Ruddy Darters still behaving

Perhaps the last dry day for a while. Some sunshine and a west breeze 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

These are the last shots before Janets camera was reduced to pieces yesterday. 

Common Darter

One of three Ruddy Darter on the south side yesterday 

Kevin checked the south side today

Ruddy Darter by the pond on the south side

Southern Hawker posing nicely 

South shore - Malcolm 10:45 - 12:00

I went along the sea wall to watch the feeding beach by the wooden jetty become exposed. These very low neap tides provide less feeding opportunities for them. 

Mediterranean gulls 20 minimum - there were at lest 10 on Red Nab walking out and 10 on the feeding beach when I left it. Additional Meds were flying to the beach as I walked back and there were still several on Red Nab.

Adult Mediterranean gull flying to the feeding beach from Red Nab

This one flew in from the north side

There were seven waiting on the sea for the mud to expose

The Mediterranean and a few Black-Headed gulls began feeding as soon as the mud exposed. They were managing to catch the odd sandmason worm, but not when I was pointing a camera at them! You can see the top of their tubes, particularly in the second section of this combined clip.

Redshank by No.1 outfall

2nd calendar year Shag (right) and a Cormorant on the wooden jetty

The Starling numbers are growing rapidly 

Rock Pipit 1 flew along the sea wall from the wooden jetty, another taking food to the nest below the lighthouse 

Female/immature Linnet on Red Nab

Male Linnet on Red Nab

More waders returning

Sunshine and some clouds the west breeze fesher

A couple of observations from home - Malcolm

Greylag geese 3 south 08:30

Swift 2 south 11:30

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Peter and Rosemary Silvester took these shots today

Small Red-eyed Damselfly on the main pond

Ruddy Darter by the pond on the south side

Teneral Common Blue Damselfly 

Common Blue butterfly 

Meanwhile, Janet managed to take another fall......

.......smashed her camera

And smashed her elbow! Another operation required, so out of action for some while. Before her fall she had seen 3 male Ruddy Darters on the south side.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 13:15 - 15:00

Eider 1 male in eclipse

Male Eider

It was eating the small mussels in the shallows

Red-breasted Mergansers 3 female/immature 

Little Egret just 1

Gulls:

c400 large gulls mainly Herring gulls

30 Black-Headed gulls

3 Mediterranean gulls

Two of the Mediterranean gulls 

Oystercatchers are very hard to estimate as they are spread all over the skear, but definitely more than of late, at least 1500

Curlew 10

Redshank 10

Turnstone 2

Dunlin 15 all in summer plumage

They were very close, and torn between feeding and freezing

Dunlin

South shore 

Kevin spotted this Field Grasshopper along the sea wall

Red Nab - Malcolm 17:00 - 18:30

Mediterranean gulls at least 24

Mediterranean and Black-Headed gulls, no new ringed birds seen

Mediterranean gull and a Curlew

There were c150 Curlew, but they and the gulls kept being spooked by over
enthusiastic recently fledged Lesser Black-Backed gulls diving down

Just a solitary Whimbrel 

Most of the gulls ended up out from the saltmarsh again

Some if the 8 Redshank

Sometimes you just have to irk the birds

Another hazy sunny day with a west(ish) breeze

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report by Alan

Another fairly quiet session this morning with only 23 birds caught, but there were seven species of warblers. The three adult Willow Warblers were all in an advanced state of moult of flight feathers.  A juvenile Song Thrush was a welcome catch as we only catch an average of 6 per year of this declining species.
The total catch comprised:
Lesser Whitethroat  1
Willow Warbler  3
Chiffchaff   3
Reed Warbler  2  + 1 retrap
Blackcap  4
Common Whitethroat  2 + 1 retrap
Sedge Warbler  2 + 1 retrap
Song Thrush  1
Wren  1
Great Tit  1 retrap  ( This was a juvenile fledged from a nestbox on Middleton this year).

This from Steve Edmondson:

Thought you might be interested in a Ruddy Darter that I've seen twice in the same area close to Middleton main pond on the west side.

Ruddy Darter

Janet saw at least two and probably three Ruddy Darter near the southern section pond

Ruddy Darters

Still no sign of the Copper-tip longhorn moths

North shore

Mark Jones had a walk over Heysham Head barrows

Cormorant resting on an empty beach

Gatekeeper resting on barren bracken 

South shore - Malcolm

Didn't have much time today but I managed an evening stroll out from the saltmarsh 

There were 200+ gulls resting on the mud. Mainly Black-Headed but also Lesser Black-backed, Common gulls and 15 Mediterranean gulls. 

Gulls resting out from the saltmarsh 

Unfortunately most were sat down so any ringed birds were impossible to see. The trick in these conditions is to encroach on their space just enough to annoy them, so they stand up. But not so close as to spook them. I eventually managed a white ringed Mediterranean gull seen earlier this summer and a blue ringed Black-Headed gull

2R76 ringed at Grange-over-Sands in 2019 it has been seen several times
since but only in the local area

Three Mediterranean gulls with Black-Headed and a Common gull

Carrion Crow tiptoeing past

An old friend returns

A warm day, plenty of sunshine but occasional high clouds. A fresh west breeze.

South shore - Malcolm

A walk along the sea wall this morning 10:00 - 11:15

Mediterranean gulls c50

Most (30+) were on Red Nab despite the tide being out.

Mediterranean and Black-Headed gulls on Red Nab

There were 2 adults and a juvenile by No.2 outfall and at least 13 on the feeding beach, by the wooden jetty.

Juvenile Mediterranean gull (bottom) and a Black-Headed gull

Adult Mediterranean gull on the feeding beach. The Sandmason worm
tubes are starting to show again

One of two Little Egret.

Starlings including Juveniles on the lighthouse 

Between the lighthouse and waterfall there were:

Rock Pipit 2 (plus 1 on Red Nab),

Pied Wagtail 3 (2 juvenile)

Linnet 5

Dunnock 1

Robin 1

3 Willow warbler/Chiffchaff

At least one was a Willow warbler, the other two just glimpsed 

Dunnock

Linnet

Worn looking Rock Pipit

The only butterflies seen here today were a Meadow Brown and a Red Admiral. West winds not good for insect migration here.

I returned at 15:00 to check Red Nab on the rising tide.

Mediterranean gulls at least 70. There were over 50 on Red Nab and at least 20 more seen flying directly south. As yesterday, the Red Nab Meds were also constantly drifting off to the south.

Always nice to see this Mediterranean gull has made it back for another year.
Ringed as a chick in Holland 2010. It has been seen here every summer since.
Last year it was seen in Spain in January, hopefully it has been seen
somewhere since it left us last us at the end of August last summer 

Adult Mediterranean gull, showing its pure white wings

This Lesser Black-backed gull has a metal ring

A number of gulls settled on the mud out from Ocean Edge. So I went for a look

The only ringed Mediterranean gull was the Hungarian bird already seen several times

Turnstone 4, Dunlin 1 and at least one Redshank calling at Red Nab

Lapwing 1 on the saltmarsh