Wet.......but not as bad as forecasted

The rain held off till 09:30 then rained all morning. Showers in the afternoon. A fresh SE to south wind.

Heysham skear - low water 07:40

An early start to avoid the rain (Malcolm)

Little Egret 6 feeding

Grey Heron 2 high to the north appeared to be movement.

Heron heading north ahead of the oncoming rain

The clouds were rolling to the NE in waves

Pale-bellied Brent goose 11 - 4 drifting on the sea close to the beach. 7 resting on the skear.

More accurately there were 5 plus 2 close by on the skear. These are the 5, 2 adult with 3 x 2nd calendar year.

Eider c60

Red-breasted Merganser 11

Great Crested Grebe 6

In this clip three merganser and two grebes are waiting to go through the first channel to the north side. The tide has been coming in for 20 minutes at this point, but water is still rushing out through the channel. People mistakenly think this means that the tide is still going out, but it isn't. The skear acts like a huge dam with only two channels to let the water out. The water level on the north side is therefore several centimetres higher than the south and water continues to flow out until the rising tide has removed the differential. At that point the tide has been making a while and is coming in quickly! You can see the water in the middle of the channel is still running out quickly, the clip ends on the other two resting Brent geese (adults).

There were much few waders today, partly as a Peregrine was patrolling early on, but also, much more skear is exposed on these high spring tide, and many waders would be on the outer skear and beyond.

Oystercatcher less than 100

Curlew 2

Knot 250 (although larger flocks were seen at distance heading south as the tide displaced them)

Redshank 30

No Turnstone seen which is unusual 

Ringed Plover 1 close to shore 

South shore 

I had a look an hour after high water in the afternoon (Malcolm)

The recent storms have both brought in new flotsam to the saltmarsh but also stirred up the existing flotsam, providing plenty of feeding opportunities for the passerines.

Wheatear 13 (9 on saltmarsh)

Quite a rufous male Wheatear

Rock Pipit 6 (3 on saltmarsh, plus 2 on foreshore and 1 on Red Nab)

White Wagtail 1 male on saltmarsh 

You can see the extent of the flotsam here. Pleasingly, it contains much more organic detritus than man made (although the gales blew the plastic bottles etc onto the shore itself, where, equally pleasingly, Ocean Edge staff collect and recycle)

All 11 Pale-bellied Brent were on Red Nab, still in two groups of 4 and 7.

Shag 1 adult on wooden jetty

Peregrine Falcon pair - the female was just hanging on the wind, but she kept being buzzed by the smaller male. At the end of this clip, she sets off in a stoop, much to quick for me to follow with my camera.

The Cowslips in the Nature Park are looking nice

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis was checked in the middle of the morning rain, looking decidedly grey, not purple!

Today was about keeping out of the wind!

A very strong NW wind all day. Heavy showers in the morning.

Pete had a check at high water (12:30)

Kittiwake 8 adult lifted off then landed again in same place on sea off heysham north wall - possibly part of bigger group staying on sea from past experience 

The Heliport was washed clean of Knot!

This set of spring tides has been far from a washout though, with several ringed birds read. These are a couple of Howards shots from earlier in the set.

I didn't venture out till mid afternoon, a shower was just easing (Malcolm). A battle along the south wall but blown back in double quick time. I needn't have bothered most of the birds were hunkered down out of the wind.

Herring, Lesser and Great Black-backed gulls, plus Oystercatcher hunkered down behind the foreshore

Willow warbler 1 had been grounded on Red Nab, but it managed to blunder its way through the Power Station perimeter fence.

Red-breasted Merganser 1 male was trying to fly high to the west, but couldn't make it and had to land.

It managed a little later by flying low close to the waves.

The slow laboured flight of this Little Egret against the wind, gave the impression of a Great White, particularly as its feet were dark with mud.

Little Egret

These Turnstone had moved from the saltmarsh shingles, where they normally feed, to feed in the lee of the saltmarsh slipway.

Rock Pipit 3 - 1 braving Red Nab, 2 sheltering behind the west bank of the saltmarsh, even so the wind was still quite strong, and they needed rocks and plants for added protection.

Wheatear 10 - 1 struggling on the foreshore the rest sheltering around the saltmarsh north and west banks.

Four Wheatears below the north bank of the saltmarsh 

This clip by Angela Gillon from the Nature Park a couple of days ago. The Grey Squirrels are quick to take advantage of any food left for the wildlife here by visitors.

