Obliging afternoon terns

Sunshine all day, perhaps the last for a while. An east wind.

Seawatch report - Pete:

Seawatching from back of harbour 0835-0940: 
Regular 2cy Little Gull backwards and forwards across Harbour mouth
1 2cy Mediterranean gull 
3 Arctic Tern early on
1 Common Tern
4 Red throated diver
c27 Sandwich Tern 
2 Guillemot 
c45 swallow
Puffin past cockers dyke, Pilling 1025 (we finished seawatching at Heysham 0940!)

Heysham skear - Malcolm 14:30 -17:00

Greylag goose 1 in/off then SE

Greylag goose

Eider 9

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Great Crested Grebe 1 

Little Egret 4

Sandwich Tern 2

Arctic Tern 42

At 15:50 a flock of 20 came in and settled on a sandbar just north of the skear.

 

This one preening its tail streamer

They all began preening

I left them in peace and crossed to check the south side of the skear. I didn't see any more terns come in, although it was difficult looking west into the sun. When I looked back it was clear that they had been joined by more so I went back.

By this time most of them had their heads tucked in having, what is probably, 
a well earned rest. I wonder how far they had flown today. They were still sat
on the mud when I returned to the promenade at 17:00

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Curlew 1

Curlew

Whimbrel 15 minimum 

Whimbrel

Knot 130 

Knot, quite a few moulting to breeding plumage

Sanderling 5 flew north along the main channel

Oystercatcher not counted. No Redshank or Turnstone seen

Swallow 1 in/off

Seawatch produced quality not quantity

Sunshine all day with a freshening east wind

Seawatch report Pete:

Sea Heysham 0630-0900: 
Arctic Skua 1,1 dm in
Arctic Tern 2,15,7 in
Sandwich Tern 7 out early on then absent
Gannet 1 in
Avocet 3 in
Puffin 1 out and across towards Wyre, 
Razorbill/Guillemot 1,1 in probably Guillemot
No scoter, Kittiwake or Red-Throated Diver
Inshore: 2cy Shag flew to harbour mouth from north, 2cy Little Gull Heysham one

Jean also did a survey of the resident birds in this small area at the back of the harbour 

Rock Pipit in the foreground with the dredger working towards the harbour mouth

Also: Ferrel Pigeons,  2 Blackbirds, several Linnets, a Wren, a Dunnock, Robin and some Goldfinches. A Pied Wagtail keeps appearing each day so that may be a resident as well.

Saltmarsh to Red Nab - Malcolm 09:45 - 10:15

Wheatear 6 - 5 together on Ocean Edge grass plus 1 on the foreshore 

Wheatear

Meadow Pipit 1 on foreshore 

Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab

Grey Plover 1 on Red Nab

Grey Plover and Curlew

Little Egret 3

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

This Cormorant had earlier been trying to snatch a young Moorhen,
but their parents saw it off.

Red Admiral 

Green-Veined White

Heysham skear - Malcolm 17:00 - 18:30

Eider 6

Red-breasted Merganser 1 male

Common Scoter - the regular female with damaged feathers

I went out as this tide meant that I could reach the first channel (Noah's Dyke). This is the western end of the middle skear, waders required to go to the outer skear.

Eider riding the flow through the first channel 

I went to see if there were any seed mussels, at first I couldn't see any, then found a few rocks with some tiny ones.

The first tiny seed mussels, but they grow quickly, soon this area, at least, will
be covered in them. Some years they blanket the whole of the skear

Sandwich Tern 2 fishing 

Whimbrel 3

Bar-Tailed Godwit 7

Bar-Tailed Godwit 

Sanderling a flock of c12 in non breeding plumage disappeared behind a honeycomb worm reef

The only other waders seen were Oystercatchers. 

Osprey 1  

It wasn't clear if it was actually fishing, or just checking the sea as it made its way north.

Ingleborough behind Morecambe front

At least the visibility held

Mainly dry and sunny after early showers. A light NE breeze

Pete:

Heysham back of harbour 0640-0830,0900-1000: slow! 
Arctic skua 1 dark morph in
Arctic Tern 5,2 in
Common Tern 1 out
Sandwich Tern only about 12
Red throated diver 8 sightings
Common Scoter just one
single Whooper Swan in
Goosander male in
Guillemot 2
Whimbrel 3 in
Kittiwake flocks of 9,4 in then climbing heading east
2cy Little Gull around Hey one and harbour mouth

Heysham Head - David Kaye

Whinchat 1 female - first record this year 

South sea wall - Malcolm 09:45 - 11:00

A walk around high water

Linnet 2

Swallow 1 in/off

Whimbrel 4 on Red Nab

Whimbrel 

Rock Pipit 1 on Red Nab and 2 along the sea wall

Stock Dove 2 flew east from the wooden jetty, then north over the Power Stations

Stock Doves

Plenty of large gulls on the wooden jetty, but no Cormorants, not even immatures

But there was a 2nd calendar year Shag feeding between the jetty and roundhead.

The unmistakable leap of a Shag

There was no sign of the 2cy Little Gull as I walked out, but on the return it was feeding quite close in on No.1 outfall.

2cy Little Gull

2cy Common Gull

Male Blackcap in the Nature Park - Janet

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

One of two Shelduck flying over the main pond

These Mallard ducklings are on the no swimming, the first brood, there are smaller ones on there too, this lot have lost one!! the seagulls are picking them off, someone saw one lift one yesterday and I saw them try with the ducklings on the main pond!!

Common Whitethroat 

Teneral Blue Damselfly, probably Common

Midge sp, doing its bit to pollinate 

This Common Toad and Great Crested Newts were under a stray sheet, it was carefully replaced.

Last sighting of the long staying 2cy Kittiwake

 Mainly dry and sunny, but one heavy evening shower. Light variable breezes.

Pete:

2cy little gull heysham one outfall 
2cy kittiwake sat on seawall slope by Heysham 2. Circa 0730.  It looked moribund and two crows were nearby but very misty.  When I next checked in even denser mist the crows were pecking at white feathers at the bottom of the slope and no sign of bird above that (later it was found dead, with no obvious injuries other than post mortem by the crows, washed up on Red Nab)
2cy Mediterranean gull on tideline. 
c45 knot high to the south early morning, and just one on the Ocean Edge tideline with 8 Bar-Tailed Godwit
Area then fogbound and only things over the sea 0625 until it closed in were 
2 Sandwich tern 
5 Common Scoter 
2 Canada geese  
Migrants alongside road to back of harbour: 2 whitethroat, 5 willow warbler.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 11:45 - 12:15

I didn't stay long, there were no Knot around and little else. It was clear and sunny here, but still misty out at sea.

Eider 16

Eider

Sandwich Tern 2
Whimbrel 6

Whimbrel are well camouflaged in this terrain 

The number of large gulls is beginning to increase. Soon there will be 
hundreds when the seed mussels arrive

South shore

Kevin Eaves had a walk along the sea wall early afternoon. The Little gull was feeding at the sea wall end of No.2 outfall, but only briefly before disappearing.

Ruby Tiger moth catching the sun. There are likely to be more sightings 
as several caterpillars were seen in autumn.

I was going out as Kevin was returning (Malcolm)

Linnet 2 along the foreshore 

Rock Pipit 2 (Red Nab and sea wall)

No sign of the Little Gull, but the 2cy Mediterranean gull was feeding on No.1 outfall.

Carrion Crow still sitting on the nest on one of the harbour platforms 

This is the location of the nest. That's the "waterfall" on the right

Just out of the recording area. Janet took these shots at Middleton Sands

Meadow Pipit

Common Whitethroat 

This Common Tern was closer to Sunderland Point