The silent skear

 A light east breeze till mid morning, then a freshening south to SW wind. A few light showers in the morning with heavier ones late afternoon.

Heysham skear - low water 10:00 (MD)

There wasn't likely to be much around at this time of year, but what struck me, as I walked out, was how quiet it was. Not a single Oystercatcher to be heard. There were a few Curlew calling (ended up counting 24), and at least 1 Whimbrel calling.

I presumed the Oystercatcher were elsewhere, but then I started seeing them spread around the skear edges, c100. It then dawned on me why they were so quiet, there was nothing to squabble over. The skear is covered in mussels this year and at the moment, most are the ideal size for Oystercatchers.

It is this size of mussel that the Oystercatcher seek out amongst the larger ones later
in the year. Often when they find one they fly off with it so as not to be robbed

They must be an ideal size for them to open easily, but large enough to contain plenty to eat. So, no need to squabble, all the food they need for the day is readily available. 

Oystercatchers just standing around. Literally, fed up.

Little Egret 6

Great Crested Grebe 5 individuals 

Red-breasted Merganser 1 male

Eider 3 male together and 1 female - these are the three males, watch the gull in front of them. You can see when it spots a small crab, it watches for a couple of seconds then times its leap to perfection. 

It seems there is plenty of food for all at the moment

This smallish Barrel Jellyfish, c30cm diameter, was stranded in a pool. At least like this they show that in the water, they are actually quite graceful.

Barrel Jellyfish, about to be freed by the rising tide

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report from John for yesterday:

Not the best conditions for ringing, bright and warm from early.

Three nets set on Thursday morning.

Only twenty birds caught and processed, but a few more young birds evident.

Blackcap          3 juveniles

Reed Warbler    1 juvenile and 1 retrap adult

Whitehroat       2 juveniles and 1 adult

Great Tit          1 juvenile retrap and 1 adult

Cetti's Warbler 2 adults with one a retrap

Blue Tit             2 juveniles and a retrap adult

Chiffchaff           1 juvenile

Willow Warbler    1 juvenile

Lesser Whitethroat  1 juvenile

Sedge Warbler    1 juvenile

Goldfinch             1 adult

I just had a quick look on my way home (MD). No sign of the Red-Veined Darters, but Common Darters were emerging in numbers.

Female Common Darter, one of ten female/immature seen

The ducks have done very well rearing their young this year. There were 3 female Mallard with a total of 21 quite large young. Originally there were 22 chicks (8, 8 & 6). A significant improvement on last year's 100% mortality. This must be the female who lost one of her chicks as she is giving 7 young "up ending" lessons.

Unfortunately, a Coot believes that the patch of weed they were practicing on belongs to it, and sees them off.

The female Gadwall still has five growing chicks. An eclipsed male is also around.

These shots are from Peter and Rosemary from yesterday:

Mute Swan

Male Black-Tailed Skimmer

Female Common Blue Damselfly 

Male Common Bluetail Damselfly

Froglet being returned to safety 

South shore - high water 15:25 (MD)

Mediterranean Gull 13 - 2 adult plus 11 first summer 

Three of the first summer were on Red Nab. This one had a striking black head and quite a red bill.

First summer Mediterranean Gull
the small dinosaur on the left is just a distant descendant, a female Eider.

The rest were with 250 gulls resting on the mud out from the saltmarsh.

Gulls resting on the mud out from the saltmarsh 

The metal ringed adult Med landing with the gulls

Just out of the recording area

Mark Jones took this clip of a Barn Owl flying around the marshes at Potts corner, unfortunately turning back short of the southern boundary of the recording area.

It came up the coast from Sunderland point and quartered right around me then headed back off inland towards Sunderland point

Solstice over.....Autumn passage commences!

Almost breathless till mid morning then a light west breeze for the remainder of the day. Sunshine all day.

Heysham Nature Reserve (Janet)

This female Ringlet was just enjoying the sun

Then this male turned up to "pester" her

Common Green Grasshopper

Common Field Grasshopper 

Pellucid Hoverfly

Well developed Moorhen youngster 

South Shore (MD)

I went down while the tide was still out to check the beach next to the wooden jetty. All there was to see, was another layer of silt, not a single gull. The only Mediterranean gull seen was the metal ringed adult resting on the beach between the outflows.

Eider 1 female between the outflows 

Rock Pipits 2 at the lighthouse are still taking food to the nest and becoming ever more frantic. This one dropped down to the hole when it knew I was watching, something they never normally do. Unfortunately the hole is pretty much under where I was stood so the pipit disappears when it drops down.

Linnet 4 near lighthouse 

Starling 6 near waterfalls, this number will soon increase significantly.

A measure of just how low this month's tides have been and how calm the sea
has been, is this, albeit stunted, sunflower growing at the base of the sea wall.

I returned when the tide was almost full to check Red Nab.

Mediterranean gull 6 - 2 adult, 3 first summer, 1 second summer - there probably were more as the light was awkward and many were resting with their heads down, but there definitely wasn't anything like the numbers seen yesterday.

There were 4 juvenile Black-Headed Gulls today

Common Sandpiper 2 - this is the "autumn passage" from today's title. Presumably they are returning from their breeding grounds rather than heading to them. They made no attempt to feed, just rested.

