The west winds moved to the north, but remained light. Overcast with sunny intervals, but remained dry all day.
Jean managed a session from Heysham Head this morning:
07:40-0920 (all north unless stated)
Meadow Pipit 55
Skylark 2
Siskin 2
Goldfinch 12
Chaffinch 11
Linnet 18
Pied Wagtail 6
Raven 2
Black-headed Gull - a gang of 20 floated then flew into the Bay
Pink-footed goose 70 high to north 10:20.
Low tide channel and Heysham skeer
Pale-bellied Brent 4
Red-breasted Merganser 18
Great-crested Grebe 11
Eider 55 around the skeer but the ones nearer Morecambe weren’t counted.
Heysham Nature Reserve
A very enjoyable walk around the reserve in the afternoon (MD)
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| It started with this, slightly bedraggled looking, male Kestrel on the office roof. |
Nothing particularly rare today, the best being:
Chiffchaff 2 singing
But a good variety of species:
Tits - Great, Blue and Long-tailed (I'm sure there would have been Coal around too)
Corvids - Jay, Carrion crow, Magpie
Finches - Green, Gold, Bull, Chaffinch
Robin, Dunnock, Wren
Wood pigeon
Pheasant
Little Egret
Teal
Moorhen
Great Spotted Woodpecker - this female was calling
Insects:
There were several queen bees flying, not looking for flowers, but nest sites. The ones I managed clear views of, appeared to be Buff-tailed bumblebees.
This doe Roe Deer was on the northern boundary
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| Apart from lack of antlers, which the males will be growing again now, you can tell that this is a female by the tuft of hair (it's not a true tail) growing from the white rump. |
In this clip she sees me, has a good look, and decides I'm not worth bothering about, which pleased me greatly. You can hear bees buzzing during the Mexican standoff.
If you avoid sudden clothing and sudden movements you can be easily ignored. A trait that I quite like! She didn't look pregnant, so may have a fawn(s) under cover nearby, so I left her in peace and returned the way I came.
