First Whinchat

A light east wind till mid morning, it then freshened slightly and moved to the west. Sunshine for most of the day.

Vis and seawatch report from Pete:

Male Whinchat north wall - first record this year

Tree Pipit 2

Wheatear 4

Arctic tern 15 in a high flock north

Sandwich Tern 18 blogging

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Report from Alan:

The weather forecast for last night and this morning suggested that some migrant passage might occur. It was not to be however. Five nets were set but only 15 birds were caught. Passage species - four Blackcaps and two Willow Warblers only were ringed.

Dunnock 1

Robin 1

Blackbird 2

Song Thrush 1 + 1 retrap

Common Whitethroat 1

Blackcap 4

Chiffchaff 1 retrap

Willow Warbler 2

Jay 1

Virtually no movement overhead was perceived (no hirundines seen) and few birds moving in the vegetation near the offices. Eleven Carrion Crows milling around the transmission towers.

Heysham skear - low water 10:30 (MD)

Just three of the Sandwich Terns remained. 

But these quickly moved off, east then north. You can just hear them calling in this clip.

Eider 33

Red-breasted Merganser 11

Great Crested Grebe 6

Little Egret 5

Waders:

Oystercatcher c500

Redshank c20 (it's hard getting an accurate count even of low numbers as the birds are very mobile)

Turnstone c60

Curlew 1

Whimbrel 2

We're back to neap tides now, which means the water doesn't go out far enough to expose the seed mussel beds. There were still a lot of Herring gulls around waiting in hope. There were 150 waiting in vain on the sea.

Middleton Nature Reserve (Jannet)

Cetti's Warbler singing

Grasshopper Warbler singing 

Large Red Damselfly

Peacock

Comma

Also, Large White, Brimstone, Orange Tip and Speckled wood

South shore - high water 16:15 (MD)

Wheatear 6 on Ocean Edge foreshore (not the same as Pete's birds)

As well as not going out far, neap tides do not come in very far, so I had a walk out onto the shore south of the saltmarsh.

Ringed Plover 2 together.

Ringed Plover

There were very few waders along the waterline, 60 Oystercatcher and c30 Curlew that flew further south. Plus these 6 Bar-Tailed Godwit. These are not after worms but catching small invertebrates in the shallow water. 

Shelduck 7 - three separate pairs resting plus a single bird.

Sleeping Shelduck and a Curlew

Waders passing by

Extremely light NE breeze till mid morning then it freshened and shifted to the NW. mainly sunny.

Pete and Jean did an early check:

0730 on this am: 

55 Eider 

12 Great Crested Grebe

6 Red-breasted Merganser just north of Heysham head.  

c300 Black-Headed gull north/feeding by skear

35 2cy Knot 

22 Grey Plover off wooden jetty 

Best was drake Goosander north and single very distant Sandwich Tern out.

I went down to check the skear at low water (MD). Eider, Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested grebe as above.

Curlew 2

Whimbrel 2

Bar-Tailed Godwit 43 - there were 6 feeding along the beach shoreline then 37 flew in and rested on the skear.

Some of the Bar-Tailed Godwit coming in

They just rested on the skear till moved on by the tide. Several in summer plumage. These are just some of them.

Bar-Tailed Godwit

At this point, the sea was flat calm, these were the last to leave the skear.

They then joined the birds feeding along the shoreline.

The only other waders were Oystercatcher, Redshank and Turnstone.

It was strange with the clear blue sky and the flat blue sea. There was no way of knowing where the sea ended and the sky started. These are a line of Eider. The line on the water in the foreground at the beginning of the clip is just droppings landing.

South shore (MD)

Just a quick check from the saltmarsh to Red Nab towards high water. No sign of the Brent goose today.

Something lifted, or perhaps it was just time to lift, c80 Curlew from the shore to the south of the saltmarsh. They didn't land again and just continued north.

Linnet 14

Wheatear 7 - there are 6 in this location clip.

Rock Pipit 2 - 1 on foreshore and a displaying male on Red Nab.

Janet saw this "small white" butterfly at Half Moon Bay. She is still without her camera so took this shot with here mobile. It probably is a Small White, with the bright light masking the wing markings. (MD)

Dark-bellied Brent stops off

The light NE wind continues. Dry all day with some sunshine, but feeling cool in the wind.

