Flat calm and freezing

Yesterday's hail and sleet showers left icy roads and paths all day today, as temperatures never rose above freezing. Dry with hazy sun, almost no air movement.

Heysham skear - low water 12:10 (Malcolm)

No Brent geese seen by me today, but Pete saw 5 Pale-bellied Brent up at battery outfall

Eider 30, most flying north as the tide was leaving the skear.

Some of the Eider heading north

Feeding Eider with an escort of gulls

Red-Breasted Merganser 5

Red-breasted Mergansers

Great Crested Grebe 3

Oystercatcher 1,500

Curlew 10

Redshank 100

Knot 600

Knot, including a yellow flagged bird from an Icelandic scheme.

Turnstone 25

Dunlin 30+ some feeding with the Redshank for shrimps, others foraging with the Knot.

Dunlin

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

The main pond had extensive ice cover. Remaining ducks included Mallard, Gadwall and 8 Teal.

Three Teal and two Gadwall

Mallard

None of the Black-Headed gulls were ringed

Blue Tit

Robin
Neither of the above two birds require naming for any European readers.
But we do have other continental readers.

Heysham Nature Reserve (Janet)

Very little seen except a Jay.

Jay

Kevin checked the south sea wall. No sign of the Kittiwake, but this Grey Plover was resting near the wooden jetty.

Grey Plover

It was either bright or black today!

Overnight freezing rain made roads and footpaths treacherous. Showers throughout the day mainly sleet and hail, but some sunny spells in between. A NW light wind.

First a few shots from Janet yesterday.

First Snowdrops on the Barrows (Heysham Head)

Grey Squirrel also on the Barrows

Curlew on the Heliport 

Heysham skear - low water 11:00 (Malcolm)

Pale-bellied Brent goose. Just 5 seen 

At this point the skies were black and the picture looks to be in black and white too.
But this is in glorious technicolour!

Eider 23

Red-breasted Merganser 4

Great Crested grebe 1

Oystercatcher 1,500

Curlew 10

Redshank much reduced at 100

Knot 700 

Some of the Knot returning to the skear to rest after losing one of their number
to a Peregrine Falcon. Carrion Crow also in the air

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Bar-Tailed Godwit, Knot and Oystercatcher 

Dunlin just 1 seen

Dunlin, Knot and Oystercatcher 

Turnstone 25

By this time the sun was shining brightly.

This is Humphrey Head, a peninsula on the west side of the bay. Normally it is
Almost indistinguishable from the land behind, but it was in full sunshine here
and the land behind in the shadow of a cloud.

Middleton Nature Reserve (Malcolm)

Just a quick check of the main pond. The only ducks were;

Mallard 32

Gadwall 24

Just a small section was ice covered, but the Black-Headed gulls do like to rest on
it. None with darvic rings today, but something to watch out for in the coming days

Common Seal - Janet spotted a posting of one on the Stone Jetty rocks, then later out with the tide. If you would like to see a picture and video please visit Morecambe and Heysham Past and Present, on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/morecambeheysham/?locale=en_GB

Somewhat restricted

Overnight rain then a dry day with some sunshine. A bitterly cold NW breeze.

Heysham skear - low water 10:10 (Malcolm)

There was a significant increase in Redshank numbers, 500 at least. Possibly attracted by the small shrimps here, but they were just resting quite high up the shore.

One of two large groups of resting Redshanks

This clip shows the other group. The swimming birds at the beginning of the clip have just landed after moving from further up the shore.

There would have been tiny shrimps in both the pools where they were resting when the tide was ebbing. But any that remain will be hiding below the silt at the bottom of the pools now.

Oystercatcher 1,500

Curlew 12

Knot 450 feeding plus another 500 arrived as the tide was coming in. There were a few flagged Knot, but no new ones seen.

This orange flagged Knot (centre) is one of the more obliging ones.
It always seems to rest on the outer edge of a group.

Dunlin 30 in one flock

Turnstone 25

Ringed Plover 8

Ringed Plover

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Eider 18

Pale-bellied Brent Geese just 3 seen, but the rocks near the play area not checked.

Pale-bellied Brent goose

Janet was one of three observers who had planned to walk along the south sea wall. Unfortunately the wall was closed for maintenance activities today, 

Janet managed these shots of some of the 13 Pale-bellied Brent geese feeding on Red Nab.

Brent geese and wigeon feeding on Red Nab

Then a passing look at the heliport Oystercatchers 

At least the South Lakes hills were visible again today, restoring the familiar
 skyline. This shot is looking in the same direction as the first picture yesterday.

Better than anticipated

Overnight snow, but a dry morning till just before lunch when rain and sleet showers began. A light but very cold NE breeze.

Just my stuff again so far (Malcolm), at least one of the observation team was snowed in!

Heysham skear - low water 09:20 

I wasn't planning on going out here today, but it was fine at the right time so I went for a look.

The light was strange, and the view unfamiliar. Low cloud to the west was hiding

the inland hills. Partial snow cover on the lowland shore providing a different vista. 

Pale-bellied Brent geese 13 along the northern edge of the skear, the higher shore to the south not checked.

Some of the brent geese.......

......and their location
you can make out the Hoad Monument at Ulverston on the background hill

Red-breasted Merganser 1 and Cormorants several, were was only other birds seen on the sea other than gulls.

Oystercatcher 1,500

Curlew 50

Two of the Curlew, they can quite difficult to see in this terrain 

Grey Plover 2 - likely displaced by the weather, they are not regular here.

Grey Plover can be almost impossible to spot in this terrain

The other Grey Plover is in this shot

Knot 250 in very loose groups, spreading the birds thinly all across the skear.

Redshank 120 minimum

Turnstone 20

Ringed Plover 1

Ringed Plover, a bit unusual just seeing one by itself here

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a quick passing check of the main pond saw the addition of a pair of Shoveler. 

The drake with his head tucked in the whole time

Similarly with the duck......

.......but she did swim back to be closer to the drake

Shoveler and Gadwall pairs (and a Black-Headed gull)

The waterlogged field next to the horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall was busy. All these birds are just beyond the recording area, but are viewed from Middleton  Road which is the recording area boundary here.

Pied Wagtail 3

Green Sandpiper 1

Green Sandpiper and Pied Wagtails

Green Sandpiper 

The sandpiper was clearly finding plenty to eat. It quickly finishes off a worm in the clip.

There were three Thrush species feeding in the divots produced by the ponies, Blackbird 1, Song Thrush 2 and Redwing 20+. The Blackbird, Song Thrushes and some of the Redwing in this clip.

Redwing