At least there were some gaps in the rain today!

The wind back in the SW and quite fresh. Heavy showers became less frequent during the day.

So far, only my stuff and I didn't have much time today, so only managed two very short walks and a quick look at Middleton (MD).

Red Nab to saltmarsh - high water 10:00

The tide was already high when I got to Red Nab, but still:

Mediterranean gull - 2 adult/3cy (including the green ringed German adult). 2 x 2nd winter, 1 x 1st winter 

Not a great shot of one of the 2nd winter Mediterranean gull,
but does show the dark markings on the primaries 

Wigeon 26 some on Red Nab but most out from saltmarsh 

Little Egret 13 

Rock Pipit 5

Wheatear at least 3. 3 on foreshore might have included 1 seen on Red Nab earlier.

Heysham skear 

Just a 15 minute check two hours before low water.

The birds were very mobile and noisy, the increasing height tides are now uncovering shore that has not been exposed for a number of days, providing new feeding opportunities. The waders and gulls were vying for positions. This is just a general clip to try and convey the furore. The Little Egret's legs barely look strong enough against the wind.

Waders: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Redshank. Not many Knot around today, just a few individual birds, 

Little Egret 14

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Not a lot. The mute are still on main pond with 1 male and 3 female Mallard.

7 Gadwall plus 1 male Mallard on "no swimming" pond.

Little Grebe 1

Little grebe in winter plumage plus male Gadwall

Thundering in the 'ears

A very heavy early morning thunderstorm. Rain pretty much all day alternating between heavy and quite heavy! The wind had shifted to SSE.

First, Howard had a look on the skear at low water yesterday afternoon and took these crisp shots (only really crisp when opened)

Bar-Tailed Godwit

Some of the Knot feeding in small flocks

The only stuff I have from today are my morning checks (MD).

South shore at high water this morning 09:00

Mediterranean gull - at least 6 adult/3rd calendar year plus 2 2nd calendar year. One benefit of an easterly wind is that the gulls on Red Nab face you, making identification a bit easier.

These are the two 2cy Meds. One on the left is clear to see, the second not
so obvious on this shot, it's second from the right behind the adult Med

Wigeon 39, numbers growing quickly 

White Wagtail 1 male near the lighthouse (during a particularly heavy squall)

Rock Pipit 4 on Red Nab

Wheatear 6 on Red Nab and foreshore, this is a high number for this time of year, presumably grounded by the thunderstorm.

One of today's Wheatear sheltering from the wind and rain behind 
the rubble on the foreshore 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a five minute check on the way home.

The Mute family are back on the main pond

Gadwall 18

Mallard 2 male, seemed to have attached themselves to a female Gadwall each.

Leach's Storm-Petrel tops a decent wind blown bunch

Strong overnight southwesterlies continued into the morning and only eased slightly during the day. Very heavy showers all day, but particularly early on. Some sunny spells.

Pete and Jean managed a morning seawatch - report from Pete:

Seawatch totals 0750-1000 Heysham: 

Arctic tern 1 adult + 1 juvenile 

Leach's Petrel - at least one early on - seen twice between squalls from Knowlys - second time further into bay and further inshore (then zilch visibility to follow up)

Gannet 1 adult + 1 juvenile 

Pintail 28 out in 5 flocks plus single.

Brent geese (prob PBB) on the sea then lost in squall, 

Common Scoter 1 drake

Guillemot 1

(one ‘probable’ Kittiwake miles out!)

Nothing on the outflows as they are not currently fully operational 

South shore (MD)

Mid Morning check.

Rock Pipit 3

Wheatear 2

Stonechat 1 female by the saltmarsh, but very flighty.

Originally it was spooked by the resident Kestrel and I thought it had moved on as I couldn't relocate, but I did get another glimpse in the evening.

By continuity of activity I have assumed the now resident Kestrel to be the emancipated bird photographed 13th September. If that is the case, it is looking much healthier now.

Kestrel - now hunts along foreshore and over the saltmarsh 

Lapwing 59

Little Egret 11

I couldn't see anything on the sea, but this clip of the pilot boat, gives a good indication of this morning's conditions.

I fared a little better on my evening check

Guillemot 1 driven towards the sea wall near No.2 outflow. Hopefully it will be ok after a rest.

Mediterranean gull, at least 1 adult resting on the Mud with Black-Headed Gulls in the lea of No.2 outflow.

Gulls sheltering from the wind

The following were seen from the lighthouse area

Kittiwake 1 adult

Manx Shearwater 1 

Gannet 1 x 1st or 2nd winter

Young Gannet (MD)

This clip is a bit bumpy, but shows the flight line, it starts near the buoys out from the north wall, and ends as it passes beyond the wooden jetty.

