Black Terns.......day thirteen!

A south to SW wind. Mainly dry apart from a few very light showers.

South Shore

Report from Pete Crooks:

3 juvenile Black Tern – still at Heysham Stage 2 Outfall

5 Mediterranean Gull (2 adults, 2 2nd winter, 1 1st winter) spread between Red Nab and Heysham Harbour

1 adult Little Gull – briefly behind the Sea Truck ferry as it rounded the Wooden Pier to enter the harbour

1 Guillemot – by outflow pipe in SW corner of harbour

48 Cormorant – roosting on the Wooden Pier

72 Pink-footed Geese – south offshore over HS2 outfall

3 Rock Pipit – 1 Red Nab and 2 by HS1 outfall

1 Swallow – south over the tideline off HS2 outfall

Later report from Shaun Coyle 

Heysham Outfalls 16:00-17:30:

Black Tern 4 juvenile on no 2. Three mostly together, other drops in briefly, then disappears. 

Common Tern 2 juvenile (one on each outfall). 

Sandwich Tern 1 (no 1). 

Mediterranean Gull at least 6 adult types. 

Guillemot still in harbour (intake/waterfall). 

North shore 

I checked Heysham skear at low water 07:30 (MD)

Pink-Footed goose 360+ - a flock of 60 was flying SE at 07:45. Then no more till the incoming tide lifted over 300 from distant sand bars. They resolved into 3 skeins and headed SE.

Shelduck 2 south

Eider 37 - these are some coming in

Great Crested Grebe 4

Red-breasted Merganser 18 - I managed to get most of them in this clip. They are swimming against the current, meanwhile a couple of male Eider drift in on the tide.

Little Egret 14

Grey Heron 1

Oystercatcher 500 - many more flew from the outer skear on the rising tide

Curlew 10

Redshank 50

Turnstone 30

Knot 1,000

Swallow 4 together south

Skylark 4 together south

Meadow Pipit 3 east

Carrion Crow 53 at least, as well as the typical 10 or so scattered around there was this group of 43.

Carrion Crow and Knot

Middleton Nature Reserve (JP)

Grey Wagtail 1 (not ringed)