A hot sunny day with a pleasant NE wind.
First a couple of nice shots from Kevin Singleton yesterday.
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| Dunlin on Red Nab |
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| Lapwing near Half-Moon Bay Cafe |
South shore
Pete managed 5 Mediterranean gulls on a lunchtime visit - 2cy red nab, 2x 1cy behind ferry along with 2cy and ad - soon flew out again
East in the wind and hot and sunny can mean good insect passage in off the sea, but it is best when they are concentrated when the tide is out. Unfortunately low water today was 08:30. Too early for any insect to have traveled far. Still there was some movement mid morning. (Malcolm).
Red Admiral 1
Large White 1
Small White 6
White sp 3
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| Not my best ever insect shot, but this is what you see. There is a white butterfly coming in/off just above the skyline on the left. |
Common Darter 4 (all males)
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| Male Common Darter resting on the sea wall |
Migrant Hawker 2
Kevin Eaves checked just after lunch.
Red Admiral 8 in/off
Migrant Hawker 1 along the sea wall and this one in the Nature Park
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| Migrant Hawker |
I went back this evening as the ebbing tide was again leaving the sea wall (Malcolm). But the bulk of the insect passage was high up. The gulls, including large gulls were all feeding high.
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| Gulls feeding high above the sea wall. Kevin advises that they were also feeding high over is house, including a fine adult Mediterranean gull. |
Still there was some movement on the wall.
Red Admiral 2
Silver Y 1 seen coming in/off
Darter sp 1
Common Bluetail 1
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| Common Bluetail on the sea wall |
There were several Common Field Grasshoppers along the sea wall, they can fly, but presumably this is only local movement.
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| Common Field Grasshopper |
Plenty of butterflies in the Nature Park
These shots by Janet
Red Admiral 3
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| Red Admiral |
Peacock 4
Large White 3
Small White 2
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| Small White |
Janet also saw several Brimstone on Heysham Nature Reserve.
There were some birds as well
Shelduck 33 this morning and arriving all the time. 24 out from the foreshore were joined by 4, 2 and 3 as I walked past.
No gulls were on the beach by the wooden jetty, but a couple of Bar-Tailed Godwit had a go at the sandmason worms.
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| Bar-Tailed Godwit |
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| This Lesser Black-Backed and a Herring gull were on the shore together, then drifted into the bay on the rising tide together. |
Meadow Pipit 3 in/off this morning.
Rock Pipit 2 on Red Nab this morning - Janet saw this one on Red Nab this afternoon.
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| It flew off along the sea wall with this grub. presumably feeding a young one somewhere |
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| Another of Janet's shots - a Little Egret doing the old walking on water routine. |
Kingfisher 1 at least - Janet saw one fly across the dipping pond at Heysham Nature Reserve. I saw one zip across Red Nab this morning. I couldn't find it when I walked out this evening, but this is where it was on the return.
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| This freshwater runoff through the culvert along Red Nab is the runoff from the dipping pond at Heysham Nature Reserve, although there is no way a Kingfisher could follow it underground. |
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| Female Kingfisher |
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| This fresh looking Green Carpet was flitting around the Nature Park this evening |
Chiffchaff 1 singing (first heard singing for a while).
Lesser Whitethroat 1 seen
