An Osprey day

Showers till mid morning then dry but overcast. A fresher SW wind.

South shore (Malcolm)

A quick check of Red Nab on the rising tide this morning found only 11 Mediterranean gulls. 5 adult, 1 second calendar year and 5 juvenile.

Six of the Meds with Black-Headed gulls in the foreground 

A check of the beach by the wooden jetty this afternoon saw only 3 adult and a juvenile.

Juvenile Med

The juvenile bird wasn't making any friends.

Adult Mediterranean gull

Cormorant numbers increasing again on the wooden jetty

Peregrine Falcon 1

Osprey 1 - it was feeding between the outflows just after 16:00. It caught a Bass at 16:10 and flew off NW across the bay with it. I managed to film its successful dive, although I did overshoot a bit.

I've been thinking about the timings of the recent sightings of an (this) Osprey feeding here, and perhaps more tellingly, when it hasn't shown up. I've come to the conclusion that Bass are not its food of choice. Bass are heavily defended with strong sharp spines in the dorsal fin on the back, plus sharp spines on their other fins too. These have evolved specifically to deter attacks as the one above. The Osprey will have to take great care to time its grab perfectly and risks serious injury to itself if it gets it wrong. Also Bass are covered with coarse scales and have a very tough skin. On the recent calm days, when the Osprey didn't show, large flatfish would be available in multiple areas of the bay. Flatfish have no defence against aerial attack and have a soft smooth skin. Only a theory for the time being, more observations will be required to support or dispel it. But if correct it predicts that the Osprey is unlikely to feed here when calmer conditions allow safer fishing elsewhere, and possibly north in the wind will make this location more attractive, as it is sheltered by the sea wall from north winds. (Malcolm)

More Meds and moths

A light west wind, it remained dry, but largely overcast.

From Kevin Eaves: three Garden Tiger moths in my trap this morning.
I've never had more than one before so this is, hopefully, a good sign for
this nationally declining species.

South Shore 

Report by Pete Crooks

38 Mediterranean Gull between Red Nab and Heysham Stage One outfall on the incoming tide – 27 adults (including a Yellow and a Green ringed bird), 3 2nd summer, 5 1st summer and 3 juveniles.

I checked the gulls on Red Nab from the shore, but only saw the same ringed birds as Pete (Malcolm). The green ringed bird was new for this year, update awaited.

One of the three juvenile Mediterranean gulls

Juvenile Med (top) and juvenile Black-Headed Gull

Near Naze (Malcolm)

Whimbrel 1 - initially it was resting with its head under its wing. A Curlew seemed to be trying to attract its attention.

The Curlew got closer and closer, calling all the while,
until the Whimbrel showed its head.....

........the Curlew then lost interest and flew off

Whimbrel 

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Just a brief lunchtime walk

Reed Bunting

Sedge warbler carrying food

Green-veined White

Small Skipper

Honeybee, doing what Honeybees do best

Feeding time

It managed to stay dry until teatime, then the heavens opened! Some sunny periods had made it very warm until the fresher west wind driven rain cooled things down a bit.

South shore

Report by Shaun Coyle:

Red Nab and Outfalls. 08:00-10:00. 

Mediterranean Gulls 33 (28 adult types, 4 2nd CY and a Juv/1st CY). Min of 28 roosting off Ocean Edge salt marsh at 10:15. 

Sandwich Tern adult + Juv on beach, plus two fishing in the bay. 

Redshank 47 

Turnstone 2 

About 10 Swift over HNR heading towards Heysham Village

I checked the gulls out from the saltmarsh (Malcolm). Could only see two ringed birds amongst the Meds, both also seen yesterday. It was difficult seeing though as the overnight tide had covered the beach leaving the mud soft. The gulls were standing but their legs were sinking into the mud.

This is 3LX9 today, the only one seen yesterday that has been seen elsewhere
since its last visit. Last seen here 3/10/23, then Gann Estuary, Pembrokeshire;
Wales this February, Langstone Harbour; Havant; Hampshire in March then 
Pannel Valley Nature Reserve; Icklesham; East Sussex in April.
Ringed as a nestling in the Netherlands in 2019

Solitary Lapwing on the saltmarsh 

Whimbrel 1 heard - first returning bird

Swift 7 purposefully south, possibly some of Shaun's 10.

Janet also had a walk along the sea wall and took some great feeding shots.

Juvenile Black-Headed gull picking up a small fish from the outflow

Lesser Black-Backed gull with a shore crab

Cormorant with a Common Blenny

Cormorant with an Eel

Juvenile Blue Tit on the newt pond in the Nature Park

Shaded broad-bar also in the Nature Park

A welcome influx of Meds

A warm sunny day with a light west wind.

South shore (Malcolm)

A morning check as the rising tide approached Red Nab

Sandwich Tern at least 3 adults

Sandwich Tern with quite a large Whitebait.
Not scavenged from the outflows but caught in open water.

Two Sandwich Terns resting on the mud with the gulls

Things looked promising, there were loads of small gulls around including at least 17 Mediterranean gulls,  but just as they were settling on Red Nab a loud steam blow off from the Power Station spooked them and they resettled on mud out from the foreshore, but unfortunately spooked again by a dog enjoying its holidays. I only managed to spot one green ringed 3rd calendar year and that was the French ringed bird seen earlier this month.

French ringed 3cy Med

Take a close look at this one. The gull behind has just ejected a pellet.
There is a line of spittle defining its trajectory 

This is where the gulls ended up this morning, unfortunately 
I didn't have time to check them out.......

.........so I returned early evening.

There were three groups of gulls resting on the mud, this was the largest

There were at least 30 Mediterranean gulls in the three groups. Unfortunately the tide hasn't reached this far for a week and the mud was dry, so most of the gulls were sitting for most of the time, but eventually I managed to read 5 new birds for this year, although they were all seen here last year too. Hopefully at least some will have been seen elsewhere since.

This is a German ringed bird

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Female/immature Reed Bunting

Male Reed Bunting 

Swallow

Pair of Black-Tailed Skimmers

Pair of Common Blue Damselflies 

Excellent sequence of a male Emperor

Female Emperor ovipositoring 

It isn't clear what has attracted the male Common Blue damselflies 
Janet though they may have been after her eggs. Perhaps so.