Nice weather, good coverage, first Chiffchaff!

A warm sunny day with a light variable breeze

Shaun Cole managed a thorough check this morning:

South side 07:30-11:00:

Red-throated Diver 1 drifting in.

Greylag Goose 3 in.

Pink-footed Goose 64 + 32 in & c240 out.

Pale-bellied Brent Geese 58 Red Nab on the way back at high tide.

Whooper Swan 1 in.

Wigeon 226 (no 2 outfall).

Eider just 7 drifting in.

Common Scoter 4 across the bay from Barrow to outfalls, then an arc past Fleetwood and Rossall Point. 

Cormorant 47 roosting on the wooden pier.

Shag adult on to the wooden pier at 08:45.

Grey Plover 56. (waders feeding on shore between OE surface water drainage pipe and No 2 outfall).

Bar-tailed Godwit 90.

Knot c2000.

Dunlin c500.

Sanderling 2.

Turnstone 11 (no 1 outfall).

Meadow Pipit 14 in.

Rock Pipit pair Roundhead. 

A really close porpoise off the harbour mouth heading in.

Chiffchaff feeding at the anemometer - first this spring 

In addition David Talbot and Mark had 5 Stonechats at OE saltmarsh. Also a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly near the heliport

I just had a short walk from Red Nab to the saltmarsh (Malcolm). Nothing seen that isn't covered above so just a few shots:

Brent geese and Wigeon on Red Nab

Reed Bunting 

Stonechat 

There was clearly something happening here, I suspected that it was a Merganser, but I was wrong.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Gooseaander 1 male on the "no swimming" pond

Gooseander

Still 2 males and at least 1 female Shoveler on the main pond

North shore 

Howard checked the high water Heliport roost

c3000 Knot, several flags eventually read

Later all 3000 moved to the skear, but they were soon disturbed by a dog walker and they moved further north.