Heysham skear - low water 09:30 (MD)
As I crossed the promenade to get to the beach I bumped into an old friend. He looked out into the greyness then back at me and burst out laughing......"you're not going birdwatching in this!". I laughed with him, it did seem ludicrous, but it proved enjoyable. It's a different world when you are inside a 100m radius visibility bubble. The sound is different too. It was a nice change. Of course not suitable for anyone unfamiliar with the shore and the tides.
Little Egret 6 - this one seemed disoriented
Great Crested grebe 3 seen (just) on the seaRed-breasted Merganser 1 flying around
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| Red-breasted Merganser |
Shag 1 x 2nd calendar year
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| 2nd calendar year Shag |
Waders: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone plus
Snipe 1
Dunlin 30
Knot c300
I reached the very western edge of the skear, there was something, two somethings, further out at the very edge of visibility. Turned out they were Pale-bellied Brent geese. Not feeding, there is no weed there, just resting. I eventually managed to get my camera to "focus" on them
As I approached the northeast corner, soft honking alerted me that there were more. I located them, 18, again not in an area rich in weed, although there was obviously some attached to the larger rocks, and disputes as to the ownership of these was the cause of the honking.I wasn't expecting any Brent today. It's not the sort of weather to tempt the birds on the west side of the bay to fly over. But it was equally not the sort of weather for these to move on. The tide was coming in now and the combination of the tide and the trail of available weed would be likely to take them to the rocks beyond the children's play area, where there is plenty of sea lettuce and gut weed. So I returned 2.5 hours before high water. The tide was just 50m from the rocks and there were Brent geese on the water.
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| Pale-bellied Brent geese |
Unfortunately, a lady was walking along the tideline and spooked them. What a shame, they were only a few minutes away from plentiful food. There were 10 of them, perhaps the large group split or possibly these were additional birds. This is them disappearing south into the mist.
South shore (MD)
There was no sign of the Brent
Shelduck 100+
Wigeon c150
Kingfisher 1
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| Everything looked slightly different in today's "light" |
Rock Pipit 1
Kittiwake 1 adult in the harbour
Blackbird 2 male, Song Thrush 3 grounded near the lighthouse
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| Song Thrush |
Redwing 1 just before Ocean Edge entrance
Middleton Nature Reserve
Just a quick check saw Gadwall numbers increased to 28. Only the female Tufted Duck today
Best wishes to Janet, who is currently out of action with a broken ankle! Get well soon.
