Obliging afternoon terns

Sunshine all day, perhaps the last for a while. An east wind.

Seawatch report - Pete:

Seawatching from back of harbour 0835-0940: 
Regular 2cy Little Gull backwards and forwards across Harbour mouth
1 2cy Mediterranean gull 
3 Arctic Tern early on
1 Common Tern
4 Red throated diver
c27 Sandwich Tern 
2 Guillemot 
c45 swallow
Puffin past cockers dyke, Pilling 1025 (we finished seawatching at Heysham 0940!)

Heysham skear - Malcolm 14:30 -17:00

Greylag goose 1 in/off then SE

Greylag goose

Eider 9

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Great Crested Grebe 1 

Little Egret 4

Sandwich Tern 2

Arctic Tern 42

At 15:50 a flock of 20 came in and settled on a sandbar just north of the skear.

 

This one preening its tail streamer

They all began preening

I left them in peace and crossed to check the south side of the skear. I didn't see any more terns come in, although it was difficult looking west into the sun. When I looked back it was clear that they had been joined by more so I went back.

By this time most of them had their heads tucked in having, what is probably, 
a well earned rest. I wonder how far they had flown today. They were still sat
on the mud when I returned to the promenade at 17:00

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Curlew 1

Curlew

Whimbrel 15 minimum 

Whimbrel

Knot 130 

Knot, quite a few moulting to breeding plumage

Sanderling 5 flew north along the main channel

Oystercatcher not counted. No Redshank or Turnstone seen

Swallow 1 in/off