A nice resource pool

It rained. It rained all day! A very light variable breeze.

Saltmarsh to Red Nab - Malcolm 12:00 - 12:30

Lapwing 39 resting out from the saltmarsh 

Lapwing 

No Linnets and just one Reed Bunting seen. Others almost certainly feeding on the marsh.

Reed Bunting 

Shelduck 13 out from the foreshore 

Black-Tailed Godwit 27. All but one were feeding on the mud between the freshwater culvert and Red Nab. But this one was feeding in its own little pool just out from the foreshore.

Black-Tailed Godwit

The little pool was providing plenty of small bivalves for the Godwit to eat. It eats one in this clip. You can see just how easily it can roll it up the length of its bill.

The area beyond the culvert is where the majority of Godwits were feeding.
Spread over quite a distance as the whole shore was still exposed.

Redshank with two Black-Tailed Godwits

Wigeon 25 just starting to make their way to Red Nab.

Rock Pipit 1

Middleton Nature Reserve - Malcolm

Just a quick check of the two largest pond on my way home

Main Pond

Mute Swan pair

Mallard 15

Gadwall 12

Coot 2

Moorhen 4

Adult Moorhen (front) plus an immature Moorhen 

Mallard and Moorhen

Gadwall pair

Male Gadwall 

"no swimming" pond

The Mute Swan with a wry neck still has a companion 

Mallard pair

Tufted Duck 3

Coot 2

Mute Swans

Tufted Duck

Coot

A bit thin on the ground, gutweed not birds

A dry day with sunny spells. In theory it was warmer than of late, but it didn't feel so in an icy south wind.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 09:15 -10:15

I just couldn't get warm today, whether it was just the icy wind, or a touch of man flu I don't know, but this morning's walk felt like hard work!

Pale-bellied Brent goose 4

They had been feeding in the skear corner 

Then they waddled up the shore towards the rocks out from the play area. There is no shortage of gutweed and sea lettuce on this side.

Eider - just one female

Female Eider

Red-breasted Merganser at least 9, their heads bobbing in and out of view in the choppy sea.

Great Crested Grebe at least 4, ditto

Oystercatcher c1500

Curlew 8 leaving as I set out

Redshank c100

Knot 30

Turnstone 40

Oystercatcher and Dunlin. The nearest Oystercatcher with a small mussel

Turnstone 

Knot

Red Nab - Malcolm 14:45 - 15:30

Pale-bellied Brent goose 10 (8 + 2)

Some of the Brent geese

The eight left to the east

Shelduck 35

Wigeon c80

Female Wigeon

Male Wigeon

I commented a while ago that the gutweed on RedNab was not as lush as it has been in recent years. That was before the Brent and Wigeon began grazing on it. Grazing is probably not the right verb for what the Wigeon are doing here. Scraping, is probably nearer.

Little Egret 3

Rock Pipit 1

Black-Tailed Godwit 25 and counting 

When I got to Red Nab the tide had not exposed the mud between Red Nab and the foreshore. But there were already 2 Black-Tailed Godwit waiting.

The early arrival Godwits

When I returned to this area after checking Red Nab, the mud was just beginning to be exposed and many more Godwits were feeding.

And more were arriving all the time

They were feeding on small bivalves. Clearly there has been a bumper crop
here, but it is a finite resource. It will be interesting to see how long it takes
before dwindling returns make it unworthwhile for them to feed here.

A decent day, but nothing new

Freezing overnight followed by a sunny morning. More cloud in the afternoon with a light rain shower by evening. A light south(ish) breeze.

Middleton Nature Reserve main pond - Janet

Just a few shots from a quick visit yesterday 

Gadwall

Plenty of Gadwall on the main pond and then taking flight to the no swimming pond.

Grey Heron

South shore - Malcolm 11:00 - 12:45

I walked out to the waterline on the rising tide. There were waders today.

Knot c2000

Dunlin c500

Bar-Tailed Godwit c200

But they weren't feeding, just resting along the waterline. By the time I reached them the water was already high around them and they moved further south to rest once more. I followed them a few times, but it was a fool's errand as they continued further and further south.

Knot and Dunlin 

Knot and Bar-Tailed Godwit 

Knot off 

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Higher up the shore

Grey Plover 3

Grey Plovers in flight. The saltmarsh behind 

Grey Plover

Redshank 60 around the saltmarsh 

Redshank

Lapwing 10

One of Janet's shots from here yesterday 

Common Snipe 3 - leaving the marsh quite early in the tide

Black-Tailed Godwit 1 flew SE over my head while I was at the saltmarsh, possibly it had been feeding near Red Nab again. But I didn't see any others

Black-Tailed Godwit

Linnet just 4 seen

Linnet - another shot by Janet yesterday 

Reed Bunting 8

Reed Bunting 

Shelduck 45

Dozing Shelduck 

At Red Nab

Pale-bellied Brent goose 11

Wigeon 60+

Little Egret 3

Brent geese, Wigeon, Black-Headed gulls and Oystercatcher 

Little Egret

Just out of the recording area. Heysham Moss Nature Reserve - Janet

Common Snipe 1 

Reed Bunting 

Roebuck 

More Blackwits

Freezing overnight and a cool day despite the almost constant sunshine. The north wind varied between NE and NW

South shore - Malcolm 10:30 - 11:30

A scan along the waterline failed to locate any small waders so I just checked from the saltmarsh to Red Nab

Linnet 12 along the edge of the saltmarsh 

Pied Wagtail 10 on Ocean Edge grass

Rock Pipit 1 flew from foreshore to Red Nab

Shelduck 19 out from the foreshore 

Black-Tailed Godwit 13 feeding in the same area as yesterday between the end of the foreshore and Red Nab

This is the location. The culverted freshwater runoff towards the end of
the foreshore is in the foreground, Red Nab in the background. Some of
the Godwits in between 

They were finding small bivalves, seemingly very easily 

The bird on the left has a bivalve

They were all feeding happily enough until the tide brought them closer together. There were clearly some opposing factions.

This one was seen off with a peck on the backside 

Some had already left, and this remaining group had a bit of bickering to do, before leaving in two lots to the SW

Wigeon 100+

Pale-bellied Brent geese 13. Another party made up of smaller units. First 8 arrived, then 3 plus another 2

Pale-bellied Brent Geese and Wigeon

Grey Heron. Also 3 Little Egrets on Red Nab

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly flew along the sea wall this afternoon - Kevin

Heysham skear - Malcolm 15:15 - 16:30

The tide was really too late for a proper check. I wouldn't normally start on this time/height tide till 15:45 so just the first few pebbles of the skear were exposed as I started. The sun was low and bright......but not for long!

Eider 200+ there are over 150 in this clip. There were many more further along but the low sun prevented looking that far.

Eider pair

Red-breasted Merganser 1

Great Crested Grebe 1

Oystercatcher c2000 - probably not more than normal, it is just easier to estimate numbers when you can see them all at once

Curlew 25 

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Redshank 60

Knot 1200 - they arrived in three lots from the south, 100, 800 and 300. I managed to see four flagged birds before the light was too bad. Unfortunately the three I managed to read have already been seen this autumn. The fourth is a new bird but I couldn't read the code.

Turnstone 25

This mean looking military jet roared past, without any of the birds seeming
to notice. I suspect that is because the strange looking thing in the sky is already
past before they hear the strange sound in the sky.

By this time the "evening" light was giving the birds a warm glow,
although I doubt they felt warm!

Bar-Tailed Godwit with Knot and an Oystercatcher 

Turnstone

Someone switched the light out!