Nothing new, other than a Peregrine is back

Overnight rain, followed by the odd short shower during the day. The sun occasionally breaking through. A fresh NW wind.

South shore - Malcolm 15:15 - 16:30

A walk along the sea wall towards low water

Mediterranean gull 13 - 1 beside No.2 outfall, 12 on the feeding beach by the wooden jetty.

Adult Mediterranean gull by No.2 outfall

Adult Mediterranean gulls on the feeding beach, plenty of Sandmason
worm tubes showing

There were no gulls feeding on the outfalls

Just one Little Egret seen

Juvenile Peregrine falcon just one. There hasn't been any seen since the marauding pair of youngsters and an adult moved on a couple of weeks ago.

Juvenile Peregrine struggling to keep balance in the stiff wind

Then a bit of stoop practicing

Rock Pipit one along the sea wall, plus one on Red Nab. The Red Nab bird seemed to be finding food easily enough.

Still a few Butterflies in the Nature Park

Large White

Painted Lady

Red Admiral 

Meadow Brown, in a brown meadow 

A drop of rain was the highlight of the day!

It threatened rain all day, but the only shower was just after lunch. A fresh west wind.

Only my stuff so far (Malcolm), and I only managed one outing today.

South shore 09:00 - 10:15

I started at the saltmarsh at high water, hoping that there would be a large group of gulls on the mud. But there were just a handful of Black-Headed and Common gulls.

Black-Headed and Common gulls at the edge of the saltmarsh 

Red Nab wasn't much better!

Plenty of gulls on Red Nab, but I could only find two Mediterranean gulls

Mediterranean gulls (centre both shots)

One of four Little Egrets

Oystercatcher 1000+

Curlew 150+ were arriving all the time from the north side

Curlew

Just as I was leaving Red Nab one of the Power Station steam relief valves 
blew. All the birds lifted, probably after their own relief valves blew!

Rock Pipits 2 on Red Nab

The Sea Lavender on Red Nab is looking nice

Mediterranean gull flying back to Red Nab

Three Pied Wagtails sheltering from the wind on the foreshore 

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