Not too bad a start

Overnight frost again, but not quite so severe. Light northerly breezes with long periods of sunshine.

Pete and Jean had a quick look round:

Pale-bellied Brent goose 7 - in Heysham Village Bay

Oystercatcher - the Norwegian ringed bird still on the cricket field

Merlin 1 out from Ocean Edge foreshore 

Ringed Plover 25 chased off by the Merlin.

Also on the south shore:

Reed Bunting 2 on saltmarsh 

Common Snipe 5 flushed from the saltmarsh edge by the rising tide

Rock Pipit 4 - 1 on foreshore, 1 on rocky outcrop on east side of saltmarsh and these two feeding on the shoreline near the old Pontins.

They seemed to be finding plenty of small morsels to eat.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

All three small patches of open water, were still about the same size as yesterday, but the ice thickness was less today.

All wildfowl as yesterday, except today: 7 Teal and 2 water Rail.

This shot shows the significant size range between
a male Mallard and a female Teal.
A male Teal is on the left and a couple of male Gadwall on the water behind.

Cetti's warbler 1 - a sighting (glimpse) of one in the willow growing in the middle of the fence pond.