Heysham skear - low water 09:20 (MD)

Eider 39

Shoveler 2 male 

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Great Crested Grebe 12 - this one has a small flattie (looks like a Plaice). But it must be too wide to swallow. The grebe reminds me of a magician doing a card trick. It seems to swallow the fish, then it magically reappears in its bill!

Little Egret 3

Whimbrel 20 - these are some coming in to land on the skear. You can't really see much but it's a nice panoramic of the skear. The brown lumpy bits are Honeycomb worm beds and reefs.

Curlew 2

Oystercatcher c1500

Redshank c40

Turnstone 80+

Bar-Tailed Godwit 6. They don't often feed on the skear itself, they rest here till the incoming tide softens the waterline mud (see yesterday's post).

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Swallow - a steady stream of single birds along the sea wall but none seen out on the shore.

Sand Martin 3 together over the skear

South shore 

Janet had a walk along the sea wall on the rising tide.

Kittiwake 1 x 2nd calendar year (later 3 seen by Jean and Pete)

Grey Seal 1

I checked at high water (MD)

Wheatear 5 (these shots were actually taken over the weekend by Mark Jones)

Wheatear on Red Nab

Linnet 12

Shag 1 immature on the wooden jetty

Rock Pipit 2 (sea wall and lighthouse)

Little Egret 3 on Red Nab

Dark-Bellied Brent goose 1. Also on Red Nab. Initially in the freshwater runoff. Even in the water it was very obviously a dark-bellied.

Dark-bellied Brent goose in the freshwater runoff on Red Nab

It then rested on the rocks

It seems to have plenty of fat reserves for its journey to their breeding grounds

Even so, when I returned, it was feeding at the edge of Red Nab. In the absence of other ducks and geese, the gutweed has gone from being a bowling green to a lush meadow.

There was obviously a serious fire near Blackpool. It turned out to be an empty Hotel on Blackpool seafront. The seafront in this clip is actually Fleetwood with Blackpool behind. You can see the extent of the smoke in comparison to Blackpool Tower. Hopefully, and as far as I know, no one was hurt.

Avocets join the year list

A light North wind, NE to begin with then NW. the rain held off till mid afternoon, even then just a few showers.

Seawatch report from Pete Crooks:

A largely uneventful 3 hour 10 minute sea-watch (8.30 – 11.30 am) from the lighthouse at the mouth of Heysham Harbour produced:
7 Little Gull (5 adults, 2 1st summer). A distant group of 4 adult Little Gull on the sea south of the Wooden Pier at 10.50 am, were soon joined by another adult and 2 1st summer as they floated towards the Wooden Pier on the incoming tide. At 11.05 am 5 of the group flew up and headed off towards Red Nab, gained height and presumably headed off inland. Two adults remained on the sea floating past the Wooden Pier, but suddenly disappeared – presumably also heading off inland.

Also offshore:
1 Shag – presumably the regular bird stood near a Cormorant on a distant sand bar off the North Harbour Wall
2 Sandwich Tern – appeared as the tide began to turn at 9.30 am
2 Common Tern – flew into the Bay at 10.00 am
2 Teal – flew in at 10.15 am
1 Harbour Porpoise – off the harbour mouth

Vis mig was limited to 19 Swallow, 3 House Martin and 1 Sand Martin heading into the bay low over the sea.

2 1st summer Kittiwake – on the horizontal pipe near the outfall at the SW corner of the harbour.

Pete (M) checked a few areas:

Avocet 2 flew south past Ocean Edge mid morning possibly landing at Potts - there were no Avocets seen in the recording during 2022.

Swallow 44

Sand Martin 3 north

Turnstone 2 flocks of 13 and 18 flew high to the north

Teal 5 by the skear

I checked from the shoreline on the rising tide to the south of the skear mid morning (MD)

Teal 11 - originally 7 near the skear (looks like the 2 in had joined the 5).

Two flew off to the north, but another four joined the remaining five. Some minor squabbling ensued!

But the squabbling was soon resolved and the nine remained together, eventually drifting further into the bay when the skear was covered.

