An overcast start with a few light showers, but mainly sunny by mid afternoon. Winds still from the west.
Pete and Jean managed a morning visit - records from Pete:
Manx Shearwater 2 offshore (this isn't even the tip of the iceberg, there were 1,000 seen from Walney between 07:00 - 09:00)
Red Nab
Sandwich Tern 1 adult
Mediterranean gulls 7. They were quite mobile. Initially just three 2nd calendar year birds seen, then joined by a 3rd calendar year- this one had a white darvic. The 3cy bird quickly disappeared, but three adult then appeared.
There were large numbers of large gulls feeding over the sea beyond the wooden jetty. Jean spotted small (c20cm) fish jumping out of the water. (It sounds like something was attacking a shoal of small Grey Mullet - Cormorant, Grey Seal, Harbour Porpoise or large Bass, probably a combination of some or all of these (MD))
By the time I got close enough to check the gulls on Red Nab, the ringed 3CY could not be located. The only ring I saw was an adult Med with a metal ring on the right leg. We had one like this last year.
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| Adult Mediterranean gull with metal only ring |
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| This is the Sandwich Tern resting with Black-Headed gulls |
Heysham skear - low water 16:30
Great Crested grebe 5 at least, it was quite choppy and some could have been missed.
Curlew c50
Turnstone c20
Little Egret 4
I thought this Little Egret had a white right leg ring and possibly a metal ring on the left. Unfortunately, it was unusually flighty, and flew off into the sun from here.
I had managed a couple of earlier shots, also up to its ankles in water. But on this shot it just looks like a pale section of leg above the ankle.
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The "bottom line" is that I just don't know! But I will be looking out for it again (MD)
