Photos:
Great Black-backed Gulls and Redshanks at Morecambe
Sandwich Tern, Little Gulls (adult plus 2cy) and Little Egret at Heysham
Oh and the odd pic of some Meds at Heysham (no apologies)
13th August
Back at the van today. I started off at Red Nab which was largely deserted aside from a juvenile Med Gull. Nearby a Kestrel was hunting nr the nature reserve. Next stop was Teal Bay where 31 Eiders were floating on the sea along with a Red-breasted Merganser. A single Whimbrel was on the groyne. Jonathan was already at the groyne when I arrived. I then headed off to Bolton-Le-Sands with Jonathan. Lots of waders including a decent number of Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits plus a single, breeding plumaged Grey Plover and a couple of Little Egrets.
Mid afternoon I visited Bull Beck. I noticed upriver a handful of Pied Wags and decided to scan them to see if anything more interesting was with them. When I approached more Pied Wags appeared from behind the bank and eventually a flock of around 40 birds flew up and landed on the pebble bank. At least 50 Sand Martins were feeding here – surely migrants giving the colony has been all but deserted the last few weeks? Large numbers of Greylag and Canada Geese were also present.
Further up the road in Claughton the fields were partially flooded and large numbers of gulls were present though difficult to scan for goodies. There were at least 400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls with 350+ Common Gulls and 250+ Black-headed Gulls. Interesting that the large gulls outnumbered the smaller ones. They just seem to appear from nowhere at times. 18 Teal were also present in the fields.
Late afternoon I was driving past Leighton Moss when I noticed large numbers of Sand Martins over the pools. Around 120 birds were seen from the road above the reserve and around 50 Swifts.
14th August
Early morning visit to Red Nab again proved much more fruitful than previous visits. A grand total of 12 Med Gulls were present with 5 adults, 4 second summers and 3 juveniles. It was interesting the large number of second summer birds. Two of them would have passed for adults at a cursory glance and another interesting point was the variation of bill colour in this age group from a sort of carroty orange to the usual blood red of a breeding bird. Given that all the gulls at the moment are moulting their primaries, I wonder how many mis-aged birds are reported. The usual two Little Gulls and two Sandwich Terns completed the line up.
Back at the van today. I started off at Red Nab which was largely deserted aside from a juvenile Med Gull. Nearby a Kestrel was hunting nr the nature reserve. Next stop was Teal Bay where 31 Eiders were floating on the sea along with a Red-breasted Merganser. A single Whimbrel was on the groyne. Jonathan was already at the groyne when I arrived. I then headed off to Bolton-Le-Sands with Jonathan. Lots of waders including a decent number of Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits plus a single, breeding plumaged Grey Plover and a couple of Little Egrets.
Mid afternoon I visited Bull Beck. I noticed upriver a handful of Pied Wags and decided to scan them to see if anything more interesting was with them. When I approached more Pied Wags appeared from behind the bank and eventually a flock of around 40 birds flew up and landed on the pebble bank. At least 50 Sand Martins were feeding here – surely migrants giving the colony has been all but deserted the last few weeks? Large numbers of Greylag and Canada Geese were also present.
Further up the road in Claughton the fields were partially flooded and large numbers of gulls were present though difficult to scan for goodies. There were at least 400 Lesser Black-backed Gulls with 350+ Common Gulls and 250+ Black-headed Gulls. Interesting that the large gulls outnumbered the smaller ones. They just seem to appear from nowhere at times. 18 Teal were also present in the fields.
Late afternoon I was driving past Leighton Moss when I noticed large numbers of Sand Martins over the pools. Around 120 birds were seen from the road above the reserve and around 50 Swifts.
14th August
Early morning visit to Red Nab again proved much more fruitful than previous visits. A grand total of 12 Med Gulls were present with 5 adults, 4 second summers and 3 juveniles. It was interesting the large number of second summer birds. Two of them would have passed for adults at a cursory glance and another interesting point was the variation of bill colour in this age group from a sort of carroty orange to the usual blood red of a breeding bird. Given that all the gulls at the moment are moulting their primaries, I wonder how many mis-aged birds are reported. The usual two Little Gulls and two Sandwich Terns completed the line up.
One of the Meds, a second summer bird with a green ring, was ringed as a pullus on an island in the Elbe River nr Hamburg and has been seen here before:
23 05 09 Pionierinsel, cluster 13 - 15
06 08 09 Presall Sands, Knott End-of-Sea
07 08 09 Presall Sands, Knott End-of-Sea
06 08 09 Presall Sands, Knott End-of-Sea
07 08 09 Presall Sands, Knott End-of-Sea
12 08 09 Presall Sands, Knott End-of-Sea
30 08 09 Heysham Power Station Outfalls
30 08 09 Heysham Power Station Outfalls
06 09 09 Heysham Power Station Outfalls
I also passed Skerton Weir this morning and was intrigued to see 11 Grey Herons all stood in a line and not doing much of anything. A bit like a military parade!
Mid afternoon at high tide I nipped back over to Bolton-Le-Sands. Aside from the usual wader turn out there was a flock of 100+ Linnets buzzing (or is that squeaking) around the marsh and 13 Little Egrets were also present. The latter seem to be adept at hiding on the marsh with so many channels they can skulk in unobserved.
I also passed Skerton Weir this morning and was intrigued to see 11 Grey Herons all stood in a line and not doing much of anything. A bit like a military parade!
Mid afternoon at high tide I nipped back over to Bolton-Le-Sands. Aside from the usual wader turn out there was a flock of 100+ Linnets buzzing (or is that squeaking) around the marsh and 13 Little Egrets were also present. The latter seem to be adept at hiding on the marsh with so many channels they can skulk in unobserved.
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