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

A bit better variety

A dry day but mainly overcast. The east wind becoming strong and blustery by late afternoon.

Nature Park - Kevin Eaves

Ca. 30-35 Siskins near the small anemometer, accompanied by a Goldcrest and a male Bullfinch.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Malcolm 10:45 - 11:15

Just a quick circuit around the eastern section.

Main Pond

2 adult and 6 immature Mute Swans

8 Tufted Duck

6 Gadwall

20+ Mallard

Little grebe at least one trilling

Tim Butler pond

Teal at least 12

Woodcock 1 flushed from the trees on the south bank

"No Swimming" Pond 

Tufted duck pair plus more Mallard around the fringes 

Little Egret 1 east

Little Egret

Heysham skear - Malcolm 14:30 - 15:30

A check as the skear was becoming exposed, by this time the offshore wind was quite strong.

Pale-Bellied Brent goose 25

Some if the Brent geese

Eider 100

The males are in full wooing mode now. Shame their calls aren't easily picked up by my camera. It is the constant background noise here, although my ears do filter out the Oystercatchers!

I went to check out the Knot, there were c500 in 4 feeding groups. Then something spooked them and they all headed off to the north. I didn't see any raptors, but they had many more eyes than me and much more at stake! I just managed to read a few flags, but from three different schemes.

This is an Icelandic scheme. At least the yellow flag stood out in the fading light.
Details awaited

Curlew, Knot and Oystercatcher 

At least the crows had something to shout about

Morning showers, then dry and overcast. A light SE breeze dwindling down to nothing in the afternoon.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 14:00 - 15:15

A check as the tide was ebbing.

No Brent Geese seen

Eider 160, easy to see on a flat sea.

Some of the Eider heading back into the bay

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Great Crested Grebe 2

Great Crested Grebes

Little Egret 5

Herring gulls and Little Egret 

Oystercatcher 15000

Curlew 20

Redshank 180

Knot 80

Turnstone 40

Dunlin 70

Dunlin in the foreground, the Oystercatchers behind not included in the skear count

Mainly Redshank 

The Redshank, Black-Headed and Common gulls were shrimping where the freshwater runoff flows into the SE skear corner. Presumably the runoff providing enough detritus to attract the still tiny shrimps.

None of the Knot were flagged, but this one had a distinctive white spot on
its crown. One to watch out for

This Oystercatcher with a partially leucistic head is even more distinctive.
I tend to see it about one in ten visits 

Carrion Crows 25, they were being particularly noisy today.

Cormorant and Carrion crows

Redwing bonus

Light rain on and off for most of the day. A SSE wind

Middleton Nature Reserve - Kevin Eaves

There was a female Siskin near the main pond bird feeders, and a Green Woodpecker, heard singing and seen in flight near the Tim Butler pond. Five cygnets still present on the main pond being occasionally pestered by the new male.

Imperial Rd - Malcolm

It had stopped raining briefly and the sun was out, even more briefly!

Buzzard 1 calling a lot from the copse area

Kestrel 1

Stock Dove 2

Stock Dove

Teal 2

Common Snipe 4

No Water Rails calling and no sign of the Stonechats 

Howard checked the high water roosts for Knot.

There were zero Knot on the Heliport this am, I checked Sunny Slope groyne which had c1000 on, they were constantly being lifted with corvids, 3 flagged birds seen but unrecorded.

I ventured along the prom into Morecambe where there were c1500 knot on the Park Street groyne, 1 flagged bird recorded OfY (Orange flag over Yellow ring)  LJH

Although this shot is north of the recording area this flagged bird has also been
recorded on the skear this week too. Ringed at Inverness Firth Scotland in 2022.
It has visited Heysham before in the spring of 2023

Heysham skear - Malcolm 13:15 - 14:15

Still light rain showers.

Pale-bellied Brent goose. 21 minimum seen landing by the rocks out from the fishing platform.

Eider 70+ many flying back into the bay after drifting out on the tide.

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Curlew 63. As well as the typical 25 around the skear, two groups of 26 and 12 flew in

Knot 1300 - initially there were just two small groups totalling 140, they were joined by other small groups to c300. The rain had stopped and I had just begun checking them for flags when a loud whoosh overhead were another c1000 fleeing from a Peregrine Falcon.

Unfortunately, the 300 lifted as the above flew past and it was one of those that the Peregrine took.

Peregrine flying south with a Knot

All the Knot continued north, I didn't expect to see them again, and I didn't.

Other wader as recent 

These Redwing (c100 total) were feeding in the horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall. All these shots are just beyond the southern boundary of the recording area, but the Redwing were flighty with people working in the far paddock and twice took flight and circled over the trees placing them well within the recording area.

Redwing plus a Goodfinch

This is the gate that opens onto Middleton Rd

I check this area whenever I pass. I had checked this morning and there was nothing, this second check was 14:30 - Malcolm