An entertaining 15min stop off

Overnight frost followed by another nice sunny day. A very light east breeze.

Janet reported large numbers of Pink-Footed geese feeding in the field next to Heysham Moss Nature Reserve 

Also from Janet

Knot on the rocks out from Heysham Head,
looks like they were flushed from the heliport wall again

Imperial Road - this is the road to the recycling centre about 500m from the Heysham end of the bypass (Bay gateway). This road marks the eastern boundary of the recording area. I didn't actually have a walk today (MD), I just parked by the gate at the bypass end of Imperial Road and watched nature for 15 minutes as the traffic whizzed along the bypass. It was very pleasant and reasonably productive.

Water Rail 1 squealing.

Wood Pigeon 12 feeding on the short grass

Buzzard 1 flew north 

Raven 2 flew north west, both at the same time but not flying together.

Long-Tailed Tit 11 a flock passed close by, unfortunately there were no other species with them.

Long-Tailed Tit - this one ringed

This clip is a bit short on detail, but gives a nice sense of the feeding flock activity.

Cetti's Warbler 1 singing (twice). It was in the scrub right next to the bypass, about 30m to the right of the above clip. Pete advises that this is the first record for this specific tetrad (the pond further along the road is in a different tetrad)

Even though there was plenty of interest, I'm not normally good at staying in one spot for long, but these two foxes were keeping me entertained. They seemed to be either a vixen with a youngster or possibly two  youngsters.

This one was the first to arrive

The other was initially some distance away, when this clip pans out you can just see the first fox on the right, by the bush next to the pylon.

But it quickly came closer. I think most dog owners will recognise this behaviour.

I wasn't sure what to expect when they came together. In the end it was an anticlimax 

After a while, they went off foraging together. One or both of them were in view the whole time I was there.

On the way back I just had a quick look at the "no swimming" pond on Middleton Nature Reserve. No sign of yesterday's Little Grebe or Teal and just one male Tufted Duck. But the Gadwall had increased to 16.

The Carrion Crows seem to be defining their territories.

You may have noticed in the above clip that the catkins are emerging.
A sure sign of spring......according to my twentieth century reference books!