Finally, it was the first of October today. 13C with a cool wind, but the sun was warm when it shone and not everything had given up summer. These Common Darters were ovipositoring in the pond behind Red Nab this morning. A short clip as another shower just started.

When is a tide, not a tide.........

The early wind was quite strong and from SSW, by the afternoon it had eased a bit and moved more to SW. No sun today, but plenty of showers to dodge.

Heysham "skear"

The answer to today's title is .......when it's a neap

Not what you would call a joke, but I always feel that these very low neap tides, just don't seem to make an effort! (MD).

Today and tomorrow's tides are the lowest neap tides of the year, and pretty much as low as they get. Low water barely exposed the inner skeer. It's very hard to portray with images just what little movement there is on these tides, so I'm going to resort to mathematics! But first this shot is low water today. I am stood in the sea looking back at the shore.

So, this is low water today 3.44 metres. High water was 6.61 metres. So the height difference between low and high water is 2.17 metres (7 foot 1 inch, if you are still pre 1971!). In other words, if I stood here on a decent sized tin bucket, my nose would still be above the water at high water (Please don't try it).

Little Egret 8

Waders, mainly very concentrated Oystercatcher at least 2,000. Also Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Knot.

There were two smallish flocks of Knot c100 in total. This group are mainly resting, but there is obviously plenty of food available. You can see one of these eating three small molluscs, probably young periwinkles, without needing to move.

No ringed birds seen today, but just this one flock checked in detail, and most of their legs were hidden.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a brief check of the two main ponds on my way home:

The only wildfowl on the main pond were two adult Moorhen. Everything else on the "no swimming" pond.

Mute Swan 2 adult plus 9 cygnets. I took a shot as it could be the last family group shot.

Mute Swan, last shot for the family album?

Coot 1. First one seen for a couple of weeks.

Moorhen 2 adult 5 immature (plus 2 on main pond)

Gadwall 18

Mallard 1 male, not the white bird.

This clip shows the Coot, an immature Moorhen and a female Gadwall feeding.

South shore early evening 

Red Nab

Rock Pipit 3 

Little Egret 6

Wigeon 2

Wigeon coming in to land 

Chiffchaff 2 in the Elder bush on the south inner harbour wall. This is the largest shrub along the harbour wall and regularly attracts off passage birds. This isn't a great clip, but it shows which bush to check out. Both Chiffchaff are visible briefly at the start of the clip. At the end of the clip one is being chased off by a Robin.

Pete and Jean also managed a check a bit later, and did a much better job of Red Nab than me.

Mediterranean gulls 12 including 2 x 1st winter

Eider 87 past Stone Jetty from Heysham direction 

Dodging the showers!

Much cooler today. A fresh west wind and the day a mixture of sunny spells and very heavy showers, some starting as hail.

Heysham skear - low water 11:45

GreatCrested grebe - just one winter plumage bird seen

Red-breasted Merganser 6 female/immature in one group

Eider 2 male

Little Egret 14

Waders included: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone, Ringed Plover (30), Dunlin (2) and Knot (100+).

This was the first time this autumn that a flock of Knot was seen feeding on the skear. One of them was orange flagged, but this clip shows how difficult it is on the skear to see rings. Most of the Knots' legs are hidden from view. Check the Oystercatcher at the end of this clip. 1. It extracts a mussel from a shell wedged in a crevice. 2. Sadly, it's right foot and leg appear gangrenous.

I eventually managed to get a clear look at the flagged bird, only to find that the flag was damaged, making it impossible to read, at least with my optics.

Knot with orange flag, remained unread 

The Cormorants were heading back to their wooden jetty roost, before this
storm arrived. I followed suit and headed for home, narrowly avoiding a drenching!

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a very brief check of the two main ponds

Mute Swan the pair plus 9 cygnets were all on the "no swimming" pond

Moorhen 6

Mallard 3 male, including yesterday's white bird

Gadwall 12

Little grebe 1

Kevin had some nice bright moths in his overnight trap. Adds a bit of colour to an otherwise largely grey day,

Pink-barred Sallow.

Merveille du Jour

Shag, or a shag, still around

Very heavy overnight rain and hail showers. The wind not as fresh as yesterday veered from SSE to SSW by afternoon. Overcast all day with rain showers increasing in frequency and length as the day progressed.

Heysham skear - low water 10:30

Great Crested Grebe 2

Red-breasted Merganser 9 (2, 3 and 4)

Goose sp (almost certainly Pink-Footed) 21 and 24 south

Eider 5 male

Little Egret 18

Waders included: Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone, Dunlin (just 2) and Knot 60 (in one flock that seemed to move on)

Shag 1 feeding in same location as Sunday, to the NW of the skear. But today's tide did not expose as much of the skear so I was further away and the light rain made it more difficult. I couldn't even tell if it was a juvenile, but it likely was (MD).

