Monday 26 April 2021

Black Guillemot and Arctic Skuas top a good bill

Very light SSW breeze early on moved to SW and became slightly fresher. Sunny till lunchtime then overcast for the rest of the day.

A few observers were seawatching (Jean, Doreen, Dan and Pete - apologies if I've missed anyone) summary by Pete:
Sea incoming tide Heysham: 
Common Scoter 85
Razorbill 25
Guillemot 174
Razorbill/Guillemot c30
Sandwich Tern 74
Black Guillemot 1 in summer plumage
Red throated diver 1, 
Arctic Skua 4 (but a Pomarine and 4 other Arctic Skuas seen off  Rossall didn’t come through)
One of two dark morph Arctic Skuas missed passing through Heysham, but seen 
and photographed by Dan Haywood from the Stone Jetty in Morecambe 

Whimbrel 3
Pink-Footed goose 138 (plus one Unidentified small goose)
Dark- bellied Brent 1
Immature Dark-bellied Brent - see below for high water location
Manx Shearwater 7
Goosander 2 (not common here)
Mediterranean  gull 1 second calendar year
242 Common Gull. Many of these floating in. 
Not a single Arctic Tern despite small flocks passing Rossall - puzzling - maybe the Lune is the new overland route!

Harbour Porpoise 1
Grey Seal 3
One of yesterday's Grey Seals "bottling"
Picture by Kevin
Janet spotted the Dark-bellied Brent goose out from Half Moon Bay an hour before high water. It then drifted towards Heysham Head and back again. The shot below is one of mine just to show the location (MD)
This is the rocky outcrop at the northern end of Half Moon Bay, you can just make out the Brent.
It drifted between here and the rocks out from the Head and back again till high water,
and probably beyond. The detail shot above was taken from the path along the cliffs.

A couple more shots from Kevin:
Whimbrel and Little Egret 

Redshank and Dunlin

Another record of a colour ringed Grey Wagtail received (see scheme details on side bar to right)
Thanks to Mike Pickwell for this record and picture 
Amazingly the first from perhaps the theoretically most likely breeding river to the north - the Kent!

AXH0491/Lime over metal/red over red
Ringed:  Middleton NR, nr Heysham as 1st winter bird    31/8/20
Seen=male River Kent SD487980, near Staveley, Cumbria  26/4/21   38km NNE