Another Med returns

Warm and dry, despite being predominantly overcast. A light west wind after a calm start.

South shore (Malcolm) 09:00 - 10:30

No Wheatear seen this morning, perhaps it has finally moved on.

Rock Pipit 2 - one on Red Nab and one on the wooden jetty

Shelduck 1 - first seen for a while, but the numbers of small snails on the surface of the mud are increasing rapidly 

Shelduck

Little Egret 4

Grey Heron 1

Mediterranean gull 8 - 6 adults, a 2nd calendar year and a juvenile, all on the beach between the wooden jetty and No.1 outfall.  One of the adults had a white ring.

This is the white ringed adult, it has just caught a Sandmason worm.
Ringed in the Netherlands as a chick in 2019, it was first seen at Heysham 
in 2020 and has returned every year since. Hopefully it has been seen 
elsewhere since it left last year. It normally is, but not outside of the UK 
apart from 2021, when it was seen in Belgium 

A Curlew and several Redshank were also after the Sandmason worms. The Curlew gets one at the end of this clip.

Grey Seal 1 feeding at the seaward end of No.1 outfall

Janet took this shot of a small Dunlin flock as she walked the promenade 
past the play area off Knowleys Rd

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 16:30 - 18:00

Great Crested Grebe 1

Great Crested Grebe

No Eider or Mergansers seen

Oystercatcher 150, but more were arriving all the time.

Curlew 90+

Redshank 110

Turnstone 45

Dunlin 2

Ringed Plover 3

Two of the Ringed Plovers

Gulls 200 large gulls, predominantly Herring, two with rings, but both seen previously.

Herring and a Lesser Black-Backed gull
The central bird is ringed

Black-Headed gulls 45 shrimping in the drainage channels

Lesser Black-Backed juvenile closer to the promenade 

Hummingbird Hawkmoth. Another? Or lingering?

A dry but mainly overcast day. A west wind.

South shore (Malcolm)

Just two quick checks, saltmarsh to Red Nab on the rising tided this morning, then along the sea wall this evening.

Wheatear 1 immature near the slipway

Almost all trace of juvenile plumage now gone

Rock Pipit 3 on Red Nab

Mediterranean gulls 9 - just one adult and a juvenile on Red Nab this morning. 6 adults on the beach by the wooden jetty this evening. Plus 3 juvenile alternating between resting and feeding on the outfalls.

Adult Mediterranean gull

Juvenile Mediterranean gull

A very young juvenile Black-Headed gull (left)
The older Black-Headed gull on the right is moving to first winter plumage 

Grey Seal 1 feeding at the seaward end of No.1 outfall

Grey seal bottom left

In the Nature park this evening 

Hummingbird Hawkmoth 1 on the Buddleia between the white barrier and the small anemometer. Unfortunately, it headed towards the small anemometer before I could get a shot, and I couldn't relocate. There are a lot of Buddleia bushes around!

This is the bush that it was on. The same bush where Alison and Kevin 
saw one on 13th July. The small anemometer in the background 

Butterflies 

Red Admiral 5

Painted Lady 1

Meadow Brown 2

Gatekeeper 3

Large White 2

Green-Veined White 1 (not often seen here)

Common Blue several

Speckled Wood 4

Painted Lady

Green-Veined White

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

Common Whitethroat 

Red Admiral enjoying Blackberry juice 

the lane behind Bell Aire Park (Alison)

I'm still seeing lots of 7-spot Ladybirds but today also 14-spot. Also a large number of Figwort weevils and their rather slug like larvae

14-spot Ladybird 

Figwort weevil

Figwort weevil Larvae 

Wader numbers growing, but insects still the main interest

A warm sunny day with a west wind,

Middleton Nature Reserve 

These shots from Janet.

Some of the several Copper-Tipped Longhorn moths.
See Tuesday's post for the location 

Male Red-Veined Darter where the Swans rest on the west bank
of the main pond

Male Common Darter, one of several

Comma

Meadow Brown

Male Gatekeeper

Male Large white

The Coot chicks are growing 

Chiffchaff 

Kevin Eaves took this shot of a Common Sandpiper on the peninsula of the main pond.

Common Sandpiper 

Heysham skear (Malcolm) 14:00 - 15:30

I went down early on the ebbing tide. There was very little skear showing, but at least it concentrates what birds there are.

Oystercatcher 50 - many more arriving later

Curlew 3

Redshank 98 - probably more arrived later

Turnstone 84 - probably more arrived later

Dunlin 1 arrived later

I can empathise with this shot.
 Redshank and Turnstones looking out to sea

Redshank and Turnstone 

Turnstones 

Turnstone 

This one looks like it's on a mission!

Redshank 

Gulls initially 100 growing to 250 mainly Herring gulls. Two ringed birds seen, but both have been seen here before.

Red-Breasted Merganser 6 female type flew north together 

Great Crest Grebe 1

Starlings flying back from the skear, they collect fragments of barnacle
shells for grit

This Hoverfly was in Kevin's moth trap.

A nice intruder in my Heysham moth trap last night. Volucella zonaria, or Hornet Hoverfly.
It's the UK's largest species of Hoverfly and really is quite chunky.

Dragonfly day

A dry day, some sunny spells after a hazy start. A light NW wind

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)

First Migrant Hawker of the year

Male Red-Veined Darter on the west bank of the main pond

Female Emperor 

Common Darter and a Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown

Speckled Wood
The above three shots within inches of each other

Red Admiral and Peacock

Large White - not quite as large as it used to be

Meadow Brown - not quite as brown as it used to be

One of five or six swallows feeding high up

Racing Pigeons (they are all ringed). Still in tight formation so 
presumably released not too far away

Young Cormorant circling before landing on the main pond

South shore (Malcolm)

I checked twice, this morning as the tide reached Red Nab and again in the afternoon when the beach by the wooden jetty was being exposed by the ebbing tide.

Mediterranean gulls 9 minimum. This morning there were 6 adults and a 2nd calendar year on Red Nab. Just 2 adults turned up at the feeding beach this afternoon, plus 2 juveniles alternating between resting and feeding on the outfalls.

Three of this morning's adult Mediterranean gull, leaving Red Nab

Adult Mediterranean gull robbing an Oystercatcher this afternoon 

Juvenile Mediterranean gull

Great Black-Backed gull on Red Nab this morning 

Wheatear 1 juvenile on foreshore 

Rock Pipit 3 (1 + 2) on Red Nab

Whimbrel 1 this morning 

Whimbrel 

Redshank 5 this afternoon 

Common Sandpiper 1 this afternoon 

You can just about make out the Common Sandpiper by No.1 outfall

In the Nature Park this afternoon 

Large White 6

Small White 8

Speckled Wood 6

Meadow Brown 4

Gatekeeper 6

Red Admiral 3

Comma 2

Small Skipper 2

Common Blue 10+

Small Skipper and a Red Admiral 

A very fresh and bright Comma