Mist out

A misty start everywhere, but soon the mist was restricted to out at sea.  The mist cooling the onshore breeze managed to keep the temperatures lower than yesterday, but it was sticky.

Middleton Nature Reserve southern section - Janet

Common Darter

Comma

Green-Veined White

Speckled Wood

Peacock 

Ringlet

The Gatekeepers seem to have taken over from the Ringlets as the
most abundant butterfly.

Whitethroat - Not so easy to get the shots with all the leaves on the trees.

South shore - Malcolm 13:15 - 15:00

This is yesterday's orange flagged Curlew, I incorrectly identified it at 117,
but it was 111, they only got to 112. Ringed as a breeding adult of 2026.
 The project is on Bransdale Moor, 16,000 acres of moorland within the North
Yorkshire Moors National Park. There were four eggs laid, but only two hatched.

Even at 13:30 it was still misty and the sun couldn't burn through. It was
 pleasantly cool walking along the sea wall. But some of my shots are a bit hazy

Some of the large gulls have fledged young. These are Lesser Black-backed

The Black-Headed gulls seem to have had a successful breeding season.
Six juveniles in this shot

Mediterranean gulls 31. 

It was a lazy sort of day, all the Meds were just resting and preening.
These are mostly Meds, and this is on the feeding beach by the wooden jetty

Three Meds, from top to bottom: 3rd calendar year, 2nd calendar year and adult.
(They could have made the effort to get in sequence!)

We've seen this one before, or at least one in the same condition.
Its right leg is missing below the knee, so it walks on the stump and 
its left knee. It didn't stop it moving another Med from its bit of beach.

I had counted 30 Meds and hadn't seen any rings, although several were sat not stood. Then an adult flew in from the north side and landed on feeding beach revealing a white ring.

3LX9 - ringed as a chick in the Netherlands in 2019. It has been seen at 
Heysham every year since apart from 2021. Unfortunately it hasn't been 
seen since leaving us last August

Looks like the Lighthouse Rock Pipits are feeding young again

Between the lighthouse and waterfall 

Linnet several 

Linnets

Pied Wagtail 1

Goldfinch 1

 

2 Meadow Browns were the only butterflies, that is likely to change tomorrow 

In the Nature Park 

Juvenile Robin

Painted Lady 1

Red Admiral 1

Speckled Wood 2

Meadow Brown 2

Small White 4

Small Skipper 2

Small Skipper

Just out of the recording area

Quail singing Heaton marsh 

Gannet drama!

A sunny day with a west breeze. The temperature increasing throughout the day, reaching 24°C by evening.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Gannet 1 in the bottom car park! Me and another guy moved it by herding it to a safer area so it didn't get run over. 

This is Steve from Wolfwood wildlife rescue who came to capture it

He was going to release it on the sea, to give it chance 
He said he's had a few these in the last couple of weeks he thinks because
of the windy weather we've had. Poppy the Springador was being very good

Not often I get a close up of a Gannet.

Later, this shot of its release was posted on Facebook 

Swallows over the main pond

Swallow and House Martin

Also patrolling the main pond. Emperor and Brown Hawker

South shore - Malcolm 15:30 - 16:30

I set out from the saltmarsh to check the birds on Red Nab as the tide came in. Things didn't bode well, there were already a group of gulls sat on the mud out from the saltmarsh.

Gulls, including an adult Mediterranean gull out from the saltmarsh 

Sure enough, as I approached Red Nab something lifted everything 

Many landed on the mud, but they drifted back to Red Nab

Mediterranean gulls at least 16

This is the same red ringed 2nd calendar year Med that I couldn't quite read
the third character of yesterday. The scheme narrowed it down to one of three
birds all ringed near Székesfehérvár Hungary last year. A 3cy Med behind 

Today's shots showed the third character to be an 8. So a more detailed 
history will be provided soon

On Sunday, I had seen an orange flagged Oystercatcher but couldn't make out the code. Today I managed to relocate that as well!

117 - Details awaited

There ended up being just a small group of gulls, including 9 Meds, just 
below the sea wall. But it wasn't long before they moved on too. I didn't 
see what flushed them, but juvenile Peregrines are the main suspects 

In the Nature park

Red Admiral 1

Painted Lady 1

Ringlet 3

Large Skipper 1

There are lots of Buddleia flowering now. If migrant butterflies start coming in towards the end of the week many could top up on the Buddleia before moving on. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth would be nice too.

Mainly gulls today

A dry day becoming increasingly warm and sunny during the afternoon. A light west wind

South shore

Janet had a walk along the sea wall while the tide was out:

Plenty of Black-Headed gulls feeding on the outfalls

This one has a tiny Sandeel

The Mediterranean gulls were feeding on the beach by the wooden jetty

This is the Belgian ringed bird seen earlier this summer

Oystercatcher - I just missed the shot where it had a worm in its beak!!

Curlew

Gatekeeper in the Nature Park 

I checked Red Nab towards high water - Malcolm

Lots of gulls on Red Nab again, and today they weren't disturbed 

Mediterranean gulls not counted, but a similar number to yesterday 

Mediterranean and Black-Headed gulls plus Curlew

The one having a wing stretch is a Common Gull

This 2cy Mediterranean gull is part of a Hungarian ringing scheme. It is the
same bird as the one with most of its code obscured 22/06. I still can't be certain
about the third character, hopefully the scheme will be able to advise.

Grey Squirrel, Blue Tits and Chaffinch, eating seeds left by visitors 
to the Nature Park

Heysham skear - Malcolm 10:45 - 12:15

c300 large gulls, mainly Herring feeding on the mussels

Many of the Herring gulls were feeding towards the end of the middle skear

Black-Headed gulls c40. This group were feeding in the SE skear corner, finding plenty to eat on the surface. Likely insects that had landed on the sea and concentrated in the skear corner by the onshore wind

Little Egret 5

Great Crested grebe 5 together 

Eider 1 female

Eider and Great Crested grebe