........seen, but not heard

As forecast it froze hard (-5.5°C) on last night's light snowfall. Another sunny day with variable light breezes, the temperature never reaching 4°C.

Heysham skear - Malcolm 08:45 - 10:00

I went down to watch the tide cover the skear.

Pale-bellied Brent geese 38 flew to the play area rocks.

Pale-bellied Brent geese with Heysham Village in the background 

Eider 6

Red-breasted Merganser 10

Curlew 55 resting before heading east

Knot there was just one small group of 6. And this is the reason why...

Peregrine Falcon, it had already cleared most of the small waders from what
remained of the skear 

You may have noticed in the above clip, that despite last night's snow here,
the Lakeland hills remain snow free.

Also, just discernible, at the end of the clip you can see the incoming tide lifting thin plates of ice from the mud. I love watching these high spring tides come in when there are no waves, all the water movement is just down to the tide. Note how quickly the mud island that begins to the right disappears. You can also see the ice lifted off the mud being tumbled by the tide.

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

Coot still finding plenty of pond weed

Heron shouting at something (contrary to todays title!)

Mute Swans on the main pond.......

And Billy No-Mates cygnet on the completely frozen "no swimming" pond

Teal showing just how tiny they are compared to a Mallard

Great Tit, the bright sun forming a band across its tail

Female Chaffinch 

South shore - Alan Physick

Shag on the wooden jetty at high tide

Imperial Rd - Malcolm 13:45

It is this visit that today's title refers too

Water Rail, none heard but one seen briefly as it hopped over a fence.

Water Rail

Cetti's warbler, again none heard, but one glimpsed 

Cetti's warbler

Both a single Jay and a Raven flew north without calling.

Raven

Common Snipe 1 lifted (noisily!)

Lapwing 16 in the field to the east of the road

Heron 1

Little Egret 1

Stonechat female and male

Female Stonechat 

They are both on the largest boulder in this location shot. The horizontal 
line across the middle of the shot is the kerb on the eastern side of the road

South side - Kevin Eaves

Today was one of the few days we get each year when Snowdonia is visible from the end of the south sea wall