Have the Brent finally all gone?

A light, but cool, NE wind. A dry day with sunny periods.

Heysham skear - low water 06:30

An early start, but I wasn't the first visitor (Malcolm)

A fox was foraging between the honeycomb worm clumps on the south of the skear - just left of centre

The sun had just risen and was directly behind me, the fox was squinting to make me out

Eider only 40 close in but many more further out

Red-breasted Merganser 2

Great Crested Grebe 2

Sandwich Terns 14 at least, fishing, resting and passing through. It is difficult when you are close to tell which are moving through.

This one had been fishing then settled down and had a preen.

Sandwich Tern

Bar-Tailed Godwit 250+ heading north, but many stopped off for a quick meal and preen.

Bar-Tailed Godwits

Whimbrel 22 north, but again some stopping off briefly, most in ones and twos, but one flock of 14. These are some of them.

Whimbrel 

Pete did better scanning at distance:

Arctic Tern 14 north

Sandwich Tern c40

Red-Throated Diver 2 summer plumage birds in

South shore high water 12:00

I checked saltmarsh to Red Nab towards high water (Malcolm)

No sign of any Brent geese on Red Nab today.

Ringed Plover 8, with Dunlin 9 on the foreshore 

Ringed Plover

The Dunlin were at all stages of moult to summer plumage, the last two quite advanced.

Linnet 6 - 3 pairs one seen mating on the saltmarsh 

Wheatear 4 - these two were feeding on the foreshore grass.

Janet checked along the sea wall

Four Eider south

A distant Grey Seal, but earlier it had been seen closer in with a Bass

There are large numbers of Gorse weevils on the Gorse bushes on Heysham head - Alison Haywood 

Gorse weevil Exapion ulicis

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

Glossy Ibis there mid morning at least.

More Arctic Terns through

A light overnight south wind switched to NE early morning. Reasonably dry but with low cloud/drizzle early evening.

Pete and Jean checked the low tide channels from Knowlys Rd and the North sea wall early morning.

Goldeneye 1 drake

Pintail 2 - male and female 

Teal 2 female

Eider  185

Common Scoter 5

Red-breasted Merganser 6 

Great Crested Grebe 3

Sandwich Tern 2

Arctic Tern 6 in

Pale-bellied Brent goose 4 initially at the play area off Knowlys Rd, then flew to Red Nab.

South shore

I checked along the sea wall towards high water (Malcolm)

The Brent geese were still on Red Nab. Note their relaxed feeding method now compared to the frantic grazing over winter.

Wheatear 4

Linnet 2 at lighthouse and 4 on saltmarsh 

Pied Wagtail 1

Rock Pipit 1 by lighthouse 

Female Speckled Wood in the scrub behind Red Nab - first this year

Janet took these nice shots along the sea wall yesterday.

Rock Pipit flying to the top of the lighthouse
for a better vantage point to watch Janet from.

A second calendar year Cormorant 

A mature Cormorant 

In the Nature Park

Male Blackcap

Chiffchaff 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Janet checked this morning

Grasshopper Warbler 2 reeling - 1 in the central marsh and 1 where the old brick weighbridge building used to be.

Also singing from the main path, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat 

Coot - walking (ok, running) on water

Goldfinch collecting nesting material from the Reedmace seed heads

Orange Tip butterfly 2

Shieldbug (gorse?)

Closer to home Janet leaves a feeder filled with dog hair for her local residents.

Blue Tit

Female House Sparrow

Heysham skear

A quick early evening check (in the only rain of the day Malcolm)

Eider, Great Crested Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers not counted but similar to this morning's counts. Still 2 Sandwich Terns.

Shag 1 adult feeding on the south side.

Whimbrel 3

Bar-Tailed Godwit 107 - the last two on the right here both catch a lugworm. The mud they are feeding on has been fluidised by the draining water, making it very soft. This allows them to probe deeper and makes the extraction of the worm easier.

Knot c2,550

Peregrine Falcon 1

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

Glossy Ibis there mid morning at least.

Spoonbill passes over and Whitethroat arrive

A light SE breeze switched to NW in the afternoon. Dry with sunny spells.

Report by Nick Godden (part of a more detailed report on  Lancaster and District BW society web page https://lancasterbirdwatching.org.uk/forums/forum/bird-insect-sightings/ -  or use link on sidebar). 

