Better variety today

Once again we were blessed with heavy overnight showers followed by a dry sunny day. A fresh west breeze

This from Rosemary and Peter Silvester - Middleton Nature Reserve yesterday 

Main pond:

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Common Bluetail Damselfly 

Common Blue Damselfly 

Common Darter

Emperor 

also saw about half a dozen of Common Blue Butterflies, lots of Meadow Browns (everywhere!) and several toadlets.

The Ruddy Darters were by the pond on the south side

Ruddy Darters

South shore - Malcolm 09:45 - 11:15

I went along the sea wall to watch the incoming tide cover the feeding beach by the wooden jetty. Again hoping to relocate the green ringed bird seen on Wednesday. Today one was there!

There were gulls being moved up the beach by the tide, including 
six Mediterranean gulls. Just one was ringed

ANLT. We are familiar with this bird. Ringed as a chick at Helgoland Germany
in 2012. It has been seen at Heysham most summers since. Last year it was also 
seen on its German breeding ground. Hopefully it will have been seen again this
year - details awaited

Probably not the one from Wednesday, but I had forgotten that,
on one code the "A" was very worn which can cause confusion.

At least 9 Mediterranean gulls in total, there were some resting on the other beaches with Black-Headed gulls

Mediterranean (centre) and Black-Headed gulls

Gulls between the two outfalls

Little Egret 4

Three Little Egrets along the edge of No.2 outfall

In the Nature Park

Red Admiral 2

Painted Lady 2

Meadow Brown several

Speckled Wood 2

Small White 3

Two Painted Lady

Heysham skear - Malcolm 16:15 - 17:30

Red-breasted Merganser 1

Red-breasted Merganser, about to lose a feather

Eider 2

Eider, also with ruffled feathers

Great Crested grebe 1

Large gulls, mainly Herring gulls c300 (think I underestimated total at 250 yesterday as there seemed to be fewer today but managed 300 when I did a rough count) three ringed birds were seen, but all seen previously this summer. The gull in the centre of this clip in the water has a ring. It slipped into the water before I could read it, but eventually revealed it again. You can see that they are taking much longer now to find the small seed mussels amongst the well formed ones.

N:S53 - ringed as a chick in Bowland 2022

Mediterranean gull 1 

Mediterranean gull with hardly any face mask. It was high up the shore
towards the promenade 

Oystercatcher c1200

Curlew c60

Redshank 16

Turnstone 9

A few of the Curlew arriving from the south. Flying over the area where
the Mediterranean gull was. That's Rydal Rd slipway behind them

A bit of ring news.

Dry after early showers. Sunny after lunch. A light NW wind

Heysham skear - Malcolm 15:45 - 17:15

Eider 4, it was hard seeing what age and sex, partly because they were a long way out in choppy water, but mainly as at this time of year they are in varying stages of moult.

Male Eider moulting into breeding plumage

These are two of the more distant Eider doing a lot of preening.

Great Crested grebe 2

Gulls c250 large gulls, mainly Herring gulls. Three ringed birds were seen, one new for this summer.

This Herring gull N:16P was ringed on the Power Station last year, it has
been seen on the skear before this summer, but not for over a month. N:15P,
possibly it sibling, has also been seen several times on the skear this summer,
but is now at Southport marine lake.

This is the new bird N:95M. Ringed at Walney 2024. It was seen in Walney again
this April. The third bird was one regularly seen here

Lesser Black-backed gull

Black-Headed gull with a Herring gull behind 

Oystercatcher c1500 (probably 2000 as seen by David yesterday, but you can never see them all when you are out there)

Curlew 80

Whimbrel 1

Redshank 10

Turnstone 23

Turnstone, Oystercatcher and a Herring gull

Swallows heading south!

 A warm dry day, but mainly overcast. A SW wind.

Heysham head 9-11 - David
at least 2000 oystercatchers south towards heliport 

flock of 40 redshank 

whimbrel 1 south 

rock pipit 

South shore - Malcolm

I walked out to the waterline on the rising tide this morning. A bit early for waders here yet, and there were only:

Oystercatcher 41

Curlew 42 on the shore, later another 80+ flew south.

