Plenty going on

A hazy day, the sun not really breaking through till mid afternoon. A very light early south breeze freshened slightly as it moved to the west. An odd light shower.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Peter and Rosemary also checked it out yesterday 

Seen at the Southern End:

Common Darters at least 7 pairs ovipositing plus several lone males

No Ruddy Darter

Migrant Hawkers 2

Bog Hoverfly 1

Speckled Wood 1

Large White 2

Female Short Winged Conehead

Seen at the Main Pond:

Red Veined Darter 1

Brown Hawkers 2

Migrant Hawker 1

Common Darters several males

Common Blue Damselfly 3

Grey Heron

Mute Swans 2

Mallard 7

Coot 2

Immature Red-Veined Darter

Common Darter

There was a lot of mating going on

Brown Hawker

Common Blue Damselfly 

Bog Hoverfly

Grey Heron

Janet had a quick look today, and despite a light shower managed to find one Red-Veined Darter on the main pond spit.

Red-Veined Darter

Tufted Ducks

Heysham Nature Reserve

Little overhead passage today but a decent ringing session - Report by Jean

The main theme of the ringing today was warblers. 10 of the 22 birds caught were warblers. Most birds were young ones, including the Jay. Unusually there were no Blue Tits!
Chiffchaff 7
Blackcap 2
Willow Warbler 1
Sedge Warbler 1
Goldcrest 1
Grey Wagtail 3
Goldfinch 5 (1 retrap)
Dunnock 1
Jay 1

North shore 

Heysham skear - Malcolm 09:15 - 10:45

I set out 30 minutes after low water, we are on spring tides now and it was a long way out! It was eerily quiet walking out in the haze, almost no air movement and most of the birds were miles away on the outer skear. 

Even those close by were silent.

This Canada goose flew north silently 

As did these three Pink-Footed geese

Later on the way back seven Pink-Footed flew south.

They at least managed a couple of honks

Shag 1  

Immature Shag

As the incoming tide displaced the Oystercatchers many headed to the
mud below Heysham Head to rest, so it was still relatively quiet

When it is flat calm and quiet like this you can actually hear these spring tides coming in. Not the rippling of moving water but the sheer energy of millions of tonnes of water filling the bay. It's a bit like being in a large empty building, but you can just hear the thrum of a large motor somewhere deep in its bowls. I took a video hoping to catch the sound, but it didn't really work. Possibly part of the hearing is more about just "feeling" the power. I'll share it anyway as it gives a sense of conditions out here today.

Eider 26

Red-Breasted Merganser 15

Great Crested grebe 10

The above three species in this shot

These are mainly mergansers, but there is also guest appearances from an Eider and Great Crested Grebe. By this time the tide is well up the shore and things are getting noisier.

Gulls c150. Mainly Herring gulls scratching out a living eating small mussels. But this Lesser Black-Backed has found a recently dead Eel, and it wasn't going to part with it.

Didn't take it ling to eat the Eel..... they are slippery 

Little Egret 16

Little Egret, Black-Headed gulls, Oystercatcher, Redshank and Curlew 
all catching small fish and shrimps as the tide races in

Oystercatcher probably 1500 but most moved directly from the outer skear to the mud shores

Curlew only 8 seen

Redshank 40 but most of those were high up the shore

Knot 6

Turnstone 30

Knot

Barnacle Goose 5 south - David Kaye

South shore 

Kevin had an afternoon walk along the sea wall

Around 80 Pink-footed Geese South as seen from the harbour entrance, flying high.

Dark Sword-grass on the arm.
A reasonably common migrant but the first I've seen here. 

Janet checked Red Nab

Little Egret - it was still very hazy

Oystercatchers about to be moved on by the tide

One of two Rock Pipits

In the Nature Park 

Chiffchaff 1 singing

This Chaffinch looks to have an infection on its foot.

Red Admiral