Dunlin return in numbers

A warm sunny day with a light west wind.

South shore (Malcolm) 09:30 - 10:30

I checked Red Nab and the shore out from the saltmarsh as the tide was rising. 250 Black-Headed gulls, but no Mediterranean gulls seen today.

Curlew 150

Little Egret 6

Wheatear 1 - the long staying juvenile was near the slipway again.

Juvenile Wheatear 

It is clearly finding plenty to eat.

Yesterday, I said that I would share my theory of why the saltmarsh is currently growing. Here we go......

This is the shot from 2017 again

This was as close as I could get to the same location today

This is the point further south where they laid the processed water pipe from the water 

treatment plant by Middleton Nature reserve, the infill mud created a depression as it 

compacted leaving a shallow secondary creek to the south of the main creek. Presumably 

just enough protection, by disrupting waves, to allow the marsh plants to consolidate, as 

the whole area between the two creeks is now saltmarsh. The slight gradient of the 

secondary creek is enough for it to help drain the outgoing tide which in turn keeps the 

shape of the creek. Of course, one good storm could destroy all this.

This is the more telling reason for the expansion in other areas. These are
the holes made by Harbour Ragworms. As little as fifteen years ago I couldn't 
find a single hole, which struck me as odd as this is the ideal terrain for Harbour 
Ragworms and they are plentiful along the Lune Estuary at least as far as
Sunderland Point. (the name "Harbour" ragworm refers to medieval harbours which
were just saltmarshes with a creek to float in on the tide). The ragworm's network
of holes, perhaps counter intuitively, does consolidate the mud, mainly by the mixing
of the various textures from lower in the mud. And, although a storm may destroy some
of the new saltmarsh it wouldn't destroy all the worms so the damage can be repaired,
expect continuing growth of the saltmarsh - Malcolm

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 15:00 - 16:00

Eider 2 female with at least 8 young were drifting with the outgoing tide.

Great Crested Grebe 1

Little Egret 3

Gulls 350 by the time I left, but no ringed birds seen

Oystercatcher 500

Curlew 50

Redshank 36

Juvenile Redshank, trying not to be there

Dunlin 80 in one flock. They arrived from the west and left to the south.

Dunlin

Sand Martin 2 came in off the sea then flew northeast.