Cormorant, rarely get a mention but they are always fishing around the skear, probably 10 today. 

These low neap tides do not even completely expose Conger [rock]. But it makes it a favoured resting point. Shag also rest on here occasionally.

Cormorants resting on Conger

This clip shows an adult Cormorant moving off after feeding, followed by a juvenile.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Janet spotted a "white duck" on the main pond, she was confident that it was a domestic duck, but I called in on the way home to have a look.

Predominately white male "mallard ". Presumably a recent ancestor was being
fed in a farmyard. Although this bird was "wild" and shied away from visitors.
So possibly a natural mutation? (MD)

Just the two main ponds checked:

Mute Swan 2 adult 9 cygnets 

Mallard 8 including the white bird

Gadwall 17

Teal 3

Presumably the appearance of the "mallard" was related to last night's very heavy showers, which probably also accounted for some additional corvids. There were 15+ in the corner near Tradebe, only seen from a distance but they all appeared to be Carrion Crow and the resident 5 or 6 birds in that area were not happy!

Wet and windswept

A strong SW wind, prolonged showers in the morning became shorter, but heavier in the afternoon, with sunny spells in between.

Red Nab and Saltmarsh area - high water 15:40

Pete had a quick check at lunchtime:

Mediterranean gull 6

Kittiwake 2 adult

By high water there was no sign of any Mediterranean gulls on Red Nab, but the first Wigeon here this autumn.

The first of, hopefully, many Wigeon on Red Nab

Shelduck 1

Kestrel 1 hunting around saltmarsh 

Little Egret 6

Rock Pipit 1

We are back to the neap tides being too low to cover the mud out from the saltmarsh. There were lots of waders today, best estimate on those close to the saltmarsh:

Redshank c50

Knot 2,000+

Dunlin c1,000

Grey Plover c100

There were many more nearer Potts corner

This Grey Plover was the closest wader to the saltmarsh, it looked like it had
been blown there and was bracing itself against the wind.

Although the tide at 8m was not high enough to cover the mud, the strong SW wind blew a thin film of water up the beach. These two Grey Plover made light of the wind, standing on one leg, as this species is wont to do.

Grey Plover

It is strange how some birds are more comfortable in a wind than others. I suppose it is partly down to experience. This clip shows Knot, Grey Plover and Dunlin. Most are fine and it's not even obvious that they are standing in a strong wind. However, the Knot at the start of the clip struggled to brace itself. (MD)

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a quick check of the two main ponds on the way home.

Mute 2 adult with 9 cygnet 

Moorhen 7

Mallard 6

Gadwall 7

Teal 4

Little grebe 1 in winter plumage 

I was going to entitle today's post "water off a duck's back". A heavy shower started while I was checking the "no swimming" pond. The good thing about being under a tree is that it takes a minute or so for the rain to filter through, the bad thing is that it then continues long after the shower finishes. It was time to leave! This clip shows two of the Gadwall and three Teal.

A good day for youngsters

 South breeze, with very low cloud and light rain showers in the morning gave way to brighter spells later in the afternoon.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Report from Jean:

VIS

Low key due to low cloud

Grey Wagtail 10 (7 trapped and ringed)

alba wagtail 9 - still not many moving

Meadow Pipit 48

Linnet 16

Chaffinch 4

Goldfinch 61 (one and a flock of 60)

Swallow 14

House Martin 2

Skylark 1

Pink-footed Goose 80 north presumably to feeding areas and 143 south plus a flock heard but not seen

Jay 3 - there is an irruption (if that is the right word) of Jays all over the country due to the failure of the acorn crop. Birds are roaming around in search of acorns.

ON SITE

Reed Bunting 1

Cetti's Warbler 1 on the west

Water Rail 1 on the west

Goldcrest 2 heard

Robin 1 "ticking" - presumably a migrant

RINGING

All new birds unless stated.

Grey Wagtail 7 colour ringed

Blackcap 4

Meadow Pipit 2

Wren 1

Goldfinch 1 

Long-tailed Tit 5 retraps, the oldest was one ringed in May 2019

Blue tit 10

Great Tit 1

Chiffchaff 1

Greenfinch 1

A flock of what appeared from a distance to be 10+ Goldfinch turned out to be the tit flock in the ringing totals!

Mammals:

Pete reported:

Stoat 1 adult with 2 half grown youngsters on the ringing road, also

Grey Squirrel 1 (unusual here)

Heysham skear - low water 09:30 (MD)

We are moving back to neap tides so not as much of the skear exposed today.

Pink-Footed goose - what a difference to yesterday! Today only 4 skeins seen, all visible at the same time 08:45. 30 and 57 flying north, presumably local movement, 38 and 15 south. Pete advises that there is now blocking weather at Iceland.

