Brent having to work hard for their food!

A dry sunny day, the light breeze both varying in strength and direction.

South shore (MD, JP)

I went down the sea wall an hour before morning high water (Malcolm). Janet checked on the ebbing tide.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 22 - 20 were already feeding on Red Nab quite early in the tide, they were joined by another 2 that came in high from the north. They included the Canadian arctic ringed birds with a 1st winter youngster. They have been wearing these rings for ten years now, that's 19 transatlantic flights for the rings, more for the birds,as they were already breeding adults when ringed.

But the gutweed on Red Nab is now very short cropped and tempers (and feathers) were becoming frayed.

Unusually, they all left Red Nab and flew to the north shore. There isn't much gutweed there either, but at least what weed there is, isn't maintained to billiard table standard by 300+ Wigeon.

Shelduck 22

Wigeon 300+

Eider 1

Shag 1 sub adult was on the wooden jetty when I checked, but is was in the middle of the harbour when Janet got there.

Shag

Rock Pipit 6 at least - there was just a single bird along the sea wall, but at least 5 between the lighthouse and the waterfall, including 2 displaying males (one at each end). This clip isn't great, but it does catch the end of the male's display flight.

This clip begins with a male calling (after this clip he takes off in a display). You can hear a female replying and that's her at the end of the clip.

Rock Pipit at the harbour 

Grey Heron on Red Nab

Little Egret on Red Nab

Turnstone 

Heysham skear - low water 16:00 (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 22 - seen resting on the mud at the waterline, plus occasionally flying around, presumably when spooked from the rocks near the play area.

Brent geese in the evening light, waiting to go back to feeding out from the play area

Eider 143

Wigeon 4 

Red-breasted Merganser 1 male

Great Crested Grebe 1

Oystercatcher 2,000

Knot 1,500

Curlew 20

Redshank 60

Turnstone 100

Ringed Plover 12

Dunlin 6

Peregrine Falcon 1 - targeting the Redshank 

Just out of the recording area - Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis 1 - in the horse paddock behind the Hall.

Today's shot by Chris Penrice
Goodness knows what weight of earthworms it has taken from the paddock
and adjacent field. Chris saw it catch two in the ten minutes that he watched.