Saturday 16 April 2022

First Whitethroat singing

The very light breeze and high cloud continues. Plenty of sunshine.

Seawatch report from Pete:
Totally dead under this decaying weather front
2 Sandwich Tern 
316 Eider
8 Red-breasted Merganser
4 Great Crested Grebe 
2 Canada geese on sandbank
small flock Pink-Footed goose north  

South shore towards high water (MD)
Linnet were moving through 18 in several small groups, plus 2 regulars near lighthouse 
Willow Warbler on Ocean Edge foreshore rocks - likely just arrived
Rock Pipit 3
Shag 1 immature sleeping on the wooden jetty

Middleton Nature Reserve 
Common Whitethroat singing (first of year) was one of the records from a visiting LDBWS party.

Heysham skear - low water 18:50
Eider, Great Crested Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser - no more than Pete's report earlier
Oystercatcher c500 but probably more on outer skear
Curlew 2
Redshank 100+
Turnstone 100+
Knot small flock of c60. Many now turning to summer plumage.
Knot 

I managed to "rescue" another fish. This one was just caught out by the tide quickly draining the skear pools. Not quite as impressive size wise as yesterday's dogfish but probably not species commonly known. 

Sea Scorpion (probably long spined)
I returned it, still alive, to a stable pool.