Great Crested Grebe 5

Eider 14

Red-breasted Merganser 13 - two groups of female/immature birds (7 and 6). I really like this clip, these are four of the group of six. It looks for all the world to be a fishing lesson. Watch the three on the left, presumably youngsters, very quickly after diving one is successful and seems to be extremely excited about it........

This is a still from the clip as the merganser first surfaces, you can make out the small
fish it has caught. It would be nice to think that the excitement stems from it being its
first catch. But realistically it has probably had its prize snatched away before, and it 
wasn't going to happen this time! (MD)

Little Egret 20, not in the same pool as yesterday, the tide is lower today so it wouldn't drain the area around the pool so quickly giving the shrimps time to leave before being stranded. Instead the egret focused on the draining water on the south side.

Grey Heron 2

Waders included: Oystercatcher, Redshank, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Curlew and Knot (just three individual birds)

Shag 1 juvenile - I wasn't sure about this in real time, but a distant bird's loping dive looked more like a shag than a cormorant. I managed this short clip, which later confirmed that it was indeed a juvenile Shag.

Juvenile Shag - just a blown up still from the above clip

Pinks piling through, and a bonus Scaup.

Very low cloud with light occasional drizzle. The breeze started SW but moved to SE by mid morning, then back to south by lunchtime. Some sunny periods later in the day.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Report from Alan:

It was mild and humid this morning with low misty cloud. Birds caught and ringed were:

Meadow Pipit 3

Grey Wagtail 1 (of 6 seen)

Reed Bunting 2

Great Tit 2

plus one each of Dunnock, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit.

Plus Pink-Footed geese covered below.

Recording area Pink-Footed Geese. Between Alan, Jean, Pete, Janet and myself (MD). We counted 12,200 up to 11:45 from various Heysham and Middleton locations. There is a possibility of a small overlap with Middleton, but if so almost certainly cancelled out by my woeful undercounting (every flock I photographed contained many more birds than I initially tallied, unfortunately I only photographed a few). 

Heysham skear - low water 09:00. 

Pink-Footed geese - from 08:15 to 09:30 there were many but mainly smallish skeins (typically 50 - 70 birds). These were flying low, little choice with the low cloud, and due south most along the middle of the bay.

But by 09:30 when the tide was rising quickly the skeins dramatically increased in size. Pete had already counted 1,100 on a mudflat out from the sunny slopes, these later flew over my head as they were flushed by the tide. By that time the breeze had shifted a bit to the east and the largest skeins crossed inland to the east well before Middleton. Presumably many more groups had been resting on the bay mudflats. I left the skear at 10:30, by that time it had returned to the odd medium sized skein.

For a while it was almost a continuous conveyor belt of movement, sorry about the loss of focus on this clip.

Great Crested Grebe 10

Red-Breasted Merganser 5 - in one small group of female/immature 
Eider 64
Waders included, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Dunlin (2) and Knot (8).

Meadow pipits c30 south in twos and threes

Little Egret 23 - there were 17 feeding in this small pool (shrimps) as I walked out.

There were still 14 in the same pool when I returned. It is obviously is a good catchment pool for shrimps on this height tide. This shot is on the return leg is just to show the location of the pool, clearly visible from the promenade.

Location of the current favourite shrimping pool for the Little Egret 
That is the road from Four Lane Ends top right

Scaup 1 - this was a bonus, and initially an error. The light was so poor everything was just shades of grey. I originally identified it as a Pochard (MD), but on checking with Pete, and looking at my photographs, realised that it wasn't.

In this clip it is quite distant, but when an Eider surfaces with a crab it dives down for a look.

This is a clearer view. The gull in the foreground at the start of the clip also had a crab, as did many other birds seen today. No idea why it was a bad day to be a crab!

Drake Scaup, plus an Eider

Plenty of Pinks.

The fresh west breeze continues. The clouds were very low all day with fine rain till mid morning.

First a series of shots from Kevin Singleton's visit to Half Moon Bay yesterday. All these birds are readily visible from the cafe area, particularly when the tide is in. There is some very nice detail on some of these images when opened.

Redshank roosting on the old heliport wall

Lapwing 

Curlew from three different angles

All records and images are always very welcome, but particularly so today, as so far all I have is my short lunchtime visit to Middleton Nature Reserve main ponds (MD)

Pink-Footed goose 330 in 7 medium sized skeins between 12:00 and 12:30. Several other, similar sized, skeins seen from home and local travel later in the afternoon.

Gadwall 36 (34 on "no swimming" pond plus 2 on Tim Butler pond)

Mallard 9

Teal 5

Little grebe 1

Thrushes sp 3 together south - unfortunately only seen in silhouette.

Swallow 1 south