Wednesday 3 August 2022

Adult's turn

West wind with plenty of cloud cover, but occasional sunny spells.

Heysham skear - low water 10:10 (MD)
Shag 1 2nd calendar year feeding on the north side.


Classic Shag leaping dive

Great Crested Grebe 3
Eider just 3 adult female - no sign of the juvenile creche 
Little Egret 6
Waders. Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone plus 11 Dunlin

South shore (MD)
Mediterranean gulls - just 3 juveniles seen feeding on the outflows, Red Nab not checked

Common Tern 1 adult alternating between the two outflows. This was early afternoon and the sun was shining off the sea, making seeing very difficult. The best place to watch was through the structure of No.2 outflow which blocked out the glare.

Unfortunately, it was very mobile and not visible here long. I eventually managed a couple of better shots.

Adult Common Tern

I just had a quick look in the evening, no sign of the tern, but two Peregrine Falcons were hanging on the wind. Not great shots as the light was above them.
Adult Peregrine Falcon 

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon 

The juvenile was honing its skills by chasing the gulls.

Towards the end of this short clip, the juvenile does a back flip, a manoeuvre used when catching small waders.