Shovelers in

Overnight rain then a largely dry day with just the odd light shower. A SSE breeze during the day, but last night it was SSW for a while. The first time in ages that there has been any west in the wind.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Shoveler 6 - 2 female and 4 male - on the main pond

Having a stretch and a scratch 

It would be good if at least one pair stayed to breed.

The Mallard were already thinking about starting a family

Part of the sequence missing, but you get the idea

Female Tufted having a rest

Moorhen

Cormorant 

Male Pheasant taking advantage of the area currently being landscaped 

Song Thrush

Cetti's warbler singing to the south of the main pond

Heysham skear - Malcolm 10:00 - 11:15

Pale-bellied Brent goose 16 - 12 on the skear itself plus 4 in the SE skear corner 

Some of the Brent on what is really quite a barren skear for them

These are in the skear corner hoping to find broken weed.

Eider 10

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Great Crested Grebe 5

Little Egret 1

A few more waders around today

Oystercatcher 1500

Curlew 35 (later this afternoon a flock of 30 flew west over Janet's house)

Redshank 70

Knot 1500+. There were only 3 small groups feeding on the skear 150 total. But 3 large flocks flew purposefully north, at least 1500 total

Turnstone 60

Dunlin 50 in one flock south

Ringed Plover 12

Ringed Plover and Turnstone 

Just the tip of one of the Knot flocks, quite a structured formation, not the
 ball formation that is typical when they are flushed by a raptor.

This is as long a clip as I can post. But it is worth watching. The Cormorant has caught a flatfish, it is well within its size range to swallow, but it doesn't. It has already had it for a minute when this clip begins, a Great Black-backed gull kept trying to pinch it but it couldn't. The Cormorant was waving the fish like a flag until a second Cormorant arrives. It then drops the fish for the second bird, only for a second Great Black-Backed to arrive and pinch it, much to the gull's delight!

Presumably the Cormorant meant the fish as an offering to its mate, or possibly just trying to attract a mate. I'm sure it would have found another fish offering soon. You can hear St Peter's church bell during the clip.

The second gull's timing was perfect. You have to think that it has seen this "offering" before and knew to arrive just after the second Cormorant, and now, possibly teaching its kids.