Whimbrel 1 heard only

There was just one gull sat in the middle of the beach

There wasn't another bird of any description within 500m of this gull...

....not only was it a Mediterranean gull, but it had a green ring, and one not seen
here before. Unfortunately there must have been some mud on the ring and it 
remained unread!

Little Egret 3 around the saltmarsh 

Little Egrets 

I went along the sea wall on the ebb tide in the afternoon.

Swift 4 and Swallows 22 were between the Nature Park and Red Nab, feeding for a while then heading south. Another 5 Swallows south when I walked back

Swift

Swallows over Red Nab

Juvenile Swallow

Pied Wagtail 4 juvenile on Red Nab plus an adult near the waterfall 

Rock Pipit 1 each, Red Nab and Lighthouse 

I went down to check the feeding beach in the hope, but not expectation, that the green ringed Mediterranean gull would be there. It wasn't. Just 6 adults on the beach and a 7th seen flying towards it.

Mediterranean gulls

Shag 1 2nd calendar year on the wooden jetty with Cormorants 

Shag (centre)

Whimbrel 1

Whimbrel 

Butterflies in the Nature Park 

Large White 1

Red Admiral 2

Common Blue 2

Meadow Brown several 

Common Blue

Red Admiral 

Pretty much the same

A dry day with sunny spells. A fresh SW wind

Red Nab - Malcolm 09:15 - 10:00

There were a few more gulls than yesterday but again very flighty with 2 juvenile and an adult Peregrine Falcon flying around.

Two of the Peregrines 

The gulls were regularly lifting

Three of the four Mediterranean gulls seen

The shore is covered with these tiny snails. Not as dense yet as they will
be in a couple of weeks

This zoomed in shot shows the snails and the tracks they make as they graze algae
These are what the returning waders like to feed on here.

But today the Black-Headed gulls were feeding on them. Not the best quality clip, as both the gulls and the cameraman were being buffeted by the fresh wind.

Little Egret 2

Curlew 80+

Linnet 3

Rock Pipit 1

Heysham skear - Malcolm 15:00 - 16:00

No Eider or Mergansers, but two Great Crested grebes this afternoon 

Little Egret just 1

Gulls 350 mainly Herring gulls, just one regular ringed bird seen

Oystercatcher c1200

Curlew c60

Redshank 34

Turnstone 12

Summer plumage Redshank

The Turnstone on the left has found a small morsel 

Looks like a tiny crab

This Lion's mane jellyfish was quite high up the shore - one not to touch!

Returning waders haven't gone unnoticed

A mainly overcast day with a few light showers. A west wind.

South shore Malcolm 09:30 - 10:30

I went to watch the tide reach Red Nab

Whimbrel 1 flew across the saltmarsh calling

Little Egret 5

Little Egret out from the foreshore 

There were hardly any gulls on Red Nab, and they were on
the easternmost edge

I could only find two Mediterranean gulls, this juvenile (top)....

.....and this adult (centre)

I didn't see any Peregrines but the gulls were very flighty, they even lifted when a Kestrel flew over.

There are lots of young large gulls

A pair of Great Black-backed gulls

Curlew 50+

Rock Pipit 1

Heysham skear - Malcolm 14:00 - 16:00

c400 large gulls mainly Herring. Three ringed birds were seen, but only one new one for this summer.

N:20K - details awaited 

Black-Headed gulls c30

Eider 1 female flew in

Red-breasted Merganser 2 together 

Great Crested Grebe 1

Great Crested Grebe 

There were a lot more waders than of late, but these too were flighty. There was at least one, probably two Peregrines buzzing them. They even managed to lift the Oystercatchers who normally stand their ground.

Oystercatcher and Curlew after being spooked by a Peregrine 

Oystercatcher c1500

Curlew c50

Whimbrel 1

Whimbrel 

Redshank 16

At first glance this wader with an unusual wing marking looked interesting....

.....but just a Redshank with a leucistic feather. Same on both wings

Turnstone 81 - flocks of 57 and 18 plus a small feeding group

Summer Plumage Turnstone

This is part of the larger flock of Turnstone