Saturday 14 February 2009

Murky afternoon

Heysham Obs
Twite - 3 on north harbour wall. 6 over harbour pm.
Purple Sandpiper 3 roosting on lower beams of wooden jetty at high tide one of which proceeded to bathe in the sea, then preening back on the jetty.
Turnstone - 70 at roost with Purps.

Ocean Edge
Mute Swan - one adult
Dunlin - 21 + 6 at Red Nab
+ observed as wated covered salt mash (MD)
176 lapwing
49 snipe (0 jack snipe)
c60 golded plover (flying low SE)
3 goldeneye (flying NW - not the three from the IE)
Ringed Plover - the often elusive flock of 12 roosting on beach by Ocean Edge saltmarsh, including a metal-ringed male (trying to chase the others off) and another sighting of the following colour-ringed individual:
NW23526 Adult female
Ringed as a nestling at Snettisham, Norfolk on 16/7/04
Subsequently nested at Snettisham in at least 2005, 2006 and 2008
Seen: Cockersands on 30/9/07 by Ian Hartley
Seen: Ocean Edge caravan park foreshore 19/9/08 & 14/11/08 & 14/2/09
Middleton Industrial est
9 mute
12 coot
1 moorhen
3 goldeneye
4 mallard
7 tufted
4 teal
1 snipe

Elsewhere
Ad Med Gull Skerton Weir. 5 Tundra Bean just out of the area at Bone Hill near Pilling. Waxwing still Leighton Drive and single Spotted Redshank & Green Sandpiper Aldcliffe