Seen from the Stone Jetty, any birds to the south are within the recording area, those flying north have flown through the area.

7:00-8:50

Red-throated diver 3
Shelduck 8 in
Teal 6 in
Common scoter 1f
Arctic tern 11 in
Osprey caught a fish near the end of the Jetty then flew NW
Spoonbill adult flew N 8.01
Whimbrel 8
Swallow 31N
Sand martin 4N
Redpoll 4 N
Siskin 2 N

Report from Pete Crooks (also copied from LDBWS webpage)

Heysham North Harbour Wall (7.10 – 9.30 am) – with Jean Roberts, Mark Prestwood and Pete Marsh
1 Merlin – female flew into the Bay low over the sea at 9.15 am
7 Common Scoter
2 Sandwich Tern – mostly resting on buoy
60 Swallow – steady northerly movement in groups of up to 8
1 Harbour Porpoise

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Shaun made an early morning circuit 06:30-08:45. 

Reed Warbler 1

Common Whitethroat 1 (first one this year bringing the warbler species tally up to 9)

Lesser Whitethroat 6

Blackcap 7

Willow Warbler 7

Chiffchaff 5

Cetti's Warbler at least 7 singing (probably 8) and an extra 2 singing in southern section of the reserve. 

Heysham Nature Reserve 

Ringing report by Alan:

Three nets set in the rides by the office.  Very slow start again from 06.15 but then a trickle of birds until 11.30 with just 15 captures in all.

Dunock  1 + 1 retrap

Lesser Whitethroat  1

Blackcap  2

Chiffchaff  2

Long-tailed Tit  1

Great Tit  2 retraps

Jay  1

Chaffinch  1

Goldfinch  1

Lesser Redpoll  2

South shore

I just checked waders on the waterline out from Ocean Edge (Malcolm)

No Brent geese on Red Nab today.

Pink-Footed goose a single bird flew high to the east - fortunately calling

Shelduck 3

Waders:

Whimbel 2 - 1 flew from the saltmarsh plus 1 heard heading north

Redshank 30 close to the saltmarsh 

Along the waterline 

Oystercatcher 90

Curlew 3

Bar-Tailed Godwit 180

Grey Plover 1

Knot 250

Dunlin 160

Some of the godwits are starting to move to breeding plumage 

Bar-Tailed Godwit, Knot, Dunlin and a single Grey Plover in partial breeding plumage

The waders were very flighty, no sgn of any raptors attacking while I was there, but presumably there had been earlier. One Peregrine was flying around Red Nab

Cetti's warbler 1 singing from the western edge of the old Pontins grounds. I could hear it 300m out through the clamour of the waders!

Wheatear 12

Four Wheatears

White Wagtail 1 on the edge of the saltmarsh, before continuing north - sorry about the shaky nature of this clip, but I was precariously balanced

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

Glossy Ibis there mid morning at least.

Another singing Cetti's warbler at Middleton Towers area off Carr Lane Middleton - Janet

 Not the one heard from the shore. So 11 probably 12 males singing in and just outside the recording area today

Two decent raptors and first Whinchat

A fairly still morning, with a west breeze developing then drifting to NW. A sunny day after a cold start.

Report from Pete:

Marsh Harrier in-off ocean edge 0730

Red Nab

Pale-bellied Brent goose 6

Grey Plover 1 in non-breeding plumage 

Seawatch from North harbour wall

Sandwich Tern 10-12

Red-Throated Diver 1

Common Scoter 15

Jean's observations included:

c2100 knot mainly 2cy heliport with Welsh ringed 39A the only ringed bird seen 

455 Bar-Tailed Godwit on shore off north harbour wall

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Ringing report by Alan:

Three nets set fairly early this morning, by about 06.45.  It was cold with a ground frost and was very quiet with many migrants possibly clearing out overnight. As it warmed up a little birds began to move around although still only 14 caught before packing up at 11.00.

 

Wren  1

Blackbird  1

Cetti's Warbler  1 retrap

Reed Warbler  1

Lesser Whitethroat  2

Chiffchaff  1

Willow Warbler  3

Blue Tit  3 retraps

Reed Bunting 1 ringed  from elsewhere

Later in the day, Kevin Eaves spotted this fine male Whinchat. First record this year

Janet took these shots

Dunnock in full song

Grey Heron

South shore

I had a walk along the sea wall on the morning rising tide (Malcolm)

The 6 Brent geese left Red Nab early in the tide, but returned towards high water.

