Spring tides provide new opportunities

The NW breeze freshened slight throughout the day. A dry and mainly sunny day.

Heysham Skear - low water 08:00 (MD)

Tonight's high water at 10.1m is the highest tide since March an is the second highest tide this year so far. Spring tides not only come a long way up the shore, they also go out a long way and today the skear was fully exposed. The waders seemed thinner on the ground, but that is because they were spread over a very large area. 

Little Egret 15

Red-breasted Merganser 2 (male and female together)

Great Crested Grebe 6 all adult in summer plumage 

Greylag Goose 1 flying north

Eider 4 - looks to be a female with 3 well grown young.

Oystercatcher c100

Redshank c100 - this was one large flock seen arriving, but then, as the other waders they appeared to be fewer than normal.

Turnstone c40

Dunlin 2

Knot 6 - 1 flew south plus 5 together on skear all still in partial summer plumage.

Knot

Swallow 3 together flying north

The low spring tide allowed access to the green marker post and it was repaired before the tide returned.

The now not so green marker post being re affixed to the old waste pipe

I thought this was interesting, the NW wind was blowing the low clouds across the south lakes hills, but as they reached the lowland or possibly the shore there were obviously thermal updrafts lifting the clouds to a higher level.

You can see the effect of two, quite compact, thermal updrafts in this shot

South shore

Red Nab to Saltmarsh towards high water (MD)

Mediterranean gulls 7 on Red Nab - 4 adult, 2 first summer and 1 juvenile. One of the adults was a returning regular visitor.

Ringed as a nestling in Germany in 2012
It was first seen at Heysham in 2013, and been seen every year since 2017

Sandwich Tern 3 blogging out fromRed Nab

Dunlin 21 on Red Nab, these are some of them.

Ringed Plover 4 flew from Red Nab

Lapwing 3 on saltmarsh 

Whimbrel 1 on saltmarsh 

Redshank, Oystercatcher and Curlew plentiful 

Rock Pipit 2 on foreshore

Wheatear 5 including 1 juvenile near the saltmarsh slipway

South sea wall around high water (JP)

Oystercatcher 

Juvenile Black-Headed gull with a small fish

These are Grey Mullet, they come in close to the sea wall on the rising spring tides to eat the algae that has formed on the wall and is dislodged by the rising tide.

Grey Mullet 

Nature Park (JP)

Male Common Darter

Female Common Darter

All today's butterflies were looking worn

Gatekeeper 

Speckled Wood 

Red Admiral 

Comma

Female Wolf Spider 
 you can tell she's a female as she is carrying her silk egg case with her