Black Tern, first Arctic Terns, Cuckoo and an Osprey top a decent day

A slightly fresher, but still light east wind. Sunshine all day.

Pete and Jean did a thorough morning check of the sea. Report by Jean:

0710-1010 this morning:

Seabirds

Black Tern - 1 east at 0825hrs

Arctic Tern - 4 east at 0930hrs (came in over Ocean Edge foreshore)

Sandwich Tern - 4 on the red buoy

Guillemot - 1 out 

Great Crested Grebe - 1 in

Whimbrel - 3 north

Pink-footed Goose - 30 very distantly going north

Common Scoter - 1

Teal - 3 (M and 2F) in-off then north

Common Gull - groups of 30 and 50 mid way out going into Bay

Marine mammals

Harbour Porpoise - 1 into Bay

Grey Seal - 1 into Bay

Visible migration

Swallow - 22 north

House Martin - 1 north

Carrion Crow - 11 north

Linnet - 15 north

Meadow Pipit - 1 north

Grounded 

Wheatear - 13 

Other

Rock Pipit - 1 on the North Harbour Wall

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report from Alan:

A short ringing session after a clear night and early morning produced only a few birds as expected. The catch did include a Cetti's Warbler ringed elsewhere, a returning Chiffchaff and a Willow Warbler ringed at Heysham in 2018 that has returned to be retrapped at Middleton each year since then. The small catch comprised:

Willow Warbler 9 + 1 retrap

Chiffchaff 1 + 1 retrap

Lesser Redpoll 1

Goldfinch 1

Cetti's Warbler 1 previously ringed from another location, details awaited.

A trickle of swallows totalled about 15 north by 11.00.

A Cuckoo was heard twice in the vicinity by a reliable observer at 08.50.

Later Janet took these shots:

Common Whitethroat, Janet saw the last one last year (latest in Lancashire)
and now sees the first one this year.

Female Kestrel

Heysham skear - low water 18:00 (MD)

Eider just 19

Great Crested Grebe 6

Red-breasted Merganser 7

Shag 1 immature feeding

Little Egret 4

Swallow 3 north

Very few waders, most would be on the rarely exposed sections of the outer skear. A distant flock of 25 Whimbrel/Curlew flew out. 5 Whimbrel confirmed around the middle skear.

Whimbrel

Grey Seal 1 - this clip is quite distant, but you can see it taking several breaths before diving

And that was it, I'd left the skear behind and was walking back to the sea wall. What happened next was almost a comedy of errors, fortunately experience plus a bit of good fortune prevailed. It had been so bright that my reaction glasses were too dark to be able to see through my camera, so I had been wearing an old pair of varifocals. But my back was to the sun now so I put my reactions on. Then I heard the gulls screaming I looked back and a Great White Egret was approaching from the west with the sun behind it. It flew right over my head, but I hadn't reset my camera viewfinder to my glasses, so all I could see was a blur through my camera. I had to trust my experience that I had it in focus, and took this clip. Fortunately it was reasonably focused. It isn't easy filming something going directly overhead, I nearly fell over!

Great White Egret

The gulls had gone quiet, but I don't know why, directly behind the egret was an Osprey, perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that it was following. I hadn't had chance to correct my viewfinder, so again I had to trust to experience that I had it in focus. At this point it was flying east, and again directly over my head.

After it passed over me it turned and headed off to the north.

Female Osprey. No rings visible 

30 seconds after I took the second clip, my camera shut down as the battery was dead. I carry a spare, but was very pleased that it didn't happen a minute earlier!