Knot provide the main interest

A dry sunny day with a brisk west wind.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Report by Alan:

Another short session on a far from ideal morning.  The breeze was rather strong for mist netting and the WNW direction was not helpful either.
Three Redwings were trapped very early on and a single Lesser Redpoll, Chaffinch and Blackcap. A Wren, Cetti's Warbler, Long tailed Tit and Great Tit were retraps.  

Hopefully the promised easterly airstream at the end of the week will bring some migrants across the country.

Janet had a short walk this afternoon 

Common Snipe 1

Pheasant 1

Both accidentally flushed

Cormorant 

Heysham skear - low water 16:10 (Malcolm)

I went out a couple of hours before low water, mainly as it is getting dark so early now. But also before the skear became too extensive.

Little Egret 3

No Eider

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Great Crested grebe 4

Oystercatcher c1500

Curlew 190 - there were the regular 30 or so feeding on the skear, plus 160 just resting close to shore.

Some of the Curlew resting close inshore 

Same birds, more detail

Didn't count the Redshank or Turnstones, but similar numbers to recent.

No Ringed Plover seen today

Knot 2,000 plus, including 6 orange flagged birds. Initially, they were very flighty and wouldn't settle, but after two attacks from a Peregrine Falcon, they settled down to feed and rest. Presumably the second attack had been successful.

The above shot makes spotting flags look easy.
But for most of the time, most of the legs are obscured 

Herring Gull feeding with Knot

Unusually, one of the Knot had all dark (melanistic) plumage 

Can't say I'm keen on such short days, but it is lovely on the skear
in the "evening" (it was only 15:40!)