Ice and rain

Horrible day!

Quick check for the Iceland Gull saw it in the SW corner area of the harbour but not on the waterfall

No obvious sign of the Chough in the first two fields or the sheepfields or indeed the horse paddock but visibility prevented a quick scan of the whole southern section of coastal grassland from the Near Naze

Couldn't see the shore where the Brents hang out from Knowlys due to rain and murk

Launderette pick up, fuel and home!

No reports from anyone else

Help with coverage please this next three days as at least two of us are out of action.  Thanks.  
Please use RBA text at 07520634324 to report the 'big four' local pager qualifiers: Chough, Brents, Shag and Iceland.  Thanks.

Worth checking behind/above midday IOM ferry for Glaucous long-shot although it seems to have moved on.  Always worth checking the low tide channels if visibility/sea conditions allow 

Offshore vigil sees one gain, one pull back, one loss

Perfect for the offshore low tide channel today except for the tide now being a neap and, to follow the previous pattern,  the Eider flock was depleted and missing what would have been pretty good views of the Velvet Scoter.

Some excellent pics received today from Craig Bell and Pete & Jack Morris plus some more land-artish type stuff - this time in the sand

Goldeneye - adult drake close inshore - very welcome record of a species which has really nose-dived in this age of clean seas off here
Shoveler - a nice second chance after missing the Middleton female - frost-displaced drake with one of the Eider flocks
Eider - 466 'only'
Great-crested Grebe - c10
Red-throated Diver - 2
Wigeon - 4 in Kent channel
Red-breasted Merganser - just two
Rock Pipit - one north harbour wall
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - two in usual place off northern end of horse fields on inshore skeer.  The stuff they are eating is called Enteromorpha intestinalis (thanks to Dave Allan and David Dunlop for help).  This is what the PBB (and Wigeon) eat in Strangford Lough when the eel-grass is depleted
Iceland Gull - 3rd W on waterfall at least all morning
Chough - elusive below the cliffs in am, but easy to see from mid-pm as the fields thawed
Snipe - 82 feeding on heliport grassland
Stonechat - female along half moon bay upper shoreline

Middleton NR
Pheasant - at least 3
Teal - at least 37

Everything else frozen out other than 3 pairs of Mute Swan
Catkins!:

Ice in snow

Iceland Gull - 3rd W present at the waterfall in heavyish snowfall at about 0950 at least
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - two feeding on skeer off the horse paddocks - apparently eating this stuff - more on this later:

Not sure whether this is eelgrass or something like cladophora cupestris - we'll find out!
Med Gull - adult horse paddock beach
Chough - no sign in what were snowfields with little or no feeding opportunity - hard to see on beach unless walk along

Fieldcraft!

Behaviour by photographers around the Chough has been pretty good with eg favourable comments from locals.   Not this morning.   A single individual followed and kept flushing the Chough all over the first two fields by half moon bay 1000-1030ish.   It just couldn’t settle down and feed and this was observed and commented on from eg the cafe.  In this respect, it takes a bit of time to locate and extract its main current prey item - earthworms.  Later photographers showed how it should be done.  Can you please remember that you are in a very public place here and your conduct will be being observed by the many locals who are aware of this bird.  There is a big difference between a single flush by a passing dog and being chased around the field!

Iceland gull - third winter by waterfall in the morning and perhaps surprisingly by all accounts over the tide in the afternoon
Pale bellied Brent Goose - now three birds feeding on skeer off the horse fields north of Heysham head (low tide), one of these flew south on its own 1100ish - presumably the extra one.  This then disappeared and the usual two were on Red Nab on the later incoming tide and again (flying from south) as the tide dropped
Chough - in the first two fields north of 1/2 moon bay café
Med Gull - Czech bird on the north wall railings; it or another harbour mouth late pm
Velvet Scoter - drake accompanying the second and last Eider gang offshore but quite distant
Great-spotted Woodpecker - drumming on Heysham Head
Eider - about the same numbers and distribution as yesterday
Red-throated Diver - one offshore
Great-crested Grebe - c5 offshore
Red-breasted Merganser - just 3 offshore
Scaup - as is absolutely typical of this species - no sign of what looked like a 'settled' flock!
Shag - juv seen around wooden jetty early pm:

