Heysham Bird Observatory: More Wigeon return and a top moth!

A mainly dry day, just one ill timed shower! Sunny spells and a light variable breeze.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Kevin Singleton

Good numbers of tufted ducks, 41, little grebe, gadwall

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 09:45 - 11:30

Pink-Footed goose 23 in 1 skein south

Eider 3 males

Male Eider, almost in full breeding plumage

Red-Breasted Merganser 3

Great Crested Grebe 9

Shag at least 1 juvenile

Little Egret 7

Grey Heron 1

Gulls 50

Carrion Crows 51 - a loose flock arrived from the east and settled towards the end of the skear with others that were already resting there.

Some of the crows coming in to land.

Normally the resident crows here are very territorial, but there were only minor squabbles today.

As I got closer 34 flew off to the SE, the remaining 17 continued to ignore me, as is their wont.

Swallow 6 south together

Oystercatcher 600

Curlew 30

Redshank 160

Knot 450 - two seen with orange flags, one was read.

Turnstone 70

South shore (Malcolm) 14:45 - 16:00

Even at "high" water, on these neap tides the waterline is 700m out from the shore here. I walked out from Potts Corner, 14:45 being the time I entered the recording area.

I could see a large flock of waders on the waterline just inside the recording area, but before I reached them a hang glider lifted everything. Some of them resettled closer to the sea wall, by the time I reached them the only shower of the day had started and I couldn't use my camera.

Curlew 150

Oystercatcher 50

Bar-Tailed Godwit 140

Grey Plover 9

Knot 1500

Dunlin 350

Sanderling 1

The shower stopped and I managed to take a few shots and read another flagged Knot, before a helicopter went over and everything flew south.