A morning shower, then sunny for a while, before dark clouds began to roll in. Very light variable breeze till lunchtime then a freshening NW wind.
Heysham skear (Malcolm) 09:00 - 10:30
It was very tranquil out there this morning (tranquil being as good a euphemism as any for "not much happening"!)
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| Some of the c250 large gulls, mainly Herring gulls, still finding seed mussels |
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| This regular was the only ringed bird seen. It is eating a seed mussel |
Little Egret 8
Red-breasted Merganser 1 female type
Great Crested grebe 3
Oystercatcher 500
Curlew 45
Redshank 60
Turnstone 40
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| Turnstone |
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| As I was leaving the NW wind was just starting, and darker clouds were rolling in |
Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)
No Hawkers or Copper Tipped Longhorn moths seen
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| The two young cormorants have taken a liking to the main pond |
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| Male Common Darter |
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| Green-Veined White |
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| Gatekeepers were everywhere |
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| Common Blue |
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| Brown China-mark moth - Straw Dot moth also seen |
Once again, Janet managed to capture a sequence of a confrontation. Today between a Sawfly sp and a Gatekeeper
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| A knapweed worth fighting for |
South shore
Andrew Cornall: Little Gull preening on the sand between the old wooden jetty and Number 1 outfall, after a short fishing session.
Malcolm 13:30 - 14:30
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| By this time the clouds were darker and had rolled further |
Linnet 11. 9 on the saltmarsh and 2 on the foreshore
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| Two Linnet on the foreshore |
Wheatear 1 on the Red Nab end of the foreshore before flying to Red Nab
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| Wheatear |
Rock Pipit 8 - 1 on the foreshore 1 plus 4 together on Red Nab, 1 by No.1 outfall and 1 near the lighthouse.
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| Rock Pipit |
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| All four of the group together had a bath in the freshwater runoff |
There were no gulls feeding on the outfalls. No sign of the Little Gull
Mediterranean gulls just 2 adults seen. This time last year there were typically 40+ Meds around
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| One of two Whimbrel |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Starlings feeding on black ants in the scrub near the lighthouse |
They were like this for a few minutes before heading back to the brambles near the waterfall. But, they weren't really feeding on the ants, they were rubbing them, or a secretion from them, along their feathers.
Grey Seal 2 feeding together at the seaward end of No.1 outfall.
There were 11+ Red Admirals in the Nature Park, despite it being overcast. Some may have come in earlier while it was calm and sunny.
