Shovelers in

Overnight rain then a largely dry day with just the odd light shower. A SSE breeze during the day, but last night it was SSW for a while. The first time in ages that there has been any west in the wind.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Shoveler 6 - 2 female and 4 male - on the main pond

Having a stretch and a scratch 

It would be good if at least one pair stayed to breed.

The Mallard were already thinking about starting a family

Part of the sequence missing, but you get the idea

Female Tufted having a rest

Moorhen

Cormorant 

Male Pheasant taking advantage of the area currently being landscaped 

Song Thrush

Cetti's warbler singing to the south of the main pond

Heysham skear - Malcolm 10:00 - 11:15

Pale-bellied Brent goose 16 - 12 on the skear itself plus 4 in the SE skear corner 

Some of the Brent on what is really quite a barren skear for them

These are in the skear corner hoping to find broken weed.

Eider 10

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Great Crested Grebe 5

Little Egret 1

A few more waders around today

Oystercatcher 1500

Curlew 35 (later this afternoon a flock of 30 flew west over Janet's house)

Redshank 70

Knot 1500+. There were only 3 small groups feeding on the skear 150 total. But 3 large flocks flew purposefully north, at least 1500 total

Turnstone 60

Dunlin 50 in one flock south

Ringed Plover 12

Ringed Plover and Turnstone 

Just the tip of one of the Knot flocks, quite a structured formation, not the
 ball formation that is typical when they are flushed by a raptor.

This is as long a clip as I can post. But it is worth watching. The Cormorant has caught a flatfish, it is well within its size range to swallow, but it doesn't. It has already had it for a minute when this clip begins, a Great Black-backed gull kept trying to pinch it but it couldn't. The Cormorant was waving the fish like a flag until a second Cormorant arrives. It then drops the fish for the second bird, only for a second Great Black-Backed to arrive and pinch it, much to the gull's delight!

Presumably the Cormorant meant the fish as an offering to its mate, or possibly just trying to attract a mate. I'm sure it would have found another fish offering soon. You can hear St Peter's church bell during the clip.

The second gull's timing was perfect. You have to think that it has seen this "offering" before and knew to arrive just after the second Cormorant, and now, possibly teaching its kids.

Wow! A bit of sunshine

 Heavy overnight rain, but followed by a dry and sometimes sunny day. A light east wind.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Tufted Ducks. There was a Gadwall pair as well 
Later Pete saw 10 Teal

Long-Tailed Tit

The last three characters on this Reed Bunting's ring are clear to read.
It isn't possible to be positive about an individual with just a partial code,
but one with a matching last three numbers was ringed here in 2023

Imperial Rd - Malcolm 09:30

Buzzard 2 constantly calling and flying between the copse and the trees along the bypass.

This one with a white bib, was doing most of the flying, it is also the
smallest of the two so that should make it the male

Not a great shot of the second bird, but the one on the left is the bird in 
flight in the shots above, and is clearly the smaller bird

At one point there were 12 Magpies mobbing it, but they had more or less given up at this point, although it did seem to be taunting them. You can hear Teal calling in the background as well as the roar of vehicles along the bypass.

Sparrowhawk 1 flew north

Surprisingly, no Kestrels seen

Carrion Crow 6

Jay 2 individuals, both north, but suspect just local movement 

Little Egret 1

Stock Dove 2 together 

Teal 7

Water Rail 2-3

No Stonechats again, and also none seen by Janet when she checked this afternoon 

South shore

I checked towards high water 13:00 - 14:00 (Malcolm)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 28 on Red Nab

Wigeon c200 on and around Red Nab plus several rafts further out to sea

Peregrine Falcon 1 east

I went to watch the tide covering the saltmarsh, but I underestimated the time that it would be covered and overestimated my patience to wait! I left before the whole marsh was covered and didn't manage to see any Jack Snipe.

Common Snipe 23

Reed Bunting 3

These are the Brent Geese after leaving Red Nab. I tried to see where 
they ended up, they went past Potts heading towards the Lune estuary
before being lost from view

When Janet checked later in the afternoon on the ebb tide, the Brent were back on Red Nab.

Pale-bellied Brent geese

Wigeon

Cormorants 

North shore - Malcolm

A check of the skear from the promenade as the tide was coming in and a check of the Heliport high water roost later on failed to locate any Knot.

Possibly a red herring!

Overcast all day with light showers. The east wind continues!

Heysham skear - Malcolm 10:00 - 11:15

Whooper Swans 4 (1 adult and 3 immature) flew low to the south. It had just stopped raining and I suspect they had been resting on a sand bar. I was checking out to sea for ducks etc. and didn't see them till they were almost overhead, fortunately I had just unpacked my camera. The adult had a yellow ring, but I couldn't read it.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 12

Some of the Brent geese out from St Peter's church 

A few were scraping a living on the skear

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Red-breasted Merganser pair

There were very few small waders around.

Oystercatcher 1500

Curlew 25

Redshank 20

Knot just 2 flew overhead briefly 

Turnstone 40

Dunlin 1

Oystercatcher about to lose a feather

South shore

The adult Shag was showing really well on the nearest platform in the Harbour 
Kevin Eaves

These two Eider had been just out from Red Nab, then drifted out beyond the southern recording area boundary. They rested on a rock before moving back to Red Nab with the ebb tide - Mark Jones 

This clip taken from Mark's holiday caravan - not a bad view!

Janet spotted this fish on Middleton Nature Reserve. It is quite large c10 inches so possibly dropped by an overly ambitious gull. It could be one of the Rudd-goldfish hybrids from the pond on the dog walk strip. Or possibly a Koi missing from someone's pond. But it does seen a bit like a red Herring!

Pretty much the same.......but with moving pictures

A very strong east wind with occasional light showers.

South shore - Malcolm 11 - 12:15

Nature Park

Kevin was right the Goldcrests are finding invertebrates amongst the woodchip piles near the small anemometer. Only one seen today though.

Goldcrest

Watched over by a female Bullfinch 

Along the sea wall

Rock Pipit 2 - this one also finding small invertebrates concentrated by the wind

Wigeon 290 waiting for the tide to reach Red Nab

Just some of the Wigeon between the outfalls

Some were feeding at the base of the sloping wall

Pale-bellied Brent geese 32 arrived at Red Nab 

Shelduck 1

Little Egret 1

There were lots of Cormorants, but no Shag seen today

Some of the 65 Redshank. Look how flat the sea is despite the very strong 
wind. Being an offshore wind, the waves haven't had time to develop close in.

All the regulars are still around

Some light rain early on then dry with a light east breeze.

First, this report by Michael Stocker from Monday:

Minimum 57 Pale-bellied Brent on Red Nab on dropping tide

Grey Wagtail 1

Rock Pipit 2 between outflows

Adult Shag in corner of harbour

Kevin Eaves checked today

49 Brent Geese on Red Nab 

2 Goldcrest near the small anemometer. They seem to be finding some insects in the woodchip piles. 

Pale-bellied Brent geese

Goldcrest

Janet is back after a holiday in the sun (whatever that is!). She took these shots at Middleton Nature Reserve 

Teal on the No swimming pond along with Tufted/Coots/Mallard

Main Pond. Gadwall and more Tufted ducks

Gadwall having a fly round

Gadwall and Tufted coming back in to land

Plenty of weed for the Swans

Reed Bunting 2 hanging around the feeders