500

Curlew 30

Knot 200+ two flagged birds seen but both seen previously 

They settled on the mud in the SE skear corner briefly. They were feeding 
on small bivalves here late last spring, a few had a probe, but it seems that 
this feeding opportunity is not yet available.

Howard checked the high water roosts for Knot:

No knot on heliport, a handful on sunnyslope, no flags seen, only a few hundred birds on Teal Bay no flags seen.

Imperial Rd

I checked at 10:30 and couldn't see anything (Malcolm).

Janet checked this afternoon and both the male and female Stonechats were near the blocked entrance.

Female Stonechat 

Male Stonechat 

Janet had some mealworms in her car and decided to treat them to a few.

They just weren't bothered about me, more him than her, I think he'd got
 fed up of waiting for her to take some worms!! so got in there first.

Not sure if she was impressed or not...

Roe Deer 2

South shore saltmarsh - Malcolm and Tom Walkington 13:00 - 13:30

Wigeon 160

Jack Snipe 3

Reed Bunting 4

Meadow Pipit 1

Rock Pipit 2

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit

This Siskin turned up on Kevin Eaves garden feeder this morning 

Not a good night to be a small passerine

It fell below -5°C again early in the night, a light shower just before daylight left a thin film of ice encasing everything. Overcast all day as the temperature crept up to 6°C. Heavy showers began 15:00.

A fresh south wind picked up in the afternoon 

Heysham skear - Malcolm 08:45 - 09:45

No chance of seeing Snowdonia today, I could barely see conger rock!

Cormorants on and beyond conger rock

No Brent geese, Mergansers or Grebes seen, and just 2 male Eider

Male Eider

Once again, at least one Peregrine was presiding over a largely wader free skear 

A ball of c500 Knot were seen heading south as I set off.
Other than that the total was these two birds.

Redshank

Common gull

Imperial Rd - Malcolm

I checked twice today, I was worried that the film of ice covering everything this morning would prevent the Stonechats etc. from finding anything to eat. Sure enough the check this morning failed to find any passerines. The only birds seen were 35 Lapwings in the field to the east of the road.

I returned just after lunch, by this time it was 5°C and some of the ice was thawing, but I didn't fare much better with the Passerines, just 1 Dunnock.

Absent (or at least not seen) from their regular territories: Robin, Wrens and Stonechats, plus no sign of the generally more elusive Cetti's warbler.

There were clearly a lot more Lapwing on the fields to the east. A Peregrine Falcon lifted them all, at least 130.

The larger of the two flocks of Lapwing lifted by a Peregrine.
The Peregrine later flew west with empty talons

Grey Heron 1

Little Egret 1

Raven 2

Raven

The resident Carrion Crows weren't happy!

But this Raven was only intent in display flying 

Roe Deer with her now well grown male and female youngsters
The male at the back, the females have rump tufts.

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall - Malcolm 15:00

By this time the ground was thawing and the rain just beginning.

Redwing 2

Mistle Thrush 1

The Thrushes and Black-Headed gulls were managing to break up the already well disturbed ground.

........seen, but not heard

As forecast it froze hard (-5.5°C) on last night's light snowfall. Another sunny day with variable light breezes, the temperature never reaching 4°C.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 08:45 - 10:00

I went down to watch the tide cover the skear.

Pale-bellied Brent geese 38 flew to the play area rocks.

Pale-bellied Brent geese with Heysham Village in the background 

Eider 6

Red-breasted Merganser 10

Curlew 55 resting before heading east

Knot there was just one small group of 6. And this is the reason why...

Peregrine Falcon, it had already cleared most of the small waders from what
remained of the skear 

You may have noticed in the above clip, that despite last night's snow here,
the Lakeland hills remain snow free.

Also, just discernible, at the end of the clip you can see the incoming tide lifting thin plates of ice from the mud. I love watching these high spring tides come in when there are no waves, all the water movement is just down to the tide. Note how quickly the mud island that begins to the right disappears. You can also see the ice lifted off the mud being tumbled by the tide.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Coot still finding plenty of pond weed

Heron shouting at something (contrary to todays title!)

Mute Swans on the main pond.......

And Billy No-Mates cygnet on the completely frozen "no swimming" pond

Teal showing just how tiny they are compared to a Mallard

Great Tit, the bright sun forming a band across its tail

Female Chaffinch 

South shore - Alan Physick

Shag on the wooden jetty at high tide

Imperial Rd - Malcolm 13:45

It is this visit that today's title refers too

Water Rail, none heard but one seen briefly as it hopped over a fence.

Water Rail

Cetti's warbler, again none heard, but one glimpsed 

Cetti's warbler

Both a single Jay and a Raven flew north without calling.

Raven

Common Snipe 1 lifted (noisily!)

Lapwing 16 in the field to the east of the road

Heron 1

Little Egret 1

Stonechat female and male

Female Stonechat 

They are both on the largest boulder in this location shot. The horizontal 
line across the middle of the shot is the kerb on the eastern side of the road

South side - Kevin Eaves

Today was one of the few days we get each year when Snowdonia is visible from the end of the south sea wall