Eider 41

Red-breasted Merganser 9

Great Crested Grebe 12 - these two were displaying 

Sandwich Tern 2 fishing (seen by all observers)

Sandwich Tern, screeching as it goes

Swallow 10 (8 in one flock) north

Curlew 2 south

Whimbrel 1 north

Bar-Tailed Godwit 10 feeding. The bird closest to the waterline catches a lugworm here, albeit a small one. (My camera is still making a racket, so we are in silent mode, I keep expecting Charlie Chaplin to shuffle across the frame - maybe that's just my age!)

Little Ringed Plover 1 - flushed from the inner rocks by the rising tide. It flew up to gain height before flying off north

Harbour Porpoise 2 - adult and young together

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Grasshopper warbler 1 singing

Speckled Wood 1

Orange Tip 1 female

Female Orange Tip

Just out of the recording area - Conder Green

White Stork circling - ref Pete

100+ Little gulls......but it wasn't easy! Plus four tern species

Very light breeze continued from NE till c08:00, then drifted to NW. overnight night rain not easing till c10:00.

Report from Pete Crooks:

Heysham North Harbour Wall – A short visit in heavy drizzle and poor visibility produced 1 Rock Pipit, but nothing on the sea at low tide.

Golden Ball, Lune Estuary – An Osprey flew north at 9.55 am and provided the inspiration for a return visit to Heysham.

Heysham North Harbour Wall – A 2-hour sea-watch on the incoming tide (10.15 – 12.15 pm) produced:
103 Little Gull – all adults except for 2 1st summer. Most were fairly distant, flying in or resting on the sea and drifting towards Heysham Head on the incoming tide and most easily identifiable when wing-flapping. Groups included 41 flying in at 10.40, 22 floating in at 11.15 am and the final (and most distant) group of 7 floating in at 11.50 am.
19 Arctic Tern – including a group of 10 flying into the Bay, but also some ‘blogging’, including 4 that flew out towards the outfalls.
4 Sandwich Tern
1 Pale-belied Brent Goose – flew in at 11.08 am
1 Gannet – flew in at 11.30 am
1 1st summer Kittiwake – floated in at 11.40 am

Also: 2 Whimbrel, 18 Eider, 2 Grey Seal and 1 Harbour Porpoise offshore
2 male Wheatear, 1 Rock Pipit – on Near Naze.

I was checking from the lighthouse area just before 10:00 (MD). The weather was clearing and the sea flat, but I couldn't see any Little Gulls on the sea, at that time at least a scope was required.

Common Tern 1 on No.1 outflow (first record this year)

Common Tern - not so common here nowadays 

Kittiwake 1 x 2nd calendar year on outflows 

Shag 1 immature on the wooden jetty

Shelduck 2 

Eider 10 out

Whimbrel 4 - these two near No.2 outflow

Peregrine Falcon 1

Linnet 14

Wheatear 3 in the morning, 7 in an evening check

Male Pied Wagtail 

Male White Wagtail 

Black Tern 1 flew in this evening, quite a distance out, but fortunately quite a distinctive bird!

Distant Black Tern

Also this evening. Alison and Kevin found this Tissue moth on the end of the wall on the harbour arm.

Tissue Moth

Heysham Head

Grasshopper Warbler singing above the old go kart track - ref Janet

Another 26 Little gulls

The light NE to east wind continues, sunshine in the morning but overcast after lunch.

Pete and Jean managed another thorough check of the south side, Pete scoping from Ocean Edge and Jean scoping from the lighthouse allowing maximum sea coverage.

Little Gull 26 in one flock drifted in with the tide c09:50 before "disappearing" presumably flew high before heading inland.

Arctic Tern 25 - in off then high to the east over Red Nab

Sandwich Tern 8 minimum blogging, mainly on north side

Shag 1 probably 2cy briefly on wooden jetty

Common Sandpiper 1 (first record this year)

Lesser Redpoll 10

Linnet 13

Common Scoter 1

House Martin 1

Sand Martin 5

Swallow 79 - the main flight line was in off then NE just south of Red Nab

Jean didn't have here camera yesterday when some of the Little gulls flew over. She was prepared today, but typically the Little gulls were much too distant to photograph. Still she took this shot of the, mainly 2cy Common gulls, at the seaward end of No.1 outflow.

