A mixed bag as April ends on a hot note.

Another very warm (23°C) sunny day, a very light SE breeze to begin with switched to NW by lunchtime.

Seawatch report - Pete

Sea incoming tide Heysham: 

just one Sandwich Tern

2 Common tern close inshore out

9 plus 2 Arctic Tern in

3 Sanderling out

1 Guillemot in

26 Common Scoter

1 grey seal.  

Also 2cy Mediterranean gull with c75 2cy Common and 30 2cy Black-Headed gulls around inshore 

5 small white in off

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

The aggressive male Mute Swan was attacking the Mallard with her chicks.
There were only 8 remaining chicks when Janet arrived and just 3 by the time she left.

Meanwhile a Coot was hiding its chicks in the reeds. 

It was quite a fractious morning. Another Grey Heron urned up
and was seen off by the resident bird

Swallow 4 over the main pond.

Swallow

Several Common Blue's around - first record this year

Male Common Blue

Female Common Blue

South shore (Malcolm)

I was planning on going along the sea wall this morning, while the tide was out and there was still some east in the breeze. Unfortunately, the wall was closed for maintenance work. There clearly had been some insect movement, as well as Pete's 5 Small White there were at least 12 Small White along the foreshore and saltmarsh. 

Small White

Other butterflies seen:

Large White 3

Green-Veined White 1

Green-Veined White

Orange Tip 4 males

Brimstone 1 male

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Peacock 1

Small Copper - first of the year

A surprisingly worn Small Copper for a quite early record.
Perhaps it had flown some distance

Shelduck 2
Whimbrel 1 on saltmarsh 

Linnet 6 

GoldFinch 4 flew in from Red Nab, possibly been collecting grit

Wheatear 3 on foreshore 

Pied Wagtail 2 on Ocean Edge grass

Pied Wagtail collecting food

I returned at 17:00 and the maintenance work was complete. It looks like it was just a one off and the wall will be open for the foreseeable future. By this time the light breeze was from the NW which isn't the favoured direction for insect migration here. Just one butterfly seen.

Small Tortoiseshell on the sea wall

Whimbrel 1

Common Sandpiper 1 on the north side of the harbour 

Common Sandpiper 

Eider 1 female

Eider on the flat calm sea out from the harbour. The light NW breeze was
enough to turn the turbines, but didn't ruffle the water as it was blowing in
the same direction as the ebbing tide was moving.

There were no Linnet or Rock Pipits seen between the lighthouse and waterfall

Grey Seal 1 out from the harbour mouth

Grey Seal with a flatfish (looks to be a Plaice)

Warblers singing in the Nature Park:

Chiffchaff 2

Blackcap 2

Lesser Whitethroat 2

Common Whitethroat 3

Common Whitethroat 

A pair of Velvet Scoters

A warm (21.5°C) dry day. A light east breeze early on quickly switched to the west.

Seawatch report - Pete

Sea: 1020-1120 from back of harbour: 

Velvet scoter - male and female in together

264 Common Scoter out including u-turning flock of 180

tight flock of five adult Kittiwake on

five sandwich tern in

four separate Guillemot floating in 

39 Common Gull floating in plus grey seal and lot of flotsam

2 willow warbler in roadside vegetation gate 38 road 

Pale-bellied Brent goose 6 south from north sea wall - David Kaye

Heysham skear 09:00 - 10:00 (Malcolm)

Eider 16

Female Eider

Male Eider

Red -breasted Merganser 4

Great Crested Grebe 2

Sandwich Tern 2 fishing

Little Egret 6

Little Egret with a small flatfish 

Gulls 300 mainly Herring

Oystercatcher 2,000

Curlew 1

Whimbrel 8

Whimbrel 

Bar-Tailed Godwit 18 along the waterline out from Heysham Head.

Redshank 3

Grey Seal 1

Grey Seal with a flatfish (that's a green plastic bottle behind)

Ocean Edge 14:30 - 15:00 (Malcolm)

I went specifically to see if the male Wheatear was hanging around the slipway. It wasn't. But there was a female further along the foreshore 

Female Wheatear

Whimbrel 3 on the saltmarsh 

Shelduck 2

Linnet 6

Meadow Pipit 1

In the Nature Park 

Hairy Shieldbugs

Peacock - other butterflies: Large White, Small White, orange Tip and Speckled Wood.