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis still in horse paddock feeding around sheds and manure heap at south end so sometimes out of sight from the village hall car park

Great Northern Diver tops the bill

Showers throughout the day, often prolonged. A variable SE to east wind.

Pete and Howard have been managing to read more Knot rings on this set of spring tides. Yesterday Howard spotted this Sanderling amongst the Knot

Winter plumage Sanderling with winter plumage Knot

Pete managed a seawatch from the back of the harbour:

Great Northern Diver 1 in non breeding plumage flew into the bay

Red-throated Diver 5

Harbour Porpoise 1 in the harbour mouth

South wall

Both me (Malcolm) and Janet were exercising dogs along the sea wall towards high water this morning.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 4 flew out from Potts at high water, circled then headed for the Lune Estuary.

Pale-bellied Brent geese

One of several 2nd calendar year Common gulls

This Cormorant was feeding close to the sea wall

Shag 1 adult (albeit slightly crestfallen) on one of the platforms in the harbour.

I can't match the quality of Janet's shots, but I did manage a nice clip of it scratching its chin.

Wheatear 2

Rock Pipit 2 - Red Nab and lighthouse area. No obvious activity at the back of the harbour this year.

Heysham Head - mid afternoon - Angela Gillon

Rock Pipits 2 below cliffs

Linnet c12

Siskin 2 female

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis seen in the morning. It was totally oblivious to the lady in the paddock tending the horses.

Good stuff but well scattered

A very strong SSW -SW wind, just the odd shower.

Jean had a watch from St Peter's church yard:

Do TWO Swallows make a summer? I had 2 over St Peter’s churchyard this morning. 

Also there a flock of 9 Siskin in the trees. 

Offshore  

a Red-throated Diver flew across the Bay and a Common Scoter flew into the Bay and landed on the water.

From Pete:

Male Ring Ouzel private field heysham head (first one, possibly the only one, of the year)

Pale-bellied Brent goose 5 flew to Red Nab

Nick Godden was checking from the north of Heysham Head

Arctic Tern 1 flew out (first of the year)

I had a morning walk along the south sea wall (Malcolm)

Shag 1 adult flew to the wooden jetty.

Adult Shag - sorry about the quality of pictures today, but it was impossible to hold still.

Kittiwake 11 out

Some of the Kittiwakes

Eider 3 out (male and a pair)

There were at least 27 Common gulls around No.2 outflow mostly 2nd calendar year. Then suddenly they were joined by loads of large gulls. The reason was a Cormorant with a bass. I'm not sure what the gulls hope to gain. Cormorants, unlike seals, eat their prey whole. The only possible scraps would be any gill filaments dislodged by the Cormorant.

Bar-tailed Godwit 12 (3 and 9) battling south against the wind.

Linnet 2 on foreshore 

Rock Pipits 2 (foreshore and lighthouse)

Wheatear 6. This one was right on the end of the roundhead.

It was time to head back along the sea wall. This is what faced me. Not dangerous, just wet!

A nice splash of colour now.

A couple of shots by Janet from Heysham Nature Reserve 

Singing Robin

Greenfinch 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a quick early evening check of the two main ponds (Malcolm)

The only ducks were 5 Mallard. Mute, Coot and Moorhen unchanged.

Swallow 3 feeding on "no swimming" pond (protected from the wind here)

Common Sandpiper 1 on the main pond.

Cetti's warbler 3 singing (NE corner of "no swimming" pond, NE corner of central marsh and SE corner of main pond.

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis seen in the morning at least.

Quite a variety passing through

A fresh SE wind increased in strength and ended up from SW. mainly dry with some sunny periods in the afternoon.

Two quick checks of the horse field at Imperial road saw only two Little Egrets today.

South shore

I managed two checks (Malcolm). A short check of the foreshore in the morning towards high water and a walk along the sea wall in the afternoon.

Morning - quite a bit along the foreshore 

Common Sandpiper 1

Common Sandpiper

Wheatear 8

Wheatear 

Common Snipe 3

Linnet 8 (3, 5) in off

Alba Wagtail 1 in off

Mallard pair on the saltmarsh 

Afternoon - by this time the wind was very strong from the south.

Shag 1 adult. It came from the north side and landed out from the harbour mouth. It then allowed itself to drift with the tide till it was close to the wooden jetty.

When it was  "close enough" it flew to the jetty, surprisingly ending up on one of the most exposed spots.

