A mainly overcast day with a heavy lunchtime shower. A SW wind.
These shots from the heliport wall yesterday - Kevin Singleton
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| Not sure what this Oystercatcher is regurgitating |
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| Curlew |
Middleton Nature Reserve
This from Peter and Rosemary's visit yesterday
It was very quiet on the insect front at both the Southern End and Main Pond but given the time of year that was not so surprising.
Southern End:
Migrant Hawker 2
Common Darters in Tandem 1 pair only
Male Common Darter 10
Female Common Darter 2
Speckled Wood 2
Greylag Geese 14 flying westerly. One one of them had quite prominent white wing tips
Heard:
Robin
Chiffchaff
Main Pond:
Migrant Hawker 2
Male Common Darter 6
Mute Swans 2
Moorhen 1
Mallard 2
Grey Heron 1
Heard:
Robin 2 - one singing from the trees at the northern edge of the main car park and another singing from the trees at the southern edge of the main car park. It would be interesting to know which one won the territory!
Cettis Warbler
Long Tailed Tits
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| Greylag geese |
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| The one with white wingtips is either partially leucistic or has a domestic goose ancestry |
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| Common Darter on Peter's head |
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| Male Common Darter making a more conventional landing |
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| Some of the detail |
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| Female Common Darter |
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| A pretty flower with a less than pretty name - Common Toadflax |
Janet checked this morning and managed to spot one of the colour ringed Grey Wagtails ringed at Heysham earlier this autumn.
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| Buzzard passing over |
South shore
Kingfisher 1 flew out from the freshwater runoff culvert on Red Nab - Kevin Eaves
Malcolm 13:15 - 16:00
It was still raining when I reached the saltmarsh, but you could see it was about to ease. I hadn't seen any Linnet, then a male Merlin flew low and fast over the marsh and lifted c200 Linnet. All my optics were safely stashed away so I couldn't see if it got one. But if it didn't that time, it probably would later.
Another 15 Linnet were drying off along the foreshore. By this time the rain had stopped and the sun was out.
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| Linnet |
Shelduck 88 close to shore but more further out
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| Plenty of gulls on Red Nab |
Mediterranean gull 6
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| This adult Mediterranean Gull was shaking the rain off its pure white wings |
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| This 2nd calendar year Mediterranean Gull still has some black at the wingtips |
I walked out to the waterline, the tides are dropping now and do not come in too quickly for the waders to feed along the waterline. But apart from the Oystercatcher just a couple of small groups of Knot stopped off briefly before continuing south. Then at 14:15 a flock of c4000 waders, mainly Knot, arrived from the south.
Bar-Tailed Godwit 30
Grey Plover 45
Knot c2000
Dunlin 300
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| I was stood in the sea to keep what little light there was behind me, but by this time visibility was poor. Also waders are much more trusting of someone approaching in the water than they are if you approach them on the mud. |
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| Bar-Tailed Godwit, Grey Plover and Knot |
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| Knot, Grey Plover and Dunlin I did spot three flagged Knot, but only managed to read two, both regulars from the last winter period. One an Icelandic scheme the other an English scheme |
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| 1st calendar year Common Gull |
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| The same Common gull |
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| Shelduck |
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| Three of seven Wigeon at the saltmarsh |
Lapwing 3 and Redshank 30 also at the saltmarsh