Mainly 2cy Common gulls feeding at the end of No.1 outflow

There were c300 Common gulls between new yellow outfall post south of the outfalls and Heysham skear with about 130 Black-Headed gulls

Heysham skear - low water 07:30

Pete had a look from Knowlys Rd:

Great Crested Grebe 12

Red-breasted Merganser 7

Herring Gulls 820, the main group on the seed mussels in the middle of the skear, rest spread around.

Sandwich Tern 3

I had a walk down (MD)

Some of the Herring Gulls feeding on the seed mussels. 
The Lesser Black-Backed gulls don't take advantage of this easy snack.....yet.
Perhaps they will start this year.

Eider 55

This is one of the Sandwich Tern fishing, unsuccessfully on this occasion. When it dives, you can see a second bird also diving behind it.

This one has caught a small fish, a young Black-Headed Gull naively tries to catch it, but the tern is in a different league when it comes to manoeuvrability!

Four small ducks near the green marker post looked promising, but they turned out to be Teal. This clip also includes two Great Crested Grebe and two Red-breasted Merganser.

They flew off north, led by the ladies

Oystercatcher c1,000

Redshank c50

Turnstone c150

Curlew 4

Whimbrel 3

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Bar-Tailed Godwit and Oystercatchers

Swallow 17

Sand Martin 4

Incredible 187 Little Gulls! Plus even more just to the south.

 A light NE overnight wind freshened slightly by mid morning and remained E-NE all day. Sunny.

Pete and Jean made an early start and were duly rewarded with a phenomenal Little gull spectacle!

Little gull 187! - summary from Pete:

Initially, 62 little gulls were located in the channel south of the outfalls on arrival in two compact groups on the water in the middle of the feeding trail of mainly 2cy Common Gull.  Then they got up and spiralled high into the sky heading east to the south of Heysham two power station.  No hesitancy as is usual in clear conditions and if they had aborted and spun back round we would have seen them do that.  I’m convinced all three groups (62, 55, 70) were separate birds as were the 43 over Knott end and 50 going high east at Rossall to the south of us

There were 270 Common gulls here plus more strung out to Heysham Head. 

Also:

Bar-Tailed Godwit 19 north (1 plus 18)

Whimbrel 2 north, 

2 Sand martin

48 Swallow

1 House Martin

1 White Wagtail

4 blogging Sandwich Tern on northern yellow buoy 

Myself and Kevin Eaves also checked the south shore but too late to see the Little Gulls.

Wheatear 4

Kittiwake 2 x 2nd calendar year 

Swallow 10 in addition to above

Rock Pipit 3

Shag 1 immature on wooden jetty

Grey Seal 1

It was a nice morning for a swim, for these Red Nab Redshank

I had another walk along the sea wall early evening (MD). Really just in the hope that some interesting insects had come in (and it was a nice day!). There was lots of small stuff, beyond my identification skills. This Devil's Coach Horse was also seeing what was around.

Devil's Coach Horse

The only other large insects seen were a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly.

Shelduck 2

Little Egret 8 including 2 flying into the bay.

Great White Egret 1 flying into the bay

This pigeon was asleep on the wall, and looked to have been there a while (it was surprisingly quiet)

I had to wake it as a couple were approaching with a dog.

Presumably a racing pigeon, but previous ones I've seen had brightly coloured rings

It looked weary, but managed to fly off before the dog arrived.

This male Black Blackcap was in the Nature Park. My camera almost behaved itself (noise wise) you can hear a burst of song at the end of the clip.

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

Just a very quick check

Mute swan - pair nesting plus 2 non-breeding adults and today only 4 immature on the main pond

Mallard 5 male and a female with at least 10 chicks 

You get a sense that this was their first outing. They reminded me of kids getting out of lessons and running to the playground (there's always one tearaway!) 

Hope they fare better than last year's clutch here

Coot 4

Moorhen 2

In a 15 minute visit 4 warbler species heard:

Willow Warbler 3

Chiffchaff 4

Cetti's Warbler 4

Sedge Warbler 1 - first record this year

But as far as singing goes, the tiny Wren takes some beating!

