More variety today

A few light showers before more consistent rain by evening. A light SW breeze

South shore

I went to watch the tide reach Red Nab - Malcolm 10:00 - 11:15

Mediterranean gulls 14. 10 adult, 1 3rd calendar year and 3 2nd calendar year. They were very flighty again and were lifted off Red Nab twice after everything was spooked by the young peregrines.

They were gathering nicely on Red Nab

Then everything either left to the south or settled on the mud

2nd calendar year Mediterranean gull

A lot of gulls, including Meds returned to Red Nab.
When Pete checked closer to high water there were still 11 Meds

Osprey 1 heading south

I think it has a small fish, presumably a Mullet 

Osprey 

Curlew 194 flew south, many from Red Nab but some directly from the north side

Common Sandpiper 2 flew towards Red Nab out from the sea wall

Common Sandpipers and a Common gull

Plenty of butterflies in the Nature Park, but of the home grown variety, as opposed to migrants.

Small Skipper 1

Large White 3

Ringlet 7

Meadow Brown 2

Comma 1

Gatekeeper 1 - first record this year

Comma

Gatekeeper 

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Red-veined Darter 1 male resting by the bench at the main pond bottom car park

Male Red Veined Darter

Four-spotted Chaser

Well camouflaged Painted Lady

Red Admiral

Small Skipper

Red Soldier Beetle (also known as bonking beetles for some reason)

Alder Leaf Beetle larvae 

There was a dead Water Rail chick by the pond on the southern section 

Heysham skear - Malcolm 15:15 - 16:45

Unfortunately the steady rain started just I was in my favourite area for checking the gulls for rings. There were c400 again, but I only managed to see one of yesterday's again before having to cede to the rain.

This close up allows you to see the form of the colour ring. It is just a curved
strip of very thin plastic sheet. N:47K. We now have its history. Ringed as a chick
on Walney Island 2024, it was also on the skear last year. N:49K which was close
by yesterday, also ringed at Walney 2024, but yesterday was its first sighting.

Sandwich Tern 1 flew north

Great Crested Grebe 1

Curlew c25

Oystercatcher c1000

A bit of ring news

A dry day with intermittent sunshine. Pleasantly cooler (19°C max). A light west breeze

South shore - Janet

Mediterranean gulls with Black-Headed gulls and Curlew
On Red Nab, towards high water

We have received the history of the white ringed Mediterranean gull seen on Saturday, just 28 days earlier it had been seen on its nesting grounds in the Netherlands. Yesterday it was seen at the Conder pool.

Several Painted Lady seen in the Nature Park and Middleton Nature Reserve 

Heyshan skear - Malcolm 15:00 - 1700

Little Egret 9

Great Crested grebe 3 (1 plus 2)

Great Crested grebe and feeding Herring gulls

Gulls c400 most were Herring gulls

The gull just left of centre manages to eat five seed mussels in the duration of this clip.

They feed like this for a short while, but their crops are soon full and then they just rest, often just floating on the sea. Nevertheless, I managed to find four ringed birds, including 3 new ones for this summer.

These two 3rd calendar year Herring gulls could well be siblings 
N:49K eating a seed mussel

And resting just 5m away N:47K. Details awaited 

Oystercatcher 1000+

Curlew 25

Another(?) Yellow-Legged gull

Overnight rain and some light morning showers. Increasing sunshine as the day progressed. A fresh west breeze

Report by Pete Crooks:

Heysham 2 Power Station – 3 Peregrine (adult & 2 juveniles) on ledge near roof, with one of the juveniles practicing its hunting skills by chasing passing Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls 

Heysham Wooden Pier – regular 2nd CY Shag roosting with 8 Cormorant during incoming tide

Heysham Stage 2 Outfall – adult Yellow-legged Gull briefly stood on railing alongside Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Perhaps the same bird as seen by Malcolm on the low-tide skears a couple of days ago.
Red Nab – 7 Mediterranean Gull (2 adults, 3 3rd CY and 2 2nd CY) displaced from HS2 outfalls area by incoming tide.
125 Curlew

Just some shots around Red Nab - Malcolm

They were very flighty, there were none on Red Nab as I approached,
then this lot arrived, but quickly moved on again

Black-Headed gulls, including a juvenile 

Two 3rd calendar year Mediterranean gulls with Black-Headed gulls
Some of these birds would not be visible from the sea wall.

Still very flighty 

Some of the 2nd calendar year Meds with Curlew in front

Some of the Curlew with a 2cy Med behind

The gulls ended up on the shore out from the play area.
Black-Headed gull with 2cy Med (right)

Middleton Industrial Estate Main Pond – Pete Crooks 

A gusty wind and only intermittent morning sunshine were not ideal for looking for flying insects.
Dragonflies – Emperor, female Common Darter, Black-tailed Skimmer and Four-spotted Chaser, but none of the scarcer species seen in recent days.
Butterflies – 2 Painted Lady, 2 Gatekeeper, 3 Small Skipper, 1 Green-veined White, 2 Speckled Wood

These on the southern section - Janet

Common Darter with breakfast 

Common Blue Damselfly 

There were so many Ringlets!

Brown China-mark

Large Skipper

Peacock Butterfly caterpillar spotted by Angela Gillon

Meds arrive in numbers

A cloudy start cleared by lunchtime then mainly sunny. Not quite as hot, but still reaching 25.6°C. The early south breeze shifting to SW this afternoon 

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

These shots from the "no swimming" pond

Emperor 

This looks to be a Red-Veined Darter, the male Common Darters seen 
so far have not turned so red.

Four-spotted Chaser in the southern section of the reserve 

Meadow Brown

South shore

Pete checked from Ocean Edge this morning towards high water

Shag 1 2cy resting on the wooden jetty 

Mediterranean gull 23  on red nab high tide (12 ad/3cy - sev wingtips not visible - rest 2cy)

I had a walk along the sea wall towards low water this afternoon (Malcolm)

Most of the Mediterranean gulls were preening in two main groups between the outfalls, but there were a few at the seaward end of the feeding beach by the wooden jetty. I ended up with a minimum of 28. 

9 adults

9 3rd calendar year

3 adult or 3cy

7 2nd calendar year 

Adult Mediterranean gull

12 Meds in this shot by No.2 outfall

More in this group by No.1 outfall. The arrowed bird has a white ring

I had to check it from various angles but I eventually managed to read all
the characters. Helped by the fact that it is one seen here before, so the
code is familiar. 34ET. Ringed in Belgium in 2019, it has been seen here
every summer since apart from 2022

There are no Sandmason worm tubes showing close to the sea wall yet.
But there are some at the seaward side. Last year they were just starting 
to show nicely before a storm covered them again. This is the prime feeding
option for the Meds here, so hopefully they won't get covered again this year.

Rock Pipits 2 along the inner harbour wall

Both Pipits

This is an adult 

But this one a juvenile, so at least one pair has been at least partially successful 

Peregrine Falcon just one today chasing the gulls around the Power Stations. It was hanging on the breeze, uplifted by the sloping sea wall, then dropping on anything that passed below it. Unfortunately dropping too quickly for me to be able to follow it!