More Gannets and a Scoter surprise

Quite fresh WNW wind moving more west by the afternoon. Light rain intermittent in the morning becoming heavier and more prolonged in the afternoon 

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

Just a quick morning check of the two main ponds

Mute two pairs nesting

Coot 7

Moorhen 2

Little grebe 3 at least, probably more

Teal 2

Mallard 6

Gadwall 7

Common Scoter 1 female on the "no swimming" pond. This is unusual and presumably related to some overnight passage. I located it at 09:15 and it was still there when Kevin checked at 12:00. This excellent photograph is Kevin's and really should be opened to appreciate the detail - it's not often we get a chance of a close view of this sea duck.

Female Common Scoter  - Kevin Eaves

Although my shots can't compete with the above for quality, I did manage some interesting behavioural clips. In each of the clips you will see it constantly head bobbing, I don't know this species well enough to know if this is typical. In this first clip it takes a sip of water, presumably at sea they get all their water from their food. Perhaps the head bobbing is reaction to drinking fresh water, for the first time in a long while (MD). A Blackcap is one of the birds singing in the background.

It kept diving, but I'm not sure if it was trying to feed, or just avoiding the attentions of the male Mute who would otherwise have chased it off.

This one is just a general view. The "no swimming" pond male Cetti's warbler sings during the clip, I then pan out to show the location on the "no swimming" pond

Report from Pete - 

Sea watching from the back of the harbour from 1110 to about 1200 when the weather closed in:  

Gannet - flock of 6 out and different flock of 8 in (all ads), 

Red-throated Diver - 11 out including four together, 2x2, three singletons and one in could have been one of these,  

Common Scoter - drake in then u-turned and flew out, one out distantly 

A later check from Ocean Edge located 

Pale-bellied Brent goose 26

Dark-bellied Brent goose 2

On Red Nab

The Brent were still on Red Nab when I walked down the wall a little later (MD)

Two Dark-bellied Brent right

Their dark bellies more obvious when they are out of the water.
Although, the likely Russian bound, birds were not exactly welcome!

As the tide covered Red Nab all the Brent flew off together towards Potts Corner.

Rock Pipit 5 including the ringed male near the lighthouse.

Wheatear 2 on foreshore 

Back to "normal"

It started off calm and clear, then a WSW breeze brought in the cloud as it freshened. A few light showers.

Nothing different today, just my records so far (MD)

Heysham skear - low water 08:10

Eider only 80 counted, but they were well spread and there would have been more.

Wigeon 4 flew in from the east and settled on the sea.

Female leading the Wigeon on to the skear

Little Egret 6

Carrion Crow 15

Peregrine Falcon 1

Great Crested Grebe 7

Red-brested Merganser 14

Again the above two were difficult to count, particularly the Mergansers who were constantly feeding. This was largest group of 7

Red Nab 1.5 hours after high water:

Pale-bellied Brent goose 34

Wigeon 2

The Wigeon left when the Brent set off for the north side

Rock Pipit 1

Gannets start to move, plus an Osprey

The wind started light from the east before freshening mid morning and swinging around before settling to NNE. Plenty of sunshine between the high cloud.

Morning seawatch report from Pete:

Osprey NW at 0810 over Kent Channel 

Gannet 5 adult, flew out together - first of year I think 

Eider 224

Red-breasted Merganser 16

Great Crested Grebe 8

Pale-bellied Brent goose 52 on the water near the eider on the north side, before flying to south - they were seen landing at Red Nab, long before the tide reached it.

Foreshore to saltmarsh shore (MD)

Wheatear 2 together on foreshore 

Shelduck 17

Curlew 70 

Redshank 60

Grey Plover 2

Dunlin 1

Grey Plover in winter plumage 

Grey Plover with Redshank 

The other Grey Plover had an "unwelcome" hanger on. Today's only Dunlin.

I know that it is unlikely, but a part of me thinks this has to be the same Dunlin that refused to leave the Red Nab rock yesterday. It obviously has an identity crisis and seems to think its legs are longer than they are. Eventually the Plover went out into water above the Dunlins depth, but the Dunlin stuck with it.

The Plover eventually flew off south, with the Dunlin hot on its tail.

Tim had a promenade in the afternoon sun, whilst the tide was still quite high:

Walking from Morecambe to Heysham 15.20-15.45

26 Eider out from north of Sunny Slopes

Another 23 Eider out to South

2 Merganser 

No geese seen

Snow Bunting visited yesterday

Cold WNW fresh wind, mostly sunny

Update from yesterday.

Snow Bunting 1 male - initially just south of the recording area at Potts Corner, then flew north into our territory. Report and excellent pictures from Mark Jones.

