Some in, some out and some through

Overnight frost, then a dry sunny day. A light NE-NW breeze

Meldon Road - Janet, just after sunrise 

Just some of the Pink-Footed geese on the fields just beyond Meldon Rd.
The geese are actually just outside the recording area, but visible from the
railway bridge that marks the boundary.

Imperial Road - Malcolm 10:15 -11:15

I went to see if I could find yesterday's mystery passerine. I only spotted it when I prepared the deer clip for yesterday's post, so too late to return then. I wasn't optimistic as Pete had advised that last night was going to be a "departure night". And so it proved to be, but at least we got some stuff in that had departed from elsewhere.

Meadow Pipit 9 were feeding on the horse paddock beyond the marsh, 7 then continued south

Stonechat 2. A male and a female type. They definitely weren't there yesterday. 

Female/first winter Stonechat 

Male Stonechat 

Very distinctive in flight

Cetti's warbler 1 seen briefly 

Water Rail at least two squealing plus contact calls

This Blackbird was eating Hawthorn berries, but quite particular as to which ones. A Water Rail is squealing at the beginning of the clip.

Raven 1 flew north

Kestrel 1

Middleton Nature Reserve - main pond (Janet)

Everything pretty much the same

Heysham Skear (Malcolm) 12:30 - 14:30

Pale-bellied Brent geese 15 flew into the SE skear corner. This corner is fed by a freshwater runoff, even so it would be quite salty where they landed, but they each had a drink before looking for food. They could have easily found quite fresh water a few meters above the waterline.

They are silhouetted as the sun was quite low in the south.

They then moved onto the shore looking for, and finding, broken weed to eat.

Eider 40+

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Red-breasted Merganser

Great Crested Grebe 4

Little Egret 6

Shag at least 2 juveniles 

A Shag with two Eider

Oystercatcher 800

Oystercatchers looking like Bookends. 
I wonder how long it will be before anyone knows what bookends are?

Curlew 18

Curlew Knot and Oystercatcher 

Redshank 150+

This Redshank has found a large Brown Shrimp. It isn't often in nature that
things die of old age, but I suspect that is what has happened to this shrimp.
There is no way a live shrimp that size would be in such clear shallow open
water. Shrimps grow by shedding their exoskeleton. But there are a finite
number of moults, after that they have nowhere to go.

It was certainly a treat worth working on, for the Redshank. Note that when it finishes, it then picks up all the legs etc, that came off the shrimp.

Knot 3,000, but mainly resting in the rocky areas. I did manage to read some new flagged birds, including the first Norwegian scheme this winter

A Norwegian scheme flagged Knot.
Not a Scottish one that the code might suggest.

Turnstone 40

Dunlin 20

Dunlin

Ringed Plover 8

Peregrine Falcon two attacks on the Knot.