Heysham Obs
..........you miss the best bird on a loo break. Some decent odds and ends this morning, notably a Roseate Tern with comparative Arctic terns and a Pomarine Skua heading for the ozone layer
Sea 0645 onwards
Roseate Tern - one flew past with a small gang of Arctic Terns at 0840, showing requisite structural, plumage and flight mode features (Andrew and Bill)
Pomarine Skua - thank you Grey Heron (see below). One light morph adult giving good underpart views as it circled high north-east and seemed to head inland, gaining height, just north of Heysham Head
Arctic Skua - in contrast to the above, two dark morphs in at 0910hrs were 'water huggers'
Arctic Tern - 192 plus 9 distant 'commic' thought to be this species in by 1100 hrs
Grey Heron - one tried to fly across the bay, realised there was no lift and struggled badly before returning inshore with gull entourage and headed north. Got out of the car to see what happened (it landfilled at Heysham Head) and decided to scan the skies for a bit and picked up the Pom Skua - how many other things are missed high overhead - this happened a few years ago here with a high Osprey whilst scanning for a Common Crane seen flying high to the south from Leighton Moss
Little Egret - two purposefully north across the bay towards Grange
small Auk spp - seemed to be a Puffin but not enough seen for a county description bird, although it was in Cumbria where it isn't a county description bird?! One for the bin.
Guillemot - 2CY flew in at close range
Black-headed Gull - again purposeful inbound flocks of 2CY - 20+34
Whimbrel - 4+3 in
Mammal
Harbour Porpoise early on
Grey Seal late afternoon
Other miscellany
White Wagtail - 1 wooden jetty area
Whimbrel - one Red Nab
Ringed Plover - on territory by wooden jetty