Male Snow Bunting

A couple of images that I managed to grab of a lovely male Snow Bunting yesterday on my return from Sunderland point mid afternoon. It was, unbelievably, in front of a caravan just 2 away from mine, feeding on the ground, I watched it for around 10 mins before it flew off up the coast towards Morecambe.

Beautiful, striking white back wing feather pattern, just a single call as it took off, easily the best views I've had of one.

Report from Jean:

Pete and I were in the area from 0750 to 0930 and saw the following:
Eider 207
Red-breasted Merganser 15 (groups of 6 and 5 and rest in 1s and 2s)
Great-crested Grebe 9
The mergs and grebes were displaying 
Common Gull 270
Mediterranean Gull 2 x 2CY
Peregrine - adult and immature targeting the waders and crows on the skear.

Vis:
Very little overhead.
Meadow Pipit 5 singles north
Little Egret 4 north low to water following the Kent channel
Red-throated Diver - a group of 10 summer-plumaged birds headed high out of the Bay then turned and flew north. 

In the woodland on Heysham Head no Chiffchaff were calling so previous birds must have moved through.
A Tawny Owl hooted once and then it sounded like all the Blackbirds, Dunnocks etc had found it as there was quite a racket from them.

A grey seal was in the near channel being mobbed by Black-headed Gulls.

South shore (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 42 flew from Red Nab to Potts

Wigeon 16

Dunlin c200

The Dunlin still in winter plumage

This one was reluctant to leave its Red Nab rock, I got bored waiting for it to take flight and in the end almost missed it, so I've stitched two clips together.

Turnstone c150 on the Wooden Jetty

Redshank c50 each Wooden Jetty and saltmarsh 

Wheatear 4 at least along foreshore, I saw 3 on the way out and 2 on return, David Talbot saw 4 later.

Jack Snipe 1, flushed from the saltmarsh at high water 

Rubbish shot as ever, but not without some charm

Rock Pipits 1 each saltmarsh, Red Nab and Sea wall - an evening check of north side located 4 more: 1 heliport, 2 just north of Half Moon Bay and 1 near Heysham Head.

Osprey reported heading our way from Plover Scar. Unfortunately not picked up in the recording area.

Green Sandpiper adds a bit of variety

Very cold north wind all day with some light snow and hail showers, but at least the sun shone in between.

Saltmarsh to Red Nab rising tide (MD)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 65 landed on Red Nab together.

Today's Brent coming in to land in the freshwater stream

Shelduck 58

Knot c250 - I was watching the Knot reluctantly move out of the way as the Brent fed, and wondered how many years it would take for them to be as comfortable with people, if no one ever bothered them. Probably never, but it would be nice.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a quick check of the two main ponds:

Mute Swan 2 nesting pairs plus another adult. No sign of last year's cygnets. Looks like they've all been moved on. The remaining unattached adult wasn't welcome.

Canada goose 1 visitor

Coot 6

Moorhen 4

Mallard 6

Gadwall 8

Little grebe - just one seen today

Warblers, three species singing:

Cetti's warbler by "no swimming" pond

Blackcap 1

Chiffchaff 3

Imperial way (Pete and Jean)

Green Sandpiper on pond next to Imperial Way.

Pair Gadwall and pair Teal on pond at end of Imperial Way/entrance to recycle facility.

Heysham skear - low water 18:50 (MD)

Light nights and a high spring tide meant very low water (0.9m). I had a walk out to the Kent channel, it was a nice bright evening, but an icy wind.

Eider c180 - no more than recently just that the birds in the gunnel included in count

Shelduck 3 over to NW Red-breasted Merganser 5

Great Crested grebe 6

Snow on the South Lakes hills

Visibility was good, so I took this 30 second trip around the Bay. It starts at Black Combe and ends at the Alambra on Morecambe front, with a snow dusted Ingleborough behind.

This is just the final frame from the clip,above, I was panning quite quickly
so you don't really get a chance to see Ingleborough in the clip

What you may notice in the clip is how flat the mud is out there, and that what creates the potential danger. When the rising tide reaches a critical point, the mud is pretty much all covered at the same time. Not deep of course, but it hides the channels and drains. Not a walk for the inexperienced.

More off passage ducks

The cold NE wind freshened during the day with some showers, later of sleet.

First, this is the ringing information for the Lesser Redpoll caught on Middleton Nature Reserve yesterday:

Y126748               1st W          14/10/20                Castlemorton Common (Worcestershire)

Retrapped             Ad M          21/03/22                Middleton  NR 122km N 

Tim had a lunchtime walk:

Red Nab at c. 11.40 (n) at c.12.40

38 Pale-bellied Brent goose (41) (earlier 44 had flown towards Potts from Red Nab MD)

2 Merganser (0)

19 Wigeon (19) 

1 Little Egret (1)

1 Rock Pipit (0)

Nothing of interest outflows or harbour. Considerably fewer cormorants than recently 

1 little Egret out from HMB statue. 