Kevin Singleton also paid a brief visit:

Brimstone male , Speckled wood , Small Tortoiseshell.

warblers included:

Cettis near the small pond, chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap and common whitethroat.

two shelduck circling pond

Litter Grebe

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Mark Jones saw a pair of Kestrel mating on one of the pylons.

Kevin Eaves had this Puss Moth in his overnight trap.

Always nice to have one of these in the trap. I seem to get just the one every year!

More Arctic Terns and a couple of Little gulls

A NE wind in the morning moved more east and freshened in the afternoon. Sunshine for much of the day.

Seawatch report from Pete:

This am: sea c0810-0955:

Gannet 3

Little gull 2 ad and probably another distantly, 

Arctic tern c30 - They ‘caught up’ the two little gull and all of them swirled up high into the air splitting into two groups - not sure where they ended up.

4 Common scoter

33 linnet

2 white wagtail

2 pipit spp

22 Swallow.    

16 northbound migrating bar tailed godwit 1,2,13 - quite a movement nationally today 

2 whimbrel north

1 adult kittiwake

No Sandwich tern seen!

I had a walk along the south wall mid morning (MD)

Wheatear 5

Linnet 7

Whimbrel 1

Kittiwake 2 x 2nd calendar year feeding on No.2 outflow

Shag 1 immature on wooden jetty

Rock Pipit 2  - 1 on the sea wall, 1 above lighthouse nesting hole. This clip is actually from yesterday, but the same feeding behaviour was observed today.

Grey Seal 1

Heysham skear - low water 18:40 (MD)

A pleasant evening walk, but the east wind was quite fresh by this time. Despite the sunshine I was glad I was wearing two pullovers!

Eider 20

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Great Crested Grebe 4 - these are two of them with a couple of Eider. The clip begins with one waving a leg.

Little Egret 3

Swallow 3

Not many waders again, Oystercatcher c200, Redshank 30, Curlew 2, Whimbrel 8

The seed mussels are becoming more widespread and growing.

Seed mussels are beginning to carpet many areas

Two weeks ago I suggested that "in a fortnight the gulls will be taking an interest in the seed mussels". Well, here they are.

The gull numbers will quickly increase as the mussels continue to grow

There are plenty of Orange Tips around at the moment. I took these shots yesterday in the Nature Park

Male Orange Tips are nice and bright when their wings are open......

......but well camouflaged when their wings are closed

Black Tern, first Arctic Terns, Cuckoo and an Osprey top a decent day

A slightly fresher, but still light east wind. Sunshine all day.

Pete and Jean did a thorough morning check of the sea. Report by Jean:

0710-1010 this morning:

Seabirds

Black Tern - 1 east at 0825hrs

Arctic Tern - 4 east at 0930hrs (came in over Ocean Edge foreshore)

Sandwich Tern - 4 on the red buoy

Guillemot - 1 out 

Great Crested Grebe - 1 in

Whimbrel - 3 north

Pink-footed Goose - 30 very distantly going north

Common Scoter - 1

Teal - 3 (M and 2F) in-off then north

Common Gull - groups of 30 and 50 mid way out going into Bay

Marine mammals

Harbour Porpoise - 1 into Bay

Grey Seal - 1 into Bay

Visible migration

Swallow - 22 north

House Martin - 1 north

Carrion Crow - 11 north

Linnet - 15 north

Meadow Pipit - 1 north

Grounded 

Wheatear - 13 

Other

Rock Pipit - 1 on the North Harbour Wall

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report from Alan:

A short ringing session after a clear night and early morning produced only a few birds as expected. The catch did include a Cetti's Warbler ringed elsewhere, a returning Chiffchaff and a Willow Warbler ringed at Heysham in 2018 that has returned to be retrapped at Middleton each year since then. The small catch comprised:

Willow Warbler 9 + 1 retrap

Chiffchaff 1 + 1 retrap

Lesser Redpoll 1

Goldfinch 1

Cetti's Warbler 1 previously ringed from another location, details awaited.

