Heysham Obs
Red Nab is an incredibly variable place with respect to light conditions, wind direction and ease of observation. Virtually impossible on Monday evening when the high tide saw glaring sunlight, heat-haze and all the birds facing away in 'variable' wing/tail moult - couldnt even sort any juv Meds out & gave up. Today was "perfect" providing you were in a car - howling SSW wind allowing the perfect angle to view the birds from OE foreshore, no heathaze and a decent mid-height high tide
Red Nab/Ocean Edge/outfalls various times from 0850
Little Gull - adult and 2CY
Med Gull - 5 unringed juvs, two adult & 3CY (not the long-stayer as this has moulted its outer primaries to become "adult winter")
Sandwich Tern - 1 adult
Greenshank - one 1CY in the saltmarsh creek
Knot - 1(!)
Turnstone - 26
Redshank - 244
Oystercatcher - 2,650
Curlew - 37
Whimbrel - 2
Shelduck - 16 juvs
Arctic Tern - adult on outfalls at lunchtime
Wooden jetty
Shag - 1CY - the first of the autumn
Offshore
Gannet - adult out
Manx Shearwater - 2 distant birds out and across
Moths
Mouse Moth (scarce these days) and Sallow (4) new for the year, but the trap was not checked yesterday (last night was probably the more productive of the two)