13.30 30+ Brent flew past towards Playground/ Morecambe 

1 Wheatear on the HMB side of Throbshaw (my first this year)

This is the Red Nab Rock Pipit

Heysham Skear low water 18:10 (MD)

Eider c150 - this is a slightly different clip of a few resting on a sand bar

Great Crested Grebe 4 

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Little Egret 6

There was a tight packed flock of c30 small ducks on the north side, unfortunately they were heading out and the tide was coming in. They took flight briefly and landed even further out. They looked to be all dark on the water and in flight, so I had assumed that they were Common Scoter. But examining my pictures and clips it became obvious that at least some were Teal.

I think these are all of them:

They all appear dark in the above clip, but this next clip reveals that at least some were Teal.

Pete has checked the above clip and is satisfied that they are Teal. It just shows how easy it is to be fooled by initial appearances (it happens to me all the time - one of the reasons I take a camera with me MD)

Better, but hard won!

 The very light breeze continued, mainly north. Mainly overcast with some periods of light rain.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report from Alan:

Three nets set this morning from just before seven o'clock until eleven resulted in just six captures. However, one was a Lesser Redpoll wearing a ring fitted at another site. We will receive information on this in due course.

The other captures were singles of Meadow Pipit, Blackcap, Great Tit, Chiffchaff and a retrapped Reed Bunting. 

No movement of migrants over the site was apparent.

South Shore

Pete and Jean checked from Ocean Edge to the Wooden Jetty

31 Turnstone on the wooden jetty. 

Rock Pipit near the lighthouse plus 5 others flew along the south harbour wall. Also 1 on territory on north side.

Chiffchaff 1 also on north side

Pale-bellied Brent goose 48 (42 originally on Red Nab, later joined by 6 that had been out from Potts)

Wigeon 20

On the shore out from Ocean Edge

Bar-Tailed Godwit 62

Black-Tailed Godwit 1

Grey Plover 28

Knot 2,240

Dunlin 220

I checked from Saltmarsh to Red Nab (MD)

Shelduck 20

Meadow Pipit 3 over

Wheatear 6 moving along foreshore to Red Nab together.

A slightly better shot of the inverted black "T" on the tip of the tail

4 Wheatear on Red Nab (2 on each rock)

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Jean took this excellent shot of a Common Toad

I had a quick walk around

Chiffchaff 6

Bullfinch 8

Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 - one drumming 

Jay 1

Heysham skear - low water 17:25

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Eider c150

Teal 8 - originally just out of positive recognition range to the south of the skear. Fortunately 6 eventually flew to the skear corner. Still quite distant, and this clip is accordingly poor quality, but I thought interesting as it shows the males displaying (or arguing).

This shot from Jean is the Deo Gloria dredger working just out from the harbour mouth. It is a suction dredger. Although it does "muddy the water", it does take the bulk of the mud away to be dumped in the Lune deeps.

Dramatic weather change......it drizzled a little!

The air (and the birds) still reluctant to move. What little breeze there was today mainly northish. Some very light drizzle early on and it remain cloudy till early evening.

Red Nab to saltmarsh high water 09:10 (MD)

It was still drizzling slightly and I had hoped for some grounded stuff, but nothing grounded and nothing passing over.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 40+ So much for my prediction that they were off yesterday! To be fair, I think this is a different group, and there were none on the skear this evening. This group included the two red/blue Canadian Arctic ringed birds. It was good to see them again before their return. Hope they get home safely and return next year. They were ringed as a breeding pair on Axel Heiberg Island in 2014. It's a straight line distance of over 4,000km. Whichever route they take, they will have to fly across the Atlantic. You can see them both on this clip.

Shelduck 52

Wigeon 14

Rock Pipit 1

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Just a quick walk around the east side

Mute - now just one adult pair on the main pond, plus 5 remaining cygnets from last year. Another pair on the "no swimming" pond, the female sitting on nest again.

Gadwall 4 two pair

Mallard 6 three pair

Little grebe 7 at least - 2 pair on the main pond, another pair on "no swimming" pond plus at least one on Tim Butler pond

Moorhen 10

Coot 5

Coot

Cetti's warbler 1 singing at "no swimming" pond

Chiffchaff several singing birds

Blackcap 2 - a silent male and a female in the same Blackthorn bush. I couldn't manage to get one clip showing both, so I stuck two clips together. Male first then a female.

