Monday 18 August 2008

Afternoon small wader influx

Heysham Obs
Ocean Edge saltmarsh
Little Egret in the channel - reaching 'taken for granted' status at long last here, or at least this particular bird is, having been inexplicably scarce until this year. Later on Red Nab right over the tide period and still there 2 hours after high tide - some kind of record as regards "availability"!

Outfalls/Red Nab
Little Gull - 2 x 2nd W, 1 x 2nd S->Ad W
Med Gull - ad
Sandwich Tern - 3
Common Sandpiper - 1 Red Nab
Ringed Plover -the dizzy heights of 82 reached on the mudflats just to the south of Red Nab as the tide was starting to drop
Dunlin - 41 with the Ringed Plover
Whimbrel - one with the above waders
No sign of any Wheatear on the foreshore

North harbour wall
Ad Med Gull (probably Czech bird)
No sign of Shag

Elsewhere
A Black-tern-less thrash (c/f quite a scattering to the south of here) round the 'pits' produced a consolation prize in the form of a juv Common Tern on Pine Lake. Since the spring passage, Common/Arctic Tern occurrences have been rock bottom in this area with far too much disturbance for any nesting attempts on the Lune