A bit of gull ring variety

Another warm sunny day. The freshening breeze switching from NE to NW in the afternoon.

Heysham Skear (Malcolm)

Two visits today 08:30:10:30 and 17:00:18:30 (numbers are highest total unless stated)

Eider 5

Great Crested Grebe 1

Little Egret 4

Grey Heron 1

Grey Heron and Little Egret

The Heron's style of fishing is much more sedate than yesterday's Little Egret.

Swallow 2 this morning 1 this evening 

Oystercatcher 1,000

Curlew 2

Whimbrel 1 this morning 4 this evening

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1 this morning 2 this evening

Whimbrel (left) with 2 Bar-Tailed Godwit

Turnstone 5 were flying around this evening.

Turnstone 

Dunlin 4 with Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover 10 (3 + 7)

Gulls - this morning there were 1,100. Many too distant to check for rings, nevertheless I still checked a few hundred and couldn't locate a single ringed bird. 

Some of this morning's gulls after the tide had lifted them of their feeding grounds

I returned this evening to try to understand why the birds I can see in the morning do not include any ringed birds.  l still don't really know although I have some thoughts. Only 500 gulls returned to feed this evening, but they did include two new ringed birds. One from the North West England Gull Project and another ringed as part of a NE Scotland ringing scheme.

Ringed in the NE of Scotland, details awaited

Just out of the recording area

Heysham Moss Nature Reserve (Janet)

Four-spotted Chaser

Broad-bodied Chaser

Large Red Damselfly 

Common Heath moth

Sundew

These shots by Mark Jones at his caravan at Potts Corner

Lesser Whitethroat 

Rook

Loads of gulls

Another warm sunny day. The NE wind again shifting to NW mid afternoon.

Middleton Nature Reserve - main pond (Janet)

Mallards catching the morning sun

Male Broad-bodied Chaser

Azure Blues

Marsh Orchids on the main pond spit

Heysham Skear (Malcolm) 09:00 - 10:30

Eider 5

Little Egret 4 - this one fishing on the incoming tide.

Five Cormorants heading east

Oystercatcher 1,000

Curlew 1

Whimbrel 6

Bar-Tailed Godwit 2

Bar-Tailed Godwit with Oystercatchers 

Turnstone 1

Dunlin 6 (1 by itself plus 2 and 3 with Ringed Plovers)

Dunlin

Ringed Plover 10 - 3 and 7

Six Ringed Plover and a Dunlin

Gulls, more than 1,200 today

Five Whimbrel flying over a few of the gulls

This is only some of the gulls, I must have checked over 300 pairs of 
legs, but didn't see a single ringed bird. 

This young Herring gull has found a Pipefish. They are the same family as
Seahorses, and are basically just a straightened out Seahorse. That's its head
just above the water

Unfortunately, it was just too long for the gull to be able to swallow it. Although, it wasn't for giving up and took it away for another try. It would be easier head first, so it might manage eventually.

Heysham Head (Edward Wilkinson)

Rock Pipit

Wren

Goldfinch 

Common Whitethroat 

Linnet

House Sparrow

South shore (Malcolm)

Shelduck 2

Linnet 2

I wasn't going to go along the sea wall as the wind was again from NW. but there were more gulls on the outfalls than of late so I went to check.

Most of the gulls were immature Black-Headed, they seemed to be 
finding plenty to eat.

Grey Seal dozing between the outfalls

Rock Pipit 1 near the lighthouse 

Swallow 3 north

The only butterflies seen coming in/off were 3 Small White. There were still c20 Common Blue on the scrub near the lighthouse.

The Six-Spot Burnet were just emerging, they will be everywhere soon.

This large (18mm) beetle is a Common Burying Beetle. They are not called burying 
because they bury underground, but because they burry small animal carcasses for
them and their young to feed on safely 

Still some movement - birds and insects

Another warm sunny day with a predominantly east breeze.

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 08:45 - 10:15:

Eider 10

Eider

Little Egret 3

Sandwich Tern 1

A few more species of wader today

Oystercatcher 1,200

Curlew 2

Whimbrel 8

Knot just a solitary bird

Solitary Knot with Oystercatchers 

Turnstone 2

Summer plumage Turnstone 

Ringed Plover 6

All six in this shot

Gulls c1,200 again, but no ringed birds were seen today.

Swallow 3 in/off

Painted Lady 1 in/off

Middleton Nature Reserve - southern section - (Janet)

These shots with Janet's mobile, showing that you don't need expensive cameras, especially for insects.

Broad-bodied Chaser

Four-spotted Chaser

Common Toad, clearly not enjoying the dry weather

Main pond (these shots with a 65mm lens)

Female Broad-bodied Chaser ovipositoring, with the male watching over

Pete checked from the back of the harbour  1125-1225 

Red admiral 7 in

Painted Lady 2 together in

Small White 11 in

Common scoter flock of 19 

A single Sandwich Tern 

South shore (Malcolm)

From saltmarsh to lighthouse and back 15:15 - 16:30

Shelduck just 1 resting on the saltmarsh 

Linnet 2 each saltmarsh and lighthouse 

Meadow Pipit 2 - one on foreshore and 1 on Red Nab

Foreshore Meadow Pipit

Rock Pipit, just one seen standing above the waterfall

Curlew 1 on Red Nab

Eider 3 between the outfalls

Eider on the sea, and I just happen to have caught a passing dredger in the frame.

In some respects I couldn't have timed this walk any worse. By the time I reached the sea wall, the breeze had shifted to NNW for the only time in the day! East winds are required to draw the insects in here, and sure enough I didn't see a single insect come in/off anywhere along the wall. There were some butterflies remaining on the scrub near the lighthouse.

Common Blue 17

Common Blue

Painted Lady 2

Painted Lady

In another respect of course, I couldn't have timed the walk any better. No point in having an hypothesis of requiring an east wind to bring the insects in if you don't test it. When Pete checked earlier the breeze was almost due east. When I checked the NNW breeze would have drawn the insects in and across the bay.

This is another of Janet's shots of yesterday's Heysham Head Rock Pipits.
Even the shadow shows it to be carrying food.