Murky and miserable!

The rain held off till mid afternoon, but it was murky with low cloud all day. Virtually no breeze.

South shore - Malcolm 09:00 - 11:30

I walked out to the waterline again. A bit of an act of faith as visibility was terrible and there was no way of knowing if there was anything waiting for me. Eventually I reached waders but most were scattered over a vast range of mud. 

The dark line is mainly Knot and Dunlin

Unfortunately when they are spread out like this it isn't possible to get close to many.These are minimum numbers:

Curlew 15

Oystercatcher 100

Bar-Tailed Godwit 50

Grey Plover 15

Knot 3000

Dunlin 2000

Curlew and Oystercatcher 

Grey Plover and Dunlin

Bar-Tailed Godwit and Knot

Also:

Shelduck 10 higher up the shore 

Pink-Footed goose 1 flying around to try and get its bearings.

Shelduck 

Pink-Footed goose

Just about every year a car gets stranded out here. The mud can be quite firm and no problem to drive on. But many fail to realise that when the tide comes in it comes in under the mud first, before covering it. This makes the mud firm no more, and too soft to support a car. Not sure if this is a new casualty or a previous one being revealed by the shifting mud.

Looks in quite a fresh condition, but it will very slowly rot away.

This Hermit crab was in a drain. You can just make out a leg and a bit of
claw. Quite a small crab for this size shell. I turned it the right way round
but it didn't try to move in the flow of the drain. It will be fine when there
is less flow as the tide comes in

A lovely day, perhaps the last for a while

An overnight frost then a dry and often sunny day. Very light breeze, mainly SE.

Heysham Nature Reserve - Alan

I set a single 18 metre net this morning by the feeders behind the Heysham office from just after 08.00.  It was still and frosty to start with and the air remained chilly throughout.  It was a slow start with few birds coming to feed until mid morning onwards when things picked up a little. By 13.45 a total of 43 birds were caught:

Greenfinch  7

Chaffinch  2

Goldfinch  14 + 5 retraps

Great Tit  3 retraps

Blue Tit 4 + 3 retraps

Singles of Siskin, Robin, Long tailed Tit, Dunnock and Wren (retrap)

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

There is still at least one pair of Shoveler on the main pond

Chiffchaff in the southern section 

Greenfinch

South shore

I walked out to the waterline just after low water, it's a long walk on these tides, but it was a lovely morning for walking - Malcolm

One of two Reed Buntings on the saltmarsh, with a Wren.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 2 were flying around before heading south

Shelduck 6

Great Crested Grebe 1 drifted in with the tide.

Pied Wagtail 1 in/off

Bar-Tailed Godwit 72

Knot 3000 - they split into two flocks 2000 moving south, 1000 moving towards the outfalls

Dunlin 25

Mainly Knot on the mud

The Knot were easily spooked, lifting whenever an Oystercatcher or Gull
called. The remaining birds in the water are Bar-Tailed Godwit

But they kept landing again, they seemed to be finding small molluscs quite easily 

Janet checked later towards high water

One of two Rock Pipits on the foreshore 

Knot and a few Dunlin

Pale-bellied Brent geese and Wigeon 

Male Wigeon

Despite the gutweed being quite lush now, they still argue over feeding rights!

Feeding Brent goose

Heysham skear - Malcolm 16:15 - 17:15

I checked the skear as the tide was leaving it. It is nice to be able to get out in the evening again!

Pale-bellied Brent goose 10

Eider 18

Red-breasted Merganser 3

By this time there wasn't a breath of wind and the sea was flat.

Brent geese filing past

A Merganser pair were feeding, albeit leisurely. The male doesn't even bother to dive, he just looks below the surface to see if there is anything about worth diving for.

800 Knot were feeding but only two flags seen and both seen before. By the time I finished, the light wasn't conducive to checking Knot, but it was a very pleasant evening.

You can't beat a bit of slurry!

The light morning rained eased by mid morning. Then dry for the remainder of the day. A light breeze, mainly from the NW.