Shag on the post centre of picture. Not its regular resting place.

Willow Warbler/Chiffchaff 5 at least in brambles between lighthouse and waterfall, most if not all were Willow Warbler.

White Wagtail 1 briefly on the roundhead. Neither of us could barely stand!

White Wagtail 

Rock Pipit 1 near lighthouse 

North shore

Andrew McCafferty checked from the north sea wall

Red-Throated Diver 1

Guillemot 1

Pete had an unexpected opportunity to scope for some Knot rings, as the Knot were resting on top of the old heliport sea wall, despite the lowish tide. At least they were, till a Sparrowhawk took one.

Swallow 1 north

White Wagtail 1

Jean checked a few areas:

Vismig over Heysham Head: 

Linnet 37

Siskin 2

Redpoll 1

Redwing 1. 

Also 3 Willow Warblers singing.

MNR - 5 Willow Warblers singing.

HNR - 5 Willow Warblers singing, 4 Chiffchaffs singing. 

Heliport 1 Common Snipe

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis seen in the morning at least.

First Cattle Egret for the Observatory........nevertheless, anticipated!

Some light overnight showers followed by an heavy early morning shower, a few more showers during the day. A light south wind

Cattle Egret 4 - after an influx further south two days ago, Pete advised:

Serious consideration needs to be given to the egret gang the other side of the road at Imperial road roundabout.  Massive cattle egret influx eg 14 Conder pool this afternoon which then dispersed.  They do mix when loafing

So I checked yesterday morning (Malcolm). 14 Egrets, all Little, but on checking this morning 12 Little Egret and 4 Cattle Egret. It is nice when a plan works out!

This is a location shot, just to the NE of Imperial Rd roundabout on the bypass (Bay gateway)

They seemed to be finding plenty to eat

They are all in this clip.

I left them to it, Pete put the news out and Shaun arrived just in time to see all the egrets lifted by something. The Little Egrets settled nearby but the four Cattle Egret continued west over the recording area, and couldn't be relocated afterwards.

Also at Imperial Rd

Mute Swan 2

Shelduck 2

Buzzard 1

Kestrel 1

A fine buck Roe Deer, still with velvet on his antlers 

Pale-bellied Brent goose 7 (5 + 2) on Red Nab at high water.

The group of 5 moved closer inshore, partly to have a drink from the freshwater runoff......

........but the gutweed is lusher closer in too

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis seen in the morning and afternoon 

A decent variety on a decent day

It just about stayed dry, but overcast. A light NE breeze drifting round to east after lunch.

Middleton Nature Reserve 

I did exactly the same circuit this morning as I did yesterday morning (Malcolm). As expected most of the Willow Warbler had moved on.

Willow Warbler 2

Chiffchaff 5

Cetti's warbler 7 - same locations as yesterday except no birds in SE corner of "no swimming" pond and middle of west bank of main ponds heard. One singing from the western marsh today was not heard yesterday.

Canada Goose 5 low to the north

Canada geese

I had hoped this clip would pick up their noisy honking. Unfortunately drowned out by an even noisier Cetti's warbler, they do seem to react to other loud noises.

Mute Swan - pair plus 4 immature 

Mallard 6 - pair plus 4 males

Gadwall 2 males 1 female

Teal 1 male

Tufted Duck pair (this clip also has Cetti's singing - you can't get away from them!)

Little Grebe 1

Moorhen 2

Coot 5 - not sure if this is a bonding or a territorial display. Looks affectionate enough.

Swallow 1

Mark Jones also enjoyed a walk around. One addition to the above.

Jay 1

A nice shot of a Wren at Half-moon Bay - Janet

Heysham skear - low water 15:10

An easy walk, as the tide doesn't go out too far on these neap tides and at this time it was almost breathless (Malcolm).

Little Egret 8

Eider 72

This is the same mussel covered rock and presumably the same male Eider
I showed on Monday. He clearly regards it as his personal larder!

Red-breasted Merganser 8

Waders similar to recent, including two lots of Bar-Tailed Godwit 31 and 26. Neither were feeding. This is the first lot, with Knot, Redshank, Turnstone and Oystercatcher (although the Turnstone isn't easy to spot)

These are some of the other group starting to be moved on by the rising tide. Watch the bird that begins on the left.

South Shore 

Harbour Porpoise 1 seen by Kevin Eaves in the harbour and he managed this nice, albeit short clip.

