It was brought to my attention yesterday that sometimes the video links in this post open an unrelated video (from the previous day). Hopefully this software glitch will be resolved, meanwhile, if you open a clip and it isn't what it says it is going to be, refresh and hopefully you will link to the correct clip (Malcolm)
North shore
I watched the incoming tide cover the skear this morning (Malcolm)
Pale-bellied Brent geese 49
Pink-Footed goose 7 east
Eider 5
Red-breasted Merganser 1 female
Great Crested grebe 1
Little Egret 2
Oystercatcher 3,500 including birds along the waterline which I don't normally include in my counts of skear birds.
Curlew 20
Redshank 250
Turnstone 30
Dunlin 15
Ringed Plover 4
Knot 2,500 moved off the skear and on to the shore, but were almost immediately attacked by two Peregrines. One made a kill straight away, the other chased the birds further south beyond Heysham Head.
These spring tides come in very quickly, they are called spring, not after the season, but it relates to the force of the water "springing forth". Like this:
Heliport - report from Howard:
I visited the heliport this morning 2 hours before peak tide and the helipad was full of knot c4000, the corvids put them up a couple of times which was welcomed to move them round.
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| Some of the many flagged birds read by Howard today |
I returned to the skear this afternoon as the tide was equally quickly draining off the skear (Malcolm).
At least 3,000 Knot returned to feed. Mercifully there were no further Peregrine attacks. And I also managed to read a good number of flagged Knot. It isn't as easy as Howard's lovely shots make it look. There is a flagged Knot feeding in the very soft mud in this clip.
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| And when you get a clear shot of it......it's as clear as, well....mud! |
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| This Turnstone has a metal ring (no sign of any colour rings on tibia) |
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| 39 Brent geese returned |
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| Some of the 85 Eider |
South shore - Shaun Coyle
Red Nab at 12:30.
PB Brent Geese 47
Wigeon 204.
Ringed Plover 7
Turnstone 14 at Outfall 2.
Single Rock Pipits at Red Nab and at the Roundhead.