Pink-footed Goose - 250 NE and 255 NW
Stonechat - female OE NE corner and the half moon bay female also seen
Greenfinch - small influx (at least 10) around office with four new birds caught and ringed

Perfect conditions, perfect 'new' vantage point

Knowlys roaders are going to have to get used to walking past telescopes scanning the low tide channels.  This is a really good spot, the only disadvantage being that any bird you see is going to go progressively further away.......assuming you are watching the incoming tide.  Today from tennish to half elevenish was rather good:

Eider - 720 - 410 in loose flocks at varying distances, then a gap of at least half a mile of birdless water, then a single gang of 310 at medium/long range
Velvet Scoter - drake with the most distant and fast moving of the Eider flocks (channel tidal flow) - a small gang of Eider and the scoter could easily have been missed but for a wing-flap
Scaup - gang of five close inshore (the other drake hidden behind)

Thanks Malcolm - taken from the edge of the skeer 

Red-throated Diver - 2

Great-crested Grebe - c5

Duck spp - seen by Malcolm at skeer level but missed by Knowlys observers (not female Eider).  Answer hopefully tomorrow after a repeat effort!

Whooper Swan - three distantly on the sea as seen from NH wall (thanks Pete)

Pale-bellied Brent Goose - two flew into Red Nab from the north suggesting they had been feeding off the horse paddock fields but inshore skeers not checked this am

Iceland Gull - 3rd W under the waterfall from at least 0800 (Malcolm) and was seemingly seen for most of the rest of the day plus a visit to Fisher's roof (thanks to Andrew & Jack for updates)

Chough - e.g. per dog walkers in the second field north of Half Moon Bay

Rock Pipit - one north harbour wall

Negative news by all accounts on Shag

NNEW Stonechats

Ring reading

Icelandic Oystercatcher and Knot ringed last autumn at Formby read at the Near Naze (details soon)

Warning to photographers please

Just a reminder:  STRICTLY NO PHOTOGRAPHY THROUGH THE POWER STATION FENCES

All photography around the harbour, which is continuously monitored on camera by either the harbour or power station security cameras (I was watched for over an hour today by both harbour and power station cameras plus the mobile patrol as I was seeing what the Iceland Gull was doing!) must involve cameras being pointed away from the EDF Power Station land e.g. quite ok pointing down at the harbour waterfall for anything feeding there or pretty pics of incoming ferries!

No good for scanning the Eider run looking for the Velvet Scoter today - 'orange cloud' silhouetted everything in what was already poor light

Attempts to read ring/flag numbers on Knot were just about to be successful when a 'large fat dog' ran/waddled down on to the near naze and plonked itself there sending all the Knot to Middleton.  Ring reading can be very frustrating eg garish lycra-clad cyclists along the Sunderland point road just as you are trying to clinch the details:-)

Iceland Gull - 3rd winter on the waterfall/harbour wall/platforms trying to chase every other gull off for most of the morning.  Some pics from Janice Sutton this am - thanks Janice:

Chough - eg first field north of half moon bay 1015
Pale bellied Brent Goose - the usual spring tide routine - Red Nab then Ocean Edge saltmarsh area
None of the rest of the 'shopping list' stuff was looked for ie Stonechats, Meds and Shag

Middleton fare (thanks Malcolm)
Mute Swan - 6
Coot - 1
Moorhen - 6
Tufted Duck - 3
Pochard - 2 separate males
Gadwall - 15
Mallard - 5
Teal - 33 seen others heard
Grey Heron - 1
Goldcrest - 1

Unexpected return of the 3rd winter Iceland Gull

The white-winged gulls are playing hard to get.  Where on earth has this thing been during the best winter coverage we had for years since it was last seen (eg other "unobtrusives" like the Shag multiply- observed daily).  No obvious rubbish tip or similar to visit nearby

Iceland Gull - 3rd winter again on the waterfall on the incoming tide, then disappeared despite careful check of visible rooftops.  Update:  that's better: consistency!  Returned on the drop tide and was seen below the waterfall at 1630hrs 

