Grey outs, out takes and updates

Quite a fresh wind, with rain pretty much all day.

I managed two walks along the south wall, got a good soaking each time! (MD)

The world was grey, the grey mud and sea quickly lost any features and just became a grey haze. No horizon just greyness all around. To be fair, the rain wasn't as heavy during my second walk, so it was a slightly paler shade of grey!

Shag 1 resting on the wooden jetty. The rain had eased slightly so I managed a shot, even at this range you can make out the shag from the cormorants by its smaller size, and as in this shot, pronounced forehead.

Immature Shag on wooden jetty with Cormorants 
A rubbish shot, but the only one I took today, so I'm going to use it!

Sandwich Tern 2 - flew high over the Power Stations from the north side, but circled round and flew back north past the roundhead 

Whimbrel 2 together

Mediterranean gull 2 - 1 adult on beach near wooden jetty and a juvenile feeding on No.2 outflow

Rock Pipit 2 on Red Nab

Fortunately, I had anticipated a lean day today and held back some general stuff from the skear yesterday evening (these are the out takes)

This cormorant has just caught a small flatfish. By the time I zoomed in it had swallowed it and was diving for another.

This may prove significant. Unlike this time last year, there are large areas of the skear covered in gutweed. Close in it is everywhere, but this area in the middle skear is some distance out. Unless something drastic happens there should be loads for the Brent Geese to feed on, if they return this winter.

This area of gutweed in the NE corner of the skear is larger than a football field.
This is the area the Eider feed over, eating both the gutweed and crabs that abound
amongst it (the crabs are buried in the mud when the tide is out)

Even so, the Turnstone have taken to turning it over in their search for invertebrates.

Even more fortunate is that Rosemary and Peter Silvester have shared these images and clips taken from recent outings, on sunnier days.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Emperor 

Male Mute Swan

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Small Skipper

Faded Meadow Brown

Faded Ringlet

Common Bluetail Damselfly

In this clip the Common Bluetail is eating a small fly, don't know what the convulsions are for.

Male Common Darter

Female Brown Hawker ovipositoring 

This is strange, the Brown Hawker at the top is ovipositoring, but if you look closely at the lower one she is only pretending to. Perhaps she is waiting to go to the same spot as the other insect.