Light overnight frost. A dry day with some sunshine, particularly in the morning. Light SE wind.
South shore (MD)
A walk on the shore out from the saltmarsh was more productive today. I knew it was going to be as these Knot and Bar-Tailed Godwit were arriving as I arrived at the saltmarsh.
10 wader species counted, these are the minimum numbers within the recording area, there were many more to the south and easily visible.Oystercatcher c40
Redshank 5
Lapwing 1 (just a solitary bird flying south!)
Common Snipe 3 (lifted from marsh grass just south of the saltmarsh)
Ringed Plover 13
Dunlin c2,000
Knot c3,000
Grey Plover 45
Bar-Tailed Godwit 170
Curlew c40
These are Bar-Tailed Godwit and Knot joining a mixed flock of Dunlin, Knot, Grey Plover, Bar-Tailed Godwit and Curlew.
Grey Plover, Knot and Bar-Tailed Godwit.
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| Bar-Tailed Godwit, Grey Plover (bottom) and Knot (Top) |
Not so frantic, but I like this clip of a Redshank picking up small invertebrates in the rising tide - ending with a reflection of the Power Station.
Shelduck c150 - the shot below shows where one has been feeding in the soft mud. You can see its webbed footprints and the shallow scollops in the mud where it has filtered out any invertebrates.
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| Evidence of Shelduck feeding |
Wigeon 200+ Red Nab
Pale-bellied Brent Goose 44 Red Nab
Pink- Footed goose 123 north in 3 skeins between 11:05 and 11:40
Skylark 3 together low to north, a little later 1 flew high to south
Reed Bunting 5
Raven 1 on pylons Heysham Nature Reserve this afternoon (ref Jean)
