Arctic Skua tops the bill

A fresh west wind in the morning continued to ease through the day. Several showers.

Pete managed an hour's seawatch this morning from the back of heysham harbour looking out through the harbour mouth, no Storm petrel but:

Arctic Skua 1 dark morph

Gannet 1

Sandwich tern 2

South shore

Janet had a walk along the wall in the afternoon, unfortunately catching one of today's showers.

Little Egrets on Red Nab, there were at least 8 around today

Some of the almost constant passage of Curlew

This Guillemot was just below the sea wall near No.1 outflow

(It was still there when I passed a little later. It looked unwell, this is another species that I have found several washed up dead this year. Hopefully this one will not join them. (MD))

At the Nature Park entrance one of the regular visitors, who leaves food for the birds daily had just replenished stocks. Several species were taking advantage.

Chaffinch 

Dunnock

Magpie 

Wood Pigeon

And, of course........gulls!

Lesser Black-Backed and Herring gulls

My afternoon walk along the wall, was better timed, weather wise (MD). The rain was just easing off then it remained dry.

Wheatear 3 - 2 adult and 1 juvenile near the slipway 

Greenfinch 2 on the saltmarsh, they normally arrive when the pepper seeds are ripe.

Rock Pipit 2 on the foreshore 

Whimbrel 1 on the shore out from the foreshore 

Mediterranean gull 11 - 9 adult/3rd calendar year and 2 juvenile turned up on the beach near the wooden jetty, but again, I didn't see them catch anything today.

This Herring gull was in the Harbour, part of the NW England Gull project.
See link on side bar. It was ringed as a nestling at Bowland Lancashire July 2021.
It was seen in the harbour January 2022
and was at a landfill site near Accrington In February 2023
Not quite as cosmopolitan as the Meds, but still interesting, and informative.