Pale-bellied Brent geese, spending more time resting than feeding these longer days with lusher gutweed

Shelduck 3 individuals 

Slightly unusual, this one was resting in the middle of the Harbour

Whimbrel 1 heard

Swallow 2 north

Wheatear 2 near the lighthouse but quickly moved through

Rock Pipit 2 - one each Red Nab and Lighthouse 

Jay 2 together along Moneyclose Lane.

Heysham skear - low water 17:20

I went out a couple of hours before low water (Malcolm). 

Osprey 1. These neap tides provide feeding opportunities 2 hours either side of low water (Spring tides ebb and flow so quickly that there is usually too much sediment disturbed for good visibility, except for 30 minutes or so either side of low water). It was already fishing as I set off, I saw it make two passes along the channel from the Stone jetty to the skear. I didn't see it dive, but it didn't make a third pass. It was still quite distant, this was the best clip I managed, it looked as if it was going to dive towards the end of the clip, but it continued on.

Little Egret 8

Didn't try and count the Eider, but there was at least as many as yesterday.

Red-breasted Merganser 6 - 3 pairs, these are two of them, the males seemingly more interested in impressing each other than the females.

Great Crested Grebe 1

Waders similar to recent except more Turnstone today, at least 120

Several of the Turnstone were moving to breeding plumage

No godwits seen today but there was a Whimbrel

A nice comparison shot of a Lesser and Great Black-Backed gulls

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

Glossy Ibis there mid morning at least.

Grasshoppers arrive, and another Osprey sighting, (although perhaps "sighting" is pushing it a bit!)

 A fresh NW wind with just the odd light shower.

South shore

Janet was first to check this morning.

Nine Pale-bellied Brent geese on Red Nab

Rock pipit near the lighthouse 

Grey seal 1 between the outflows.

It then decided to do its baby elephant impersonation 

The "elephant's ears" are just the waves it displaced as it dived.

Brimstone butterfly in the Nature Park 

I checked a little later (Malcolm)

Linnet a pair on the saltmarsh 

Female Linnet with nest lining material 

Whimbrel 2 - one on the saltmarsh and this one feeding on the foreshore grass.

Whimbrel 

It had already dug up this grub, but decided to have a good look around before eating it.

Warblers in the Nature Park

Two each, Chiffchaff, Willow warbler and Blackcap

Lesser Whitethroat 1 (one of ten Lesser Whitethroat covered in today's post)

Imperial Rd

Just the briefest of stop offs to check the field to NE of the roundabout 

Little Egret 8

Lesser Whitethroat 3 heard from the roundabout 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Another brief check of the central marsh located 7 warbler species in the morning (Malcolm)

Cetti's warbler 5

Sedge Warbler 1

Reed Warbler 2

Blackcap 2

Willow Warbler 4

Chiffchaff 3

Lesser Whitethroat 6 at least, including 3 along the access road.

But by this afternoon at least one Grasshopper warbler was reeling - Rosie Briggs

So, we're up to 8 warbler species now.

Reed Bunting 1

Common Snipe 1

Pheasant 1 male calling

Heysham skear - low water 16:40

I walked out with some trepidation after yesterday's washout (Malcolm). But it turned out to an enjoyable walk, largely in sunshine.

Little Egret 6

Eider 34

Great Crested Grebe 1

Shag 1 adult resting on conger rock.

Shag

Sandwich Tern 2

Initially they were both resting on a rock.

Sandwich Terns

Then one flew off and began fishing

Normally, when one remains behind its a female and she expects to be fed, but that didn't 
happen today. Perhaps the other wasn't catching anything or perhaps it just hadn't got the message.
Either way they both ended fishing along the north side of the skear

Osprey 1 very distant to the north. Fortunately, they and the effect they have on gulls are very distinctive!

Osprey with a cloud of gulls in tow. Its laboured flight suggests that it was carrying a fish.
 It was flying NW at 15:30, heading for Foulshaw?

Waders pretty much as recent, except no Whimbrel seen or heard. This is a nice clip of a Curlew feeding with Oystercatcher and Knot.

Bar-Tailed Godwit just 6

Swallow 1 north

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

Glossy Ibis there mid morning at least.