We are now up to seven nests in the Rookery on the southern boundary of the recording area

Just out of the recording area 

Mark Jones advises that there is an increasing presence of Rooks at feeding stations at his and other holiday caravans just south of the recording area.

Rooks

Horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis not seen in the morning but was feeding by 14:00

Lots of warblers!

It was fine this morning till an heavy shower began at 08:30 and continued for an hour. More showers began about 11:00 till early afternoon, then mainly fine. A light SE breeze to lunchtime when it shifted to the west and became quite fresh.

A couple of shots by Janet from Heysham Nature Reserve yesterday 

Snakes Head Fritillary

A pair of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

For once I timed it just right (Malcolm). The heavy early rain was just stopping, I had only planned to check the "no swimming" pond, but there were so many warblers singing that I walked around to the main pond, then checked the fence pond from the roadside.

Cetti's warbler 8 - 1 in three of the 4 "no swimming" pond corners (NE, SE and SW), 1 in the middle of the central marsh, 1 near the pumping station at the NE corner of central marsh, 1 in bushes in the middle of the west side of main pond (not a known territory here), 1 in SE corner of main pond and 1 in NW corner of the Fence pond.

Chiffchaff 6 at least

Willow Warbler 6 at least - it's nice to hear them again! The birds in this compilation are Willow Warbler although there are Chiffchaff singing as well (plus a Pheasant calling). They look much more at home in the willows today than on my lawn yesterday!

Willow warbler

No sign of any Goosander again.

Mute Swan adult pair plus 5 immature 

Gadwall 3 - 2 males

Mallard 2 males

Coot 4

Moorhen 2

Gadwall drake and a Moorhen

South shore (Malcolm)

A quick check of the Nature park this morning heard at least one Willow Warbler. No sign in the evening.

I walked down to the waterline again this evening, but for some reason all the waders were much further south today. No point in trying to follow them they just keep on south. My only company were a few south bound Curlew and a flock of 31 Bar-Tailed Godwit south!

Shelduck 2

Pale-bellied Brent goose 7 on Red Nab. Clearly two lots, one of two and one of five.

Rock Pipit 2 on Red Nab

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis seen in the morning, not checked later

First Willow warbler, but not quite where expected

A dry sunny day. A very light SE breeze freshened slightly as it moved to the north.

Heysham Nature Reserve (Janet)

Blue Tit, its ring characters clear to see (unfortunately not enough of them)

Jay

Female Bullfinch 

One of several Chiffchaff 

Buck and doe Roe deer

Middleton Nature reserve 

Just a passing check of the "no swimming" pond. No sign of any Goosander today. Three Chiffchaff and two Cetti's warbler singing (Cettis from SE and NE corners of the pond)

Heysham skear - low water 11:50

It was a lovely walk in the sun compared to yesterday's rain (Malcolm).

Little Egret 10 - there are seven feeding in this pool with a female/1st winter Red-breasted Merganser.

Pale-bellied Brent goose 5

1 and 4 Pale-bellied Brent geese either side of conger rock

Eider 105

Red-breasted Merganser 5. This pair decided that it was time to leave, or rather, the female decided that it was time to leave and the male followed.

Female and male Red-breasted Merganser

This female/1st winter was close inshore.

Knot c2000 initially, but this Peregrine did several sorties and cleared them off the skear. They had gone by the time of this clip, the Peregrine was just checking. Not a great clip of the Peregrine, but it does demonstrate the unusual lighting conditions this lunchtime.

Bar-Tailed godwit 36 - this clip ends with them flying over conger rock

Oystercatcher 750

Curlew 25

Redshank 120

Turnstone 80

South shore 

I walked out to the waterline 2 hours before high water (Malcolm). But these neap tides don't rise very high and I was at the waterline before the waders. But it wasn't long before they arrived. These are the godwits and just some of the Knot arriving.

Bar-Tailed Godwit 250

Knot 2,500

Dunlin 200

I checked the Knot for rings and only found three. One was probably the same bird as yesterday with an obscured code on an orange flag. This one has a pale green flag also obscured! But possibly only on one side, unfortunately it was only walking in one direction away from the rising tide. 

A bit frustrating, but I did manage to read the third bird.

Shelduck 1

Wheatear 5 on the saltmarsh 

Three Wheatears

And where was the Willow warbler? In my garden just after lunch (Malcolm). 

Unusually, feeding on the ground on my immaculately manicured lawn! 

First Willow Warbler of the year

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis seen in the morning, not checked later