Uneasy truce

Showers, some heavy, started in the early hours and continued throughout the day. A strong and freshening SE wind

A few shots from yesterday - Janet

Shelduck out from the foreshore 

The light on the mud ripples makes for a mesmerising scene 

Redshank

Carrion Crow

Male Chaffinch 

South shore today - Kevin Eaves

Common Gull

Middleton Nature Reserve  -  Malcolm 09:30

Much of the ice had thawed 

Mute Swans - The adult female was bonding with the newly arrived male. Another adult was resting some distance away on the ice. All six cygnets were back, but the adult male would not allow one of them to leave the peninsula.

This is the estranged adult 

Four of the cygnets, including the one constrained to the peninsula 
by the adult male

A bit of bonding. The male is on the right, his bill quite a pale orange 
suggesting that he is still a young bird

Gadwall 8, Mallard 30+, no Tufted Duck or Teal seen

Herring gull

Imperial Rd  - Malcolm  09:45

Buzzard 2 flying together around the southern end of the road.

Grey Heron 2

Little Egret 1 - it was in the horse paddock to the west, and thought it spotted a feeding opportunity when this pony was having a roll in the grass. No luck this time though.

Whenever I attempt to get close to wildlife I remember scenes like this. The Egret's only fear of the pony is being squashed! If that had been a person it would have flown away, unfortunately most wildlife has had enough experience with humans to regard us a threat. But if you can make yourself as innocuous as possible (no talking, no sudden movements, avoid eye contact and pause regularly) they can be surprisingly tolerant. So I regularly picture myself as a horse or a cow walking amongst the wildlife around me.

Common Snipe 2

Stonechat only the female seen, but the visit was cut short by a shower

A windswept female Stonechat 

Knowlys Rd - Malcolm 10:10

Just a quick check saw no Brent geese out from the play area and no flocks of Knot on or around the skear.

Trouble a brewing.......

Another freezing night, and it didn't get above 4°C during the day, despite being sunny and just a very light SE breeze.

Imperial Rd Malcolm 09:30

Grey Heron 2

Heron flying over the marshy section 

Stonechats 2 - both the male and female were feeding in the marshy area above. This is the male, a  Goose calls during this clip, but I couldn't find it.

Water Rail 1 squealing

Wrens at least 2

Middleton Nature Reserve 

I checked late morning (Malcolm)

Green Woodpecker 1 yaffling in the central marsh before flying west

Magpies - "9 for a kiss". I looked around, but thankfully I was alone!

Bullfinch 8 minimum

Male Bullfinch 

Female Bullfinch

Water Rail 1 squealing from the central marsh

Teal 4 on a small ice free area of the fence pond

Gadwall 9 on the main pond

Mallard and Coot also present, with the female Mute Swan and all six cygnets.

Everything looked serene, but there were two other adult Mute on the ice

This one clearly a large male

When Janet checked this afternoon "it was all kicking off!"

Two new males were fighting then one began chasing off the cygnets.

This adult got chased off flew around and came back again!!

Later the female and one of the new males were seen bonding

South shore - Janet

Common Snipe coming in to land on the saltmarsh 

Coal Tit

A temporary(?) thaw

The temperature didn't drop below 4°C overnight or exceed 5°C during the day, but a cold night expected tonight. Dry, but overcast with a light north wind.

Imperial Rd

I checked at 10:00 Malcolm. The frozen ground was just beginning to thaw. As soon as I arrived the female Stonechat came over to greet me.

She all but sat on my shoulder!

They have followed me in the past taking advantage of any invertebrates that I disturbed. But I suspect after Janet's treat of mealworms on Tuesday she was expecting more. 

There had been no sign of the male, but within a minute of me turning over this plank...

........he turned up to investigate 

Water Rail 1 squealing

Long-Tailed Tits 11

In this clip they are foraging as they typically do in the bushes.

But they soon learned that there were better feeding opportunities in the undergrowth. I suspect that they are finding dead invertebrates freed by the thawing ice. A much needed bonus for insects feeders, but it can only be a case of diminishing returns for future freezes.

Janet checked mid afternoon, again the Stonechats came to greet her, but quickly returned to feeding over the marsh.

Male Stonechat

Female Stonechat 

Roe Deer

Fox with a bad back leg

These Long-Tailed Tits were at Middleton Nature Reserve a little later

South shore

I checked from saltmarsh to Red Nab - Malcolm 12:30 - 13:00

The freezing conditions have discoloured large swathes of the saltmarsh 

At the saltmarsh:

Song Thrush 1

Blackbird 2

Linnet 8

Red Nab:

Little Egret 2

Grey Heron 1

Shelduck 4

Wigeon 250

It was too early in the tide for the Brent Geese, the Wigeon were just arriving, you can hear the males whistling.

Peregrine Falcon 4 - around the Power Stations, including the adult with the dislocated talon, 2 ended up leaving to the south - reported on Facebook by Matthew Thomas (thanks)

Distant red-throated diver off Heysham harbour on incoming tide and juvenile Shag off Heysham Head - Pete

Just out of the recording area, Heaton - Malcolm

This location shot shows a family of Whoopers (left) and Mute Swans (right)

The red arrow points to the gate in the shot above. The yellow is the Bay Gatteway
This is the roundabout after the one to Imperial Rd. Heaton Marsh is to the right of
the picture with the river Lune in the top right corner. You can actually see the swans
from the bypass, that's where I noticed them. But safer to view from here.

Two adult and four Whooper Swan cygnets 
Greylag geese behind

A fifth cygnet was taking a rest

One of the adults, turned out to be the male, was colour ringed. This was his
first sighting since being ringed in Iceland in 2023. Possibly as it could easily
be misread as 260

But it is 26D

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