A better day with better coverage

A heavy overnight frost followed by a sunny day. Very light NE breeze in the morning switched to NW after lunch.

Report from Shaun Coyle:

Heysham Head: 08:30-09:30

Single Red -throated Diver drifting in

Great Crested Grebe 4

Pink-footed Goose 12 heading east

Brent Geese min 44

Eider 68 and 18 Red-breasted Mergansers.

Also, 6 Little Egrets.

Outfalls: 10:15-11:30

Kittiwake 2cy on Outfall 1

Wigeon 257

Little Egret 3 and a Grey Heron.

Red Nab: 11:30-12:15

Brent Geese 48 and a female Eider.

Bar-tailed Godwit 4.

Ocean Edge Saltmarsh: 12:15-12:45

Jack Snipe 1 and 4  Common Snipe at high tide (all headed east towards Middleton NR).

Single Rock Pipit and 9 Reed Buntings.

Janet also checked along the south sea wall:

2nd calendar year Kittiwake

In the harbour 

Black-Headed gulls, one possibly reacting to having a large camera pointed at it!

Guillemot

Once again Janet shows that you don't need a large camera to photograph wildlife, this clip with her mobile phone.

Carrion Crow in the Nature Park

Peter and Rosemary Silvester also enjoyed a walk along the south sea wall. 

Cormorant 

Pale-bellied Brent geese leaving Red Nab

Wigeon

Oystercatchers, also enjoying the mid winter sun

I checked along the waterline out from Ocean Edge (Malcolm)

The waders were very restless, partly as the tide was covering the shore so quickly, but there was also at least one Peregrine falcon patrolling (the bird with a dislocated tallon photographed by Janet last year. Unfortunately, I couldn't manage a usable shot today.

Curlew 71 resting on the shore plus several flying around

Oystercatcher 50 along the waterline many more on RedNab

Bar-Tailed Godwit 34 along the waterline plus a large flock flew past to the south

Knot 300 along the waterline plus flocks fling past to the south

Grey Plover 5 minimum along the waterline plus at least 5 mixed with Knot flocks to the south.

Knot and 2 Grey Plover heading south

Dunlin 200 

Sanderling 1 - it flew low right past me, I watched it to the edge of the shore out from Red Nab and it seemed to land, but I couldn't relocate it when I got close enough to check.

Grey Plover, Knot and Dunlin

Bar-Tailed Godwit, Knot, Dunlin and a couple of Common Gulls.

Higher up the shore:

Redshank 130

Ringed Plover 6

Lapwing 90

Lapwing in front of the saltmarsh 

Shelduck 2 feeding

Pink-Footed goose 16 and 24 east (these are additional to Shaun's 12)

The Manxman was heading in and the Ben-my-Chree heading out.
I wish I had videoed them passing now as just at this point both 
ships blew their horns in greeting.