Thanks Malcolm

Chough - eg surrounded by people on second field north of half moon bay café early pm
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - two Red Nab on incoming tide, then OE saltmarsh
Stonechat - female OE saltmarsh NE corner.  Whoops - supplying false info to snappers:  the Half Moon bay female was also present and photographed today.  Apologies for the alternative facts and thanks to Pete for letting me know
Shag - juv harbour mouth then wooden jetty
Cormorant - 136 roosting wooden jetty (possibly another one or two not visible on south side of 'lighthouse')
Pink-footed Goose - very high migrant flock of 475 south over Midd NR
Coot - one no swimming pond (also yesterday) (first of year)
Gadwall - 17 ns pond
Pochard - one male ns pond
Snipe - 10 western marsh
Little Egret - one model boat pond

[Peacock butterfly flying about on nearby Heysham Moss this pm]

Duck grip-off

The Heysham Obs 2017 report is now (also) available at Leighton Moss.  Ask at the counter.  Ironic that I missed the Heysham Shoveler whilst delivering reports to the main site for Shoveler in this area! 

The female Pintail on the model boat pond we can live with missing (autumnal seawatch pull-back?) but lets hope today's late afternoon Shoveler sticks around - very difficult to see here!

Thanks Justine

Glaucous Gull - elusive juv seen mid-morning only - lost flying into the low sun towards Red Nab at/near HT.  Is it based on an inshore platform?
Chough - seen once from the Near Naze on the Barrows
Med Gull - adults Red Nab, Knowlys field and a well marked "relict gull" 3CY on Red Nab, later on outfalls
Kittiwake - 2CY outfalls briefly, two adults trailing behind IOM ferry but quite a way behind it
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - two red nab on incoming tide
Shag - harbour mouth briefly mid pm
Oystercatcher - largest roost I've ever seen on heliport surface; possibly as many as 12,000 but very hard to estimate
Shoveler - female model boat pond (but no sign of any Pochard)
Gadwall - 19 the last two days
Ringed Plover - 47 roosting on Knowlys field at HT
Meadow Pipit - three by puddles on Knowlys field HT

Freight ferry Glauc

Inverse correlation day today - the more Kittiwakes behind the IOM ferry, the less the passengers are enjoying the journey.  Unfortunately the Ben my Chree fare did not include any white-winged gulls but a juv Glaucous Gull, presumably the same as two days ago, was observed distantly behind the 1450 freight ferry in the harbour mouth, before disappearing out of the area again as many boat-followers do.

A Knot leg flag read today:

NLN/7503122

Ringed   Brenna, Porsanger NORWAY  70 30N 25 43E      26/5/13

Seen:  Near Naze, Heysham    31/1/18

No other interim sightings which is a shame.  Thanks to Richard and Jim for a quick sort out 

    

Kittiwake - 5 in as seen from Knowlys road, 4 in as the ferry came into port and presumably the same single adult followed both the IOM ferry and the freight ferry into port
Shag - juv on wooden jetty with a massive 135 Cormorant at HT
Glaucous Gull - see above
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Two on OE saltmarsh on the dropping but not at HT - presumably up at Potts Corner at HT
Chough - e.g. mid pm on second field
Stonechat - female NE corner OE saltmarsh
Jack Snipe - three OE saltmarsh HT
Med Gull - Czech ad north wall, ad Knowlys horse field HT
Pintail - female Middleton no swimming pond
Pochard - 2 drakes Middleton no swimming pond 

Back to earth with a bump - a typically birdless high spring tide and calmish weather

No sign of any white-wingers.  The Iceland Gull report on Red Nab late yesterday afternoon was very unexpected, given the observer effort looking for a bird which seemingly soared up and disappeared after all the gulls were spooked in the harbour late morning.............and it wasn't there this morning.  No ferry repeat with the Glaucous in calmer weather

Still plenty left by normal standards for here!
Chough - seen early am in half moon bay fields
Shag - Juv on wooden jetty 1030 at least
Stonechat - female OE saltmarsh corner
Jack Snipe - OE saltmarsh
Snipe - 23 OE saltmarsh
Kittiwake - 2CY briefly in harbour
Knot - four with flags and colour rings by heliport but none fully read - please have a go mid afternoon tomorrow if you are around
NNEW Brents
Med Gull - two ads seen