Female Blackcap

Bullfinch 8 

Heysham skear

Just a quick look. Nothing on the sea except Eider c150, Great Crested Grebe 2 and Red-breasted Merganser 2.

Knot c1,500

Finally this is the North West Gull Project Herring gull seen in the harbour on Friday.

Herring Gull - ringed Bowland Lancs 7/07/21
Seen at Roosebeck Cumbria 28/08/21 and 28/09/21
Seen Heysham 25/03/22

A link to the scheme is included on the sidebar, but I've also placed it here:

https://www.nwgulls.org.uk/

Still becalmed in the doldrums

The very light breezes continues mainly WSW to NW.  Plenty of sunshine in the morning, high cloud in the afternoon made the sunshine intermittent.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report from John:

Set three nets this morning, which was wishful thinking given the continuing lack of bird movement. Only Lesser Redpolls were caught with an initial catch of seven, soon after setting, but only three more after.

I had also set a moth trap which only produced one micro moth a Diurnea Fagella.

South shore (MD)

Not much here either!

Shelduck 38

Wigeon 2

Linnet 2 flew north from lighthouse area, but possibly only as far as the sandworks on north wall.

Rock Pipit 4 - this one feeding on the south sloping wall seems to be finding plenty of small invertebrates amongst the recently exposed wrack.

Robin 1 near lighthouse were I haven't been seeing one over winter.

Heysham skear low water 14:55

Pale-bellied Brent goose 26 - initially there were several small groups (2-6) scattered around on the sea, on both sides of the skear. 26 was the most I could see at one time, but just after low water, 23 of them (seemingly the only ones still around) had gathered together on the north side. They looked to be posing for an "end of term" photo - so I took one.

Pale-bellied Brent geese with the South Lakes as a backdrop 

They were clearly restless, with lots of honking going on, normally only reserved for when they feel threatened. Then, just after the above shot they took flight west gaining height quickly, rather than their normal low flight to the west side. Is this goodbye till autumn? (Probably not, it's always difficult to identify the last record, until after the event, we'll see. (MD))

Eider c150 close in plus another large group, feeding further out

Great Crested Grebe 1

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Oystercatcher, Knot, Redshank, Turnstone and Curlew

Almost no movement, including the air!

Calm to very light variable breeze. Sunshine for most of the morning, more cloud in the afternoon.

Heysham Head

Report from Tim

Went onto the Head just after 06.10

Plenty of Linnet overhead first thing, but most seemed to have moved elsewhere by 06.30

Nothing interesting in the woods 

3 silent Swans flew past from west 06.50

2 Brent arrived at playground from west 7.05

2 (or the same one twice) Rock Pipit below the cliff

2 Little Egret

One female Sparrowhawk (being mobbed by 10 or so finches)

Looking north:

Merganser 8

Eider 30+

GCG 2

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Ringing report from Jean:

It was very quiet this morning. Only 13 birds caught between 0730-1030 (retraps in brackets):
Chaffinch 1
Greenfinch 2
Lesser Redpoll 1
Goldfinch 2
Song Thrush 1
Dunnock 1
Great Tit 1 +(1)
Blue Tit 1 + (1)
Bullfinch (1)

Vis:
Only 5 Meadow Pipits, 3 Lesser Redpoll and 5 or so Chaffinches flew over in 3 hours.

Wigeon 14 on Red Nab

Heysham skear- low water 12:05 (MD)

Great Crested grebe 2

Red-breasted Merganser 9

Eider 180 close in, plus c50 feeding further out. When the Eider are close in like today, the skear reverberates with their display calls. But for some reason whenever I try to record, it seems underwhelming compared to how my ears perceive it, perhaps I'm just sensitive to the call frequency. Anyway, I had another go as the wind noise was minimal. You can just about hear their calls on this clip, but still not the all pervading sound that it seemed at the time.

Turnstone c150 - I took this clip to demonstrate just how good their current plumage acts as camouflage amongst the broken shells on the skear. You wouldn't notice the lower bird if it didn't move.

Knot c1,000 - this is some of them as the tide started to come in. Their feeding finished they were all clambering to bathe in the brackish water running off the shore. I have said it before, one thing all birds seem to have in common is that they all appear to relish a good bath!

Little Egret 4

Other waders, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Curlew and Dunlin.

Finally, it's green jelly blob season again!

For non regular or new post readers, these are the egg sacs of several species of green ragworm. They start by being attached by a tendril, as this one, but they quickly become dislodged and end up all over the beach. What always makes me smile is that if you Google "blobs of green jelly on the beach", it will tell you that they are called "green jelly blobs"! (MD).