Pinks Heading south again

A cold NW wind all day, it started bright but after 09:00, mainly overcast but it remained dry.

Report from Pete

from heliport roost vigil over the tide.  

Male Merlin heading south over sea 

Mediterranean gulls -  at least three distantly seen following in IoM ferry 

Nothing of note in the roost

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Report from Jean:

30 Pink-footed Geese flew south at 10:40

Ringing 11:10-12:55

8 new birds

4 Greenfinch

1 Goldfinch

1 Robin

1 Dunnock

1 Blue Tit

6 retraps

2 Great Tits

2 Blue Tits

2 Dunnocks 

Rest of stuff mine, but  not much of that. (MD)

Heysham skear  - low water 07:40

Pink-Footed goose 493 in 10 skeins between 08:00 and 09:20.

All but one skein high and heading due south, but this one started low in an unstructured flock, before adopting a flying formation and heading west. I suspect they had been resting on a sand bar and had been flushed by the rising tide.

Pink-Footed geese, these are the ones that ended up flying west

Pink-Footed geese, as  the rest of this morning's birds were,
 in high skeins heading south

Eider 16

Male Eider looking splendid in his fresh breeding plumage 

Great Crested Grebe 8

Red-breasted Merganser 8

Little Egret 18

Waders, just: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank and Turnstone 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a very brief look at the two main ponds

Mute 1 adult on the main pond the pair with their 7 cygnets on the "no swimming" pond

The Mute family on the "no swimming" pond

Moorhen 3

Coot 1

Mallard 16 all on main pond

Gadwall 15 on "no swimming" pond

Little grebe 1

Insects seen in 10 minutes 

Speckled Wood 3

Red Admiral 1

Migrant Hawker 2 (male and female)

Female Migrant Hawker

Common Darter 1

Aged male Common Darter