Warblers heard

Willow Warbler 1

Lesser Whitethroat 2

Common Whitethroat 1

Blackcap 1

Chiffchaff 1

Imperial Rd (Malcolm)

Just a quick look on my way home.

Buzzard 2

This one was waiting in the trees at the side of the copse

Its mate arrived and both flew deeper into the copse, but I couldn't relocate. A little later one flew east, presumably off hunting.

Buzzard chased by a Carrion Crow as it set off east

Kestrel 1

Male Kestrel

Carrion Crow keeping lookout from the crows nest

Greylag Geese 2 in the field to the east of the road

Greylag Geese

Warblers heard:

Cetti's Warbler 1 near the pond on the south end of the road

Common Whitethroat 2

Lesser Whitethroat 4

Chiffchaff 1

Roebuck legging it

Another Osprey and the seabirds keep moving

A warm dry day with long sunny periods. A light variable breeze.

Seawatch report - Jean

North Harbour wall 08:21 - 10:41

46 Pink-footed Goose 

180 Common Scoter 

10 Whimbrel 

2 Arctic Tern 

11 Sandwich Tern 

6 Guillemot 

1 Red-throated Diver 

4 Gannet 

1 Osprey

Also seen:

 Carrion Crow 

 Pied Wagtail

 Linnet 

 Eider 

 Oystercatcher

 Common Gull 

 Herring Gull 

 Lesser Black-backed Gull 

 Cormorant 

South shore

I checked from saltmarsh to harbour and back 10:00 - 11:30 (Malcolm)

No Brent geese on Red Nab today, although they do sometimes not feed there when they "know" the tide is going to cover it.

Whimbrel 1 on Red Nab was the only wader seen or heard today.

Sandwich Terns 9 on the buoys.

White Wagtail 5 on saltmarsh and foreshore. I had one of those days today when I seemed invisible. The birds looked towards me but didn't move.

White Wagtail 

Linnet 8 on saltmarsh and foreshore 4 near the lighthouse 

Linnet finishing off some seeds

Wheatear just 1 near the slipway, a similar looking bird has been seen in this spot for the past three days.

Male Wheatear on the dilapidated sign at the top of the slipway 

Mistle Thrush 2. Came from the west, I didn't see if they came off the sea, but they landed on the grass.

Mistle Thrush

I was just going to take a clip of them, but they continued NE almost immediately.

Meadow Pipit 1 on Ocean Edge grass

Rock Pipit 4 - one each: saltmarsh, foreshore, sea wall/Red Nab, Lighthouse 

Foreshore Rock Pipit. Another bird that couldn't be bothered to move.

This is the old weather vein behind Red Nab. In 30 years walking here,
this is the first time I have seen a bird perched on it. No idea why it isn't used more.
Today a Common Whitethroat baulked the trend

Goldfinch on one of Red Nab's rocks

Dunnock singing from the scrub near the waterfall.

Janet checked Ocean Edge later.

Wheatear 3 including a male near the slipway.

This is the Wheatear near the slipway

Rock Pipit 1 on the foreshore, Janet also noted that it didn't seem bothered about passers by today.

Rock Pipit

Still two or three White Wagtails around

Whimbrel on Red Nab

Lesser Black-Backed gull on Red Nab

Shelduck 

One of two Little Egrets

Middleton Nature Reserve 

These shots by Janet from yesterday 

Grey Heron and Mute Swan

Male Blackcap

Female Blackcap

Greenfinch

Worn Small Tortoiseshell 

Female Orange Tip. This shot nicely shows how its underwing 
pattern is an excellent camouflage 

I checked late afternoon (Malcolm)

Mute Swan pair

Mallard 3 males and one proud female with 12 very young chicks.

Mallard

Another female Mallard in the central marshes

Gadwall pair on the fence pond

Coot 4

Moorhen 2

Common Snipe 1 flushed 

Warblers heard:

Chiffchaff 3

Willow Warbler 3

Blackcap 2

Cetti's warbler 3-4

Reed Warbler 1 in the reedbed SE corner of the main pond

Sedge Warbler 1 on the central marsh

Common Whitethroat 4

Lesser Whitethroat 3

Insects:

Orange Tip everywhere 

Small White 2

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Peacock 1

Large Red Damselfly 1

Grey Heron heading west