Seven wader species

It somehow managed to stay dry, despite threatening rain all day. Mainly overcast with a light east breeze early on, then shifting to SE then SW

These shots are by David Talbot yesterday.

Male Red-Veined Darter on the east bank of the main pond
Middleton Nature Reserve 

Rudd in the dipping pond
Heysham Nature Reserve 

South shore (Malcolm) 08:00 - 09:30

Wheatear 1 (looks to be same long staying) juvenile on the foreshore 

Rock Pipit 3 - one each, foreshore, Red Nad and lighthouse 

Foreshore Rock Pipit

Mediterranean gull just one adult seen (I suspect that the Osprey was there before me and flushed them)

You can tell it's a quiet day when I photograph Starlings! Quite a handsome 
bird though, already in winter plumage. It was alone on the wooden jetty, but
it won't be alone for long

In the Nature Park

Female/immature Blackcap

It was eating the early ripening blackberries 

Meadow Brown 10

Gatekeeper 5

Common Blue 5

Peacock 3

Red Admiral 5

Large White 3

Small White 1

Speckled Wood 3

Small Tortoiseshell 1

Gatekeeper 

Small Tortoiseshell 

Peacock

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 12:30 - 14:00

I walked the rising tide in.

Eider 3 females overseeing a raft of 21 youngsters 

They brought them close to the skear edge to feed in the shallow water.

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Red-breasted Merganser female/immature.
A group of 3 and this individual flew north, 2 remained feeding, all female or immature 

Great Crested Grebe 8 at least, they were pretty much everywhere you looked.

Little Egret 7

Gulls c200 mainly resting. Most were Herring gulls, including this regularly seen ringed bird. It is the only one of the ringed birds seen here that I could call regular.

Ringed as a chick last July at Bowland, this is its 10th record on 
the skear since first seen on 7th May

There were a few Lesser Black-Backed gulls, 16 Black-Headed and Mediterranean gull

Adult Mediterranean gull

Common Tern 1 flew over, north to south 

Common Tern

Waders:

Oystercatcher - many more since my last visit at least 800, possibly 1,000

Curlew 80

Whimbrel 1 heard only

Bar-Tailed Godwit 3 feeding along the waterline to the south of the skear.

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Redshank 65

Turnstone 4

Some of the Redshank being led by a Turnstone

Ringed Plover 4

Four Ringed Plover