A nice Common day

A slightly fresher SW wind. Dry with occasional short sunny spells.

First a couple of shots from Thursday, take by Kevin Singleton on Heysham Head.

Little Egret

Goldfinch 

South shore

I managed two checks today (Malcolm)

Morning - low water

Shelduck 2 individuals. 1 female flew south and this male was looking dejected (rejected?) on the shore.

Solitary Sheldrake 

Wheatear 13

Linnet 16 - 8 on the saltmarsh and now 8 between the lighthouse and the waterfall.

Rock Pipit 5 - 1 each saltmarsh and Red Nab, 3 between lighthouse and waterfall. This is a female above the lighthouse nest site.

Only females build a Rock Pipits nest

She will never fly to the chosen hole when she knows someone is watching. I'll have to be more surreptitious to find out which hole she has chosen this year.

Even though the tide was out, there were a lot more gulls feeding on the seaward ends of the outflows than of late, mainly Common Gulls. There must have been plenty of food coming through them, so I decided to have another look a couple of hours before high water in the afternoon.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 11 on Red Nab.

Common Tern 1 - feeding between No.1 outflow and the wooden jetty.

Grey seal 1 was feeding in the same area, it took a while, but I eventually managed this shot.

Grey seal and Common Tern

Common Redstart 1 male feeding among the brambles between the lighthouse and the waterfall. It wasn't there in the morning. Another tricky one to photograph, but I eventually got some decent shots.

There were at least as many Wheatears in the afternoon as there were this morning, probably including some new birds replacing ones that have moved on.

The cormorants roosting on the wooden jetty were all hunkered down and it wasn't possible to tell if the Shag was amongst them

Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap singing in the Nature Park 

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis still present early morning at least