Long-tailed Duck tops the bill

 Strong morning westerlies eased and shifted to NW by mid afternoon. Mainly dry with sunny spells by the afternoon.

Pete checked from the back of the harbour 0945 - 11:15

Long tailed duck flew out past Heysham harbour mouth quite close - quite a bit of s.p but views brief with close stuff from here.  

Also in one hour as sandbanks were being covered: 

whooper swan 10,9 flying (back?) south, 

kittiwake 1,2,c16,13,c35, in

red throated diver 1,1,1 in.  

Just 2 more Kittiwakes in, in the last 30 minutes 

South shore - Malcolm 08:45 - 09:45

Kittiwakes 2 2nd calendar year plus 8 adults on No.2 outfall, as I walked out, just 2 2cy and 4 adult on the return leg

2cy and an adult Kittiwake

Rock Pipit 2. I have seen this one feed like this on No.1 outfall before. I can't think what it is finding to eat. This would have been covered by rough seas just a few hors earlier, surely washing off any tiny titbits. But it seems to be finding plenty.

Wheatear 5 males

Wheatear on the grass at Red Nab

Middleton Nature Reserve - Janet

The feeders at the bottom carpark of the main pond continue to attract a good variety

Female Chaffinch 

Male Chaffinch 

Male Greenfinch

Goldfinch 

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

Heliport - Malcolm 13:30 - 14:30 and 15:45 - 16:15

There were c2,500 Knot on the heliport wall and the rough sea pushed many to the top of the wall. Regular disturbance by Carrion Crow shuffled the birds around. Eventually allowing many flagged birds to be seen, including 4 new for this winter period.

Increasing numbers are sporting some summer plumage feathers

Even though there are a lot of birds, there are not so many legs on show.
This orange flag with a green ring is an English ringed bird

This orange flag with a yellow ring was ringed in Scotland 
Note the Bar-Tailed Godwit with these Knot

This was lucky, this yellow flagged bird was ringed in Iceland, it is an old
bird as it is from a time when the code was printed on, not laminated as now.
The ink has worn away, but the light and the angle was just right to read
where the code had been (TCU)

I returned later hoping that the Knot would move to the mud after the wall, but the improving weather meant that there were a few walkers around so the Knot rested a while on the wrack covered rocks before heading north

No chance of reading any flags here! As well as the Knot and Oystercatcher 
and the tail of a Curlew, there is a Starling

Bar-Tailed Godwit 12

Some of the Godwit

Two Ringed Plover and two Dunlin battled south against the wind

70 Turnstone in one flock flew north

Cormorant having a rest on the wall