Have the Brent finally all gone?

A light, but cool, NE wind. A dry day with sunny periods.

Heysham skear - low water 06:30

An early start, but I wasn't the first visitor (Malcolm)

A fox was foraging between the honeycomb worm clumps on the south of the skear - just left of centre

The sun had just risen and was directly behind me, the fox was squinting to make me out

Eider only 40 close in but many more further out

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Great Crested Grebe 2

Sandwich Terns 14 at least, fishing, resting and passing through. It is difficult when you are close to tell which are moving through.

This one had been fishing then settled down and had a preen.

Sandwich Tern

Bar-Tailed Godwit 250+ heading north, but many stopped off for a quick meal and preen.

Bar-Tailed Godwits

Whimbrel 22 north, but again some stopping off briefly, most in ones and twos, but one flock of 14. These are some of them.

Whimbrel 

Pete did better scanning at distance:

Arctic Tern 14 north

Sandwich Tern c40

Red-Throated Diver 2 summer plumage birds in

South shore high water 12:00

I checked saltmarsh to Red Nab towards high water (Malcolm)

No sign of any Brent geese on Red Nab today.

Ringed Plover 8, with Dunlin 9 on the foreshore 

Ringed Plover

The Dunlin were at all stages of moult to summer plumage, the last two quite advanced.

Linnet 6 - 3 pairs one seen mating on the saltmarsh 

Wheatear 4 - these two were feeding on the foreshore grass.

Janet checked along the sea wall

Four Eider south

A distant Grey Seal, but earlier it had been seen closer in with a Bass

There are large numbers of Gorse weevils on the Gorse bushes on Heysham head - Alison Haywood 

Gorse weevil Exapion ulicis

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

Glossy Ibis there mid morning at least.