A trickle of swallows totalled about 15 north by 11.00.

A Cuckoo was heard twice in the vicinity by a reliable observer at 08.50.

Later Janet took these shots:

Common Whitethroat, Janet saw the last one last year (latest in Lancashire)
and now sees the first one this year.

Female Kestrel

Heysham skear - low water 18:00 (MD)

Eider just 19

Great Crested Grebe 6

Red-breasted Merganser 7

Shag 1 immature feeding

Little Egret 4

Swallow 3 north

Very few waders, most would be on the rarely exposed sections of the outer skear. A distant flock of 25 Whimbrel/Curlew flew out. 5 Whimbrel confirmed around the middle skear.

Whimbrel

Grey Seal 1 - this clip is quite distant, but you can see it taking several breaths before diving

And that was it, I'd left the skear behind and was walking back to the sea wall. What happened next was almost a comedy of errors, fortunately experience plus a bit of good fortune prevailed. It had been so bright that my reaction glasses were too dark to be able to see through my camera, so I had been wearing an old pair of varifocals. But my back was to the sun now so I put my reactions on. Then I heard the gulls screaming I looked back and a Great White Egret was approaching from the west with the sun behind it. It flew right over my head, but I hadn't reset my camera viewfinder to my glasses, so all I could see was a blur through my camera. I had to trust my experience that I had it in focus, and took this clip. Fortunately it was reasonably focused. It isn't easy filming something going directly overhead, I nearly fell over!

Great White Egret

The gulls had gone quiet, but I don't know why, directly behind the egret was an Osprey, perhaps it wasn't a coincidence that it was following. I hadn't had chance to correct my viewfinder, so again I had to trust to experience that I had it in focus. At this point it was flying east, and again directly over my head.

After it passed over me it turned and headed off to the north.

Female Osprey. No rings visible 

30 seconds after I took the second clip, my camera shut down as the battery was dead. I carry a spare, but was very pleased that it didn't happen a minute earlier!

Inland records top the bill today

Almost breathless in the morning, a light east breeze in the afternoon followed by another calm spell before the breeze resumed in the west this evening. The still morning air resulted in misty sea conditions.

Pete and Jean had an early morning session.

Summary from Pete:

Shag wooden jetty, 

9 sandwich tern grounded Red nab but offshore vis too poor for seawatch session, 

Wheatear 2 Heliport

Grasshopper warbler 2 singing. 1 at Middleton NR and 1 at Heysham NR first thing

Also at Heysham NR

Redstart 1 male 

Tree Pipit 1

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Ringing report from Jean:

Ideal for ringing today - no wind and murky conditions. Should have got there earlier than  the 0630 start, but still some action till 9am.

New birds:
Willow Warbler 8 
Chiffchaff 5
Lesser Redpoll 2
Blackcap 1 
Song Thrush 1
Wren 1

Retraps
Chiffchaff 1
Long-tailed Tit 2

Hummingbird hawkmoth in Heysham SD416608 at 3pm today.  Thanks to Amy Grew

South shore late morning (MD)

It was light drizzle at this point, not helping the already poor visibility 

Wheatear 7

Linnet 12 around Red Nab plus 4 near lighthouse 

Greenfinch 2 Red Nab

Robin 1 Red Nab

Rock Pipit 3 - 1 each Red Nab, Lighthouse and waterfall 

Kittiwake 1 x 2nd calendar year feeding on No.2 outflow

Heysham Skear - low water 17:10 (MD)

Pink-Footed goose 80 north not long after the tide turned.

Eider 58

Great Crested Grebe 2

Red-breasted Merganser 6

Shag 1 immature feeding

Little Egret 3

Great White Egret 1 flew east from the middle of the bay.

Great White Egret

Sandwich Tern 2 - initially resting till the tide turned, then they began feeding.

Sandwich Terns

Whimbrel 28 - 6 on the south side of the skear another flock of 20 flew over to the north side before continuing north. 2 more flew inland from the skear. These are the 6.

Whimbrel

This is them flying off, initially west but then north. I've left the volume on, if you can ignore the camera clicks, you can just make out their characteristic calling.

Swallow 2, 1 and 1 north close to the sea wall