Pete did a couple of checks:

Shag 1 flew from the harbour, its dark plumage suggesting adult

Whooper Swan 5 high to the north

Pink-Footed goose 32 south

Heliport - Malcolm

c3000 Knot roosted again, but they remained on the sloping wall and very few flags were seen.

Redshank, Dunlin and Knot

Low clouds/mist rolling down the South Lakes hills

South shore -Janet

These Brent Geese circled the covered Red Nab area a few times before
 heading off south. The regular birds know when Red Nab is exposed.

Wigeon pair

Cormorants on the wooden jetty

Rock Pipit near the lighthouse 

There were two chasing each other then just one feeding.

Plenty of Rabbits along the harbour wall, this one looking like she is
about to increase the number

Good visibility today - Piel Castle to the west

Blackpool Tower to the south

Mallard pair on the newt pond in the Nature Park

Bumblebee sp - no butterflies seen today

Imperial Rd - Malcolm 15:30

Fieldfare 3

Fieldfare

There was a commotion as hundreds of gulls began gathering over the field on the other side of the road.

I guessed that the farmer had been spreading slurry, so I went to check. I was correct.

I thought that there must be at least one Mediterranean gull out of this lot. And I was correct again!

Adult Mediterranean gull (left) with Black-Headed gulls

I scanned all the gulls, there were also Lesser Black-Backed, Herring and Common gulls. But this was the only Med I could find. It had a bit of a limp, unless it was just being careful where it trod! 

First Wheatear, first moth and more Chiffs

Sunshine in the morning but becoming increasingly overcast in the afternoon then light rain in the evening. A light variable breeze

Two Chiffchaffs were along Kingsway - Janet

This one has matted feathers on its forehead, the result of feeding on
nectar (pollen horn)

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

At least two more Chiffchaffs on the southern section 

Buzzard 1 being mobbed by Carrion Crows

Common Buzzard

The butterflies were enjoying the morning sun

Comma

Peacock

Also seen, Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell 

Saltmarsh to Red Nab - Janet

The saltmarsh Wigeon took flight.....

.......but didn't go far

Wheatear 1 foraging along the foreshore rocks as it quickly moved through. First of the spring 

Rock Pipit 1

Rock Pipit

Pale-bellied Brent geese getting ready to leave Red Nab.
Kevin Eaves counted 30

Heysham skear - Malcolm 08:30 - 10:00

Pale-bellied Brent goose 6, likely included in those at Red Nab later

Eider 40+

Red-breast Merganser 9

Great Crested grebe 5

Little Egret 4

Oystercatcher 800

Curlew 10

Redshank 200

Knot 250

Turnstone 80

Dunlin 20

Common Snipe 1

Pied Wagtail 1 in/off

Heliport

These shots by Kevin Singleton yesterday 

Little Egret

Common Snipe

Yesterday, the Knot were showing well and there were a number of
flagged birds. Kevin managed to read two. It was a different story today.....

Once again c3000 Knot roosted on the heliport, but it was so calm today that they remained on the sloping wall above the flat sea.

Knot on the sloping sea wall.

I checked these (Malcolm) and couldn't see any flagged birds, although most were covered by others. When Howard checked later the Knot had moved amongst the Oystercatcher making checking for flags impossible, although he did manage one that was briefly on top of the wall.

I returned when the tide was leaving the sea wall. 500 Knot moved to the waterline to feed and freshen up. These are some of them freshening up, there is rainwater runoff cascading down the wall in the corner, and it drains out to here. The wind was nowhere near as strong as it sounds.

Some were probing the soft mud for molluscs, but others were supplementing their diet with gutweed.

Of the 500 only two were flagged.

This one ringed at Dyfi Estuary Wales in 2021

Unfortunately, I don't know if these would have been joined by the others still resting on the rocks at the base of the wall. As everything was lifted by a dog running the length of the wall and back. All the waders headed north.

This from Kevin Eaves.

I had my first moth of the year in my trap last night. It's a Common Quaker so one of the usual early Spring arrivals, but very welcome.