Friday 26 August 2022

Purple Sandpiper

A light wind from the east in the morning, switching to west in the afternoon. Mainly overcast  till lunchtime then increasing sunshine.

Purple Sandpiper 1 on old Heliport wall (Pete)

South shore 
Report from Pete:
Mediterranean gull 9 on Red Nab
Shag 1 on wooden jetty

I checked the foreshore and beach out from saltmarsh (MD)
Robin 3 on Red Nab and foreshore, disgruntled "clicks" in the Nature Part suggesting more around.
Robin - as handsome a bird as any we see!

Grey Wagtail 1 on Red Nab
Rock Pipit 2 (including one by the rocky outcrop south of the saltmarsh)
Wheatear 1
Linnet 17 around saltmarsh 
Little Egret 4
Lapwing 4

There was the same cluster of Oystercatcher on the beach out from the saltmarsh, but we're moving back to spring tides and it comes in quickly. The other waders were just reaching the southern end of the recording area.
Dunlin c250
Knot c30
Grey Plover 10
Curlew 70
No godwits seen

I was just about to leave the beach when a small flock of waders appeared from nowhere and landed briefly by the Oystercatcher.
Bar-Tailed Godwit 36
Dunlin 32
Knot 11
Grey Plover 3
Bar-Tailed Godwits and Knot dropping out of the sky
The Knot and Dunlin quickly moved off south, but the bigger waders waited till flushed by the tide
Some of the Bar-Tailed Godwit and Grey Plover - looking like a bad school photo!

Middleton Nature Reserve 
Report from Jean:

This morning we caught 26 birds:

Grey Wagtail 2 of 3 that went through

Willow Warbler 8

Chiffchaff 1 (a retrap from the 19th and in heavy moult)

Blackcap 3

Whitethroat 3

Lesser Whitethroat 3 (2 were retraps)

Robin 2

Goldfinch 3

Great Tit 1

4 Swallows north and a high Sparrowhawk south


I had a stroll around in the afternoon (MD)
Mute Swan pair with 7 well grown cygnets 
Coot 1
Moorhen 6 including 1 well grown young 
Mallard 1 female with 2 well grown young, plus 12, possibly including some mature young
Little grebe a pair on the Tim Butler pond have at least one young - looks like it is being encouraged to feed for itself 
Common Sandpiper 1 on main pond 
Grey Heron 1
Cormorant 1 immature - it was sunning itself and didn't immediately noticed that I was right behind it!

Buzzard 1 drifting high to south (mewing constantly)
Swallow 13 (2, 7, 1, 1, 2) SW
House Martin 2 SW

There is still no sign of the Otters feeding on the Signal Crayfish 

Dragonflies 
Emperor c10
Common Darter c10
Brown Hawker 1
Migrant Hawker 2

Butterflies 
Gatekeeper 
Meadow Brown
Speckled Wood 
Red Admiral 7 - all looking fresh and all in the same area near the golf course.

This juvenile Sparrowhawk had tried and failed to catch the birds on my feeders at home. It gave me a dirty look!
Juvenile Sparrowhawk 

Just out of recording area - Heysham Moss Nature Reserve 
Janet took this shot of a ringed Grasshopper Warbler - a male was reeling here in the spring