Off passage Common Sandpiper 

Saltmarsh 

Linnet 10 

Greenfinch 2 - this male was feeding on the seeds at the edge of the saltmarsh.

This male Drinker moth had managed to get itself trapped in a cage of sedge stems on the saltmarsh. It graced me with its presence for a couple of seconds after I freed it.

Male Drinker moth

Middleton Nature Reserve 

No Red-Veined Darter records received today.

This is an interesting piece from Peter and Rosemary Silvester, based on pictures they took of Common Blue damselflies on Middleton Nature Reserve yesterday, you will have to open the images to see the detail referenced in the narrative.

This one comes with a modesty warning: "Not to be viewed by those likely to be offended by some rather explicit shots of damselflies coupling and uncoupling." 

We came across these two on our way out and Rosemary just kept popping away at them because they were particularly well placed to photograph. When we looked through them at home we realised that, when they are zoomed in on, they contain remarkably fine detail of the secondary genitalia of the male during the mating process.

We came across information recently that male dragonflies and damselflies can actually use their sexual organs to remove a rival's sperm from the body of a previously mated female and wonder if this might have been going on before our very eyes!

Scarily, yesterday was the longest day for 2023! Kevin Eaves condensed it into a nutshell, "as seen from my south-facing weather station webcam"

More Meds and more RVD

A light SW wind. Sunny for most of the day.

South Shore (MD)

There were no gulls on Red Nab, despite plenty of it still exposed. They must have been flushed by something, probably a four legged something. Presumably they had been resting on the shore as they arrived at the saltmarsh at the same time as I did.

It isn't easy spotting all the Mediterranean gulls, but you can make out four adults and a few first summer landing in this clip.

Unfortunately, many of the gulls ended up obscured by the marsh and other gulls, I checked from several angles and ended up with a minimum:

Mediterranean gull 13 - 4 adults, including the metal ringed bird plus 9 first summer, I couldn't see any second summer. These clips show some of them.

Out of all the Black-Headed gulls there was still only one juvenile.

Juvenile Black-Headed Gull in amongst the other BHG, Common and Mediterranean gulls

Lapwing 2

Linnet 12

The only other records so far today are from Rosemary and Peter Silvester's afternoon check of the main pond on Middleton Nature Reserve.

Red-Veined Darter 2 male 16:00

Male Red-Veined Darter

Female Black-Tailed Skimmer

Male Broad-Bodied Chaser

Female Broad-bodied Chaser ovipositoring 

The blue ringed Black-Headed Gull seen on Sunday was ringed as an adult at Bowness-on-Windermere 29/11/22. The link to this scheme is below, it is also added to the links on the side bar. If you see any of the birds from this scheme you can report it directly via this link.

https://waterbirdcolourmarking.org/report-a-bird/

There was a  maintenance engineer climbing down from the top of large anemometer. 

Made my knees go wobbly just looking at him!

 

Med numbers increasing and RVD still around.

East breeze till after lunch then switched to NW. Steady rain from 09:00 -10:30. The sun broke through just before lunch and then sunny for the rest of the day.

South shore

I checked from Red Nab to saltmarsh just before high water (MD)

Mediterranean gulls 10 - 3 adult plus 7 first summer - all on Red Nab

One adult and three of the first summer Mediterranean gull
(The bird far right is a first summer Med, although not obvious on this shot)

Another adult and first summer Med. 
The third adult was the metal ringed bird.

Saltmarsh 

Lapwing 1

Goldfinch 2

Linnet 8

Common Whitethroat 1 

Common Whitethroat 

Howard checked out the lighthouse and resolved what the Rock Pipits were catching for their nestlings. (Howard's, and Peter+Rosemary's and Janet's pictures below are all high resolution and should be opened to appreciate the details revealed)

Nice to see those busy little pair of Rock pipits. They were taking food in almost every 5 minutes, looks like an abundance of grasshopper down there.

Rock Pipit with a bill full of grasshoppers 

Just I was going through the gate back to my car this bushy tailed tree rat faced me off.

Male Grey Squirrel 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

These shots from Peter and Rosemary Silvester were actually taken yesterday, but all seen again today.

Common Bluetail Damselfly

Male Black-Tailed Skimmer

Male Red-Veined Darter

Janet checked late morning today, before it had really warmed up, the Red-Veined Darter was not showing at that time, but there was still lots to see, including this "smooth tailed tree rat"

Brown Rat climbing to where the bird feeders are hung

The male Mute has now decided to take umbrage at the Coot!

Two Silver Y moths

Lattice Heath moth

Ringlets continue to be the dominant butterfly and it looks like 
We'll have plenty next year too.

We're getting good at spotting Bumblebee Hoverflies

I checked late afternoon (MD). By that time the male Red-Veined Darter was showing well on the east side of the spit in the north side if the main Pond.

Red-Veined Darter, same behaviour pattern as yesterday, resting a while before
flying out over the pond, then returning to the same resting area.

This Broad-bodied Chaser was ovipositoring

As was this Emperor, but a completely different operation 

Warblers:

Cetti's Warbler 4, also Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap,and Common Whitethroat 

Stock Dove 1 seen twice

Stock Dove

Common Buzzard 1 soaring over the eastern side